The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl top list of Brits' favourite Christmas driving songs

6 December 2020, 10:00

Slade's Noddy Holder, Kirsty MacColl and Shane McGowan and George Michael — The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl's Fairytale of New York tops list of best Christmas songs to drive to. Picture: 1. Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns/Getty 2. Tim Roney/Getty Images 3. Mike Maloney/Mirrorpix/Getty Images

Fairytale of New York has topped a list of the most popular festive songs to drive to among Britons. See the Top 10 here.

The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl's Fairytale of New York has topped a list of the most favourable Christmas songs to hear while driving.

This month will no doubt see families hit the road to get to their loved ones for the festive season, in an attempt to celebrate the holiday as best as they can while following the guidelines amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Though the size of people's Christmases might be different this year, it looks like the songs on the car journeys will be the same.

According to a survey by Uswitch on over 1,000 motorists, the Kirsty MacColl and Pogues classic came top of the list out of 50 festive songs with 26.3% of the vote.

Second place was secured by Wham's Last Christmas with 23.7% of the vote, while Slade's Merry Christmas Everybody came in third with 20.5%.

Perhaps rather disappointingly, the aptly titled classic from Chris Rea, Driving Home For Christmas, only came in at fourth place with 20.1% of the vote.

He did however beat off stiff competition from huge festive hitters such as Band Aid, Mariah Carey and Bing Crosby. See the full results below.

When it came to which songs were the least popular, it was the newer tracks which fell flat with car drivers, with Santa Tell Me by Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber's Mistletoe both garnering less than 2% of the vote.

See the Top 10 Christmas driving songs here:

1. Fairytale of New York, The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl - 26.30%

2. Last Christmas, Wham - 23.70%

3. Merry Christmas everybody, Slade - 20.50%

4. Driving home for Christmas, Chris Rea - 20.10%

5.Do they know it's Christmas, Band Aid - 19.10%

6. All I want for Christmas is you, Mariah Carey - 17.70%

7. White Christmas, Bing Crosby - 16.00%

8. Let it snow, Dean Martin - 14.20%

9. Merry Christmas everyone, Shakin' Stevens - 12.70%

10. It's the most wonderful time of the year, Andy Williams - 12.00%

Despite all the fun and frivolity Christmas brings, drivers are reminded to keep focused on the road no matter what music they've got on in the car.

Uswitch car insurance expert, Ben Smithson, said: “Whilst it is completely legal to listen to music while on the road, turning the volume up high could cause you some issues. Although police officers don't have the power to pull a driver over for listening to loud music, they can penalise a motorist if they believe it is causing a distraction to them. This could include the volume of the music drowning out audible safety warnings, like other motorists honking their horns, or the sirens from emergency services vehicles."

He concluded: "Singing your favourite Christmas songs in the car could also see you penalised with a fine of up to £5,000 if it distracts you from focusing your attention on the road, so it’s important to stay safe whilst enjoying the festivities in the car.”