LadBaby has claimed the Christmas number one single for the third consecutive year.
Mark Hoyle and his wife Roxanne (LadBaby Mum) have scored this year’s top chart spot with the song Don’t Stop Me Eatin’, according to the Official Charts Company.
The song is raising money for food bank charity The Trussell Trust.
Speaking on Christmas Day, Hoyle told the PA news agency: “We started this three years ago as a bit of fun and to raise money for a good cause.
“We genuinely just hoped to make the top 40 three years ago and the fact now that three years on the songs have got better in terms of the downloads each year, each year we’ve had more and more people support it, more and more people download it, more people get behind us and raise even more money for the charity every year, it’s unbelievable…”.
He said they had been inspired to support The Trussell Trust as Roxanne’s mother has been a long-time supporter of the charity.
He explained: “We always heard the stories about food banks and the families that went there and how bad the situation is here in the UK for the amount of people relying on foodbanks and I think it’s one of those things that about four, four-and-a-half years ago we were in a very different position to what we are now.
“We know what it’s like when you really are on a budget, you’re struggling to make ends meet and you’re worried about putting food on the table, and knowing what it’s like and that worry of having enough money to put food on the table is something we’ll never forget and why it is we decided to do this”.
The duo also recorded a version of this year’s song, which is a light-hearted rendition of Journey’s hit Don’t Stop Believing featuring sausage rolls, with Ronan Keating.
The Official Charts Company says the single has enjoyed the biggest opening week for a single this year and has also become the fastest selling single in more than three years.
They added that LadBaby has now matched a joint record held by The Beatles and Spice Girls, who are the only other musical acts to score a hat-trick of consecutive Christmas number ones.
Merry Christmas everyone. Just jumping on here to congratulate @LadBabyOfficial on their third Christmas No 1. So proud to be part of it. In the words of Brad Pitt “I’ll ride your coat tales anytime the view is spectacular”. X
— Ronan Keating (@ronanofficial) December 25, 2020
Keating congratulated LadBaby on Twitter.
He wrote: “Merry Christmas everyone. Just jumping on here to congratulate LadBaby on their third Christmas No 1. So proud to be part of it.”
LadBaby previously landed Christmas number ones with 2018’s We Built This City… On Sausage Rolls and last year’s I Love Sausage Rolls.
But, the Charts Company said this year’s song is the biggest number one yet of the three.
LadBaby fended off competition in the festive singles charts from Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You, which lands in second position with Wham! hit Last Christmas in third position.
An expletive-laden protest song about Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in fifth position.
There is also festive joy for Sir Paul McCartney who claims this year’s official Christmas number one album, the Official Charts Company said.
McCartney III, which follows on from 1970’s McCartney and 1980’s McCartney II, is also his first solo chart-topping record in more than three decades, according to the Charts Company.
Sir Paul said: “I just want to say Happy Christmas, Happy New Year, and a big thank you to everyone who helped get my record to Number one in the album charts.”
The chief executive of the Official Charts Company, Martin Talbot, said: “Many congratulations to LadBaby and Paul McCartney, the champions of Christmas 2020 in the Official Charts.
“LadBaby’s achievement in matching the records of The Beatles and Spice Girls, not to mention the staggering sales and money raised, is nothing short of incredible – and it is great to have a national treasure like Sir Paul McCartney on top of the Official Albums Chart at Christmas, after a gap of more than 30 years.
“The two successes are a perfect summary of all that is special about the UK’s Official Charts.”
