Wham and Mariah Carey’s festive classics have narrowed the gap on LadBaby’s charity track in the race to secure the UK’s Christmas number one.
George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley’s hit Last Christmas is 13,000 chart units behind LadBaby, who are bidding for a fifth consecutive Christmas number one, the Official Charts Company said.
Social media star Mark Hoyle and his wife Roxanne (LadBaby Mum) are attempting to continue their streak after making chart history by securing the Christmas number one for a fourth consecutive year in 2021.
Alongside MoneySavingExpert’s Martin Lewis, the couple also became the first act to be allowed to rework the Band Aid song, getting permission from Bob Geldof, Midge Ure and the Band Aid Trust.
The charity single titled Food Aid is raising money for the Trussell Trust and the Band Aid Trust.
Meanwhile, Ridgeley said that his former bandmate Michael would have loved it if their 1984 hit reached the top spot again, being famously kept at number two by Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas?
It first reached the top spot on New Year’s Day in 2021, at the time breaking a chart record for the longest time a track has taken to top the singles chart, which is now held by Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill.
Frontman turned solo singer Michael died on Christmas Day in 2016 at the age of 53.
The Official Charts Company also said Queen of Christmas Carey is in the running for the number one spot with her festive hit All I Want For Christmas Is You, 600 units behind Wham.
Meanwhile, five chart titans are battling it out in the race for the Official Christmas number one album with just 1400 chart units separating Taylor Swift, Sir Cliff Richard, Michael Buble, George Ezra and Sam Ryder.