Nothing much to report in the way of new releases this week, for obvious reasons, but after a bit of a lull last week the inclusion of streaming data has helped the Christmas singles surged back up the chart. Inevitably the top ’80s single in the chart is the Pogues & Kirsty MacColl’s Fairytale of New York at 15, a top twenty placing for the twelfth consecutive year since the introduction of download sales into the chart in 2005. Just behind it is Wham!’s Last Christmas at 16, its highest position since 2007, with Shakin’ Stevens’ Merry Christmas Everyone at 22 (its highest position since it was at number 1 in 1985, although it also reached number 22 in 2007). On its 44th week in the chart Chris Rea’s Driving Home For Christmas reaches a new peak of number 26 (even though it seems to have disappeared from Spotify in the past week); Do They Know It’s Christmas? by the original Band Aid is at 35 (its highest position since 2011); Jona Lewie returns to the top 75 for the first time in nine years with Stop The Cavalry at 73 and even the Pretenders’ 2000 Miles makes an appearance at 75, its highest placing since its first release in 1983. Same time next year then?
