In a verdict that will surprise few, the British public has crowned Mr Blobby's 1993 novelty hit as the worst Christmas number one single of the last half-century. The poll, conducted by the banking app thinkmoney, surveyed 2,000 Britons to determine which festive chart-toppers they would happily never hear again.
The Top (or Bottom) of the Pops
The results paint a clear picture of the nation's festive musical grievances. Mr Blobby's eponymous track, which hit number one on 11 December 1993, claimed the unwanted top spot. It was closely followed in second place by the Bob the Builder theme song 'Can We Fix It?', voiced by Neil Morrisey, which secured a quarter of the vote.
A significant portion of the list was dominated by the fundraising efforts of YouTube duo Ladbaby. Their series of sausage roll-themed parody songs, created for charity, filled five of the top seven places:
- 'I Love Sausage Rolls' (23%)
- 'Don't Stop Me Eatin'' (22%)
- 'Sausage Rolls For Everyone' (22%)
- 'Food Aid' (21%)
- 'We Built This City (...on Sausage Rolls)' (19%)
Surprising Entries and Critical Insight
The top 15 also featured songs from well-established artists, proving that even beloved acts can produce a festive flop in the public's eyes. The Spice Girls appeared twice with 'Goodbye' (12th) and '2 Become 1' (14th), while Sir Cliff Richard saw both 'Saviour's Day' (9th) and 'Mistletoe & Wine' (10th) make the list. Rage Against the Machine's protest song 'Killing In The Name' landed at 11th.
Marc Burrows, music journalist and author of 'The Story of the Christmas #1', who worked on the study, offered his analysis. 'These results prove something that might surprise people,' he said. 'The British public generally has pretty good taste in music! We tend to associate Christmas Number One with the real musical crimes... almost no-one actually wants to listen to them.'
On the Ladbaby phenomenon, Burrows added: 'People were happy to support the LadBaby singles for five years in a row because they raised money for a good cause, but it's encouraging to see that nobody actually liked them. They're dad-jokes for charity.'
The Festive Favourites and Modern Trends
At the other end of the scale, the poll revealed the songs Brits are happy to keep on repeat. Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody', a chart-topper in both 1975 and 1991, was at the very bottom of the list with just 6% of the vote. Shakin' Stevens' 'Merry Christmas Everyone' (8%) and Band Aid's 'Do They Know It's Christmas' (8%) also scored low, indicating their enduring popularity.
Vix Leyton, consumer expert at thinkmoney, commented on the complex relationship with festive music. 'A lot of Christmas songs are hardwired into us by nostalgia and habit,' she said. 'In typically British fashion, whilst we might complain about overplay fatigue, we will not relinquish them, even the ones we love to hate.'
She also noted the impact of streaming, which brings 'ghosts of Christmas past back into the charts', and questioned whether any new offering could ever dethrone the classics. The poll's release coincides with Kylie Minogue recently beating Wham!'s 'Last Christmas' to the festive top spot with her song 'XMAS'.
The survey also touched on the 'Whamageddon' phenomenon, where players try to avoid hearing 'Last Christmas' from 1 December until Christmas Eve. Just over one in ten (11%) respondents said they wanted to abolish the game, fearing it would lead to fewer radio plays of the perennial favourite.
