No longer a chestnut

I’ll be honest with you, I was at a little bit of a loss as to what I was going to write about in this Sunday’s more general post. I’ve settled down to writing about Mastermind on Monday, and University Challenge on Tuesday, and that’s easy enough, and then doing this more general thing on a Sunday.

I did start musing on a subject I’ve written about before, more than once if truth be told, the themed ‘Christmas Quiz’. I haven’t been to one yet this year, but who’s to say that next Thursday’s won’t be? One stray thought that occurred to me is that one question that won’t be asked is “What is the biggest selling UK single never to get to number 1 in the UK?” As I’m sure you know, it used to feature in Christmas quizzes, because the answer was Wham’s ‘Last Christmas’. Until right at the end of 2020. All of which begs the question – which is NOW the best selling single never to get to number 1 in the UK? My far from extensive research suggests that this may well be “Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera. Yeah, you’re right, it really doesn’t work as a Christmas question now, does it?

In case you’re feeling sorry for Wham! , don’t feel too bad. Yeah, ‘Last Christmas’ is not now the highest selling UK single never to be number 1 in the UK. However, it now IS the single which took the longest time between its original release and reaching the number 1 slot. Prior to this Tony Christie’s ‘(Is this the way to) Amarillo’ held the record at an impressive 33 years. ‘Last Christmas’ took 36.

I did have a think about other similar venerable quiz chestnuts which have had to be changed or abandoned. To be honest, I didn’t come up with much. Gerd Muller was the world cup’s top goal scorer for 34 years, I believe until overtaken by Ronaldo of Brazil in 2006. Ronaldo himself only held the record for 8 years before being overtaken by Miroslav Klose. Another sporting one which occurs is Jim Laker being the only man to take all 10 wickets in a test, lasting from 1956 until early 1999 when Anil Kumble equalled the feat. Then Sir Garfield Sobers was the only man to hit 6 sixes in a first class over from 1968 until 1985 when Ravi Shastri did it. But then records, by their very nature are there to be broken – apart from being ‘the first’, I suppose.