"Thank God It's Christmas" is a Christmas single by the British rock band Queen. It was written by lead guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. Released on 26 November 1984, the single spent six weeks in the UK charts over Christmas 1984 and new year of 1985, and peaked at number 21.
The song was not originally released on any Queen studio album, appearing only on Queen's Greatest Hits III, released in 1999, and as the B-side of the single "A Winter's Tale" from the 1995 album Made in Heaven. However, the track was finally included on the bonus EP packaged with the deluxe edition of their album The Works, remastered and re-released in 2011.
It appears on the Christmas compilation LP The Edge of Christmas in its full 12" version with the drum intro. It also appears on the US-only compilation boxed-set The Queen Collection, which consisted of a re-release of the LPs Classic Queen and Queen's Greatest Hits along with a bonus CD called Queen Talks that included this song, along with a 1989 interview with the band.
Music video Upon its original release, no promotional video was filmed for the track, with shows often using footage of live performances in lieu of an official promotional music video. In a 2018 interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, Brian May attributed the single's underwhelming chart performance to the lack of a music video.
In 2019, an animated music video was produced. The animation, directed by Justin Moon and Drew Gleason, depicted a wintery evening scene, with people enjoying each other's company during the Christmas season. The video was released in December 2019 on the Queen Official YouTube channel.
in 2026 a new version of the song will be released, as confirmed by Brian May. The original song was recorded in a very short time, Roger Tayler wasn’t in it with his drums. The new version will be updated to fit in this time, with Taylor on the drums.
Critical reception Upon its release, Howard Johnson of Kerrang! remarked that "even Freddie's excellent vox can't disguise that this is blandola naffola" and added, "The boys should quite honestly have employed themselves doing something a little more useful, like buying Fisher-Price toys for the kiddies."
Track listings 7" single
12" single
Personnel
Freddie Mercury – lead and backing vocals Brian May – electric guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals Roger Taylor – drums, drum machine, sleigh bells, synthesizer, backing vocals John Deacon – bass guitar
Charts
Weekly charts + 1984 weekly chart performance for "Thank God It's Christmas" Chart (1984) Peakposition UK Singles Chart21 Irish Singles Chart8Chart (1985)Peakposition Austrian Singles Chart21 German Singles Chart57 Chart (2013)Peakposition Slovenia Airplay (SloTop50) 29 Chart (2014)Peakposition Slovenia Airplay (SloTop50)28 Chart (2015)Peakposition Danish Singles Chart36 Slovenia Airplay (SloTop50)38 Chart (2016)Peakposition Slovenia Airplay (SloTop50) 22 Chart (2017)Peakposition Slovenia Airplay (SloTop50) 15 Chart (2018–2019)Peakposition Australia (ARIA)80 Denmark (Tracklisten)34 Hungary (Editors' Choice Top 40)40 Slovenia Airplay (SloTop50) 11 Chart (2019–2020)Peakposition Slovenia Airplay (SloTop50)17 Chart (2020–2021)Peakposition Denmark (Tracklisten)32 Slovenia Airplay (SloTop50)14 Chart (2021–2022)Peakposition Denmark (Tracklisten) 28 Lithuania (AGATA) 92 Chart (2022–2023)Peakposition Denmark (Tracklisten) 28 Italy (FIMI) 68 Chart (2023–2024)Peakposition Croatia International Airplay (Top lista) 13 France (SNEP) 77 Italy (FIMI) 57 Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100) 43 Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100) 36 Chart (2024–2025)Peakposition Estonia Airplay (TopHit) 27 France (SNEP) 45 Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100) 43 Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100) 37 Romania Airplay (TopHit) 61 Slovenia Airplay (Radiomonitor) 6 Chart (2025–2026)Peakposition Greece International (IFPI) 83 Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100) 42 Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100) 58 Portugal (AFP) 105 Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan) 3
Monthly charts + Monthly chart performance for "Thank God It's Christmas" Chart (2025) Peakposition Romania Airplay (TopHit) 85
Certifications
References
External links Lyrics at Queen official website (from Greatest Hits III)