Top 10 Singles 1. Take
That - These Days (1) (CR-2-3-3-4-5-6-2-1-1) 2. Nádine
- Juvenile (3) (CR-9-3-2) 3. Martin
Tungevaag - Wicked Wonderland (5) (CR-9-5-5-3) 4. The
Veronicas - You Ruin Me (2) (CR-9-4-1-1-1-2-2-2-1-1-1-2-4) 5.
Madonna
- Rebel Heart (NEW) (CR-5) 6. The
Veronicas - If You Love Someone (8) (CR-8-6) 7.
The Veronicas - Born Bob Dylan (4) (CR-4-7) 8. Blonde
feat Melissa Steel - I Loved You (NEW) (CR-8) 9. Union J -
You Got It All (NEW) (CR-9) 10. James
Newton Howard & Jennifer Lawrence - The Hanging Tree (NEW)
(CR-10) Top 10 Albums 1. Take
That - III (NEW) (CR-1) 2. The
Veronicas - The Veronicas (1) (CR-1-1-2) 3. Taylor
Swift - 1989 (3) (CR-1-1-1-2-3-3) 4. Sheppard
- Bombs Away (4) (CR-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-2-2-3-1-2-3-3-4-4) 5.
David Guetta - Listen (2) (CR-2-5) 6.
Kiesza
- Sound Of A Woman (6) (CR-3-6-6) 7.
Now
89 (5) (CR-5-7) 8. Absolute
Dance Winter 2015 (NEW) (CR-8) 9. Tone Damli
- Di Første Jul (NEW) (CR-9) 10. Ed
Sheeran - x (10)
(CR-1-1-1-1-2-2-2-3-3-2-2-4-4-6-7-8-8-6-7-9-8-7-9-10-10)
In a December radio landscape saturated by Mariah Carey, The Pogues, Wizzard, Slade, Wham! and Shakin' Stevens, it's hard for any other acts to get a look in.
Spare a thought for the many Christmas songs released each year that completely slip under the radar either never to be heard again or to be added to the playlists of a select few without ever receiving the universal adoration that they deserve. Here are five of my favourite lost Christmas songs:
Aisha Kinzey - Bring Back The Magic (Christmas Day)
This song was written by a friend of mine Paul Trigwell along with a group of other songwriters including talented Alex Lambie who sadly passed away recently. The song is being repromoted this year and it deserves to be heard by a wider audience. Aisha Kinzey is a great singer while the production is pure Christmas through and through, it's instantly catchy and even fits in a key change!
Fallen Millie - Want To Be (Under Your Christmas Tree)
I stumbled across this song a couple of weeks before Christmas 2010 and played the hell out of it right up to the big day. I've come back to it every year since - a string laden pure pop song with Christmas bells, heart-warming strings and fantastic harmonies from a young girlband that I know literally nothing about. They don't seem to have released any other singles and the song hasn't even cracked 2,500 views on Youtube. The only time I've heard it outside my iPod was in a shoe shop randomly last year. The campaign to make this a future classic starts here!
The Florin Street Band - My Favourite Time Of Year
This song has over 2 million views on Youtube and is apparently the theme to ITV's Text Santa. All this has completely bypassed me because anyone I talk to about the song never seems to have heard it before. The Florin Street Band are a charming act promoting the more traditional Christmas messages and imagery in this video and the magic of the song speaks for itself. I'm incredibly confused as to why this isn't a Christmas classic yet, it's melodic, timeless and fantastic.
Nádinefeat Soweto Gospel Choir - Mary's Boy Child
South African singer Nádine has become one of my favourite artists over the past few years, a good old fashioned pure pop singer with an innocent charm. Her singles I Will Be Strong and Juvenile are my favourites of hers but in 2012 she released an album of Christmas covers (and a couple of originals) called, cunningly, Christmas In South Africa. The whole album was fantastic but my two highlights were her cover of We Wish You A Merry Christmas and the above version of Mary's Boy Child with the Soweto Gospel Choir, which is incredibly joyous and merry. Sadly there's only a live version on Youtube but check it out on the album which is on Spotify/Deezer/iTunes.
Sara Bareilles - Love Is Christmas
Californian singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles is of course best known for her 2008 hit Love Song, but she's continued to impress since then. In 2011 she released this festive offering, an incredibly beautiful and warm piano ballad with a subtle string section enhancing the festive sentiment of love and togetherness being more important at Christmas than gifts and decorations. Also listen to Sara's other seasonal offering Winter Song, a collaboration with Ingrid Michaelson which inexplicably got to No.2 in the Irish charts a few years ago.
A cheesy but charming, fun hi-NRG cover of the festive standard from everyone's favourite German Eurodance act, from their 2012 album It's Christmas Time.
A gorgeous cover of the John Lennon classic from Australia's finest soapstar turned popstar. It was the b-side to Not Me, Not I in the UK in 2003 and the double a-side to Predictable in Australia, so technically a No.1 single there.
2014 marks 23 years since Take That first hit the charts as a fresh-faced boyband with the catchy Promises. What happened next was the story of arguably the biggest musical force in the UK of the past two decades. Robbie Williams, Jason Orange, Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald reeled off a string of chart toppers before Robbie left in 1995, leaving the band on the brink. They split a year later but the remaining four members famously reformed in 2005 for an ITV documentary.
What followed was the astounding rebirth of Take That, who somehow become even bigger the second time around. They hit the top of the charts in 2006 with Patience, in 2007 with Shine and in 2008 with Greatest Day. And that's without mentioning the million-selling modern classic Rule The World, which was held off the top spot by Leona Lewis' almighty Bleeding Love. 2010 saw the fairytale return of Robbie Williams and the inspired Progress album. Could this band possibly get any bigger? With over half a million sales of that album in the first week it seemed unlikely. Yet for all of the hype surrounding that album, it never produced a No.1 single (quite criminal when the excellent The Flood was the lead single) and to many observers that looked like their last chance of ever achieving one.
But fast forward another four years to 2014 and it's happened. Robbie has stepped back out of his part-time role and rather more surprisingly Jason Orange has decided to leave the band. With the lowest buzz around the group since arguably the early 90s, it seemed quite likely that 2008's Greatest Day was to be their last hurrah at the top of the UK singles chart. But, never a band to be underestimated, this evening has seen the now trio's lead single from new album III, These Days, go straight in at No.1.
The group have proved once again that they are invincible to market changes, member losses and anything else that's thrown at them and the cheery tune, which has been snubbed by Radio 1, has gifted them a 12th No.1 single, 21 years after Pray became their first in 1993.
I, for one, am intrigued to hear III. The band peddled mature radio pop on Beautiful World, experimental MOR on The Circus and electronic influences on Progress and companion album Progressed. It has become increasingly hard to anticipate what direction the band will go in next but the bright and breezy These Days, which uniquely sees Gary, Howard and Mark sharing all of the vocal parts throughout the song, seems to have brought a fresh new dynamic to the group. Whether III will bring them another multi-million selling album remains to be seen but, despite what the law of diminishing returns should suggest, Take That seem to be a forever relevant group that should clearly never be overlooked or underestimated. Where their 90s successors Boyzone are now wheeling out Motown covers albums and unable to score hit singles of any size and Boyzone's successors Westlife are defunct, Take That are still able to take original material to the top of the charts and into the public's hearts.
Top 10 Singles 1. Take
That - These Days (2) (CR-2-3-3-4-5-6-2-1) 2. The
Veronicas - You Ruin Me (1) (CR-9-4-1-1-1-2-2-2-1-1-1-2) 3. Nádine
- Juvenile (9) (CR-9-3) 4. The
Veronicas - Born Bob Dylan (NEW) (CR-4) 5.
Martin
Tungevaag - Wicked Wonderland (5) (CR-9-5-5) 6. Walk
The Moon - Shut Up And Dance (3) (CR-6-3-4-4-1-2-4-3-6) 7.
Tom Odell - Real Love (4) (CR-4-2-4-7) 8. The
Veronicas - If You Love Someone (NEW) (CR-8) 9. Pitbull
feat Chloe Angelides - Sexy Beaches (NEW) (CR-9) 10. David
Guetta feat Emeli Sandé - What I Did For Love (NEW) (CR-10) Top 10 Albums 1. The
Veronicas - The Veronicas (1) (CR-1-1) 2. David
Guetta - Listen (NEW) (CR-2) 3. Taylor
Swift - 1989 (2) (CR-1-1-1-2-3) 4. Sheppard
- Bombs Away (4) (CR-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-2-2-3-1-2-3-3-4-4) 5.
Now 89 (NEW) (CR-5) 6.
Kiesza
- Sound Of A Woman (3) (CR-3-6) 7.
Clean
Bandit - New Eyes (Re-entry) (CR-2-2-4-4-4-5-8-10-10-10-OUT-7) 8. BBC
Radio 2: Sounds Of The 80s (5) (CR-2-5-8) 9. Boyzone
- Dublin To Detroit (NEW) (CR-9) 10. Ed
Sheeran - x (9) (CR-1-1-1-1-2-2-2-3-3-2-2-4-4-6-7-8-8-6-7-9-8-7-9-10)
Top 10 Singles 1. The
Veronicas - You Ruin Me (1) (CR-9-4-1-1-1-2-2-2-1-1-1) 2. Take
That - These Days (6) (CR-2-3-3-4-5-6-2) 3. Walk
The Moon - Shut Up And Dance (4) (CR-6-3-4-4-1-2-4-3) 4. Tom
Odell - Real Love (2) (CR-4-2-4) 5.
Martin
Tungevaag - Wicked Wonderland (9) (CR-9-5) 6. Taylor
Swift - Out Of The Woods (5) (CR-10-5-6) 7.
Tove Styrke - Ego (3) (CR-7-3-7) 8. Band Aid
30 - Do They Know It's Christmas? (2014) (NEW) (CR-8) 9. Nádine
- Juvenile (NEW) (CR-9) 10. James
Blunt - I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues (NEW) (CR-10) Top 10 Albums 1. The
Veronicas - The Veronicas (NEW) (CR-1) 2. Taylor
Swift - 1989 (1) (CR-1-1-1-2) 3. Kiesza
- Sound Of A Woman (NEW) (CR-3) 4. Sheppard
- Bombs Away (3) (CR-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-2-2-3-1-2-3-3-4) 5.
BBC Radio 2: Sounds Of The 80s (2) (CR-2-5) 6.
One
Direction - Four (NEW) (CR-6) 7.
Absolute
Music 77 (NEW) (CR-7) 8. The
Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Pt. 1 OST (NEW) (CR-8) 9. Ed
Sheeran - x (7) (CR-1-1-1-1-2-2-2-3-3-2-2-4-4-6-7-8-8-6-7-9-8-7-9) 10. Calvin
Harris - Motion (5) (CR-8-2-5-10)
Top 10 Singles 1. The
Veronicas - You Ruin Me (1) (CR-9-4-1-1-1-2-2-2-1-1) 2. Tom
Odell - Real Love (4) (CR-4-2) 3. Tove
Styrke - Ego (7) (CR-7-3) 4. Walk
The Moon - Shut Up And Dance (2) (CR-6-3-4-4-1-2-4) 5.
Taylor
Swift - Out Of The Woods (10) (CR-10-5) 6. Take
That - These Days (5) (CR-2-3-3-4-5-6) 7.
Tove
Styrke - Borderline (3) (CR-8-6-3-7) 8. Ed
Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud (6) (CR-9-8-OUT-5-1-1-3-6-8) 9. Martin
Tungevaag - Wicked Wonderland (NEW) (CR-9) 10. Tove
Styrke - Even If I'm Loud It Doesn't Mean I'm Talking To You (NEW)
(CR-10) Top 10 Albums 1. Taylor
Swift - 1989 (1) (CR-1-1-1) 2. BBC
Radio 2: Sounds Of The 80s (NEW) (CR-2) 3. Sheppard
- Bombs Away (3) (CR-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-2-2-3-1-2-3-3) 4. Cheryl
- Only Human (NEW) (CR-4) 5.
Calvin Harris - Motion (2) (CR-8-2-5) 6.
Ella
Henderson - Chapter One (5) (CR-1-2-3-5-6) 7.
Ed
Sheeran - x (8) (CR-1-1-1-1-2-2-2-3-3-2-2-4-4-6-7-8-8-6-7-9-8-7) 8. Ministry
Of Sound: The Annual 2015 (NEW) (CR-8) 9. Röyksopp
- The Inveitable End (NEW) (CR-9) 10. The
Common Linnets - The Common Linnets (9)
(CR-1-1-1-1-1-2-2-3-3-3-4-4-5-7-8-6-7-7-10-10-10-1-2-3-7-9-10)
Top 10 Singles 1. The
Veronicas - You Ruin Me (2) (CR-9-4-1-1-1-2-2-2-1) 2. Walk
The Moon - Shut Up And Dance (1) (CR-6-3-4-4-1-2) 3. Tove
Styrke - Borderline (6) (CR-8-6-3) 4. Tom
Odell - Real Love (NEW) (CR-4) 5.
Take
That - These Days (4) (CR-2-3-3-4-5) 6. Ed
Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud (3) (CR-9-8-OUT-5-1-1-3-6) 7.
Tove
Styrke - Ego (NEW) (CR-7) 8. Paul
McCartney - Hope For The Future (7) (CR-7-8) 9. DJ Kent
feat Ziyon - Your Love (9) (CR-9-9) 10.
Taylor Swift - Out Of The Woods (NEW) (CR-10) Top 10 Albums 1. Taylor
Swift - 1989 (1) (CR-1-1) 2. Calvin
Harris - Motion (8) (CR-8-2) 3. Sheppard
- Bombs Away (2) (CR-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-2-2-3-1-2-3) 4. Clubland
26 (NEW)
(CR-4) 5.
Ella Henderson - Chapter One (3) (CR-1-2-3-5) 6.
Moods
(4) (CR-6-4-6) 7.
Now
That's What I Call A Million (5) (CR-5-7) 8. Ed
Sheeran - x (9) (CR-1-1-1-1-2-2-2-3-3-2-2-4-4-6-7-8-8-6-7-9-8) 9. The
Common Linnets - The Common Linnets (7)
(CR-1-1-1-1-1-2-2-3-3-3-4-4-5-7-8-6-7-7-10-10-10-1-2-3-7-9) 10. BBC
Radio 1's Live Lounge 2014 (6) (CR-6-10)
