The Story of the Christmas No. 1: Mistletoe and Vinyl (2026 Edition)

This is the story of a national obsession: the annual race for the festive chart crown, and what it reveals about British culture, identity, and the ever-changing music industry.

From The Beatles to glam rock, from Do They Know It’s Christmas? to reality-TV winners, novelty records, charity campaigns and viral streaming sensations, Marc Burrows uncovers the fascinating, funny and occasionally absurd stories behind the songs we love—and love to argue about.

New for the 2026 edition: the full story of Kylie Minogue’s triumphant Christmas Number 1!Released through Amazon, Kylie’s gloriously camp‘XMAS’ended the recent dominance of charity singles and perennial festive classics to secure her first-ever Christmas chart-topper, becoming thefirst female artist to score UK Number One singles across four different decades.But what does it tell us about hits in the streaming age, and the deals with the devil you need to do to secure them?

Packed withchart battles, cultural curiosities, festive controversiesand enoughmusic triviato fill Santa’s sack, this updated edition brings the story of Britain’s most peculiar annual sporting event bang up to date.