Ed Sheeran's hit Perfect is revealed as the most streamed Christmas No 1 song trends now

Ed Sheeran's hit Perfect has been revealed as the most streamed Christmas No 1 song ever - beating several Yuletide classics.

The 2017 tune came out on top despite having no festive connotations, a list compiled by the Official Charts Company shows, as modern pop proves powerful thanks to the streaming revolution.

The top five songs are as follows: Perfect by Ed Sheeran; Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen; Rockabye by Clean Bandit featuring Sean Paul and Anne-Marie; Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin' Stevens and Do They Know it's Christmas? by Band Aid.

The DJ Steve Wright, whose show will count down the songs told The Times of the result: 'It's a brilliant song, but I was sure Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody would take the title. 

'I would never have guessed that Perfect has been streamed almost twice as many times as Freddie and the boys' classic 1975 hit.

'And I didn't expect Shakin' Stevens would be ahead of Band Aid either. It just goes to show how fascinating it is to delve into a list like this.'

In 2017 Perfect won the chart battle to be crowned the Christmas number one single. 

Following a year that saw his album, Divide, dominate the music charts across the globe, Ed ended 2017 well by taking both the number one and number two slots.

'Thank you very much for making Perfect Christmas Number 1. This is an actual dream come true and I'm very proud and happy. 

'Thank you so much and have a very Merry Christmas, happy holidays and a Happy New Year,' he said afterwards.

Ed beat off competition from Wham's Last Christmas, which shot up the charts after a George Michael fan campaign to get it to the top spot.