The Story of the Christmas Number One – A Cultural Obsession in Vinyl and Glitter

Every December, Britain turns its gaze towards the charts. For a few weeks, the pursuit of the Christmas number one single becomes a national sport. It is a competition that has drawn in rock icons, manufactured pop sensations, charity ensembles and, more recently, sausage roll-fuelled novelty acts. The festive chart race is a spectacle that has long divided families, fuelled pub debates and shaped the soundscape of Christmas Day.

This year sees the release of The Story of the Christmas No. 1: Mistletoe and Vinyl, a book that captures the very essence of that curious British fixation. Written by award-winning author, comedian and musician Marc Burrows, it is both a witty history and a cultural reflection on why we still care who claims the top spot on the final Friday before Christmas.

Burrows traces the phenomenon from its early days, when the festive number one was little more than an afterthought, to its transformation into a December obsession that can make or break careers. Along the way he digs into the backstories of the records that defined whole eras. Some of them we remember fondly, others with a wince, but all of them hold a place in the nation’s collective memory.

What makes the book so compelling is not only the nostalgia of revisiting Band Aid, Slade or the all-conquering years of X Factor, but also the way it interrogates the cultural forces behind the tradition. With interviews from the people who crafted the biggest Christmas hits, Burrows offers insight into how these singles were made, marketed and embraced. There is humour throughout, sharpened with a critic’s eye, but also a sense of melancholy as he considers whether the race itself still matters in a streaming-dominated world.

The foreword comes from comedian and broadcaster Phil Jupitus, who calls Burrows’ dive into the festive charts an essential guide to one of the strangest yet most enduring contests in British pop. It is a reminder that while the industry may have changed, the pull of a Christmas number one continues to spark curiosity and argument in equal measure.

Burrows is no stranger to cultural deep dives. His biography The Magic of Terry Pratchett won the Locus Award and became a hit at the Edinburgh Fringe, while his music writing has been praised by publications from Classic Rock to Shindig!. Beyond the page he plays bass in the cult punk outfit The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing, further grounding his work in lived experience of the music world.

With Mistletoe and Vinyl he has delivered not just a book about records, but a reflection on what it means to gather around the radio, the television or the streaming app in December, waiting to see which song will define the season. It is both a celebration of nostalgia and a mirror held up to our changing relationship with music, tradition and the business of joy.