Wham! “Last Christmas” is the first consecutive Christmas in the UK

Wham!’s festive song Last Christmas Although it never made it to number one when it was released in 1984, it achieved a historic first as it became the first title to reach the top spot in the festive charts for the second time in a row.

40 years after its debut, the song written by George Michael beat competition from Mariah Carey, Gracie Abrams, Tom Grennan and Ariana Grande to reach the top of the charts. This follows the success achieved last year following a campaign by Wham! reached the same position. fans.

Michael’s bandmate Andrew Ridgeley told the BBC he was delighted that his late friend’s talent was being recognised: “He would have been extremely pleased that 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, evokes and represents Christmas the way we would all want it to be.”

The BBC reports that the Official Charts Company confirms the song was streamed 12.6 million times in the week before Christmas.

A new documentary Wham!’s Last Christmas unpacked aired on the BBC last week, it explored how Michael created the song and played every instrument himself before the band traveled to Saas-Fe, Switzerland, along with their friends to film the video.

On their return, Michael joined the rest of Bob Geldof’s musical recruits for Band Aid, the breakthrough charity single Last Christmas to the top of the charts this year. Michael admitted his ego was hurt by not having the celebratory number one, but he showed his generosity by deciding to donate all the royalties from his own record to the Band Aid broadcast.

Michael died on Christmas Day 2016 and in the documentary his friends fondly remembered how important that time of year was for him.