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Kylie fight in Christmas singles race

Wed Dec 15, 2004 12:23 PM GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Pop queen Kylie Minogue is in a race for second place on the Christmas singles chart now that the reworked Band Aid charity song "Do They Know It's Christmas" is all but guaranteed the coveted number one spot.
Bookmakers William Hill stopped taking bets on the Band Aid single to become the top Christmas tune two months ago. They now tip Kylie's upbeat "I Believe In You" and the Ronan Keating and Cat Stevens duet "Father and Son" as the most likely runners-up.

"Band Aid is outselling Ronan Keating and Kylie by five to one on a daily basis so it's absolutely surefire to be number one," Rupert Adams, a William Hill spokesman, said on Wednesday.

"In terms of number two, if Father and Son wins we'll probably have a nigh on six figure payout," Adams added.

But some stiff competition could come from Kylie Minogue who jumped straight into the No. 2 spot in last week's charts with her latest release.

"It's neck and neck at the moment," said Gennaro Castaldo, a spokesman for HMV. "My feeling is it's likely to be Kylie Minogue. It's a very lively, great song -- very catchy and likely to be played at the parties a lot."

"The Ronan Keating song is very melancholic and mournful. Although it sometimes plays well at this time of year it doesn't necessarily have the kind of zest you want for a Christmas song."

Morrissey's "I have forgiven Jesus", Bo Selecta's double A-side "Proper Chrimbo" and rapper Ice Cube's "You Can Do It" are also long-shot contenders, William Hill said.

The contest for top Christmas album is less clear cut. Bookies say British crooner Robbie Williams holds a slight edge over Irish rockers U2, who recently topped charts around the world with their "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" album.

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