ONE OF Britain’s favourite musicians and Eurovision representatives appeared on the streets of Reading today as the battle for Christmas number 1 reaches its crescendo.
Sam Ryder was spotted signing autographs and taking selfies with fans in Broad Street on Tuesday, December 19, to the surprise of shoppers.
It comes as he is still in shock following the overwhelming popularity of his sleeper-hit Christmas song, You’re Christmas to Me.
He wrote the song for Your Christmas or Mine 2, a British film produced by Amazon Prime for its streaming service.
Sam said: “It was a total surprise to be in the running– we wrote the song for a movie coming out on Amazon, and once it was done we thought that was it.
“Then on December 1 it went absolutely berserk and came into the charts at 80, then jumped into the top 10.
“We’re so blown away by it, so we wanted to come and respond to that.”
Sam’s song is now second or third most likely in the running to reach Christmas number 1, depending on which bookmakers you ask, with odds of 6/1.
Betfair tweeted that only Wham! and The Pogues were currently ahead of Ryder, with odds of 1/3 and 5/1 respectively.
The Beatles were back on the list for the first time in decades with odds of 25/1 to take the top spot over Christmas.
He added: “When you look at the current top ten, I think we’re the only group with boots on the ground and coming to meet fans and bring joy to people at times like these.”
He explained that taking the number one spot would be: “Amazing– especially as it’s the first record we’ve ever put out independently.
“It’s been the best received we’ve ever put out, and that’s a testament to our amazing team.
“But when there’s six of you doing 26 shows in six days, going up and down the country in a transit van…
“I don’t know anyone that’s done that many in such a short time, with such a small team, and we’re going for it because we want to bring joy and we believe in the song.
“We’re so stoked… we’ll see you in the charts!”
You can listen to Sam Ryder’s You’re Christmas to Me via Amazon Music
