Bibliogryphon

All bets are off now as to whether we equal or even break the record. With 5 hits in less than 20 days and at least one piece of low hanging fruit clinging to the branches there is the possibility of a new record but personally I think it will be 19 hits for the year

Norman Lear gets the Serling award

06.12.23 31 Pulp — Common People +1 30 Kylie Minogue — Confide In Me 30 Natalie Imbruglia — Torn 28 Deee-Lite — Groove Is In The Heart 26 DNA ft. Suzanne Vega — Tom's Diner +1 26 Supergrass — Alright / Time 26 James — Sit Down +1 25 Madonna — Beautiful Stranger 24 The Verve — Bitter Sweet Symphony 23 The Cardigans — Lovefool 22 Blur — Song 2 -2 21 Ace Of Base — The Sign -2 20 KLF ft. Tammy Wynette — Justified And Ancient +1 16 Ce Ce Peniston — Finally (Re-Issue) 12 Fatboy Slim — Right Here, Right Now 04 Stardust — Music Sounds Better With You -2 04 Haddaway — What Is Love

6/12/2023 35 Wizzard — I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday 34 Kate Bush — December Will Be Magic Again +1 33 Andy Williams — It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year 33 Wham! — Last Christmas 32 The Pretenders — 2000 Miles 32 Greg Lake — I Believe In Father Christmas 32 Gabriella Cilmi — Warm This Winter   31 Eartha Kitt — Santa Baby 30 Queen — Thank God It’s Christmas 29 Bing Crosby — White Christmas 29 The Beach Boys — Little Saint Nick 29 The Wombles — Wombling Merry Christmas +1 27 Bobby Helms — Jingle Bell Rock 26 Burl Ives — Holly Jolly Christmas 26 The Darkness — Don’t Let The Bells End 25 Jona Lewie — Stop The Cavalry 24 Ray Conniff — Carol Of The Bells 24 Elvis Presley — Blue Christmas 24 José Feliciano — Feliz Navidad 24 Bing Crosby & David Bowie — Peace On Earth / Little Drummer Boy 23 Kay Starr — (Everybody’s Waitin’ For) The Man With The Bag 23 Run-DMC — Christmas In Hollis 23 The Ronettes — Sleigh Ride 23 Nat King Cole — The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) 22 Mike Oldfield — In Dulci Jubilo 22 Dean Martin — Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! 22 Darlene Love — Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) 22 The Waitresses — Christmas Wrapping 22 Elton John — Step Into Christmas 21 Destiny’s Child — 8 Days Of Christmas 21 Chuck Berry — Run Rudolph Run 21 Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters — Mele Kalikimaka 21 Brenda Lee — Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree 21 George Michael — December Song 21 The Crystals — Santa Claus Is Coming To Town 21 Perry Como — Winter Wonderland 21 Gene Autry — Here Comes Santa Claus 20 The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl — Fairytale Of New York 20 Perry Como — It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas 19 The Eagles — Please Come Home For Christmas 19 Donny Hathaway — This Christmas -2 16 Saint Etienne — I Was Born On Christmas Day 15 Coldplay — Christmas Lights 14 The Ronettes — Frosty The Snowman 13 Chris de Burgh — A Spaceman Came Travelling +1 12 The Ronettes — Frosty The Snowman -2 11 Shakin’ Stevens — Merry Christmas Everyone 11 Perry Como — God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen -2 09 Boney M — Mary’s Boy Child (Oh My Lord) +1 06 Frank Sinatra — Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas 

Only one more needed to bring up the 50th hit of the year

1923 Vic Sexias/Julie Mandel 1924 William Russell/Jane Morgan 1925 Pete Murray/Ysanne Churchman 1926 Timothy Dudley-Smith/Kitty Hart-Moxon 1927 Sandy Gall/Leontyne Price 1928 Tom Lehrer/Queen Ratna of Nepal 1929 John Woodvine/K.M.Peyton 1930 Douglas Hurd/Edna O'Brien  1931 Ken Bates/Leslie Caron 1932 Roy Hattersley/Prunella Scales

My three teams have gone in

Paul Heckingbottom is my sixth hit Not quite sure where my next one is coming from

Voting twice a day but at least 8 hours apart

Or -9 and +6

5/12/2023 32 Kate Bush — December Will Be Magic Again +2 32 Andy Williams — It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year  31 Bing Crosby — White Christmas 30 Darlene Love — Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) 29 Greg Lake — I Believe In Father Christmas 29 Gabriella Cilmi — Warm This Winter 29 Wham! — Last Christmas 29 The Beach Boys — Little Saint Nick 29 Wizzard — I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday +1 27 Bobby Helms — Jingle Bell Rock 27 Eartha Kitt — Santa Baby 26 Queen — Thank God It’s Christmas 26 The Pretenders — 2000 Miles 26 The Darkness — Don’t Let The Bells End 25 Jona Lewie — Stop The Cavalry 25 Burl Ives — Holly Jolly Christmas 24 The Wombles — Wombling Merry Christmas 24 Ray Conniff — Carol Of The Bells  24 Bing Crosby & David Bowie — Peace On Earth / Little Drummer Boy 23 The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl — Fairytale Of New York 22 Elvis Presley — Blue Christmas 22 José Feliciano — Feliz Navidad 22 The Waitresses — Christmas Wrapping 22 Run-DMC — Christmas In Hollis 22 The Ronettes — Sleigh Ride 22 Nat King Cole — The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) 22 Mike Oldfield — In Dulci Jubilo 22 Dean Martin — Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! 21 Destiny’s Child — 8 Days Of Christmas 21 Perry Como — God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 21 Chuck Berry — Run Rudolph Run 21 Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters — Mele Kalikimaka 21 Brenda Lee — Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree 21 George Michael — December Song 21 Coldplay — Christmas Lights 21 Kay Starr — (Everybody’s Waitin’ For) The Man With The Bag 21 The Crystals — Santa Claus Is Coming To Town 21 Perry Como — Winter Wonderland 21 Donny Hathaway — This Christmas 21 Gene Autry — Here Comes Santa Claus 20 Elton John — Step Into Christmas 19 The Eagles — Please Come Home For Christmas 19 Perry Como — It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas 17 Jethro Tull — Ring Out Solstice Bells 17 Shakin’ Stevens — Merry Christmas Everyone 16 Frank Sinatra — Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas 15 The Jackson 5 — I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus -2 15 Boney M — Mary’s Boy Child (Oh My Lord) 12 Saint Etienne — I Was Born On Christmas Day 14 The Ronettes — Frosty The Snowman -2 12 Chris de Burgh — A Spaceman Came Travelling +1 10 Stevie Wonder — What Christmas Means To Me -2 07 Tom Jones & Cerys Matthews — Baby It’s Cold Outside

05.12.2023 36 Blur — Song 2 28 Pulp — Common People +1 27 James — Sit Down +1 26 Deee-Lite — Groove Is In The Heart 25 Kylie Minogue — Confide In Me 25 The Cardigans — Lovefool 25 DNA ft. Suzanne Vega — Tom's Diner +1 23 KLF ft. Tammy Wynette — Justified And Ancient +1 23 Supergrass — Alright / Time 23 Madonna — Beautiful Stranger 22 The Verve — Bitter Sweet Symphony 21 Natalie Imbruglia— Torn 21 Ace Of Base — The Sign 18 The Corrs — Runaway 16 Haddaway — What Is Love 14 Ce Ce Peniston — Finally (Re-Issue) 13 Fatboy Slim — Right Here, Right Now  10 Stardust — Music Sounds Better With You 08 Pulp — Mis-Shapes / Sorted For E’s And Wizz 08 Alannah Myles — Black Velvet -6

Swansea sack Michael Duff

Updated for Kissinger and MacGowan. The 18th hit in 2020 was on 3rd December and the Seventeenth that year was 16 day ahead of this year. The last two hits in 2020 were in the last week so statistically we could be looking at one more hit but there are plenty of candidates

Down to 20 within less than 24 hours going on this but already 3 of my top ten have been eliminated

and won't get cancelled before it is resolved

@DoltonMoney You have subtracted 8 points (2 for Barcelona and 6 for Torn)

Henry Kissinger is a hit for me here and I will add Peter Greenaway to the bottom of my subs list

Revised list of potential winning picks 1. Marc Almond (da) 2. Adam Ant (ms) 3. Thelma Barlow (bp) 4. Shirley Bassey (ms) 5. Victoria Beckham (da) 6. Melanie Chisholm (da) 7. Vince Clarke (gr) 8. Phil Collins (sc) (gr, ms) 9. Randy Crawford (gr) 10. Anne Cunningham (bp) 11. Kenneth Farrington (bp) 12. Brenda Fricker (da) 13. Geri Halliwell (da) 14. Michelle Heaton (da) 15. Ayatollah Khomenei (th) 16. Sally Kirkland (da) 17. John Leckie (gr) 18. Sophia Loren (th) 19. Philip Lowrie (bp) 20. Shirley MacLaine (th) 21. Jochen Mass (da) 22. Zubin Metha (ms) 23. DJ Minutemix (sc) 24. Micheal Moore (da) 25. Kevin Rowland (th) 26. William Russell (bp) 27. Penny Ryder (da) 28. Prunella Scales (th) 29. Mahbouba Seraj (da) 30. Vern Shuppen (da) 31. Lula da Silva (da) 32. David Sterne (da) 33. Andy Taylor (sc) (gr) 34. Pete Waterman (ms) 35. Kayne West (da) 36. Terry Williams (sc) 37. Bobby Z (sc) In the case of Phil Collins and Andy Taylor @Spade_Cooley remains in control of the winning pick with all things being equal but another hit for @gcreptile in any category would see them steal them as winning picks

There was a tour of Jospeh a few years ago with the runners up from the competition taking the lead role and in an attempt to drag in punters they invited local dance schools to participate in the venues so their families would come to see them. My niece was in one such show so as a dutiful uncle I went along. It was a most disturbing spectacle because through repetition and refrain the audience are worked up to a point where they believe they are enjoying themselves. However once I had seen through the musical trick I felt really uncomfortable watching everyone else around me

32 Andy Williams — It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year 30 Kate Bush — December Will Be Magic Again +2 30 Bing Crosby — White Christmas 29 The Pretenders — 2000 Miles 28 The Beach Boys — Little Saint Nick 28 Darlene Love — Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) 28 Wham! — Last Christmas 26 The Wombles — Wombling Merry Christmas 26 Bobby Helms — Jingle Bell Rock 25 Eartha Kitt — Santa Baby 25 The Darkness — Don’t Let The Bells End 25 Jona Lewie — Stop The Cavalry 24 Wizzard — I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday +1 24 The Waitresses — Christmas Wrapping 24 Ray Conniff — Carol Of The Bells  24 Bing Crosby & David Bowie — Peace On Earth / Little Drummer Boy 24 Queen — Thank God It’s Christmas 24 Burl Ives — Holly Jolly Christmas 24 John & Yoko etc. — Happy Xmas War is Over 23 Greg Lake — I Believe In Father Christmas 23 Gabriella Cilmi — Warm This Winter 22 Run-DMC — Christmas In Hollis 22 The Ronettes — Sleigh Ride 22 Nat King Cole — The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) 22 Mike Oldfield — In Dulci Jubilo 22 Perry Como — It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas 22 Dean Martin — Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! 21 Destiny’s Child — 8 Days Of Christmas 21 Perry Como — God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 21 Chuck Berry — Run Rudolph Run 21 Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters — Mele Kalikimaka 21 Brenda Lee — Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree 21 Boney M — Mary’s Boy Child (Oh My Lord) 21 George Michael — December Song 21 Coldplay — Christmas Lights 21 Kay Starr — (Everybody’s Waitin’ For) The Man With The Bag 21 The Crystals — Santa Claus Is Coming To Town 21 Perry Como — Winter Wonderland 21 Donny Hathaway — This Christmas -2 20 Gene Autry — Here Comes Santa Claus 20 The Eagles — Please Come Home For Christmas 19 Frank Sinatra — Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas 19 Tom Jones & Cerys Matthews — Baby It’s Cold Outside 18 The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl — Fairytale Of New York 17 José Feliciano — Feliz Navidad  17 Chris Rea — Driving Home For Christmas 17 Elton John — Step Into Christmas 17 Elvis Presley — Blue Christmas 17 Shakin’ Stevens — Merry Christmas Everyone 17 The Jackson 5 — I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus -2 16 The Ronettes — Frosty The Snowman 15 John & Yoko etc — Happy Xmas War is Over 14 Jethro Tull — Ring Out Solstice Bells 12 Stevie Wonder — What Christmas Means To Me -2 11 Leona Lewis — One More Sleep 11 Chris de Burgh — A Spaceman Came Travelling +1 10 Saint Etienne — I Was Born On Christmas Day 10 Kelly Clarkson — Underneath The Tree 9 Band Aid — Do They Know It’s Christmas?

04.12.23 38 Blur — Song 2 -1 29 James — Sit Down +2 24 DNA ft. Suzanne Vega — Tom's Diner +2 24 Haddaway — What Is Love 24 Pulp — Common People 23 Natalie Imbruglia — Torn 23 The Cardigans — Lovefool 22 KLF ft. Tammy Wynette — Justified And Ancient 22 Kylie Minogue — Confide In Me 21 The Verve — Bitter Sweet Symphony 21 Fatboy Slim — Right Here, Right Now 20 Pulp — Mis-Shapes / Sorted For E’s And Wizz 20 Ace Of Base — The Sign 20 Ce Ce Peniston — Finally (Re-Issue) 20 Supergrass — Alright / Time 19 Deee-Lite — Groove Is In The Heart 18 Madonna — Beautiful Stranger 18 The Corrs — Runaway -2 16 Stardust — Music Sounds Better With You 14 Alannah Myles — Black Velvet -3 10 Madonna — Ray Of Light 02 Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé — Barcelona

3/12/2023 22 James — Sit Down +2 22 DNA Ft. Suzanne Vega — Tom's Diner +2 21 Deee-Lite — Groove Is In The Heart 21 The Verve — Bitter Sweet Symphony 21 Fatboy Slim — Right Here, Right Now 20 Pulp — Mis-Shapes / Sorted For E’s And Wizz 20 Ace Of Base — The Sign 20 Madonna — Beautiful Stranger 20 Ce Ce Peniston — Finally (Re-Issue) 20 The Cardigans — Lovefool 20 Natalie Imbruglia — Big Mistake 20 Blur — Song 2 20 Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé — Barcelona 20 Natalie Imbruglia — Torn 20 Pulp — Common People 20 Supergrass — Alright / Time 20 Stardust — Music Sounds Better With You 20 The Corrs — Runaway 20 Haddaway — What Is Love 20 KLF ft. Tammy Wynette — Justified And Ancient 18 Chumbawamba — Tubthumping 18 Kylie Minogue — Confide In Me 18 Kris Kross — Jump -3 17 Alannah Myles — Black Velvet -3 14 Madonna — Ray Of Light

@Summer in Transylvania has a potential point pending on the publication of a suitable obituary for William P. Murphy

03/12/2023 66 Stardust — Music Sounds Better With You 65 The Corrs — Runaway 62 Fatboy Slim — Right Here, Right Now 44 Madonna — Beautiful Stranger 43 Madonna — Ray Of Light 40 Natalie Imbruglia — Big Mistake +4 14 Phats & Small — Turn Around -3 06 Terrorvision — Tequila 04 DJ Jurgen Presents Alice DeeJay — Better Off Alone -3