Wham! Make chart history as “Last Christmas” takes the festive number one spot for the second year in a row | Ents & Arts News

Wham! have made chart history, with “Last Christmas” becoming the first song to be crowned Christmas number one two years in a row.

First published in December 1984, George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley had to wait 39 years to reach the festive top spot.

The year it was released, they were beaten by Band Aid’s charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, a track that… controversially seen that it was revised and in the charts again this year.

Now re-released to mark its 40th anniversary, Last Christmas is the most streamed and physically purchased song of the week, according to the Official Charts Company.

Last year the track secured the record for the longest track ever to reach first place in time Christmas Day.

Ridgeley told Official Charts that his late bandmate Michael, who died on Christmas Day 2016 aged 53, was “completely delighted” that the song had become a festive classic.

He said: “Thirty-seven years to number one, 39 years to Christmas number one, and then they all come at once like London buses!”

“I’m particularly happy for George, he would have been delighted, his fabulous Christmas composition has become such a classic, almost as much a part of Christmas as mince pies, turkey and pigs in blankets.”

“It’s a testament to a truly wonderful Christmas song that, in many people’s minds, represents and represents Christmas the way we would all want it to be.”

Martin Talbot, head of the official charts, said “Last Christmas” has “now undeniably established itself as the British nation’s favorite Christmas song of all time”.

Who else made it into the Christmas charts?

US pop star Gracie Abrams landed at number two on the Christmas week charts with her latest hit That’s So True.

Three decades after the release of “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” Mariah Carey celebrated third place.

Tom Grennan achieved a personal best with his new track “It Can’t Be Christmas”, a collaboration with Amazon Music Original, taking fourth place.

And Rose from Blackpink made it to fifth place with her dance floor hit Apt in collaboration with US singer Bruno Mars.

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Now in the official album charts, US pop star Sabrina Carpenter capped off an outstanding year by securing the title of number one Christmas album with Short N’ Sweet.

She beat Canadian crooner Michael Buble for first place, while his festive album Christmas took second place.

US star Chappell Roan, who also had a breakout year, secured third place with her hit debut “The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess”.

Global superstar Taylor Swift and indie rockers The Reytons took fourth and fifth place on the album charts, respectively.