1980s Christmas Number Ones – Chart Toppers That Defined A Decade
Discover every 1980s Christmas Number Ones — from Band Aid and Cliff Richard to The Flying Pickets and Pet Shop Boys. The festive chart toppers you still love!
If you grew up in 1980s Britain, then Christmas Day meant one thing above all else: rushing downstairs to watch Top of the Pops and find out which song had claimed the number 1 spot.
The 1980s Christmas Number Ones were genuinely extraordinary, and we absolutely love every single one of them.
From the heartbreaking emotion of John Lennon in 1980 to the greatest charity single ever recorded in 1984.
The eighties delivered a decade of Christmas chart toppers that still stop us in our tracks today. Here is every single one. 🎄
1980s Christmas Number Ones – The Complete Countdown
1980 John Lennon: (Just Like) Starting Over
The most poignant Christmas Number One in chart history. John Lennon was tragically shot on 8th December 1980, and his most recent single immediately shot back to Number One, reaching the top spot on 20th December and staying there for one week.
1980 St Winifred’s School Choir: There’s No One Quite Like Grandma
The song that replaced Lennon at Number One on Christmas Day itself, and one of the most beloved and warmly nostalgic Christmas Number Ones of the entire decade.
1981 The Human League: Don’t You Want Me
One of the greatest pop songs ever recorded claimed Christmas Number One in 1981, holding the top spot for five weeks. The music video was filmed in Slough in November 1981, with a murder-mystery theme featuring the band members as characters.
1982 Renée and Renato: Save Your Love
The most surprising Number One of the entire decade, an Italian crooner and a Welsh soprano, somehow conquered the British Christmas charts with this gloriously dramatic ballad.
1983 The Flying Pickets: Only You
The Flying Pickets sang their way to Christmas Number One with this gorgeous acapella version of Yazoo’s Only You, staying there for five weeks and remarkably becoming Margaret Thatcher’s declared favourite record despite the group’s firmly socialist viewpoint.
1984 Band Aid: Do They Know It’s Christmas?
In October 1984, Bob Geldof saw a BBC television report about the Ethiopian famine and was so moved that he called Midge Ure, and together they co-wrote the song, gathering the greatest collection of British and Irish musicians ever assembled. The result became the biggest-selling single in UK chart history at the time and remains one of the most important records ever made.
1985 Shakin’ Stevens: Merry Christmas Everyone
Pure Christmas joy from start to finish, and brilliantly originally planned for release in 1984, but Shaky and his management quietly shelved it when they saw the Band Aid competition and enjoyed a free run at the top spot the following year.
1986 The Housemartins: Caravan of Love
One of the shortest stays as Christmas Number One, just one week.
1987 Pet Shop Boys: Always On My Mind
Originally performed on a television special commemorating the tenth anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death, the performance was so well-received that the Pet Shop Boys recorded it as a single.
1988 Cliff Richard: Mistletoe and Wine
Cliff snagged the Christmas Number One position in 1988 with this gloriously festive classic, staying there for four weeks and selling 750,000 copies to become the UK’s best-selling single of the entire year. Still played on every Christmas playlist in Britain.
🔗 Shop Cliff Richard Christmas Collection Here
1989 Band Aid II: Do They Know It’s Christmas?
Remade by Band Aid II, featuring Bananarama, Bros, Jason Donovan, Kylie Minogue, Chris Rea, and Wet Wet Wet, becoming Britain’s Christmas Number One on 23rd December 1989.
Where To Listen To The 80s Christmas Number Ones Today
These brilliant songs are available to enjoy today, and most are free to stream on Spotify, YouTube and Amazon Music. For the true nostalgia lover, a physical compilation makes the most wonderful Christmas gift:
🔗 SHOP 1980s Christmas Number Ones Compilation
🔗 SHOP Cliff Richard Christmas Collection
🔗 SHOP Band Aid Do They Know It’s Christmas
What a decade. What a collection of songs.
The 1980s Christmas Number Ones captured every possible human emotion, grief, joy, charity, nostalgia and pure unbridled festive fun.
We genuinely challenge you to listen to any one of these without immediately wanting to play every single other one straight afterwards.
👉 Don’t miss our 1980s Christmas TV guide — because no 1980s Christmas was complete without Top of the Pops on Christmas morning!
👉 Curious about the Christmas Number Ones from other decades? Head to our 1930s Christmas Songs and 1960s Christmas Songs for more wonderful nostalgic music content!
🎄 Christmas Countdown 🎄
The magic of Christmas is just around the corner!
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