Who is the only person to sing their own name in Do They Know It’s Christmas? Try our 2023 festive No 1s quiz

Hosts of musical Christmas past … (Clockwise from far left) Bing Crosby; Gary Joules and Michael Andrews; Slade; Rage Against the Machine; Wings. Composite: Alamy; Getty; PA; Paramount Pictures/Allstar; Redferns/BBC; Alamy

1. First up, let's test your recall of UK festive chart toppers. What was the UK’s first ever Christmas No 1? (Clue: it was also the first ever UK No 1 single when the chart was created in November 1952, staying at the top for nine weeks.)

   1. Here in My Heart by Al Martino

   2. You Belong to Me by Jo Stafford

   3. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus by the Beverley Sisters

   4. Just Walkin' in the Rain by Johnny Ray

2. Merry Xmas Everybody by Slade was recorded in unseasonal heat in July 1973 in which US city?

   1. Nashville

   2. Los Angeles

   3. New York

   4. Little Rock

3. What links Christmas No 1 singles by the Beatles (1965), Wings (1977), Queen (1991) and Westlife (1999)?

   1. They all only stayed at No 1 for one week

   2. Paul McCartney played on all of them

   3. They all contain the word "of"

   4. They were all double A-sides

4. There has only been one eponymously titled Christmas No 1. What is it?

   1. Mr Blobby by Mr Blobby

   2. Iron Maiden by Iron Maiden

   3. Public Image by Public Image Ltd

   4. Madness by Madness

5. White Christmas has, incredibly, never been No 1 at Christmas. But two songs with a colour in the title have made it to No 1 at Christmas. One of them is Green Green Grass of Home by Tom Jones. Can you name the other?

   1. Purple Rain by Prince

   2. Lily the Pink by the Scaffold

   3. Paint It Black by the Rolling Stones

   4. Lady in Red by Chris de Burgh

6. Only one recording (not a re-recording or a cover) has been a Christmas No 1 on two separate occasions. What was it?

   1. Last Christmas by Wham!

   2. Living in America by James Brown

   3. Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

   4. What a Wonderful World by Eva Cassidy

7. Who was the X Factor winner prevented from having a Christmas No 1 by the 2009 campaign to get Rage Against the Machine to the top?

   1. Leona Lewis

   2. Little Mix

   3. Matt Cardle

   4. Joe McElderry

8. It’s My World was the title of an unrecorded song that later formed the basis of which future Christmas No 1?

   1. Mad World

   2. Do They Know It's Christmas

   3. Skyscraper

   4. 2 Become 1

9. Who was the first artist to have a posthumous Christmas No 1?

   1. Eva Cassidy with What a Wonderful World

   2. John Lennon with Imagine

   3. Elvis Presley with Way Down

   4. Jackie Wilson with Reet Petite

10. Michael Andrews and Gary Jules had a Christmas No 1 in 2003 with their cover of Tears for Fears’ Mad World. But which film soundtrack was it recorded for?

    1. The Matrix Reloaded

    2. Johnny English

    3. Phone Booth

    4. Donnie Darko

11. 

    Next, 10 questions on Band Aid's patronising anthem Do They Know It's Christmas? The song has been released four times, but was only Christmas No 1 on three occasions. Which X Factor winner kept it from the top spot in December 2014?

    1. Sam Bailey

    2. Alexandra Burke

    3. Rak-Su

    4. Ben Haenow

12. Paul Young sang the opening line of the 1984 version of Band Aid, but he wasn’t the first choice. Who was (although unable to make the recording session)?

    1. David Bowie

    2. Tom Jones

    3. Holly Johnson

    4. Paul McCartney

13. “Well tonight, thank God it’s them instead of you,” ran the famous “Bono line” (which he performed on both the 1984 and 2004 versions). But what was the line almost changed to?

    1. "And tonight it's cabbage soup instead of stew"

    2. "And their dreams and hopes are sliding out of view"

    3. "And their cries are barely heard by me and you"

    4. "Only fate decides it's them instead of you"

14. Which pop star, after a heavy night out in New York, reportedly had to scramble to get to London on Concorde so they could make the recording session for the original Band Aid single?

    1. Keren Woodward

    2. Boy George

    3. Rick Parfitt

    4. Phil Collins

15. Who said of the first Band Aid single: “One can have great concern for the people of Ethiopia, but it’s another thing to inflict daily torture on the people of England”?

    1. Morrissey

    2. John Lydon

    3. Woodrow Wyatt

    4. Peter Hain

16. Who is the only pop star to sing their name in the original 1984 single?

    1. Sting

    2. Roland Gift

    3. Paul Young

    4. Boy George

17. Who earned three consecutive Christmas No 1s, if we include Band Aid II in 1989?

    1. Cliff Richard

    2. Bros

    3. Kylie Minogue

    4. Big Fun

18. Midge Ure and Trevor Horn produced the first Band Aid single in 1984. Nigel Godrich produced Band Aid 20 in 2004, while Paul Epworth produced the 2014 version. But who produced Band Aid II in 1989?

    1. Hugh Padgham

    2. Steve Lillywhite

    3. Phil Spector

    4. Stock Aitken and Waterman

19. Who was the first artist to rap on a Band Aid single?

    1. Afrika Bambaataa

    2. Ms Dynamite

    3. Dizzee Rascal

    4. Kano

20. Which artist refused to appear on Band Aid 30 in 2014, describing it as “smug”?

    1. Ed Sheeran

    2. Thom Yorke

    3. Lily Allen

    4. Jake Bugg

21. 

    Time for an observation round. Which Christmas No 1 single sleeve features someone wearing this not-very-festive hat?

    1. Spice Girls – Goodbye

    2. Pet Shop Boys – Always on My Mind

    3. Rage Against the Machine – Killing in the Name

    4. Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You

22. 

    Dressed for the occasion, what single sleeve for a UK Xmas No 1 is this from?

    1. Clean Bandit – Rockabye

    2. East 17 – Stay Another Day

    3. Leona Lewis – A Moment Like This

    4. Winifred Atwell – Let's Have Another Party

23. 

    The Spice Girls had three consecutive Christmas No 1s. This was the sleeve for their second. What was it called?

    1. Wannabe

    2. Too Much

    3. 2 Become 1

    4. Goodbye

24. 

    Which pop star is “sharing a joke” with this snowman on the cover of their Christmas No 1?

    1. Shakin' Stevens (Merry Christmas Everyone)

    2. Johnny Mathis (When a Child Is Born)

    3. Conway Twitty (It's Only Make Believe)

    4. Cliff Richard (Mistletoe and Wine)

25. 

    Who looks like they are about to “get busy” under the mistletoe on the sleeve of their Christmas No 1?

    1. Military Wives with Gareth Malone (Wherever You Are)

    2. Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman (Somethin' Stupid)

    3. Cliff Richard & the Shadows (I Love You)

    4. Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers (Islands in the Stream)

26. 

    Who is being chauffeured by a bemused Jeremy Clarkson in the video for their Christmas No 1?

    1. Mr Blobby

    2. Ladbaby

    3. Ed Sheeran

    4. St Winifred's School Choir

27. 

    Who’s having a clifftop singalong with friends in this video for an Xmas No 1?

    1. East 17 (Stay Another Day)

    2. Cliff Richard (Saviour's Day)

    3. Michael Jackson (Earth Song)

    4. The Justice Collective (He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother)

28. 

    A giant teacher shoves pupils into a school that is also a mincer. Which cheery Christmas No 1 is this from?

    1. Rage Against the Machine – Killing in the Name Of

    2. Pink Floyd – Another Brick in the Wall, Part Two

    3. Pink Floyd – Another Brick in the Wall, Part One

    4. The Flying Pickets – Only You

29. 

    No, this is not the end of The Wicker Man. It’s the end of a pop video for a Christmas No 1. Can you name it?

    1. Wham! – Club Tropicana

    2. Wings – Mull of Kintyre

    3. Westlife – Seasons in the Sun

    4. Tom Jones – Green Green Grass of Home

30. 

    All their videos are unique cinematic experiences, but which of the five (!) LadBaby Xmas No 1s is this still from?

    1. I Love Sausage Rolls

    2. Food Aid

    3. Don't Stop Me Eatin'

    4. We Built This City

31. 

    And finally, 10 lyrical teasers. Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West) was No 1 for Benny Hill in 1971. Priapic Ernie had a rival on his rounds named Two Ton Ted from Teddington. What was Ted’s ostensible profession?

    1. Owned the corner shop

    2. Drove the baker's van

    3. Bobby on the beat

    4. Ran a hedge fund

32. Complete this lyric from Merry Xmas Everybody. “Do you ride on down the hillside / In a buggy you have made? / When you land upon your head then you’ve been ________”

    1. Paid

    2. Laid

    3. Splayed

    4. Slayed

33. In Christmas Alphabet by Dickie Valentine (1955), “C is for the candy trimmed around the Christmas tree”. But what is H for?

    1. "H is for the hearth we share and hospitality"

    2. "H is for the hernia from lifting the turkey"

    3. "H is for the happiness with all the family"

    4. "H is for the holly that goes well with ivy"

34. What 1995 apocalyptic festive hit are these lyrics from? “Did you ever stop to notice / This crying Earth, these weeping shores?”

    1. Passengers – Miss Sarajevo

    2. Pulp – Disco 2000

    3. Oasis – Wonderwall

    4. Michael Jackson – Earth Song

35. If the story of 1981’s Christmas No 1, Don’t You Want Me by the Human League, was being told in the present tense (ie, 1981), what year did the two main characters first meet in a cocktail bar?

    1. 1975

    2. 1976

    3. 1977

    4. 1978

36. “Le notte d’estate la luna l’estelle lassu” is a lyric from which Christmas No 1?

    1. Somethin' Stupid by Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman (2001)

    2. Save Your Love by Renée and Renato (1982)

    3. Here in My Heart by Al Martino (1952)

    4. Lonely This Christmas by Mud (1974)

37. Scoop, Muck, Dizzy and Roley all get a namecheck in which festive chart-slayer from 2000?

    1. Sound of the Underground by Girls Aloud

    2. When You Believe by Leon Jackson

    3. Stan by Eminem

    4. Can We Fix It? by Bob the Builder

38. Complete this lyric from 1972’s Long Haired Lover from Liverpool by Jimmy Osmond. “I’ll be your ____________ and sit upon an old toadstool / I’ll serenade you till I’m old and grey.”

    1. Gnome

    2. Beatle

    3. Nightingale

    4. Leprechaun

39. What word is missing in this lyric from Girls Aloud’s 2002 Christmas smash, Sound of the Underground? “________’s running in the wrong direction / Got a feeling it’s a mixed-up sign”

    1. Train

    2. Cheryl

    3. Water

    4. Credibility

40. Not all of sausage roll enthusiast LadBaby’s five No 1s have “sausage rolls” in their title. How many do?

    1. One

    2. Four

    3. Two

    4. Three

Solutions

1:A, 2:C, 3:D, 4:A, 5:B, 6:C - (1975 and 1991), 7:D, 8:B, 9:D, 10:D, 11:D, 12:A, 13:D, 14:B, 15:A, 16:A - ("The bitter sting of tears"), 17:A - (Mistletoe and Wine, 1988; Saviour's Day, 1990), 18:D, 19:C, 20:C, 21:B, 22:B, 23:B, 24:A, 25:B - Renée and Renato (Save Your Love), 26:A, 27:B, 28:B, 29:B, 30:C, 31:B, 32:D, 33:C, 34:D, 35:B - ("Now five years later on you've got the world at your feet"), 36:B, 37:D, 38:D, 39:C, 40:C - ( I Love Sausage Rolls in 2019 and Sausage Rolls for Everyone in 2021)

Scores

1. 1 and above.

   Who put the hum in humbug?

2. 40 and above.

   Full marks! It's a Christmas miracle. Your name's not Noddy, is it?

3. 31 and above.

   Good work! You don't just step into Christmas, you literally leap in with both feet, shouting: 'IT'S CHRISTMAS!' in some kind of raspy Brummie accent.

4. 21 and above.

   Above half marks: that's genuinely not bad. We suggest perhaps starting Christmas a little earlier next year so you can know your Al Martino from Renée and Renato.

5. 11 and above.

   Definitely some recognition of the intrinsic link between pop and Christmas here. We suspect you either gave up listening after the X Factor became a thing, or are too young to remember the Spice Girls.

6. 0 and above.

   A poor score, obviously. But you must be some kind of champion at avoiding Christmas and chart music, so take heart from that.