Sutton Benger’s Gabrielle Aplin has topped a chart with her haunting rendition of The Power of Love.

The song knocked The Pogues’ '80s Irish folk ballad, Fairytale of New York off the top spot in the 2012 PPL People Most Played Christmas Songs chart.

After The Power of Love formed the soundtrack to last year’s heart-warming John Lewis Christmas advertisement featuring the story of a snowman, who goes on a quest to find his snow-woman partner the perfect gift for Christmas, it debuted in the UK chart at number one in December 2012. 

It has since brought Aplin and her music to mainstream attention - her debut album English Rain released in May 2013 went on to peak at number two in the UK album chart.

The top 30 chart also features a range of well-known festive classics, spanning six decades, from Mariah Carey’s up-tempo 1990s hit All I Want for Christmas is You at number three, and Coldplay’s 2010 offering, Christmas Lights – a new entry, which peaked in the UK charts at number 13 on release - at number 27 in this chart, to Wizzard’s 1970s feel-good festive anthem, I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday at number six and Bing Crosby’s 1940s classic, White Christmas – the oldest song in the chart - at number 30.

The chart shows the '80s as being the most successfully festive decade, with almost half of the top thirty tracks coming from that period. At number 24 is also the original '80s version of The Power of Love by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, which went to number one in in the UK charts in December 1984 with a video depicting the nativity, before losing out on the Christmas number one slot to Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? which also features in this chart at number five.

Other new entries this year include Andy Williams’ It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year and Lonely This Christmas from English glam rock band, Mud, which was the UK Christmas number one in 1974.