Wham!’s beloved holiday classic “Last Christmas” has soared to the top of this year’s Christmas charts, a remarkable 39 years after its initial release. The festive anthem outshined contemporary artists, including Sam Ryder, Mariah Carey, and Noah Kahn, to clinch the coveted Christmas number-one spot.
“Last Christmas,” first introduced to the world in 1984, had been a perennial favourite during the holiday season but never quite made it to the number one position. This year, however, the song has seen an unprecedented resurgence in popularity. UK fans have shown their enduring love for the track, streaming it a record-breaking 13.3 million times during Christmas week, more than any other song in the history of the festive period.
Andrew Ridgeley, one-half of the Wham! duo expressed his deep gratitude and amazement at this achievement in a recent interview with the BBC. “It’s marvellous and humbling to have got there,” he said. “Top of the pile is a great place to be.” Ridgeley also reminisced about his late bandmate George Michael, who passed away in 2016, noting that Michael had always dreamed of the song reaching this festive pinnacle. “He’d be absolutely over the moon,” Ridgeley added.
The song’s journey to number one is a tale of persistence and the timeless appeal of classic holiday music. In 1984, “Last Christmas” was narrowly beaten to the top spot by Band-Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” Despite this initial setback, the song has remained a staple of holiday playlists around the world, embodying the spirit of the season for millions.
