Upon its initial release,"Last Christmas" spent five consecutive weeks at number two on the UK singles chart. It was beaten to Christmas number one by the charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?",on which Michael also performed. "Last Christmas" re-entered the chart several times in later years,becoming the highest-selling UK single never to reach number one.[4][5] It reached number one on New Year's Day 2021,[6] and finally became the Christmas number one in 2023,39 years after its release.[7] Combining sales and streams,it also became the third-best selling UK single,with 5.34 million sales,including streams. In 2024,it became the first song to be Christmas number one for consecutive years.
"Last Christmas" topped the charts in 15 other countries and reached the top ten in countries including Australia,Canada and the United States. It reached number two on the Billboard Global 200 in January 2021. Wham! donated their royalties to relief efforts for the Ethiopian famine.[8] In a UK-wide poll in December 2012,it was voted eight on the ITV television special The Nation's Favourite Christmas Song[9] and was voted most popular song of the 1980s in Channel 5's Christmas 2020 countdown Britain's Favourite '80s Songs.[10]
Composition
"Last Christmas" describes a Christmastime breakup. The engineer,Chris Porter,said the upbeat rhythm track contrasted against the sadness of unrequited love.[3] The same chord progression and melody is used for both the verse and chorus,with no middle eight.[6]
George Michael wrote "Last Christmas" in his childhood bedroom in February 1984,while he and his bandmate,Andrew Ridgeley,were visiting his parents.[3] Michael played Ridgeley the introduction and chorus melody,which Ridgeley later called "a moment of wonder".[11][5]
Wham! recorded "Last Christmas" in August 1984,at Advision Studios,London,with Michael having covered the studio in Christmas decorations "to set the mood".[5] Michael produced the song and wrote and performed every part,using a LinnDrum drum machine,a Roland Juno-60 synthesiser and sleigh bells.[6] Though Michael had no musical training,he performed each part himself,playing the keyboards "with two or three fingers",according to Porter.[6] The only other people in the studio were Porter and two assistants,Paul Gommersal and Richard Moakes.[6]
Chart performance
Sleeve back of 1985 UK release,titled Christmas 85
On release,"Last Christmas" reached number two on the singles chart,beaten by the charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid,on which Michael also performed. Wham! donated their "Last Christmas" royalties to the Ethiopian famine relief fund,the same cause as Band Aid.[6] "Last Christmas" entered the UK top 40 15 times and the top 10 six times,including five consecutive years between 2016 and 2020. In 1985 and 2017,it returned to number two.
In December 2019,"Last Christmas" reached number one on the Official Vinyl Singles Chart[12] and the Official Video Streaming Chart.[13] The following week,it was streamed 17.1 million times,a UK record for the most streams in a week.[14] It was the year's best-selling vinyl single in the UK.[15]By February 2020[update],"Last Christmas" had more than over 1.90 million copies. It was the 10th-bestselling UK single in history,and the bestselling single not to reach number one.[3][16] It was the most-played Christmas song of the 21st century in the UK until 2011,when it was overtaken by "Fairytale of New York" (1987) by the Pogues.[17]
In December 2023,"Last Christmas" became Christmas number one.[19] It also became the third-best selling UK single,with 5.34 million sales,including streams.[20] As of December 2023,"Last Christmas" had sold over 1.93 million physical copies and downloads,making it the eighth-bestselling single ever in the UK. It was certified six-times platinum in December 2023.[21] In 2024,it became the first song to be Christmas number one for two conseuctive years.[22] That year,PRS for Music estimated that "Last Christmas" generates £300,000 of royalties per year.[23]
In Germany,"Last Christmas" is the most successful Christmas single of all time,having spent 169 weeks on the German Singles Chart. It reached number one on 24 December 2021.[43] It has charted every year since 1997.[44] In January 2008,the song fell from No. 4 to No. 64,also making it the biggest fall out of the top 10 on the singles chart.[45] In Ireland the single went to number one on 30 December 2022 and returned to the top of the Irish charts on 27 December 2024.[46]
In Japan,the single was originally released in two different formats with different cover art,a 7-inch and 12-inch vinyl (Long version) both with "Credit Card Baby" as their B-side. The former entered the top 20 of the Oricon Singles Chart peaking at No. 15,while the latter reached No. 47.[47] The single was released in 1993 on CD single in the country and peaked at No. 17,selling nearly 40,000 copies that week.[48] It was reissued in November 2001 and 2004 as a two-track CD with the single edit and the "pudding mix".[49][50] "Last Christmas" is the eighth-best-selling single in Japan released by a foreign act,with total physical sales of 683,000 units.[51]
In the Netherlands,the song never reached No. 1,peaking at No. 2 in January 1985 (behind Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?"). In the Dutch Singles Top 100 (one of three charts in the Netherlands that claims to be the "official" chart,but it is the only one that is not broadcast and remains unpublished except on its own official web page),the song has now entered on 16 different occasions,including every year since 2006. Its highest position after 1984 was No. 4 (during the 2016 and 2018 Christmas season).[52][53] In the Dutch Mega Top 50 (which was first published in 1993),the song re-appeared in 1997,2000,2007,2008,and 2013.
"Last Christmas" was not released as a single in the United States until November 2014,when it was made available on 12" vinyl as a Record Store Day exclusive.[54] It has re-entered the Billboard Holiday 100 chart on a regular basis,peaking at No. 3 on 7 December 2019.[55][56] In November 2016,total US sales of the digital track stood at 751,000 downloads according to Nielsen SoundScan,placing it 10th on the list of best-selling Christmas/holiday digital singles in US SoundScan history.[57] The song debuted at No. 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the chart dated 7 January 2017,after George Michael died.[58] In December 2018,the song re-entered the Hot 100,reaching No. 25 in January 2019,[59] and then a new peak of No. 11 in the first issue of 2020. On the issue dated 2 January 2021,"Last Christmas" reached No. 9 on the Hot 100,its first foray into the top 10 and returning Wham! to the top 10 after a 35-year break. The following year,on the issue dated 1 January 2022,the song reached No. 7.[60][61][62] On the issue dated 24 December 2022,the song reached a new peak of No. 6 on the Hot 100.[63] On the year's last issue of the Billboard Hot 100,dated 31 December 2022,"Last Christmas" reached the top five.[64] In 2024,the song became the first Christmas single to chart during the year-end holiday season,debuting at No. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending 23 November. On Billboard's 50th issue of 2024,dated 14 December,the song reached a new peak position of No. 3 on the Hot 100.[65] On 10 December 2024,the digital single was certified seven-times platinum,indicating US sales of 7 million digital units.[66] In 2017,2018,2019 and 2021,"Last Christmas" reached No. 1 on the Swedish singles chart.[67]
Music video
The music video has Michael and Ridgeley accompanying girlfriends at a ski resort,contrasting scenes of a happy Christmas holiday with "wistful memories about past romance".[6] According to Wham!’s manager at the time,Simon Napier-Bell,Michael planned "Last Christmas" as part of a "Christmas package" including the video and a performance at Wembley Stadium. Michael instructed the director,Andrew Morahan,to create a Christmas version of the video for Wham!'s single "Club Tropicana".[6] It was filmed in a ski resort in Saas-Fee,Switzerland,with friends and family members,including the Wham! backing singers Pepsi &Shirlie.[6] Michael's ex-girlfriend was played by the model Kathy Hill.[6]
The music video,originally shot on 35mm film,was re-released on 13 December 2019 in 4K Ultra HD resolution.[68] Morahan had found seven out of the eight rolls of original 35mm rushes and worked with teams at Cinelab London and VFX artist Russ Shaw at Nice Biscuits post production to recreate the video using the higher-resolution film.[68]
Plagiarism allegations
On behalf of the writers of the 1975 song "Can't Smile Without You",made popular by Barry Manilow,the publishing company Dick James Music sued Michael for plagiarism in the mid-1980s,claiming that "Last Christmas" had taken its melody. The case was dismissed when a musicologist presented numerous songs from the past century that had a comparable chord sequence and melody.[3][69]
Other media
A sixty-minute TV documentary about the story of "Last Christmas" aired on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer in December 2024 to mark the 40th anniversary of its release.[70] It features Ridgeley,Shirlie,Pepsi and other close friends from the original music video,and revisits Saas-Fee in Switzerland where the music video was made,as well as looking into the creation of the song.[71] The film Last Christmas (2019) prominently features the music of George Michael,including this song.[72]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. † Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.
Italian dance act Whigfield covered "Last Christmas" and released it as a double A-side with "Big Time" in the UK in December 1995. The single was also released as a double A-side single in Germany with "Close to You". In other countries, "Last Christmas" was released on its own with various remixes. The single was produced by Larry Pignagnoli and reached number 21 in the UK, which was Whigfield's final release on Systematic Records. It also appears on various Special Edition versions of her debut album, Whigfield (1995), and also on Whigfield II (1997). The accompanying music video for Whigfield's cover was directed by Italian director Giacomo De Simone, featuring the singer performing the song in a winter landscape.
Chart performance
Whigfield's cover of "Last Christmas" climbed into the top 10 in both Denmark and Spain, peaking at numbers six and five, respectively. It was also a top-20 hit in Finland and a top-30 hit in Ireland and the United Kingdom. In the latter country, "Last Christmas" / "Big Time" peaked at number 21 during its first week on the UK singles chart, on 10 December 1995.[232] It was additionally a top-40 hit in Belgium, as well as on the European Hot 100 Singles, on which the song reached number 38.
Critical reception
John Perry from NME named "Last Christmas" by Whigfield Single of the Week, writing, "Gird your loins and don that silly party hat, pop-pickers, because what we have here is the classic Christmas single. [...] The Whigster has taken what was a definitive Christmas song and given it a monster 'I Feel Love' hi-NRG fuel-injection that will have the nation stomping those accursed parsnips into Auntie Mabel's best rug in front of The Queen..."[231] Gill Whyte from Smash Hits gave it two out of five, describing it as "a cover of the George Michael swoon choon for the festive season, given the usual tinny pop Whiggers treatment, with lots of bingy-bongy synths. A classic song, so you can't go wrong, um, only she has, 'cos it just ain't as good as the original."[233]
Track listings
12-inch single, Italy (1995)
CD single, UK (1995)
1. "Last Christmas" (MBRG Version) – 5:25
1. "Last Christmas (Major Cut) – 4:10
2. "Last Christmas" (Major Version) – 4:10
2. "Big Time (Dancing Divas Club Mix) – 6:54
3. "Big Time" (Album Version) – 3:21
3. "Saturday Night (Spike Vocal) – 7:28
4. "Last Christmas" (David Version) – 8:00
4. "Saturday Night (Afternoon Mix) (Fishbone Beat's Remix)
"Last Christmas" was recorded in 2007 by Cascada. It was released on iTunes in November 2007. The single had only a digital release but six days later, it was released on the single "What Hurts the Most" which was the first single from their second album. It was also released as part of their Christmas album, It's Christmas Time.
British singer Joe McElderry covered the song in 2011. This version was released as a single on 19 December 2011,[265] an EP was also released digitally in Ireland on 4 November 2011, and in the UK on 7 November 2011. McElderry's version is taken from his third studio album, Classic Christmas, released 28 November 2011. 7th Heaven Remix & Production have done a remix for the song.
A short music video was made using footage which was filmed for the Classic Christmas's album advertising, it features McElderry outside in the snow, collecting logs and taking them to a large house preparing for a Christmas party, a similar video was made for McElderry's version of "O Come All Ye Faithful". The advert and both videos were directed by Steve Lucker.[266]
"Last Christmas" was covered by American singer Ariana Grande, and serves as the lead single from Grande's Christmas Kisses. It was released on 19 November 2013 in the iTunes Store.[267]
Grande's cover draws primarily from pop music, contemporary R&B and soul and also includes newly written lyrics in place of some of the originals.[268][269] The verses have been described as having a more poppy and R&B vibe than the original.[268]
"Last Christmas" was covered by Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen in 2015 and was released to digital retailers on 20 November 2015 through 604 Records (in Canada) and Interscope Records and School Boy Records (internationally).[287] Jepsen's rendition was praised by critics for combining stylistic elements similar to the original with modern production.[288] She performed the song live at the annual NBC television special Christmas in Rockefeller Center airing on 2 December 2015,[289] and on the episode of The Late Late Show with James Corden airing on 16 December 2015.[290]
Bianca Gracie of Idolator described the song as "quintessential Carly" for highlighting Jepsen's unique vocals and synth production and wrote that her cover will "charm your... socks off".[291] Nolan Feeney of Time echoed those sentiments, noting that "Last Christmas" is "the kind of brokenhearted yet warm and sweet song [Jepsen] excels at".[292] Jackson McHenry of Vulture applauded Jepsen for her straightforward approach to the song and avoiding the "vocal gymnastics" that bog down some Christmas covers.[293]
A more critical review came from music blog Popcrush, who deemed the cover overproduced, saying "The slick production is a disservice to both Jepsen's vocals and the original's emotional heft."[294]
Billie Piper originally recorded a cover of the song as a B-side of her 1998 single "She Wants You". It was released as a CD single in limited areas of Europe, charting at No. 47 in Sweden.[302] The single was released as a promotional vinyl single in the UK, limited to 500 copies, and therefore could not chart there.[citation needed]
James TW's version in 2018 peaked at number 22 on the New Zealand Hot Singles Chart, and at number 38 on Sverigetopplistan, the official Swedish singles chart.[307]
Backstreet Boys released a cover of the song on September 6, 2022, as a part of their first Christmas album, A Very Backstreet Christmas. It was accompanied by a music video on November 1 the same year and reached number 1 on the Billboard Holiday AC chart.[308]
Lauren Spencer-Smith released a cover of the song on November 11, 2022. Her version peaked at number 81 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 2022.[309]
One, who represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002, adapted the song in Greek as "Οι καμπάνες χτυπούν" (Bells are ringing) in their 2003 album Όνειρα (Dreams).[310]
↑ Wham!. Last Christmas (Media notes). CBS Records. EPC A 4949. Editado e Distribuido em Portugal por CBS (Portugal) Música e Discos, Lda
↑ 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.
↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 49. týden 2022 in the date selector. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 51,52. týden 2018 in the date selector. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
↑ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Wham!".
↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 51,52. týden 2016 in the date selector. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 52,01. týden 2019 in the date selector. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
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