Clean Bandit bring home the most coveted chart accolade of the year – the Official Christmas Number 1 2016, with their huge chart smash Rockabye, the OfficialCharts.com can confirm.
The classical crossover trio have held off competition from Rag‘n’Bone Man, Little Mix and a raft of campaigns and charity singles with Rockabye, a song that first entered the chart nine weeks ago, before later climbing to the top spot to score an impressive seven-week reign at Number 1.
In that time Rockabye has become one of the year’s biggest hits across both downloads and streams, racking up 589,000 combined chart sales to date.
Meanwhile, Clean Bandit have held off competition from breakthrough star and BRITS Critics Choice winner Rag ‘n’ Bone Man who finishes the race in second place with his track Human.
One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson and Steve Aoki slip down one place to Number 3 with Just Hold On, Little Mix new single Touch leaps 19 places this week to land at Number 4, while Zara Larsson’s I Would Like secures its first appearance inside the Top 10 at Number 6.
New entries and high climbers
This year’s race welcomed a host of new contenders battling for the Christmas Number 1 crown, many raising money for worthy causes.
Rangers football fans delivered the highest-charting ‘campaign’ this week, pushing Glad All Over by The Dave Clark Five back into the Official Chart in support of striker Joe Garner, following their 2-1 win over Hamilton last weekend. Glad All Over originally topped the Official Singles Chart back in 1963, toppling The Beatles’ I Wanna Hold Your Hand.
Inspiral Carpets fans helped the Manchester band’s 1994 hit Saturn 5 to its first chart appearance (48) in nearly 23 years, in tribute to drummer Craig Gill who sadly passed away last month.
London Hospices Choir – a team of volunteers and staff from 18 hospices across London debut at Number 81 with their cover of Mike & The Mechanics’ The Living Years.
Festive songs account for nearly one third of this week’s Official Singles Chart Top 100, with a whole host of seasonal classics jingling all the way into the Top 40, led by Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You (5), the song’s highest peak since 2007, The Pogues ft. Kirsty Maccoll’s Fairytale Of New York (15), Wham’s Last Christmas (16), Shakin’ Stevens’ Merry Christmas Everyone (22), Chris Rea’s Driving Home for Christmas (26), Wizzard’s I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday (27) and Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas (35). Festive songs account for Michael Buble’s It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas hits a new peak of 38, and Slade’s Merry Christmas Everybody (39).
Check out the Official Christmas Top 100 in full here