Christmas No 1: The Pogues, Sam Ryder Take On Wham!
Wham! currently have a very slim lead over Sam Ryder in the race for the UK Christmas No 1 single, but The Pogues’ Fairytale Of New York could yet beat them both.
Following the sad passing of The Pogues talisman, Fairytale Of New York has been reissued as a 7” single with all profits from sales going to Dublin Simon Community – a charity loved and supported by Shane and his widow Victoria Mary Clarke.
order ‘fairytale of new york’ 7″ single here
At the last count just 42 chart units stood between Wham!’s Last Christmas at No 1 and Ryder’s Amazon Music Original You’re Christmas to Me at No 2. But today, Official Charts have revealed that Wham! have successfully widened the gap.
The Official Christmas Number 1 race 2023 kicked off Friday 15 December and the final cut-off for sales and streams to count is midnight (11.59pm) on Thursday 21 December 21.
Tune in to The Official Chart on BBC Radio 1 on Friday 22 December 22 from to hear the Christmas Top 40 countdown and the exclusive reveal of the Official Christmas Number 1 2023.
The full Top 100 Official Christmas Singles Chart and Albums Chart will be published on OfficialCharts.com from 5.45pm.
The Fairytale Of New York 7″ single will feature an instrumental version of the track on the B-side. The vinyl can be pre-ordered here. £6/€6.90 from the sale of each product will be donated to Dublin Simon Community.
Emma Kilkenny, Head of Fundraising & Communications at Dublin Simon Community said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to The Pogues and Shane McGowan’s family for their generosity in creating such a special legacy for Dublin Simon Community with this release. Music is an emotional and visceral gift that can lift spirits and bring hope to people at their lowest point.
“We share the truly magical memory of Shane’s performance at the very special Christmas Busk recorded in St Patrick’s Cathedral during Covid lockdown. The Christmas Eve Busk is a beating heart at the core of Dublin Simon’s fundraising and Shane was always a very welcome and truly amazing addition to this special event.”