It really, really, really matters to Her Majesty’s subjects which song finishes at #1 on the singles charts on the last chart issued before Christmas ever year. The tradition of betting on that final #1 goes all the way back to the 1950s.
This year’s spoiler–i.e. the song annointed to challenge the goofy pop shit that always always wins–is “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC. The grassroots campaign to boost sales of the song have been going so well that bookies have cut the odds to 11/2. The biggest challenger to that will be the still-uncrowned X Factor winner. The finale of the British show is always timed so that the winner has a big shot at #1.
In other British chart news, we’re told that the most lucrative British Christmas song of all time is “Merry Xmas Everybody,” the 1973 release from Slade, which is predicted to bring in £800,000 in royalties just this year alone. In second place is the Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York” with estimated takings of£500,000.
Leave a Comment