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Lonely This Christmas

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"Lonely This Christmas"
Single by Mud
B-side"I Can't Stand It"
Released22 November 1974[1]
Recorded1974
GenreChristmas music
Length3:35
LabelRAK
Songwriter(s)Mike Chapman, Nicky Chinn
Producer(s)Mike Chapman, Nicky Chinn
Mud singles chronology
"In The Mood"
(1974) 		"Lonely This Christmas"
(1974) 		"The Secrets That You Keep"
(1975)

"Lonely This Christmas" is a Christmas song by the English glam rock band Mud, that topped the UK Singles Chart in 1974,[2] selling more than 750,000 copies and reaching Christmas number one.[3]

Song

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Written and produced by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, "Lonely This Christmas" was Mud's second number one single in the UK, spending four weeks at the top in December 1974 and January 1975.[2][4] It was the third number one single that year for the ChinniChap writing and production team, and was performed in the style of Elvis Presley's slower songs from his later career.[5][6]

Performances

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The song is noted[by whom?] for a performance on Top of the Pops in which guitarist Rob Davis was covered in tinsel and wore Christmas baubles as earrings, while vocalist Les Gray sang to a ventriloquist's dummy.[citation needed]

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[13] Platinum 600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Freezing This Christmas

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In December 2024, a parody version was released entitled "Freezing This Christmas". A backlash against the means-testing of the Winter Fuel Payment by the Labour government in July 2024, it had lyrics by Chris Middleton, a freelance writer from Newcastle and was performed by Dean Ager, a singer and Frank Sinatra and Michael Bublé impersonator, under the name Sir Starmer and the Granny Harmers, with all proceeds going to elderly charities.[14][15][16] In the week before Christmas, the cover reached number one in the Singles Downloads Chart and number 37 on the singles chart.[17] The BBC received criticism from Middleton, as well as Conservative MP Greg Smith, for not playing the song, with it being skipped on Radio One's chart show.[18][17]

Chart (2024) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[19] 37
UK Indie (OCC)[20] 5
UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[21] 1

References

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  1. ^ MUD (November 1974). Lonely this Christmas (Label). RAK Records. Retrieved 13 December 2024 – via Discogs.
  2. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 308–9. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. ^ "A Christmas hit by Mud". Evening Standard. 9 December 1974. p. 7. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  4. ^ "Radio 2's Great British Songbook: Lonely This Christmas". BBC. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  5. ^ "Magic From MUD". Daily Record. 13 December 1974. p. 34. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  6. ^ "Top Twenty". The Sunday People. 15 December 1974. p. 27. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  7. ^ "Mud – Lonely This Christmas" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  8. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 51, 1974" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  9. ^ "Mud – Lonely This Christmas" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  10. ^ "Mud: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  11. ^ "Top Radio Hits Romania Weekly Chart: Dec 19, 2024". TopHit. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
  12. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1975". Ultratop. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  13. ^ "British single certifications – Mud – Lonely This Christmas". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  14. ^ Wills, Kate (19 December 2024). "The men behind the scathing anti-Starmer Christmas song". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  15. ^ Elliards, Xander (16 December 2024). "Song lampooning Keir Starmer over winter fuel cuts hits number one". The National.
  16. ^ Haynes, Tom (17 December 2024). "Humiliation for Labour as 'Sir Starmer and the Granny Harmers' song surges in charts". The Telegraph. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  17. ^ a b Simpson, Craig (20 December 2024). "Anti-Starmer song tops sales and downloads charts but falls short of Christmas No 1". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  18. ^ Mouriquand, David (20 December 2024). "Why is the BBC refusing to play chart-topping anti-Starmer Christmas song?". Euronews. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  19. ^ "Sir Starmer Granny Harmers: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  20. ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  21. ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
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