"Lonely This Christmas" is a Christmas song by the English

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

band

Mud Mud (, or Middle Dutch) is loam, silt or clay mixed with water. Mud is usually formed after rainfall or near water sources. Ancient mud deposits hardened over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone (generally cal ...

, that topped the UK Singles Chart in 1974, selling more than 750,000 copies and reaching Christmas number one.

Song

Written Writing is the act of creating a persistent representation of language. A writing system includes a particular set of symbols called a ''script'', as well as the rules by which they encode a particular spoken language. Every written language ...

and produced by

Nicky Chinn Nicholas Barry Chinn (born 16 May 1945) is an English-American songwriter and record producer. Together with Mike Chapman he had a long string of hit singles in the US and UK in the 1970s and early 1980s, including several international record c ...

and

Mike Chapman Michael Donald Chapman (born 13 April 1947) is an Australian record producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s. He created a string of hit singles for artists including The Sweet, Suzi Quatro ...

, "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. 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 Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

's slower songs from his later career.

Performances

The song was performed on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'', with guitarist Rob Davis covered in tinsel and wearing Christmas baubles as earrings, while vocalist

Les Gray Thomas Leslie Gray (9 April 1946 – 21 February 2004) was an English musician best known for his work with glam rock pop band Mud (band), Mud. Gray was also known for his distinctive vocal impersonator, impersonation of Elvis Presley, as well ...

sang to a

ventriloquist Ventriloquism or ventriloquy is an act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) speaks in such a way that it seems like their voice is coming from a different location, usually through a puppet known as a "dummy". The act of ventrilo ...

's dummy.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Freezing This Christmas

In December 2024, a parody version was released entitled "Freezing This Christmas". A

backlash Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), a comic book character from ...

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 Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

, and was performed by Dean Ager, a singer and

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

and

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Regarded as a pop icon, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American ...

impersonator, under the name Sir Starmer and the Granny Harmers, with all proceeds going to elderly charities. In the week before Christmas, the cover reached number one in the Singles Downloads Chart and number 37 on the

singles chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

. The

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

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.

References

{{authority control Songs about loneliness 1974 singles British Christmas songs UK singles chart number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles Songs written by Nicky Chinn Songs written by Mike Chapman 1974 songs RAK Records singles Song recordings produced by Mike Chapman Mud (band) songs