On December 21 the UK will have its 63rd Christmas number one single. We’re all kind of expecting a talent show contestant or charity act to do well, but wouldn’t it be nice if a truly Christmas tune topped the charts?

We look back at the Christmas number one trends through the decades – how British tastes have changed, and where they might be going.

The Festive Fifties

Graphic for Christmas number ones in 1950s

First let’s go back to a time before the Beatles. Our Christmas charts in the 1950s were dominated by crooning American males, and even a couple of British-Caribbean acts.

You’ll also find a bunch of unlikely genres in this decade – some country, some do-wop, and even a ragtime piano instrumental piece. There’s a couple of Christmas songs in there too, which is nice.

The Unseasonal Sixties

Graphic for Christmas number ones in 1960s

Not a single Christmas-themed song made the Yuletide top spot in the ’60s (the only decade so far in which that’s happened).

Instead we got a lot of this new-fangled rock music from now-forgotten artists such as Elvis Presley, Tom Jones, Cliff Richard, and The Beatles.

Danny Williams remains the only South African to top the Christmas charts, and has the more dubious honour of being the first “one-hit wonder” (in the UK at least, he did have another hit Stateside).

The Much More Seasonal Seventies

Graphic for Christmas number ones in 1970s

You could be justified in saying the ’70s were the heyday of the Christmas number one. There were four classic Christmas tunes, and another two family-friendly novelty hits. (“Family friendly” on the surface at least. One’s about a randy milkman’s sexual exploits, and the less said about Long Haired Lover From Liverpool the better.)

But it’s not all seasonal cheese. There are two prog-rock classics, and all the singles are from well-established artists, mostly releasing their own original tunes.

The Altruistic Eighties

Graphic for Christmas number ones in 1980s

The ’80s saw the dawn of the charity Christmas single. Versions of Band Aid charted twice with Do They Know It’s Christmas – a song which Bono and Geldoff are still plugging very successfully today.

Four number ones were explicitly Christmassy, with all but one act originating in the British Isles. American singer Jackie Wilson became the first person to top the Christmas chart from beyond the grave – a feat also achieved by Freddie Mercury in 1991.

The Naff Nineties

Graphic for Christmas number ones in 1990s

Cliff Richard (again), three mediocre Spice Girls songs, Westlife covering Abba… Christmas in the ’90s truly was the season for awful pop music. Thank god Mr Blobby was there to raise the bar a bit.

Cliff Richard scored his fourth (and hopefully final) Christmas number one in 1990. He’s still only got half as many under his belt as Paul McCartney though, who’s done it eight times with various acts.

The Newly-Made Noughties

Graphic for Christmas number ones in 2000s

The first years of the new millennium have proven to be the age of the TV talent show. Half of the Christmas number ones were spawned by TV shows – four from the X Factor, one from Popstars: The Rivals. That’s also meant far more cover versions and one-hit wonders topping the Christmas charts.

However, that hasn’t always made the chart race dull. Perhaps the most unexpected Christmas chart-topper occurred in 2009 when Rage Against The Machine’s very sweary offering became the focus of an anti-Cowell campaign movement. Mad World was also a surprise, beating the Darkness’s festive offering into second place.

Band Aid 20 remains the last truly Christmassy tune to top the Christmas charts (10 years ago now). But it doesn’t look like Band Aid 30 will be following their example.

The Tiresome Tens?

Graphic for Christmas number ones in 2010s

We’re only four singles in to the 2010s, but the pattern remains unpromising. We’ve had another two X Factor winners up there, and a couple of Band Aid style charity hits.

Will this decade find its own formula? Or is it doomed to remain in Cowell’s clutches? Come December 21 we might have little more of an answer.