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Christmas music

Christmas music quiz

Thirty questions in four rounds: name the artist, Christmas No.1s, carols, and songs from the screen. Answers hidden until the arguing’s done.

Questions
30
Rounds
4
Difficulty
Easy to hard

Round 01 / Artists

Name the artist

  1. Which singer duetted with Shane MacGowan on The Pogues' biggest Christmas hit?

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    Kirsty MacColl

  2. Which singer released "Step into Christmas" in 1973?

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    Elton John

  3. Which former Beatle released "Wonderful Christmastime" in 1979?

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    Paul McCartney

    Also accept: McCartney

  4. Which band released "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" in 1973?

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    Wizzard

    Fronted by Roy Wood.

  5. Who recorded "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" in 1958, aged just 13?

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    Brenda Lee

  6. Who recorded "Driving Home for Christmas"?

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    Chris Rea

    He wrote it in 1978 while stuck in traffic.

  7. Who sang "Mistletoe and Wine", the 1988 Christmas No.1?

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    Cliff Richard

    Also accept: Sir Cliff Richard

Round 02 / Charts

Christmas No.1s

  1. Which girl group had three Christmas No.1s in a row, from 1996 to 1998?

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    The Spice Girls

    Also accept: Spice Girls

    "2 Become 1", "Too Much" and "Goodbye".

  2. Which band's "Bohemian Rhapsody" was the UK Christmas No.1 in both 1975 and 1991?

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    Queen

    The 1991 re-release followed Freddie Mercury's death that November.

  3. Which charity song was the Christmas No.1 in 1984, 1989 and 2004, in three different versions?

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    "Do They Know It's Christmas?"

    Also accept: Band Aid

    By Band Aid, Band Aid II and Band Aid 20.

  4. Which Welsh singer's "Merry Christmas Everyone" was the 1985 Christmas No.1?

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    Shakin' Stevens

    Also accept: Shaky

  5. Which East 17 song was the 1994 Christmas No.1?

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    Stay Another Day

  6. Which much-loved 1987 Christmas song only reached No.2, kept off the top by the Pet Shop Boys?

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    Fairytale of New York

    The Pet Shop Boys' "Always on My Mind" was No.1.

  7. Which act had five Christmas No.1s in a row, from 2018 to 2022, with songs about sausage rolls?

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    LadBaby

  8. In 2009, which rock band's "Killing in the Name" beat the X Factor winner to Christmas No.1 after a Facebook campaign?

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    Rage Against the Machine

  9. "Mull of Kintyre" was the 1977 Christmas No.1 for which band?

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    Wings

    Also accept: Paul McCartney and Wings

    Paul McCartney's band after the Beatles.

Round 03 / Carols

Carols

  1. In "Away in a Manger", what did the little Lord Jesus lay down?

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    His sweet head

    Also accept: His head

  2. "Silent Night" was first written in which language?

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    German

    It was "Stille Nacht".

  3. In "The Holly and the Ivy", which plant bears "a berry as red as any blood"?

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    The holly

    Also accept: Holly

  4. Which carol tells of three ships coming sailing in on Christmas Day?

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    "I Saw Three Ships"

    Also accept: I Saw Three Ships

  5. In "Good King Wenceslas", on which feast day did the king look out?

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    The Feast of Stephen

    Also accept: St Stephen's Day, Boxing Day

    St Stephen's Day is 26 December, Boxing Day.

  6. In which country was "Silent Night" first performed, on Christmas Eve 1818?

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    Austria

    In the village church of Oberndorf, near Salzburg.

  7. "In the Bleak Midwinter" began as a poem by which Victorian poet?

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    Christina Rossetti

    Also accept: Rossetti

  8. Which carol, a lullaby, was written for a 16th-century mystery play performed in a Midlands city?

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    The Coventry Carol

    Also accept: Coventry Carol

Round 04 / Film, TV & more

Songs from the screen

  1. Which Muppet film features the song "One More Sleep 'til Christmas"?

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    The Muppet Christmas Carol

  2. Which song, first sung by Bing Crosby in the 1942 film "Holiday Inn", became the best-selling single of all time?

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    White Christmas

  3. In "Love Actually", Billy Mack turns which song into "Christmas Is All Around"?

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    Love Is All Around

  4. Which 1934 song warns that Santa is "making a list" and checking it twice?

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    Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town

    Also accept: Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

  5. Which singer had a 1980 hit with "Stop the Cavalry"?

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    Jona Lewie

  6. Who sang the opening line of Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in 1984?

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    Paul Young

Free version vs full version

Free version · this page

Questions and answers only

30 questions to play or host

  • Every question and answer on this page
  • Play along with automatic marking
  • Present on screen, copy or print
  • No host pack or team answer sheets
  • No picture round or tie-breakers
  • Anyone can look these questions up

How to run it

  1. Play the first five seconds of each song after revealing the answer. By the end of the round you'll have a singalong.
  2. For a harder version of round one, play the intro and ask for the artist before reading the question.
  3. The carols round works brilliantly with a piano, a keen aunt and a glass of sherry.