Christma Number One album:  Cliff Richard versus Stormzy for festive chart-topper

Sir Cliff Richard must be in with a shout with his brand-new Christmas With Cliff album – to be fair it is rather good.

He is up against Stormzy and the reissued Michael Buble. Cliff had huge pre-orders as he was sending out signed cards for early birds then issued a CD edition with a magazine, so it shows up in supermarket newspaper racks.

The Pocket Gods have a gimmick too with All I Want For Christmas Is Someone To Buy My Million Pound Album.

So, these guys, who are in the Guinness World Records for most songs on a digital album – they put 1000 songs on the album all 30 seconds long - have made a one-off vinyl album on sale in St Albans for £1 million.

They hope to publicise how low the returns are for songs being streamed. Veteran Tony Christie has a credible ballad with Its Getting Close To Christmas while Max Restaino has released an EP with the lead track a nod to the swing classics and called Here For Christmas.

Judith Owen meantime adds some New Orleans jazz to her Merry Christmas Baby EP the pick of which is here Santa Baby rendition.

All the best elements of festive music can be found on A Christmas wish from Beverley Knight. Very uplifting and taken from the movie soundtrack of The Loss Adjuster which stars Joan Collins, Martin Kemp and Luke Goss.

Blues rock band Where Rivers Meet have a superb single with Christmas Is Here. Releasing the new record, they also announced a UK tour for early next year including a Glasgow date on May 20 at The Garage.

They won four UK Blues Awards in 2021 and three UK Blues Awards in 2022. Planet Rock awarded them Album of the Year for Saving Grace beating Iron Maiden into second place.

With vocals from Grace and Aaron Bond they have Roger Inniss on bass and James Fox on drums making a tight unit we are sure to hear much more from.