Christmas Charts Rated: 1969

Top 40

Best Song: Lou Christie - I'm Gonna Make You Mine

Lou Christie had a total of 4 Top 40 hits, all in the 60s and I'd say this is probably the best of them. It's one of those great uplifting feel good records that makes me nostalgic for a decade that I never lived in. I couldn't imagine music like this being made these days.

Worst Song: Jim Reeves - But You Love Me Daddy

This obviously wasn't an actual 1969 record given that Jim Reeves died in 1964. It actually came a decade earlier with a 7 year old Stevie Moore providing backing vocals in this. No doubt he was cringing when this came out in 1969.

Top 40 Review

We've reached the final year to review. I concluded that 1969 was the best year for the UK Top 40, but would it still be good by Christmas time?

The short answer is yes it was. It seems like the moment the 60s had been building up to, like everyone was bringing together their learnings from the evolution of music in the 60s to leave the decade on a high.

No Christmas songs in the Top 40 but there were novelty songs including the Christmas number one. This was really the blip on an otherwise great Top 40.

Like with my best year search it would be easier to just name the records I've given zero points to in this Top 40. These are the records from Rolf Harris, Jim Reeves, Des O'Connor, Cliff Richard, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash and The Scaffold.

Elsewhere we have a variety of music and some artists making the best music I've ever heard them do. This includes "Something" by The Beatles which is my favourite hit of theirs. Generally speaking I'm not a fan of Cilla Blacks music but "If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind" is an excellent record.

Another great record comes from Marmalade with "Reflections Of My Life" which seems quite fitting for the end of the decade and they're what I would call one of the quiet heroes of music from around this era.

The score ends up being one that I never thought I'd see. 

Score: 30.5

Table

I don't think I've really proved the charts take a nosedive at Christmas except perhaps for the more modern era. However I do think I've given more proof for 1969 being the best year of the UK Top 40:

Christmas Charts Rated: 1995

Top 40

Best Song: Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise

When I first heard this record I thought it was something I'd been waiting to hear all my life. I ended up buying the single during it's last week in the charts, partly because I wanted it to stay in the charts and also because I was conscious I wouldn't be hearing it on the radio much longer.

Worst Song: Everything But The Girl - Missing

This entered the Top 40 the same week as Coolio and exited a week after him. That made me hate this record, it bothered me that it outlived "Gangsta's Paradise" least of all because I thought this record was shit from the moment I heard it. 

Top 40 Review

When it came to the Christmas number one of 1995 I was rooting for the Mike Flowers Pops version of "Wonderwall". However it never quite made it, being beaten by Michael Jackson with "Earth Song".

In terms of Christmas record we have the long forgotten "The Gift Of Christmas" by The Childliners which is a guilty pleasure of mine and was one of the first thing I blogged about. There was also a Christmas song from Mr Blobby, but the novelty had worn off by 1995.

We also had novelty hits from Robson & Jerome, Michael Barrymore and Frank Bruno. With the latter though it clearly isn't Frank Bruno singing on the record.

1995 goes down in the history books as the year of Britpop so it seems appropriate that the 3 Britpop records in the Top 40 were by Blur, Oasis and Pulp. I've given the Blur and Pulp records full marks but it's a zero for Oasis.

There were 2 Queen records in the Top 40 with "Heaven For Everyone" and "A Winters Tale" which were both records with Freddie Mercury singing on them but put together after he died. Similarly we have "Free As A Bird" by The Beatles put together after the death of John Lennon.

There's also a Beatles cover in the charts with "Come Together" by Smokin' Mojo Filters. Then there's U2 and Luciano Pavarotti collaborating under the name Passengers with "Miss Sarajevo".

Most of the records in this Top 40 are either good or bad with just a couple of records getting half marks. We also have more records with full marks than zero marks, so overall you have to so this is a pretty decent chart.

Score: 23

Table

Despite the great score, 1995 was the 2nd best year so had a lot to live up to and didn't quite make it:

Christmas Charts Rated: 1991

Top 40

Best Song: KLF ft Tammy Wynette - Justified And Ancient

I was too young to really know what KLF were all about at the time. I was just completely drawn to their music and this record in particular. Little did I know their retirement from the music industry was just around the corner.

Worst Song: Salt-N-Pepa - You Showed Me

There was once a Top 10 rappers countdown on Channel 4 and it was pretty shocking that Will Smith ended up number one. Maybe just as shocking was Salt-N-Pepa being number two. It must have meant to be a Top 10 worst record countdown.

Top 40 Review

The Christmas number one of 1991 was the double a-side "Bohemian Rhapsody/These Are The Days Of Our Lives" by Queen which came following the death of Freddie Mercury. Queen were also at number 40 with their previous hit "The Show Must Go On".

Brian May was also in the Top 40 with his solo debut "Driven By You" which came about after it featured on the Ford adverts.

There were 2 Christmas hits in the Top 40, the return of "Fairytale Of New York", Simon & Garfunkel doing a version of "Silent Night" and Shakin Stevens having yet another Christmas hit with "I'll Be Home For Christmas. 

When I did my Top 30 from 30 years ago post for 1991 the score it got was a very respectable 19/30. This means that numbers 31-40 needs to achieve 4.5/10 to equal the best year score.

It did better than that though, just about with half a point for "Counting Sheep" by Airhead which was just one of two records to not make the Top 30.

Score: 24

Table

OK 1991 didn't dip at Christmas then and that was one of the years I'd already reviewed the Top 30s for:

Christmas Charts Rated: 1990

Top 40

Best Song: INXS - Disappear

A couple of years ago I was watching a home video from Christmas in 1990 and my young self said that my favourite song in the whole world was this. It's only appropriate that I pick it then given there's video evidence of it. Aside from that though it's a top tune and definitely worthy of best song.

Worst Song: Madonna - Justify My Love

I found myself drawn to picking this record but then questioning it because I think I've picked a Madonna record for worst song more than once already. Then again when you have as many hits as Madonna maybe it's to be expected. This one always irritated me.

Top 40 Review

Sticking with the home video of my young self in 1990, another record in this Top 40 that I mentioned liking was "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" by The Righteous Brothers. It was the 2nd time this record reached the Top 40 and there was another record by The Righteous Brothers in this Top 40 for a 2nd time in "Unchained Melody". 

Overall 1990 was a pretty solid year, but the Christmas charts are more a summary of what was wrong with 1990. I count 10 records which are either old records or medleys of older records i.e. a quarter of the charts which seems excessive.

The Christmas hits come from Cliff Richard with "Saviours Day" and Shakin Stevens with "The Best Christmas of Them All". Both are really them capitalising on their previous Christmas successes. 

There was the future though in "Sadeness Part 1" by Enigma which was their Top 40 debut and would top the charts in 1991. We also had the Top 40 debut as a solo artist for Seal with "Crazy" both decent records that I'd associate more with 1991 than 1990.

A couple of anthems with the "baggy" sound but not from Manchester. These were "All Together Now" by The Farm and "Unbelievable" by EMF.

A few highlights in there then but I did notice when reviewing 1990 than the scores were nosediving towards Christmas time so I know the score isn't going to be the best.

Score: 14.5

Table

Despite me losing the will to live when reviewing the Top 30 by the time it reached Christmas it was still one of the better Christmas charts:

Christmas Charts Rated: 1992

Top 40

Best Song: The Prodigy - Ruff In The Jungle Bizness

Probably one of the most obscure Top 40 hits from The Prodigy, partly because of the much better known "Out Of Space" being the other side of the double a-side. It's one of the best tracks on "The Experience" album and is the sort of direction jungle music was taking before it became too dark.

Worst Song: Rod Stewart - Tom Traubert's Blues (Waltzing Matilda)

I remember singing "Waltzing Matilda" at primary school so it was already uncool because of that association. Then Rod Stewart did a version and I remember thinking what's this old duffer doing still having Top 40 hits.

Top 40 Review

Around Christmas 1992 I was into modern music in a big way, so the question is was the Top 40 as good as I thought it was?

Let's begin with the Christmas number one which was "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston which stayed there well into 1993. At the time I would single this out as being one of the crap records of the modern era.

I did like the Christmas number two "Heal The World" by Michael Jackson at the time, but as time has gone on I have little time for soppy rubbish like this.

The record at number three on the other hand "Would I Lie To You" by Charles & Eddie was pretty much my favourite record at the time and I still think it's decent now. I like the record at number four too, "Could It Be Magic" by Take That which is about the only record of theirs I do like from this era.

Lower down in the charts we have a bit of a transition from my perspective. There's "In My Defence" from Freddie Mercury, a decent record but came at a time I was going off Queen for being too old. At the same time there was "Mrs Robinson" by The Lemonheads which to me was making an old song modern style the way it should be and a bit of a fuck you to older music.

Another highlight was the Brother in Rhythm remix of "Temptation" by Heaven 17 which I'll always remember as being the first song to be played at the first school disco I went to.

We were nearing the end of the rave era in the Top 40. In addition to The Prodigy we had "Way In My Brain/Drumbeats" by SL2 which is also decent. At the same time though we had the god awful "We Are Raving - The Anthem" by Slipstreem.

Overall it wasn't a bad Top 40 but far from the best.

Score: 17.5

Table

The charts certainly took a dip at the end of 1992:

Christmas Charts Rated: 1996

Top 40

Best Song: The Prodigy - Breathe

When The Prodigy made their comeback earlier on in 1996 with "Firestarter" I was really disappointed. Despite "Breathe" being similar in nature I thought it was miles better. I remember this being the first record they played when I saw them in concert one time and I was straight into it.

Worst Song: Madonna - Don't Cry For Me Argentina

The most boring and painful film I've ever watched in my life was "Evita". The main reasons were that it was nothing but shit music and it went on forever. It's only fitting that I therefore pick a song from said movie as worst song.

Top 40 Review

There was one key difference between the start of the Top 40 at the beginning of July 1996 and at Christmas time, The Spice Girls. They were yet to make their Top 40 debut at the beginning of July but had the Christmas number one plus one other record in the Top 40 at Christmas.

No other girl groups in the Top 40, but boy band wise there was East 17 who get a point and Boyzone and Damage who don't. There was also former boy band member Mark Owen with a solo hit.

Faithless had 2 records in the Top 40 with "Insomnia" and "Salva Mea". Both records had originally charted in 1995 but fared better when rereleased in 1996 and both get full marks. They were also both singles I bought at the time.

All of the dance records in the Top 40 get some points which is quite something really given we've often had cheesy shit ones to go alongside the decent ones. This includes records from Chicane and Heller and Farley Project.

Rap wise the only one I don't like is the Salt-N-Pepa one, with decent records coming from 2Pac, Snoop Doggy Dogg and Warren G.

The Fugees had gone reggae with their cover of "No Woman No Cry" by Bob Marley which I think is an excellent cover that I even liked at the time when I was listening to nothing but rave.

There were novelty records in the Top 40 being Christmas time. There was a Christmas one from The Sumrfs with "Your Christmas Wish". Robson & Jerome had their final Top 40 hit with "What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted". Some Emmerdale actors went under the name The Woolpackers with "Hillbilly Rock Hillbilly Roll". Finally Mike Flowers Pops had another bid for Christmas number one that was nowhere near getting there with a version of "Don't Cry For Me Argentina". 

It's the usual 90s conclusion of some decent records with a lot of crap to even it out.

Score: 16

Table

The rise of the mid-90s charts had fallen by the Christmas of 1996 it would seem:

Christmas Charts Rated: 1979

Top 40

Best Song: Dr Hook - When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman

When I started listening to music that wasn't rave, the first band I remember listening to was Dr Hook. It was because of this record having quite an impact on me when I was much younger. I happened to know someone who had their greatest hits and gave me a copy of it. 

Worst Song: Tourists - I Only Want To Be With You

I remember learning that before Eurythmics, Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox were in a band called Tourists. I was intrigued, but then disappointed when I discovered that their biggest hit was this rubbish cover of  the Dusty Springfield record.

Top 40 Review

With 1979 being the best year of the 70s and 1980 being the best year of the 80s, surely the Christmas charts would be great?

Lets begin with the Christmas hits which came from Paul McCartney and Elvis Presley. No points for either of those. There were also novelty hits from the Ramblers and Fiddlers Dram. Again no points.

Now those are out of the way, what else was in the Top 40?

Well despite the backlash against disco earlier on in the year, that was the main genre in the Top 40. As usual it's a mixed bag. We have proper disco records from Chic, Rose Royce and Michael Jackson. At the other end of the scale we have David Bowie do a disco version of "John I'm Only Dancing" plus the god awful "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" by Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand.

We have some decent new wave records in the Top 40 including records from The Clash and Blondie. The only new wave record in there that I don't like is "Diamond Smiles" by The Boomtown Rats.

Rap had just made it's way into the Top 40 and we have 2 rap records. There's the only that started it all off, "Rappers Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang. Then we have a Christmas rap record "Christmas Rappin" by Kurtis Blow that's pretty similar. Both get full marks.

2 tone was also relatively new to the Top 40 and in this one we had hits from The Beat and Madness. Both records one would be more likely to associate with the 80s and both decent.

Then we had synth pop music from Gary Numan with "Complex" and from M with "Moonlight and Muzak". Again both decent records.

Overall there isn't an awful lot to fault about this Top 40 and it does more or less live up to it's expectations with a decent score.

Score: 19

Table

It's the best Christmas chart of the 70s too but couldn't quite live up to it's best year score:

Christmas Charts Rated: 1980

Top 40

Best Song: Specials - Do Nothing

The Specials a a much celebrated band and probably the first who spring to mind when you mention 2 Tone. Their Top 40 career was very brief though, this single came 18 months after their Top 40 debut and the only remaining Top 40 hit from the band as we knew them was "Ghost Town" 6 months later. The intro to this record sets the scene for a pretty good tune.

Worst Song: The Nolans - Who's Gonna Rock You

The story of The Nolans to many is that they did the very cheesy and shit "I'm In The Mood For Dancing" and then made a living from being celebrities. Turns out they had 8 Top 40 hits and they were all just as cheesy and shit as their big one.

Top 40 Review

1980 was the best year of the 80s from a Top 40 perspective, but was that still the case by Christmas time?

Let's begin with the Christmas number one which was "There's No One Quite Like Grandma" by St Winifred's School Choir. It's a record that's said to be liked by nobody and topped the charts due to people buying it as a present for their grandma. Makes sense to me.

Other novelty hits that had nothing to do with Christmas was "Rabbit" by Chas & Dave and "I Could Be So Good For You" by Dennis Waterman.

In terms of Christmas hits we had "Never Mind the Presents" by Barron Knights, "December Will Be Magic Again" by Kate Bush, "Stop The Cavalry" by Jona Lewie and "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" by John Lennon & Plastic Ono Band.

The latter came just after the death of John Lennon and he had 2 other records in the Top 40 with "(Just Like) Starting Over" and "Imagine". I like the former and the latter is OK but overplayed/overrated.

A lot of the points come from the 2 tone and reggae acts. In addition to The Specials we have The Beat, Madness, UB40 and Eddy Grant. Blondie had also gone in the reggae direction with "The Tide Is High".

A surprising source of points comes from Neil Diamond with "Love On The Rocks". I'm referring to when I first heard it years ago and assumed all his music was shit, I was pleasantly surprised.

A less surprising source of points come from the ever reliable Electric Light Orchestra with "Don't Walk Away".

That's about as good as it gets. We have a good mixture of music genres throughout the Top 40 but a lot of it is lowest common denominator rubbish.

The result is a score that's pretty poor by 80s standards.

Score: 12.5

Table

The best year of the 80s has the 2nd worst Christmas chart of the 80s:

Christmas Charts Rated: 1967

Top 40

Best Song: The Small Faces - Tin Soldier

When the internet allowed me to easily educate myself on music from the 60s, one band that stood out to me as being particularly good was The Small Faces. This is possibly my favourite record of theirs. It features PP Arnold on vocals, who also provided vocals for rave tunes years later. Maybe there's something in that.

Worst Song: Shirley Bassey - Big Spender

A question that I always get wrong on Popmaster is when they play a clip of this and you need to name the musical it's from. In fact I could say the same for several songs from musicals. I hate musicals and that's mainly to do with the rubbish music you often find in them.

Top 40 Review

After Tom Jones scored the Christmas number one in 1966 he had competition from The Beatles to achieve the same in 1967. In fact he was up against 2 Beatles records and ended up at number 3 with The Beatles occupying the Top 2.

Paul wasn't the only member of the McCartney family in this Top 40. His comedian brother Mike was in the Top 40 as part of The Scaffold with the novelty record "Thank U Very Much".

As a general rule with this Top 40 if a record sounds like it's from 1967 then it gets points. If it sounds more like it was from 1957 then it doesn't get points, and there are quite a few of those.

It goes without saying that the obligatory Cliff Richard hit fits that latter category. We also quite surprisingly have 2 hits in there for Frankie Vaughan who was even old hat in 1957. 

Although he made his Top 40 debut in 1967 I also consider Engelbert Humperdinck to fit that category. His biggest hit "Release Me" was there and also his other number one "The Last Waltz". Additionally there was a French version of the latter by Mireille Mathieu called "La Derniere Valse".

In terms of the more 1967 sounding records, we had Motown hits from The Four Tops and The Supremes which both score full marks as usual. We have other soul records from Sam & Dave, Brenton Wood and Felice Taylor plus some British soul from The Foundations with "Baby, Now That I've Found You", all good records.

There were 2 records from The Bee Gees with "World" and "Massachusetts". I like this era of The Bee Gees, it's very different to their disco era and much better in my opinion.

We had the last Top 10 hit from Gene Pitney with "Somethings Gotten Hold Of My Heart" which is a great record.

As this was a 1967 chart that could have really been any time of the year and I'm finding myself liking the 1967 sounding music, we end up with a really good score.

Score: 24.5

Table

1967 is joint top and better than the best year score. It certainly seems the Christmas charts didn't take a nosedive in the 60s, quite the opposite:

Christmas Charts Rated: 1966

Top 40

Best Song: Martha And The Vandellas - I'm Ready For Love

When I was listening through this Top 40 I found myself enjoying this record more than the others, so it only seemed logical for me to pick it as best song. This was the 3rd Top 40 hit for Martha And The Vandellas and their highest charting at that point which was higher than the better known "Dancing in the Street" and "Nowhere to Run".

Worst Song: Bobby Darin - If I Were A Carpenter

I love the Four Tops version of this record and as a result I really can't take to this version. I know this came before the Four Tops version but I heard the Four Tops version first. If that version didn't exist I doubt I would like this record, but it may have not been the worst song.

Top 40 Review

1966 was the year the run of Beatles Christmas number ones came to an end. It was because they didn't even attempt to continue the streak by releasing a single. The Christmas number one instead went to Tom Jones with "Green Green Grass Of Home" which isn't my cup of tea.

There was an actual Christmas song in the Top 40 from Elvis Presley with "If Every Day Was Like Christmas". Maybe this was where Wizzard took their inspiration from.

The Barron Knights were back with "Under New Management". There was also a novelty record by New Vaudeville Band with "Winchester Cathedral". Perhaps more of a surprise inclusion on novelty hits was Manfred Mann with "Semi-Detached Suburban Mr James".

As always the soul music was delivering and there were quite a few in this chart and they all sored some points, which mostly came from Motown. This included hits from The Four Tops, The Temptations and The Supremes.

Plenty of other music contributing points to and a lot is coming from the lower reaches. At 40 we have "I Feel Free" by Cream. At 39 was The Righteous Brothers with "Island in the Sun", not one of their well known hits but it's good. At 38 is "Mustang Sally" by Wilson Pickett which is a classic.

There's also "East West" by Herman's Hermits which is possibly the best thing I've heard them do. Then we had "Deadlier Than The Male" by The Walker Brothers which inspired "Female of the Species" by Space in the 90s.

Towards the other end of the charts we had some good records such as "My Minds Eye" by The Small Faces" and "Friday On My Mind" by The Easybeats. 

There was still bland stuff in the Top 40 too though such as the obligatory Cliff Richard record at Christmas and "Somewhere My Love" by Mike Sammes Singers which sounds about a decade out of date.

Overall though the good stuff outweighs the bad and we end up with a good score.

Score: 22.5

Table

Another great score for a late 60s year:

Christmas Charts Rated: 1984

Top 40

Best Song: Tears For Fears - Shout

I have no memories of 1984 at all let alone the music that was coming out during it. At the same time though something tells me I was hearing this song and enjoying it a lot in 1984 even though I was too young to have any idea of what was going on. It could also explain my early music memories of having a liking for "shouting songs".

Worst Song: Stevie Wonder - I Just Called To Say I Love You

I'm told this was a song my young self would get up and sing at the time, so clearly music was having an influence on me even back then. When I learned of this fact though I questioned why because it's a terrible song. It was Stevie Wonders only solo number one which didn't do much for his credibility, I've known a lot of people around my age to regard him as a bit of a joke based on this song without considering he made some pretty decent music earlier on in his career.

Top 40 Review

1984 is arguably the most famous Christmas chart of them all. It was the year of Band Aid and of perhaps the biggest Christmas number 2 "Last Christmas" by Wham!

We also had Wizzard returning to the Top 40 with "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day" and there were Christmas hits from Gary Glitter, Queen and Alvin Stardust. Slade were also in the Top 40 with "All Join Hands" which could be described as a New Year song.

We had the song you always hear at Christmas that isn't a Christmas song in "The Power Of Love" by Frankie Goes To Hollywood. Then there was the long forgotten charity record by the Paul Weller assembled Council Collective which is terrible.

In terms of novelty hits we have "We All Stand Together" by Paul McCartney And The Frog Chorus which I've mentioned in another review that I actually like. There was also "Do the Conga" by Black Lace which I can't say I do like. Then there was a punk version of "Nellie The Elephant" by the Toy Dolls which again is a bit crap but that's the point.

Another record that I also consider a novelty record is "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr. 

Former Christmas number one holders The Human League had the Christmas number 28 in 1984 with "Louise" which is one of the best records I've heard from them and much better than their chart topper.

Sticking with the synth pop music we have "The Riddle" by Nik Kershaw and "Lay Your Hands On Me" by The Thompson Twins which both get full marks.

Other highlights of the Top 40 include Grandmaster Melle Mel And The Furious Five with "Step Off (Part 1)", the one with the "Chaka Khan" intro. Then there was the actual Chaka Khan song they contributed to "I Feel For You".

Without looking at the actual charts if you asked me which 80s Top 40 chart was most likely to nosedive at Christmas I would have said 1984. That's what has happened.

Score: 13

Table

One of the best chart years of the 80s has one of the worst Christmas charts of the decade:

Christmas Charts Rated: 1968

Top 40

Best Song: The Four Tops - I'm In A Different World

When I first heard this I thought it sounded pretty similar to "Two Hearts" by Phil Collins but this obviously came first. It sort of makes sense though because Lamont Dozier was one of the composers of both records. This was the final Four Tops hit to be penned by Holland-Dozier-Holland.

Worst Song: Foundations - Build Me Up Buttercup

My choice for worst song was no doubt helped by the fact every shit town centre bar and club I went to on a Saturday night as a youngster would have this blasting out. It certainly helped me to resent this song anyway. I could put up with a lot of shit music and did, but when this would get played I'd say not this fuckin song again.

Top 40 Review

No Christmas songs in this Top 40 but we do have novelty records. The Christmas number one was "Lily The Pink" by The Scaffold which is terrible. Des O'Connor had "1-2-3 O'Leary" which was also bad. Then there was "I'm The Urban Spaceman" by Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band which is excellent.

The big genre of this Top 40 is soul music and aside from the Foundations they all get some points. They include records from Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, The Isley Brothers and The Supremes. There's also the excellent "Breaking Down The Walls Of Heartache" by Bandwagon.

There were 3 Beatles songs in the Top 40 but none were the actual Beatles versions. We had 2 different versions of "Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da" by Marmalade and Bedrocks. Then there was Joe Cocker doing "With A Little Help From My Friends". All good records.

Rock music was getting harder in 1968 with the Jimi Hendrix experience doing "All Along The Watchtower" and GUN doing "Race With The Devil". The latter does sound very heavy given it was 1968. Both decent records.

The more specialist genres were generally doing pretty well points wise. The exception to that was country music. These records were "Harper Valley PTA" by Jeannie C Riley which is a load of nonsense, and "Little Arrows" by English singer Leapy Lee which just sounds silly.

It's hard to pick too many faults with this Top 40 though. It very much reflects how music was progressing at the time and makes for quite an interesting chart. When doing my best year search I concluded 1969 was the best year in part because it seemed like it was the best of the 60s all coming together.

This Christmas chart of 1968 feels like it's almost the start of it and as a result we end up with a decent score.

Score: 23.5

Table

That's 5 times in a row now that I've found the Christmas chart to be better than the best year chart:

Christmas Charts Rated: 1988

Top 40

Best Song: The Four Tops - Loco In Acapulco

I remember liking this record at the time and I just assumed that The Four Tops were a current band. I had no idea they were big in the 60s and this was their swan song. It may help that I wasn't around in the 60s, but to me this is just as much a Four Tops classic as their hits of the 60s and that's really saying something.

Worst Song: Tiffany - Radio Romance

Being a young child in 1988 I wasn't particularly picky when it came to music. I was still only just discovering pop music really so a lot of it sounded good. One pop singer I always thought was dreadful from day one however was Tiffany. Many people remember her for just one song, but I remember all four of her Top 40 hits unfortunately. This was the last of them.

Top 40 Review

There were 3 Christmas songs in the 1988 Christmas Top 40. The Christmas number one was "Mistletoe And Wine" by Cliff Richard which is a candidate for worst Christmas song ever. We also had Bros do "Silent Night" and Alexander O'Neal do "Christmas Song". No points for any of these.

There was a record that's viewed by some as a Christmas record but isn't one which was "Keeping The Dream Alive" by Freiheit and I like that one. There was the obligatory novelty hit which came from A Tribe Of Toffs with "John Kettley (Is A Weatherman)" that I like the sentiment of but musically can't give any points to.

Neighbours was at the height of its popularity at this time and the Christmas number two was "Especially For You" by Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan. Even my young self thought it was a bit naff. We also had "Suddenly" by Angry Anderson which was the Scott and Charlene wedding song on Neighbours. I do like that one.

Sticking with Australia, INXS were in the Top 40 with their biggest hit "Need You Tonight" which is a great record.

Inner City were in the Top 40 with their biggest hit "Good Life". From Holland we had Hithouse with "Jack to the Sound of the Underground. We also had home grown acid house music with "Stakker Humanoid by Humanoid. New Order were also jumping on the acid house bandwagon with "Fine Time". It's full marks for all of these records.

Cliff Richard wasn't the only act from the 50s in this Top 40. Petula Clark was in there with a remix of "Downtown". I'm sure even Petula Clark once said herself that she thought that remix was dreadful.

There were older acts making decent music in this Top 40 though. We had super group The Travelling Wilburys with the excellent "Handle With Care" which was their only Top 40 hit. The Beach Boys had their only 80s Top 40 hit on their own with "Kokomo".

Remembering this chart as a young kid no doubt helps with the score.

Score: 19.5

Table

Some pretty strong scores for the first 3 Christmas charts I remember at the time:

Christmas Charts Rated: 1970

Top 40

Best Song: Freda Payne - Band Of Gold

Freda Payne was once the support act for a Four Tops & Temptations gig I went to. Tube delays meant I missed the bulk of it but I got to my seat just in time for her to finish with this song. It was great to hear this out loud and its a song I've really liked since it came on a free CD with a newspaper many years ago.

Worst Song: Frank Sinatra - My Way

I picked this as worst song for 1969 in my best year search and in Christmas 1970 here it is still in the Top 40. Nothing much to add really, one of those legendary records that everyone knows and I've never liked.

Top 40 Review

The first Christmas charts of the 70s which is seen by some as the decade of the Christmas song, but not a Christmas record in sight.

The Christmas number one was "I Hear You Knocking" by Dave Edmunds which is OK. This more or less sets the scene for the rest of the Top 40 with a whopping 15 records getting half marks.

The biggest genre of music in this Top 40 was soul music, but just 2 of them get half marks. More crucially though the rest of the soul records all get full marks. This includes Freda Paynes other song "Deeper and Deeper", "It's Wonderful" by Jimmy Ruffin and the northern soul record "Blame It On The Pony Express" by Johnny Johnson And The Bandwagon. Adding funk to the mix as well we have "War" by Edwin Starr. 

The other record to score full marks was of an easy listening variety which was "Home Lovin Man" by Andy Williams, proof that even questionable music genres can still produce decent tunes.

There's a notable presence of soft rock records, the majority of which are alright without being spectacular. We see the tail end of the Top 40 careers of 60s groups Herman's Hermits and The Tremeloes.

The Bee Gees were back in the Top 40 following a brief break up and picked up where they left off in the 60s with "Lonely Days" but it's not as good as their 60s records.

Meanwhile Tyrannosaurus Rex were back in the Top 40 as T Rex with "Ride A White Swan". They'd left their folk roots behind to start doing what we'd come to know as glam rock. Not a bad record.

Led Zeppelin are known for doing the Top of the Pops theme music in the 70s with "Whole Lotta Love", but it was actually the CCS version which was used. It's in this Top 40 and once again not a bad record.

Overall it's not a bad Top 40, just could do with some more good records as opposed to average ones.

Score: 17.5

Table

Another year where the Christmas charts is better than the best year charts. It's only just better though:

Christmas Charts Rated: 1965

Top 40

Best Song: Gene Pitney - Princess In Rags

There were a lot of candidates for best song and I kept changing my mind on what it should be. In the end I settled for this Gene Pitney record. I always have to sing along when I hear this record. It's quite uplifting despite it's sad lyrical content.

Worst Song: Tony Bennett - The Very Thought Of You

At this point in time we'd had The Beatles push out the old and bring in the new and even the new was old by 1965. Which raises the question how the hell was 50s crooner Tony Bennett still having hits? His Top 40 career sort of ended after this record, though he returned in the 21st century. 

Top 40 Review

The Beatles scored their 3rd Christmas number one in a row in 1965. They had taken more of a folk rock direction by this point. Fellow Merseybeat band The Searchers had done the same but less successfully. Both records are decent though.

There were a couple of Beatles covers in there too. A spoken version of "A Hard Days Night" by Peter Sellers and a chamber pop version of "Yesterday" by Matt Monro. Neither of them get points.

Folk rock pioneer Bob Dylan made his Top 40 debut in 1965 and was in the Top 40 at Christmas with "Positively 4th Street" which is a decent record.

The Rolling Stones had "Get Off Of My Cloud" which is a record of theirs I've always liked. Sticking with the blues rock theme we have "It's My Life" by The Animals which is another decent record.

Otis Redding made his chart debut with "My Girl", the same record made famous by The Temptations. Not as good as The Temptations version but I still like it. The same can be said of all the other soul records in this Top 40.

Ken Dodd had the biggest selling single of 1965 with "Tears" which was still in the Top 40 at this point. He also had another record in the Top 40 with "The River". No points for either of those.

There was the ever familiar Cliff Richard having a Top 40 hit at Christmas that gets no points. There were no actual Christmas record in the Top 40 though.

Overall the Christmas charts looks more like a progression of the 60s which we've seen from the best year search got better as the decade went on. More than half the records in this Top 40 got full marks and there was those with half marks too which means we have a very decent score.

Score: 24.5

Table

The 60s post-Beatles debuting are completely contadicting my theory of the charts taking a nosedive at Christmas with 1965 sitting at the top:

Christmas Charts Rated: 1978

Top 40

Best Song: Funkadelic - One Nation Under A Groove

Interesting fact, the rave One Nation was named after this record. That wasn't the reason I picked this though, it's a great funky number which was the only Top 40 hit for Funkadelic. As a side note you could probably say if I was a youth in 1978 then this may have been the sort of music I'd be into in the same way I was into rave in the 90s.

Worst Song: Barbra Streisand And Neil Diamond - You Don't Bring Me Flowers

One may expect this song to be from a musical or film given it's Barbra Streisand, but it wasn't. It was intended to be a theme song for a TV show, but ended up not being. Then there were plans for a movie based on this song, but that was scrapped too. What we are saying then is that the crap Barbra Streisand has done for musicals and films were deemed good enough, but this wasn't. That's how bad it is.

Top 40 Review

There were 2 Christmas records in this Top 40. They are the Christmas number one "Mary's Boy Child" by Boney M, "Please Come Home For Christmas" by The Eagles and "Christmas In Smurfland" by Father Abraham And The Smurfs. As usual its zero points for all of them.

The Barron Knights were in there with the novelty hit "A Taste Of Aggro" which I concede is funny, but not worthy of any marks. We also had Paul Evans with his 2nd Top 40 hit with the very odd "Hello This Is Joannie" which came 19 years after his first. I don't mind that record.

Disco was the dominant genre in the charts which was both a good and a bad thing. The highest placed disco record was the terrible "YMCA" by The Village People. There was also the likes of Rod Stewart jumping on the disco bandwagon with "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?".

At the same time though we had decent disco records such as "I'm Every Woman" by Chaka Khan and "Le Freak" by Chic. 

We were in the era of punk and new wave which included decent records from The Clash, The Buzzcocks and Blondie. There was also the not so good "Rat Trap" by The Boomtown Rats.

Soul music delivers as usual with the excellent cover of Billy Joel's "Just The Way You Are" by Barry White. The Bee Gees were also doing soul music with "Too Much Heaven". Then we have "I'll Put You Together Again" by Hot Chocolate which is another one of their forgotten gems.

Billy Joel is in the Top 40 himself with "My Life" which is a decent record. We also have "Song For Guy" by Elton John which Elton John wrote entirely by himself because it's largely an instrumental and is probably the best thing he's ever done.

It was the year of "Grease" and John Travolta is in the charts with "Greased Lightnin'" and gets no points. Olivia Newton John on the other hand has moved on from "Grease" with the record "A Little More Love" which actually isn't bad.

The ever reliable ELO are in the Top 40 with the ELO EP on which all tracks are decent.

Overall it's a pretty decent chart.

Score: 17.5

Table

It's another Christmas chart that's better than the best year chart and we're really into the decent scores from best year territory now:

Christmas Charts Rated: 1999

Top 40

Best Song: Len - Steal My Sunshine

When it came to what was current commercial music at the time I don't think there was any record I was enjoying more than this one. I was listening to it all the time. It was also pretty much the only record that me and anyone who got into my car could all agree was good.

Worst Song: Martine McCutcheon - Talking In Your Sleep

I never thought I would get so upset about the death of Tiffany from Eastenders. It wasn't because a make believe person had died, it was because it allowed the actress who played that make believe person to launch a music career. This was her 3rd Top 40 hit that year and it was a dreadful cover of a 70s record that I've never thought much of.

Top 40 Review

1999 was the year I first noticed how bad the charts had become by Christmas time. My initial theory was that it was because the 21st century was about to start until I saw a similar pattern in 1990.

None of the records in the Top 40 were Christmas hits. The Christmas number one went to Westlife who were still a relatively new boy band who were topping the charts with everything they released. 

Over a quarter of the Top 40 was taken up by boy bands (Westlife, Boyzone, 5ive), girl groups (B*Witched, Atomic Kitten), mixed gender cheesy pop (Steps, S Club 7, Vengaboys) and former boy band/girl group members (Robbie Williams, Mel C). We do however get points from 5ive and Robbie Williams from that lot.

The 2 big anomalies of 90s music (Cliff Richard and Daniel O'Donnell) were both present and get no points. Some old records returning (John Lennon, Queen, Europe) plus a bunch of people reviving "It's Only Rock n Roll". I've given half marks to Queen and John Lennon.

Then there's the inevitable novelty hits (Cuban Boys, Mr Hankey, Lolly) which all get zero points and we've now covered half the Top 40.

On a more positive note we get full marks from the 2 garage records by Artful Dodger ft Craig David and DJ Luck & MC Neat. The only other record not yet mentioned to get full marks is "If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time" by R Kelly.

A couple of the dance records are alright but we also have some of the pretty abysmal dance records such as "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" by Eiffel 65 and "King Of My Castle" by The Wamdue Project. The only rap record was a Will Smith one.

In summary there was lots of crap in the Top 40 and much of it had previously been in the Top 20 which I'd already reviewed. A poor score was inevitable.

Score: 15.5

Table

It's almost at the bottom for the 20th century years so far:

Christmas Charts Rated: 1985

Top 40

Best Song: Talking Heads - Road To Nowhere

Talking Heads have several well known records but this was the only one to make the Top 10 and one of just three to make the Top 40. It's a record I've known for as far back as I remember but not one I really appreciated until I got into electronic music. 

Worst Song: Dionne Warwick And Friends - That's What Friends Are For

The "friends" on this record were Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Gladys Knight. Not a bad line up by any means, but this is such a cringeworthy record. It's something I could imagine being sung by the Zack Attack on Saved By The Bell. Maybe they did sing it.

Top 40 Review

In 1984 Shakin Stevens had the Christmas song "Merry Christmas Everyone" but decided to postpone releasing it for a year because of Band Aid. In 1985 it was Christmas number one, but Band Aid also re-entered the charts.

The other big Christmas song of 1984, "Last Christmas" by Wham! also returned to the charts. Wham! also had "I'm Your Man" in the Top 40 at the same time.

Other Christmas hits were "Walking In The Air" by Aled Jones and "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" by Bruce Springsteen which was part of a double a-side with "My Hometown".

Wham! weren't the only ones to have 2 records in the Top 40. The others were Paul McCartney, Elton John, Jennifer Rush and A-ha. The latter was with their big 2 records "Take On Me" and "The Sun Always Shines On TV" which both get full marks.

Pet Shop Boys were making their Top 40 debut with "West End Girls" which also gets full marks. That makes it a full house for the synth pop records in this Top 40.

Soul music is often a reliable source of points, but not in this Top 40. Just half points for "See The Day" by Dee C Lee. Funk music provides a couple of points via Cherrelle With Alexander O'Neal and Cameo. Also contributing a point is the only rap hit of this Top 40 "The Show" by Doug E Fresh And The Get Fresh Crew.

There's some questionable records in the lower reaches of the Top 40 which were probably released due to Christmas which are "The Hokey-Cokey" by Black Lace, "Mr DJ" by Concept and "Abide With Me" by The Inspirational Choir.

Given the amount of crap we have in there though, the final score isn't too bad.

Score: 14

Table

The consistency of the 80s is back again:

Christmas Charts Rated: 1987

Top 40

Best Song: Pet Shop Boys - Always On My Mind

Not only is this the best song in the 1987 Christmas Top 40, it's also my favourite Christmas number one of all time. It's also amongst the best covers I've ever heard too. 1987 was the first year I remember following the charts and the Pet Shop Boys were the first music act to have a real impact on me and that includes this record.

Worst Song: Mel & Kim - Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

It wasn't the Appleby sisters who made this record, it was Mel Smith and Kim Wilde. Given that Mel Smith was a comedian this was supposed to be a shit record. Looking through the list I did ask myself if there were any records I found worse and the answer is no.

Top 40 Review

As mentioned, this would have been the first Christmas chart that I actually remember. It's also reminding me a lot of my first ever Now album, "Now 11". As a result this chart is holding a lot of nostalgia for me.

There was still your usual Christmas chart rubbish in there though. It was the first time "Fairytale Of New York" by Pogues ft Kirsty MacColl reached the Top 40.

Rick Astley had made his debut earlier on in the year and his bid for Christmas number one was a cover of "When I Fall In Love". Up against him was Nat 'King' Cole returning to the Top 40 with the same record.

It wasn't just Rick Astley covering the oldies though. Shakin Stevens was covering the 1959 Christmas number one "What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For" and Simply Red were covering "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye".

House music was making it's name in the Top 40 and there were 2 of these records "Tighten Up (I Just Can't Stop Dancin')" by Wally Jump Jnr. And The Criminal Element and "House Arrest" by Krush and both get full marks.

As I was learning pop music for the first time there are several stand out records that I remember fondly as part of that process. These include "Got My Mind Set On You" by George Harrison and "Turn Back The Clock" by Johnny Hates Jazz.

I also have pretty clear memories of T'Pau on Top of the Pops doing "China In Your Hand" and The Proclaimers doing "Letter From America". The latter is pretty awful in reality, but the nostalgia I have for the record means I'm giving it half marks.

Overall nearly half the records in this Top 40 get full marks and adding the half mark records to that brings the total to over 50%.

Score: 22

Table

Once again the Christmas charts are better than the best year charts. Not sure how many more excuses for that happening that I have:

Christmas Charts Rated: 1989

Top 40

Best Song: Electronic - Getting Away With It

This was the Top 40 debut of Electronic who were Bernard Sumner of New Order and Johnny Marr of The Smiths. It also features vocals from Neil Tennant from the Pet Shop Boys. In a way it does sound like what you'd expect to get if you mixed the Pet Shop Boys and New Order.

Worst Song: Neneh Cherry - Inna City Mamma

This was the final Top 40 hit from her "Raw Like Sushi" album. There's nothing raw about her music though in my opinion, it just sounds like cheesy pop music. At the same time I think there's supposed to be a serious message in this, but that just makes it worse.

Top 40 Review

One thing I hadn't thought about when I decided to do these posts is that the Christmas charts of a given year are going to be pretty similar to the first week of the following year. When I started my Top 30 from 30 years ago posts starting in 1990 the score was pretty good in the beginning.

The Top 2 were both Christmas records with the Christmas number one being a remake of "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band Aid II. It knocked off "Let's Party" by Jive Bunny And The Mastermixers which was a medley of Christmas songs.

We also had a novelty hit in "Donald Where's Your Troosers?" by Andy Stewart which had originally charted 29 years earlier and was championed by Simon Mayo.

It wouldn't be the Christmas charts without Cliff Richard and he was in it with "Whenever God Shines His Light" in collaboration with Van Morrison. This would also be the first time we'd see Van Morrison in the Top 40.

I'm not really selling the Top 40 well so far, but it was in fact pretty decent overall. Soul II Soul were still in their prime and had "Get A Life" which wasn't as big as it's predecessors but was better in my opinion, least of all because it's not been overplayed.

There was "Lambada" by Kaoma, a record I remember liking at the time for the simple fact I had no idea what they were singing because it was in a foreign language. 

We had American rap from De La Soul with the double a-side "The Magic Number/Buddy" which are both decent efforts. There was British rap from Silver Bullet with "20 Seconds To Comply" which I feel was ahead of its time.

The Christians were in the Top 40 with "Words" which isn't one of their well known ones but is a forgotten gem. It's a ballad but one that's been done really well and probably my favourite record of theirs.

We have a situation where there are more good records than bad ones and we end up with enough points to get us above 50%.

Score: 20.5

Table

The 2nd best Christmas charts score, much better than the 1989 best year score which is probably because the 90s were about to happen: