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Merry Christmas Everyone

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Not to be confused with Merry Xmas Everybody.
"Merry Christmas Everyone"
Single by Shakin' Stevens
B-side"With My Heart", "Blue Christmas"
Released25 November 1985 (1985-11-25)
Recorded1984
GenrePop rock, Christmas music
Length3:39
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)Bob Heatlie
Producer(s)Dave Edmunds
Shakin' Stevens singles chronology
"Lipstick, Powder and Paint"
(1985) 		"Merry Christmas Everyone"
(1985) 		"Turning Away"
(1986)
Music video
"Merry Christmas Everyone" on YouTube

"Merry Christmas Everyone" is a festive song recorded by Welsh singer-songwriter Shakin' Stevens. Written by Bob Heatlie and produced by Dave Edmunds, it is the fourth and to date last number one single for Shakin' Stevens on the UK Singles Chart.[1]

It was released on 25 November 1985[2] and was the Christmas number one for that year.[3] Ever since it has been included on many top-selling Christmas collections and received frequent airplay every Christmas. In 2007, the song re-entered the UK top 30 and reached number 22 on the Christmas chart.[1] This is because downloads are now included in the UK Singles Chart; whereas in past years this would have been impossible unless there was a physical re-release of the song. From 2007 to 2017, the song charted in the UK at peak positions 22, 36, 47, 68, 42, 46, 54, 38, 26, 17, and 10. Originally only in the chart for eight weeks, it has since amassed over 70 weeks.[1] In December 2018 it reached No. 9 in the UK chart, its highest position since 1985.[4] In both December 2019 and December 2020, it reached No. 6.[5][6]

Background

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"Merry Christmas Everyone" was recorded in 1984. Its original planned release was put back by a year to avoid clashing with the runaway success of Band Aid's charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?"[citation needed]

Music video

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The video shows a young girl named Samantha traveling by plane to a place called Santaworld where she meets up with Stevens who met her on a bus going to the place. Stevens is then seen riding with a woman dressed as an elf in a sleigh pulled by a horse and is taken to meet Santa Claus before going to a replica of Santa's workshop where children are seen playing with toys before going out with Santa on the sleigh and joins in a snowball fight with some other children and ends up hitting a snowman who starts to chase him. At the end of the video, Stevens is seen bidding farewell to Santa, the snowman and the children before going back into the sleigh with the woman. Filmed in Sweden the children included Shaky's son, daughter, their friends including Shaky's drummer's daughter the actor, Sarah J Price (in her first role) and competition winner Jeremy Cartwright who was holidaying in Wales prior to filming and can be seen sledging at speed down a hill. [better source needed]

Track listing

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UK 7-inch single

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  1. "Merry Christmas Everyone" (Bob Heatlie) – 3:39
  2. "With My Heart" (Bruce Roberts / Darrell Edwards / Shakin' Stevens) – 2:45

UK 12-inch single

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  1. "Merry Christmas Everyone" 12” Mix (Bob Heatlie) – 4:17
  2. "Blue Christmas" (Billy Hayes / Jay W. Johnson) – 2:45
  3. "With My Heart" (Bruce Roberts / Darrell Edwards / Shakin' Stevens) – 2:45

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[34] 3× Platinum 270,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[35] Platinum 500,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[36] Gold 15,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[37] 3× Platinum 1,800,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

"Echoes of Merry Christmas Everyone" (2015)

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"Echoes of Merry Christmas Everyone"
Single by Shakin' Stevens
Released4 December 2015 (2015-12-04)
Recorded2015
GenreBluegrass
Songwriter(s)Bob Heatlie
Shakin' Stevens singles chronology
"Trouble / This Ole House"
(2005) 		"Echoes of Merry Christmas Everyone"
(2015) 		"Last Man Alive"
(2016)

In time for Christmas 2015, Shakin' Stevens released a new version of the song as a charity single in collaboration with The Salvation Army. It is a completely revamped version with folk and bluegrass influences and prominent use of banjo. The single was available as a download starting December 2015[38] with all proceeds going to The Salvation Army.

The 2015 single did not chart on the UK Top 100, although the original by Shakin' Stevens made it to number 26 on the UK Top 100 Chart published on Christmas week.

The Celebs version

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In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a supergroup known as the Celebs, which included Laura Tobin, Richard Arnold, Frank Bruno, The X Factor winner Sam Bailey and others, recorded a new rendition of "Merry Christmas Everyone" to raise money for both the Alzheimer's Society and Action for Children. It was released digitally on 11 December 2020, on independent record label Saga Entertainment. The music video debuted exclusively on Good Morning Britain the day before release.[39]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "merry christmas everyone > Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  2. ^ "shakin1". Net-serve.co.uk. 1986-12-07. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
  3. ^ "Christmas Number Ones : Singles - everyHit.com". Retrieved 19 December 2009. A technical note; the Christmas Number One does not always synchronise with the dates elsewhere as they refer to 'week ending' chart dates. These are the real Christmas Number Ones.
  4. ^ Official Singles Chart Top 100 - 28 December 2018 - 03 January 2019
  5. ^ Official Singles Chart Top 100 - 27 December 2019 - 02 January 2020
  6. ^ Official Singles Chart Top 100 - 11–17 December 2020
  7. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 3 January 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  8. ^ "Shakin' Stevens – Merry Christmas Everyone" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Shakin' Stevens – Merry Christmas Everyone" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  10. ^ "HRT Airplay Radio Chart No. 1060 - Issue Date: January 2nd 2023" (PDF). Hrvatska Radiotelevizija. 3 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  11. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 51+52. týden 2022 in the date selector. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  12. ^ "Track Top-40 Uge 52, 2017". Hitlisten. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  13. ^ "Shakin' Stevens – Merry Christmas Everyone" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  14. ^ "Shakin Stevens Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  15. ^ "Official IFPI Charts – Digital Singles Chart (International) - Week 48/2023". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  16. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  17. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Stream Top 40 slágerlista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  18. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Merry Christmas Everyone". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  19. ^ "2022 52-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 30 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  20. ^ "Shakin Stevens Chart History (Luxembourg Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  21. ^ "Shakin' Stevens – Merry Christmas Everyone" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  22. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 2 January 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  23. ^ "Singel 2022 uke 52". VG-lista. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  24. ^ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  25. ^ "OLiS – oficjalna lista sprzedaży – single w streamie" (Select week 22.12.2023–28.12.2023.) (in Polish). OLiS. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  26. ^ "Shakin' Stevens – Merry Christmas Everyone". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  27. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 51/52. týden 2022 in the date selector. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  28. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 49. týden 2022 in the date selector. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  29. ^ "SloTop50 – Slovenian official singles chart". slotop50.si. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  30. ^ "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 52". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  31. ^ "Shakin' Stevens – Merry Christmas Everyone". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  32. ^ "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2021". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  33. ^ "Jahrescharts 2023" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  34. ^ "Danish single certifications – Shakin Stevens – Merry Christmas Everyone". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  35. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Shakin' Stevens; 'Merry Christmas Everyone')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  36. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Shakin' Stevens – Merry Christmas Everyone". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 1 January 2022.[dead link‍]
  37. ^ "British single certifications – Shakin' Stevens – Merry Christmas Everyone". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  38. ^ Copsey, Rob (24 November 2015). "Christmas Number 1 2015: The contenders revealed. Who will take this year's Christmas chart-topper crown?". OfficialCharts.com. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  39. ^ "Good Morning Britain stars show off their vocals in charity Christmas single". Daily Mirror. 10 November 2020.
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