# List of UK Albums Chart Christmas number ones

The UK Albums Chart is a weekly record chart based on sales of albums in the United Kingdom; the term "Christmas number ones" refers to the records that are at the top of the chart on Christmas Day. Typically, the Christmas number one is the album that was announced as number one on the Sunday before 25 December. When Christmas Day falls on a Sunday itself, the official number one is the one announced on that day's chart. As of December 2023, 65 albums have been Christmas number ones.
The UK Albums Chart is based on Sunday to Saturday sales of both physical and digital albums. It is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the UK music industry, and each week's new number one is first announced on Sunday evenings on The Radio 1 Chart Show. The album chart was first published by Record Mirror in 1956. The record at number one on 25 December that year was the original soundtrack to the 1956 film The King and I, making it the first ever UK Christmas number one album; The King and I soundtrack was also Christmas number one in 1957, the following year. In 1958, the original soundtrack to South Pacific became the second Christmas number one album. Staying at the top of the album chart for a total of 115 weeks, it was also number one in 1959 and 1960. Soundtracks to the movies The Sound of Music and Grease also became Christmas number ones.
Record labels earn as much as forty per cent of their annual sales during the festive season. Speaking in 2009, music retailer Geoff Bonouvrie remarked: "The whole psychology of buying changes around Christmas. ... People's buying habits change. They are buying gifts for other people." As a result of this, topping the album chart for 25 December is considered prestigious among the industry, as Christmas number one albums often sell in high quantities. Between 1986 and 2012, 23 of the 27 Christmas number one albums were featured in the top three of their respective year-end bestsellers chart.
Betting shops in the UK often run books regarding which albums will be at number one for Christmas. For example, in 2010, British bookmakers William Hill and Ladbrokes both issued odds of 2/5 on for Take That to top the album chart at Christmas. At the time, these were the lowest odds William Hill had ever offered for a prediction on the Christmas number-one album. In 2011, Christmas by Canadian singer Michael Bublé became the Christmas number one. In a statement, Bublé announced that he was "thrilled" to have achieved the feat. The following year, Scottish singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé topped the chart at Christmas. The 2014 Christmas number one was claimed by Ed Sheeran, who achieved the biggest one-week sales of any artist album that year with X; the next year, 25 by Adele topped the Christmas chart with sales of 450,000.
Following the December 1983 release of the first album in the Now That's What I Call Music series, compilation albums featuring various artists became very popular in the UK during the mid to late 1980s; this is reflected in the albums that were Christmas number one during this time. From 1983 to 1987, every album at the top of the Christmas chart was a various artists compilation album, from either the Now That's What I Call Music or the Hits series. The UK Albums Chart was subsequently altered so that, from 14 January 1989, releases from various artists were no longer eligible for the main album chart.

## Number ones

As of December 2019, there have been 61 Christmas number one albums. The most successful act is The Beatles, who have topped the Christmas chart with seven different albums. With the exception of 1966, they reached number one on every Christmas chart from 1963 to 1969, and also topped the chart in 2000 with their singles collection, 1. The only other act to release more than three Christmas number one albums is British singer Robbie Williams, who has topped the chart with four solo albums. Williams also featured as part of Take That on their 2010 album, Progress. Take That have had three Christmas number one albums.
The most successful record label is Virgin Records, who have released eight Christmas number one albums. Benefitting from sales of the Now That's What I Call Music! compilation series, Virgin achieved four of the five Christmas number ones between 1983 and 1987. From 14 January 1989, compilation albums featuring various artists were no longer included in the UK Albums Chart.
| Year | Artist | Album | Record label | Weeks at number one |
| 1956 | Motion Picture Cast Recording | The King and I | Capitol | 48 |
| 1957 | Motion Picture Cast Recording | The King and I | Capitol | 48 |
| 1958 | Motion Picture Cast Recording | South Pacific | RCA Victor | 115 |
| 1959 | Motion Picture Cast Recording | South Pacific | RCA Victor | 115 |
| 1960 | Motion Picture Cast Recording | South Pacific | RCA Victor | 115 |
| 1961 | George Mitchell Minstrels | Another Black and White Minstrel Show | His Master's Voice | 8 |
| 1962 | George Mitchell Minstrels | The Black and White Minstrel Show | His Master's Voice | 9 |
| 1963 | The Beatles | With the Beatles | Parlophone | 21 |
| 1964 | The Beatles | Beatles for Sale | Parlophone | 11 |
| 1965 | The Beatles | Rubber Soul | Parlophone | 8 |
| 1966 | Motion Picture Cast Recording | The Sound of Music | RCA Victor | 70 |
| 1967 | The Beatles | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band | Parlophone | 27 |
| 1968 | The Beatles | The Beatles (White Album) | Apple | 8 |
| 1969 | The Beatles | Abbey Road | Apple | 17 |
| 1970 | Andy Williams | Andy Williams' Greatest Hits | CBS | 5 |
| 1971 | T. Rex | Electric Warrior | Fly | 8 |
| 1972 | Various artists | 20 All Time Hits of the 50s | K-tel | 11 |
| 1973 | Elton John | Goodbye Yellow Brick Road | DJM | 2 |
| 1974 | Elton John | Elton John's Greatest Hits | DJM | 11 |
| 1975 | Queen | A Night at the Opera | EMI | 4 |
| 1976 | Glen Campbell | Glen Campbell's Twenty Golden Greats | Capitol | 6 |
| 1977 | Various artists | Disco Fever | K-tel | 6 |
| 1978 | Original soundtrack | Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture | RSO | 13 |
| 1979 | Rod Stewart | Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 | Riva | 5 |
| 1980 | ABBA | Super Trouper | Epic | 9 |
| 1981 | ABBA | The Visitors | Epic | 3 |
| 1982 | John Lennon | The John Lennon Collection | Parlophone | 6 |
| 1983 | Various artists | Now That's What I Call Music | Virgin/EMI | 5 |
| 1984 | Various artists | Hits 1 | CBS/WEA | 7 |
| 1985 | Various artists | Now – The Christmas Album | Virgin/EMI | 2 |
| 1986 | Various artists | Now That's What I Call Music 8 | Virgin/EMI/PolyGram | 6 |
| 1987 | Various artists | Now That's What I Call Music 10 | Virgin/EMI/PolyGram | 6 |
| 1988 | Cliff Richard | Private Collection: 1979–1988 | EMI | 2 |
| 1989 | Phil Collins | ...But Seriously | Virgin | 15 |
| 1990 | Madonna | The Immaculate Collection | Sire | 9 |
| 1991 | Queen | Greatest Hits II | Parlophone | 5 |
| 1992 | Cher | Greatest Hits: 1965–1992 | Geffen | 7 |
| 1993 | Meat Loaf | Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell | Virgin | 11 |
| 1994 | The Beautiful South | Carry On up the Charts | Go! Discs | 7 |
| 1995 | Robson & Jerome | Robson & Jerome | RCA | 7 |
| 1996 | Spice Girls | Spice | Virgin | 15 |
| 1997 | Céline Dion | Let's Talk About Love | Epic | 4 |
| 1998 | George Michael | Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael | Epic | 8 |
| 1999 | Shania Twain | Come On Over | Mercury | 11 |
| 2000 | The Beatles | 1 | Apple | 9 |
| 2001 | Robbie Williams | Swing When You're Winning | Chrysalis | 7 |
| 2002 | Robbie Williams | Escapology | EMI | 7 |
| 2003 | Dido | Life for Rent | Cheeky | 10 |
| 2004 | Robbie Williams | Greatest Hits | Chrysalis | 4 |
| 2005 | Eminem | Curtain Call: The Hits | Interscope | 5 |
| 2006 | Take That | Beautiful World | Polydor | 8 |
| 2007 | Leona Lewis | Spirit | Syco | 8 |
| 2008 | Take That | The Circus | Polydor | 5 |
| 2009 | Susan Boyle | I Dreamed a Dream | Syco | 4 |
| 2010 | Take That | Progress | Polydor | 7 |
| 2011 | Michael Bublé | Christmas | Reprise | 3 |
| 2012 | Emeli Sandé | Our Version of Events | Virgin | 10 |
| 2013 | Robbie Williams | Swings Both Ways | Island | 4 |
| 2014 | Ed Sheeran | X | Asylum | 13 |
| 2015 | Adele | 25 | XL | 13 |
| 2016 | Michael Ball & Alfie Boe | Together | Decca | 2 |
| 2017 | Eminem | Revival | Interscope | 1 |
| 2018 | Motion Picture Cast Recording | The Greatest Showman | Atlantic | 25 |
| 2019 | Rod Stewart | You're in My Heart | Rhino | 3 |
| 2020 | Paul McCartney | McCartney III | Capitol | 1 |
| 2021 | Adele | 30 | Columbia | 5 |
| 2022 | Taylor Swift | Midnights | Republic | 5 |
| 2023 | The Rolling Stones | Hackney Diamonds | Polydor | 5 |
| 2024 | Sabrina Carpenter | Short n' Sweet | Island | 2 |
* ↑ The record labels are those given by the OCC.
* ↑ Private Collection: 1979–1988 was announced as the 1988 Christmas number one a day later than usual, on Monday 26 December.