Wham! have achieved this year’s UK Christmas No 1 with their 1984 single, “Last Christmas”, concluding one of the fiercest chart battles in recent memory.
The classic song by the Eighties pop duo – comprising Andrew Ridgeley and the late George Michael – can now claim the longest journey to the festive top spot, a record-breaking 39 years after it was first released.
They were denied the No 1 the first time round, when it was famously kept at bay by Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” – which actually featured Michael in the all-star charity ensemble.
Wham! fought off competition this year from heavyweights including Mariah Carey and her immortal hit, “All I Want for Christmas Is You”, and The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl’s “Fairytale of New York”, the subject of a campaign for No 1 after frontman Shane MacGowan’s death last month.
Also in the running was Ed Sheeran and Elton John’s 2021 single, “Merry Christmas”, which peaked at No 2 on the Christmas charts that year, beaten only by LadBaby’s “Sausage Rolls for Everyone” (also featuring Sheeran and John).
But the closest contender came in the form of Sam Ryder – the Eurovision star who represented the UK in the annual song contest in 2022 – and his surprise hit, “You’re Christmas to Me”, which ultimately came in at No 2.
“‘Last Christmas’ has finally ascended to the much-cherished and sought-after official Christmas No 1, which was always the main goal,” Ridgeley, 60, told Official Charts.
“George would be beside himself [that] after all of these years, [we’ve] finally obtained Christmas No 1. Yog [George] said that he wrote ‘Last Christmas’ with the intention of writing a Christmas No 1. It’s mission accomplished!”
Andrew Ridgeley with his trophy for Christmas No 1 2023— (Official Charts)
Michael died on Christmas Day in 2016, aged 53, of heart failure. In a career spanning four decades, he sold more than 100 million records with Wham! and as a solo artist.
“Last Christmas” was streamed 13.3 million times over the past seven days, according to Official Charts Company data, making it the most streamed Christmas No 1 ever during Christmas week.
“It was a huge disappointment to us both when it didn’t reach No 1 because, in our opinion, it was nailed on,” Ridgeley said. “Had it not been for Band Aid’s ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’, it probably would’ve been No 1. Thwarted for many years subsequent to that – the perennial bridesmaid – over recent years it seems it’s become part of the fabric of Christmas for a lot of people.”
Ridgeley also acknowledged what a huge win this was for Wham! fans, who have been campaigning to get “Last Christmas” to what they feel is a long-deserved place at the top of the charts.
“It’ll mean a lot to Wham!’s legacy – it’s the crowning glory,” he said. “‘Last Christmas’ was conceived as a Christmas No 1. Lofty ambitions, but Yog set lofty ambitions for himself as a songwriter. Our fans will have a real sense of achievement and pride in the fact it’s become Christmas No 1.”
Wham clowning around in festive gear for what they thought was a guaranteed No 1— (Supplied)
Many music fans will have breathed a sigh of relief after LadBaby announced they would not be releasing a Christmas single this year.
The husband-and-wife duo Mark and Roxanne Hoyle had dominated the Christmas charts for the past five years running with their sausage roll-themed parody covers of pop songs, which were released to raise money for food bank charity the Trussell Trust.
Ryder’s success in the Christmas charts is all the more impressive considering the single was only available on Amazon Music and YouTube, due to its release as an Amazon exclusive as part of the soundtrack for the film, Your Christmas or Mine 2.
Wham!’s ‘Last Christmas’ and Sam Ryder’s ‘You’re Christmas to Me’ were battling it out for the Christmas No 1, and it was a close-run thing— (Sony Music/Getty)
“You’re Christmas to Me” also marked Ryder’s first single as an independent artist, after he parted ways with label Polydor earlier this year.
Martin Talbot, chief executive officer of the Official Charts Company, said it was hard to recall “a harder-working Christmas No 2 artist than Sam Ryder”, who performed more than 30 shows in the past seven days as part of his efforts to top the charts.
“Sam has made it truly a chart battle to remember – and should be comforted by the many years it has taken a song as iconic as ‘Last Christmas’ to claim this most prized of chart achievements,” he said. “We can all only hope Sam doesn’t have as long to wait. Fantastic work, Sam – you are already a winner in our eyes!”
