Last Christmas

For other uses, see Last Christmas (disambiguation).

"Last Christmas"
UK vinyl sleeve for the original 1984 and international release[1][2]
Single by Wham!
from the album Music from the Edge of Heaven and The Final
A-side"Everything She Wants" (various)
B-side
Released3 December 1984
RecordedAugust 1984
StudioAdvision, London[3]
Genre
Length4:27
Label
Songwriter(s)George Michael
Producer(s)George Michael
Wham! singles chronology
"Freedom"
(1984) 		"Last Christmas"
(1984) 		"Everything She Wants"
(1984)
Music video
"Last Christmas" on YouTube
Back cover
Back cover of original 1984 UK gatefold edition

"Last Christmas" is a song by English pop duo Wham!. Written and produced by George Michael, it was released on 3 December 1984 via CBS Records internationally and as a double A-side via Epic Records with "Everything She Wants" in several European countries. The song has been covered by many artists since its original release, including Whigfield, Crazy Frog, Billie Piper, Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande.

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 Michael also performed). After many chart runs in subsequent years, which included three more weeks at number two, and which saw the recording become part of RCA Records' catalogue, 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;[4] in doing so, it became the fifth UK number one single for the duo. Prior to it reaching number one, "Last Christmas" had for many years held the record as the highest-selling single never to top the charts by the Official Charts Company (OCC) with 1.9 million copies sold (not including streams).[5][6] This record is now held by "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers.[7] The song 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.[8] Having been the Christmas number two again in 2022, "Last Christmas" finally achieved the accolade of Christmas number one in 2023, 39 years after its initial release.[9] Combining sales and streams, it also became the third biggest song of all time in the UK.[10]

Outside the United Kingdom, the song topped the charts in fourteen countries and peaked within the top ten of the charts in several countries including Australia, Canada and the United States. It also reached number two on the Billboard Global 200 in January 2021. Wham! donated all of their royalties to relief efforts for the Ethiopian famine.[11] In a UK-wide poll in December 2012, it was voted eight on the ITV television special The Nation's Favourite Christmas Song[12] and was voted most popular song of the 1980s in Channel 5's Christmas 2020 countdown Britain's Favourite 80's Songs.[13] It was the most-played Christmas song of the 21st century in the UK until it was overtaken by "Fairytale of New York" in 2011.[14]

  1. ^ Wham!. Last Christmas (Media notes). CBS Records. EPC A 4949. Editado e Distribuido em Portugal por CBS (Portugal) Música e Discos, Lda
  2. ^ Wham!. Last Christmas (Media notes). CBS Records. EPCA 4949. Made in Holland The Dutch-manufactured pressing contains the names of the band and of the song.
  3. ^ Rachel, Aroesti (14 December 2017). "Still saving us from tears: the inside story of Wham!'s Last Christmas". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  4. ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (1 January 2021). "Last Christmas by Wham! reaches No 1 for first time after 36 years". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 1 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  5. ^ "Wham's Last Christmas finally reaches Number 1, sets Official Chart record". www.officialcharts.com. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  6. ^ Savage, Mark (1 January 2021). "Wham!'s Last Christmas goes to number one for the first time". BBC News. London. Archived from the original on 1 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  7. ^ Savage, Mark (9 May 2024). "Mr Brightside: The Killers' hit becomes the biggest song never to top charts". BBC News. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  8. ^ "Wham! finally reach No.1 with Last Christmas after 36 years". Music Week. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  9. ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (22 December 2023). "Wham!'s Last Christmas finally reaches Christmas No 1, 39 years after release". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  10. ^ Savage, Mark (22 December 2023). "Last Christmas scores Christmas number one, beating Sam Ryder and Mariah Carey". BBC News. London. Archived from the original on 22 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  11. ^ Topping, Alexandra (26 December 2016). "The philanthropic acts of George Michael: from £5k tips to nurses' gigs". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  12. ^ "The Nation's Favourite Christmas Song". ITV. 22 December 2012.
  13. ^ "Channel 5: Top ranked songs from the 1980s". Forefront Market Research. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  14. ^ Chilton, Martin (15 December 2011). "Fairytale Of New York is true sound of Christmas". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 15 December 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2019.