Brits LOVE singing along to these Christmas songs in the car

Brits hitting the road for Christmas have revealed the festive songs they can’t travel without – and Fairytale of New York has been crowned the nation’s all-time favourite.

The results come from a new survey of 2,000 UK drivers, carried out by OnePoll on behalf of Polestar, which looked at the songs people love to listen to while heading home for the holidays.

The much-loved classic by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl tops this year’s Christmas drive-home playlist, beating festive favourites like Last Christmas by Wham! and All I Want for Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey.

Also making the top five is Chris Rea’s Driving Home for Christmas. It’s a firm favourite that continues to soundtrack long journeys to see friends and family at this time of year.

Here are the top 10 Christmas songs Brits love to listen to when driving home for Christmas, according to the survey:

1. Fairytale of New York – The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl
2. Last Christmas – Wham!
3. All I Want for Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey
4. Driving Home for Christmas – Chris Rea
5. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday – Wizzard
6. Silent Night
7. Merry Xmas Everybody – Slade
8. Do They Know It’s Christmas? – Band Aid
9. White Christmas – Bing Crosby
10. Feliz Navidad – The Tenors

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Looks like Brits are still all about those “golden oldies” at Christmas. Newer tunes from artists such as Coldplay and Justin Bieber didn’t even crack the top 25, so clearly, the classics are still way more popular.

The survey also found that Christmas road trips and music are strongly linked, with nostalgia playing a key role. Almost one in five people (17%) feel nostalgic for past trips when hearing a festive song, and over one in 10 associate these tunes with family visits.

Music significantly improves the drive, with 42% of drivers agreeing, according to the research. Nearly a quarter of passengers take turns being the DJ. To pass the time, almost half plan to use the radio, while others will opt for personal playlists or car games too.

Forensic musicologist Dr Joe Bennett attributed Christmas music’s lasting appeal to its “comforting familiarity.” He noted that “Christmas listening is a ritual built on recurrence,” with consistent themes of “homecoming, togetherness, nostalgia, winter scenes, and the two types of Christmas love song – celebration, or loneliness.”

But not all drivers are fans of the festive tunes. A Carwow survey of around 1,000 drivers revealed a clear unpopularity contest. Topping the list of songs drivers would happily ban from their cars was Mariah Carey’s Crimbo hit, with 21% of motorists opting not to hear it while driving. Fairytale of New York also faced some opposition, with about 10% of those surveyed saying they would happily ban the song.

A study released by ticket search engine SeatPick in June analysed how music affects driver behaviour by looking at the tempo (beats per minute) and volume (decibels) of Spotify’s most-streamed songs in the US. The analysis found that certain tracks can either significantly raise the risk of accidents or, conversely, promote safer driving.

Want to know which songs to avoid, according to the survey? Read more here.

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