Wham! song ‘Last Christmas’ reaches top spot on UK Christmas chart almost 40 years after release
By Dan Heching, CNN
(CNN) — It turns out the Christmas chart is a real thing in the United Kingdom – not something made up for the classic film “Love Actually” – and a certain beloved band has topped it this year with one of their most popular hits.
“Last Christmas” by Wham! – the duo formed by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley – has been named the top song on the Official Charts Christmas list by BBC Radio 1.
In a social media post shared both by the Wham! official account as well as that of Official Charts on Friday, Ridgeley was seen reacting to the news, saying in a video, “George would be beside himself, after all these years, to finally attain the Christmas no. 1 (spot).”
Ridgeley went on to say it felt like a “mission accomplished,” adding that Michael wrote the song with the intention of it reaching the milestone.
The love for Wham! and “Last Christmas” has been palpable this year.
Earlier this week, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney of “Welcome to Wrexham” spoofed the band and specifically the album image from “Last Christmas” on Instagram.
The photo was in black and white and framed similarly to the cover photo for the hit holiday single, with Reynolds sporting the floppy blond hair made famous by Michael.
“WREXHAM!” the caption on the photo McElhenney posted on his Instagram account read.
“Last Christmas” was originlly released by Wham! in December of 1984. At the time, it spent five consecutive weeks at the number two spot on the UK Singles Chart.
The song has since been covered by many artists, including Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Jimmy Eat World and the Backstreet Boys.
Ridgeley is the surviving member of Wham!, after Michael died on Christmas day almost seven years ago, in 2016.
The-CNN-Wire
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