Atheist Comedian/Songwriter Tim Minchin Could Have Christmas Hit

Almost straight copy/paste, just one small edit: (I don't think this is a news item in any news site I know, but it is surely atheist news. Written by Wonderist at Atheist Nexus. I have no affiliation with Tim Minchin.)

Apparently there's a bit of a tradition in the UK surrounding Christmas music singles charts, with lots of competition to get recognized in the Top 40 or Top 10, or better yet, stealing the #1 spot.

Australian comedian, singer, songwriter, and musician Tim Minchin's atheist Christmas song White Wine in the Sun is already #67 in the iTunes Top 100 for the UK. It has been quietly gathering attention among his fans and atheists and freethinkers around the world, and is poised to break through to the Top 40, if it can gather just a few more downloads from iTunes. It would be the first openly atheist Christmas song to do so.

From his site, a blog post titled Ready for a Christmas single with a difference? (Sunday, 13 December 2009):

OK, there are red cups at Starbucks and big socks in the shops… so what else is traditional at this time of the year? The Christmas single of course… but not the usual fare eh? ‘White Wine in the Sun’, the beautiful and sentimental encore to Tim’s ‘Ready For This?’ show has been released as a single for the first time and is now available on: iTunes

You can also get it elsewhere, if you are not into iTunes but the best way to ensure that your download counts towards the singles chart is to buy from iTunes.

We know getting it to chart is a ridiculous long shot… but just imagine if it did!

Update: It turns out it can be gifted through iTunes too, which is especially apt at this time of the year and for a Christmas single. Simply click “Gift This Music” under the information on the single’s page. However, it will ask the recipient to download iTunes if they do not already have it or to update if below Version 6. It’s even suitable for your auntie…and beats that pack of hankies she may give you hands down.

Check out his YouTube video to see his charming performance live: