Britons’ favourite Christmas songs to listen to on the road have been revealed, and it’s Chris Rea’s classic – and appropriately titled – Driving Home for Christmas in the number one spot.
When Britons were asked in a survey to name their top festive driving tracks, it garnered almost half (47 per cent) of the vote, with Fairytale of New York by The Pogues coming second with an impressive 46 per cent. In third place is Wizzard’s 1973 hit I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day, with 39 per cent.
Driving Home For Christmas was released 36 years ago in 1986 as a B-side to song Hello Friend. It was then re-released in 1988 as an attempt at the Christmas charts but only reached number 53. However, it has slowly grown in popularity – in 2021 it reached number ten in the UK Singles Chart.
Also on the list of festive tunes Britons like to listen to while on the move is Last Christmas (fourth, 38 per cent), All I Want for Christmas by Mariah Carey (fifth, 37 per cent) and Bing Crosbie’s It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas (sixth, 32 per cent).
Britons’ favourite Christmas songs to listen to on the road have been revealed, and it’s Chris Rea’s classic – and appropriately titled – Driving Home for Christmas in the number one spot
The survey of 2,000 Britons, by Webuyanycar, also discovered that the average British motorist will drive 185 miles over the Christmas period to see friends and family.
Ninety-two per cent of respondents agreed that despite traffic jams and potential bad weather, there is no better feeling than driving home for the Christmas break.
Music, it seems, is a vital part of our festivities, with 85 per cent of people agreeing that it doesn’t feel like Christmas until they’ve heard a classic anthem.
Psychologically the tracks take us back to our early years, with 90 per cent saying that they’re transported back to childhood by hearing some of the songs.
Ninety-two per cent of respondents agreed that despite traffic jams and potential bad weather, there is no better feeling than driving home for the Christmas break
When it comes to when you can start listening to your favourite Christmas tracks, there’s a split in the nation, with 48 per cent saying it is okay to play them in November while 52 per cent believe you must hold on until December.
Many more people are in favour of Christmas songs in shops – with 87 per cent saying they enjoy hearing them when out and about.
A growing proportion make their own Christmas playlists, with 33 per cent saying they plan their listening, however that still leaves two-thirds who hear the tunes on the radio – or playlists made automatically by streaming services.
Seven in ten people agree that at the end of Christmas, they’re pleased they won’t have to hear a festive song for another year.
Richard Evans, Head of Technical Services at webuyanycar, said: ‘This poll shows how much we think about music at Christmas, particularly on that much-anticipated drive home for the festive season listening to our favourite Christmas songs.’
