WEEK ENDING 16th DECEMBER 2017

No surprise at Number 1 this week, as Ed Sheeran claims his fourth UK Number 1 with a little help from an uncredited Beyoncé.  "Perfect" climbs two places to the top to smash his own record of the most weeks taken to climb to Number 1.  The song hits the top on its 28th (non-consecutive) week on the chart.  "Thinking Out Loud" held the previous record of 19 weeks.  It also gives him a total of 15 weeks at Number One in 2017, a total bettered just five times before.  Frankie Laine holds the record, which is unlikely to ever be beaten, with 27 weeks at Number 1 in 1953.  Then we have Elvis Presley with 18 weeks in 1961, The Beatles with 16 weeks in 1963, John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John also with 16 in 1978, and, of course, Bryan Adams with 16 in 1991.  Can he stay top for 4 more weeks to take second place on the list?

Here is Ed (Beyoncé-less) "Perfect".

New at Number 2 this week is the first boyband to win X Factor, Rak-Su.  "Dimelo" is one of their own compositions, and features guest appearances by Wyclef Jean & Naughty Boy. 

Congratulations to Ashley, Jamaal, Myles & Mustafa who narrowly miss out on being the first winners to hit Number One since Ben Haenow in 2014.

Here they are performing "Dimelo" on the X Factor final show.

Having fallen just short of claiming her fifth UK Number One, Rita Ora falls one place to 3 with "Anywhere", while after 5 weeks at the top, Camila & Young Thug drop 3 places to this week's Number 4.

At Number 5, we have the first of the yearly Christmas entries on the chart.  "All I Want For Christmas" by Mariah Carey first charted way back in 1994 and has now charted in each of the last 11 years.

Up 17 places this week, here is Mariah with her Christmas classic.

Up 23 places to 6 is another seasonal favourite.

This is Wham! and "Last Christmas".

Down three places to 7 is "Silence" from Marshmello & Khalid, while also down 3 to 8 is Big Shaq with "Man's Not Hot".

Also down three places to 9 is Clean Bandit (featuring Julia Michaels) with "I Miss You", while up 45 places to Number 10 this week is the best Christmas song ever.

Reaching the Top 20 for a record 13th consecutive year, here are the Pogues with the late, great Kirsty MacColl and the timeless "Fairytale Of New York".

(If you want a further breakdown of the chart stats behind these Christmas classics click here).

A re-entry at Number 16, and into the Top 20 for the first time since Christmas 1985, is the original Band Aid from 1984.

This is "Do They Know It's Christmas?".

The fifth of this year's Christmas entries, is the track that was the Christmas Number One in 1985. 

This is Mr Michael Barratt from Cardiff (AKA Shakin' Stevens) with "Merry Christmas Everyone".

Back in at 24, another record that has charted for each of the last 11 years, it's that other Christmas record from 1973.

This is Roy Wood & Wizzard with "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday".

Up an impressive 25 places to 29 this week, is a track that spent one week at Number 57 back in October.

Now back in the charts as the title single from her recent Number One album, this is Pink with "Beautiful Trauma".

Just sneaking into the Top 40 with this week's second highest new entry at Number 39, after two Top 10 collaborations, One Directioner Louis Tomlinson charts his first solo effort.

This is "Miss You".

As usual I finish off with tracks from the US & UK Number 1 albums.  In the UK, Sam Smith climbs back to the top 4 weeks after first hitting Number One.

From the album "Thrill Of It All", this is "Too Good At Goodbyes".

In the US, Taylor Swift makes it three weeks at the top - just the fourth album in 2017 to spend as may weeks at the top - and the first since Kendrick Lamar's "DAMN" in May.

From the album, here is the former Number One single, "Look What You Made Me Do".

                                 UK NUMBER 1's/NUMBER 2's ON THIS DAY 

 
1 year ago - Rockabye - Clean Bandit/Black Beatles - Rae Sremmurd featuring Gucci Mane
5 years ago - The Power Of Love - Gabrielle Aplin/Locked Out Of Heaven - Bruno Mars
10 years ago - Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis/Heartbroken - T2 featuring Jodie Aysha
20 years ago - Teletubbies Say Eh-Oh - The Teletubbies/Perfect Day - Various Artists
30 years ago - China In Your Hand - T'Pau/When I Fall In Love - Rick Astley
40 years ago - Mull Of Kintyre-Girls School - Wings/The Floral Dance - The Brighouse & Rastrick Brass Band
50 years ago - Hello Goodbye - The Beatles/Let The Heartaches Begin - Long John Baldry
60 years ago - Mary's Boy Child - Harry Belafonte/Be My Girl - Jim Dale

US NUMBER 1's ON THIS DAY 

1 year ago - Black Beatles - Rae Sremmurd featuring Gucci Mane/Starboy - The Weekend featuring Daft Punk
5 years ago - Diamonds - Rihanna/Locked Out Of Heaven - Bruno Mars
10 years ago - No One - Alicia Keys/Kiss Kiss - Chris Brown featuring T-Pain
20 years ago - Candle In The Wind '97-Something About The Way You Look Tonight - Elton John/How Do I Live - LeAnne Rimes
30 years ago - Faith - George Michael/Is This Love - Whitesnake
40 years ago - You Light Up My Life - Debby Boone/How Deep Is Your Love - The Bee Gees
50 years ago - Daydream Believer - The Monkees/I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Gladys Knight & the Pips

Don't forget you can see all the latest UK & US Top 40 videos on my YouTube channel - Chart Blog UK 

Tune in next week to see if Ed can get one week closer to his first Christmas Number One.

For those of you in the Vale of Glamorgan area in South Wales, don't forget to tune into Bro Radio on 98.1 FM every Tuesday from 7 pm to 9 pm, where you will hear my dulcet tones on as co-presenter on the Gareth Long show.