‘Last Christmas’ is the official UK Christmas number 1 for the first time. 39 years have had to pass for the enduring success of WHAM! managed to rise to the top position on the islands’ hit list during the Christmas season.
As you may remember, ‘Last Christmas’ reached number 1 in the United Kingdom for the first time in 2021, 36 years after its release, but that happened at the beginning of January, after Christmas. For British pop, the “Christmas Number 1” of ‘Last Christmas’ is a milestone.
Andrew Ridgeley, surviving member of WHAM!, has claimed that George Michael – sole author of ‘Last Christmas’ – wrote ‘Last Christmas’ with the full intention of it being the number 1 Christmas song in the United Kingdom. Now, finally, he has fulfilled his goal.
UK Official Charts indicates, on the other hand, that ‘Last Christmas’ has been the most streamed song in the United Kingdom during the Christmas week in history, adding 13.3 million streams in the last seven days.
‘Last Christmas’ is one of the five most successful songs in history in the United Kingdom, adding real sales and streaming. Another of those five golden songs is ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ by Band Aid, the same one that prevented ‘Last Christmas’ from initially reaching number 1 on the islands in 1984.
Podcast: George Michael
