Remember my uncle’s groan about the Spice Girls? Well, they actually have two Christmas Number Ones: “2 Become 1” in 1996 and “Goodbye” in 1998. That ties them with other legends like Elvis Presley and The Jackson 5. Elvis did it with “I Gotta Know”/“Are You Lonesome Tonight?” in 1960 and “Return to Sender” in 1962.
The 10 best Christmas number ones, ranked | British GQ
But here’s where it gets wild. The band with the most Christmas Number Ones after The Beatles isn’t even a human group—it’s a charity supergroup. Band Aid technically has two (if you count “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” from 1984 and the 2004 re-recording). And then there’s LadBaby, the YouTuber who turned sausage rolls into chart gold. He has three Christmas Number Ones? I know, I blinked too.
The LadBaby Phenomenon
Let me pause and let this sink in: a man who sings about sausage rolls has more Christmas Number Ones than Mariah Carey, Elton John, and even Wham! combined. LadBaby’s run from 2018 to 2026 (with “We Built This City on Sausage Rolls,” “I Love Sausage Rolls,” and “Don’t Stop Me Eatin’”) proved that the UK chart can be gloriously ridiculous.
So if you want the technical answer for “most Christmas Number Ones” in the modern era, it’s The Beatles with four. But if you want the funniest answer? It’s LadBaby, a man who basically won Christmas by being hungry. That’s the kind of legacy we can all get behind.
QUIZ: How many Christmas number ones can you remember? - Smooth
