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Wham!’s song Last Christmas was first released in December 1984… 38 years ago! And it is probably still the most-played Christmas song ever written apart from maybe Silent Night. How far did you make it in this year’s Whamageddon? Have you even heard about it? Well, if you haven’t, you’ve definitely missed out.
Whamageddon ends today (on the 24th of December 2022).
It encompassed trying to avoid hearing the original version of the song Last Christmas for as long as possible in the months of November and December.
And I, quite spectacularly, lost already when all of a sudden, mid-November (!) my workmates turned up the volume on the radio and began singing along to the original version of… Last Christmas.
Last Christmas is a song by British pop duo Wham!, originally released in December 1984 on CBS Records internationally and as a double A-side on Epic Records with Everything She Wants in the UK.
Described as a “high watermark of mid-80s British synthpop songcraft,” Last Christmas was written and produced by George Michael, and has been covered by many artists since its original release.
Upon its initial release in 1984, Last Christmas spent five consecutive weeks at number two in the UK Singles Chart.
It was held off the top spot at Christmas by Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? (on which George Michael also performed).
Last Christmas had many chart runs in subsequent years, which included three more weeks at number two.
Incredibly, the song finally reached number one in the UK Singles Chart on New Year’s Day 2021 (chart week ending date 7 January 2021), more than 36 years after its initial release!
The tune reached number one in the UK after it was streamed 9.2 million times in the last week of 2020 and sold 1’555 downloads, resulting in a total of 40’149 combined sales. The numbers of 2022 are not out yet, but hey, who can really live without Last Christmas?
Outside the United Kingdom, the song topped the charts in Denmark, Germany, Slovenia, and Sweden and peaked within the top ten of the charts in several countries, including Australia, Ireland, and the United States.
In a UK-wide poll in December 2012, Last Christmas was voted eighth on the ITV television special The Nation’s Favourite Christmas Song.
Following this, the iconic tune was voted most popular song of the 1980s in Channel 5’s Christmas 2020 countdown, Britain’s Favourite 80’s Songs.
Last Christmas was the most-played Christmas song of the 21st century in the UK until it was overtaken by Fairytale of New York in 2015.
Looking at the situation globally, however, Last Christmas by Wham! will most likely remain the most-played Christmas song ever for quite some years to come.
And just so you don’t miss out this year as well, here it is, the official video:
The Guardian: Last Christmas by Wham! reaches No 1 for first time after 36 years
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Liam Klenk was born in Central Europe and has since lived on four continents. Liam has always been engaged in creative pursuits, ranging from photography and graphic design, to writing short stories and poetry, to working in theatre and shows. In 2016, Liam published his first book and memoir, 'Paralian'.
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