Wham!’s “Last Christmas” was crowned the U.K.’s Christmas No. 1 this year, 39 years after its official release.
The British holiday list named the song No. 1 after it was streamed 13.3 million times during Christmas week, according to Official Charts. The song became the most-streamed Christmas No. 1 ever during the week.
It is the first time in history that the song by the late George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley was named No. 1 in Christmas week. The song was written by Michael, who Ridgeley said had always wanted the song to be a Christmas No. 1.
“He felt any great songwriter should be able to write a Christmas hit to order,” Ridgeley said of Michael, according to BBC News. “Unfortunately, it’s taken too long for George – but he’d be absolutely over the moon.”
Michael died in 2016 at the age of 53.
In 1984, the year of its release, “Last Christmas” was kept from the top spot by Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” which was the second best-selling single of all time, Official Charts reported.
“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 in an interview with Official Charts. “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.”
Many Wham! fans were dismayed that the song had not won the year it was released. Now, Ridgeley said it’s a critical moment for the fans, him and Michael, whom he calls “Yog.” The nickname derives from the Greek pronunciation of Michael’s name, Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou.
“Christmas Number 1 has been a long-held ambition for Yog and I. And for the fans, too. It’ll mean a lot to WHAM!’s legacy – it’s the crowning glory. Last Christmas was conceived as a Christmas Number 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 Number 1.”
“Last Christmas” is the country’s fifth-largest song of all time, with a combined lifetime total of 5.34 million chart units, comprising 1.93 million sales and nearly 413 million streams, according to Official Charts data.