After 39 years, Wham! has finally achieved a Christmas No 1 for their song Last Christmas. The song had previously been denied the top spot during the holiday season by Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas?.
George Michael’s heartbroken performance has kept the pain and emotion of the song alive. This week, it was streamed 13.3 million times and received a boost from special vinyl and CD versions.
Andrew Ridgeley of Wham! expressed that George, who goes by Yog, would be extremely happy that their song “Last Christmas” has finally achieved the top spot on the Christmas charts after all these years. George had always hoped to write a Christmas number one hit and with this achievement, his mission is now complete.
“Both of us were greatly disappointed when it did not reach the top spot in 1984. We firmly believed it was certain to succeed. However, it continued to be overshadowed for many years and became known as the perennial runner-up. In recent years, it has become a staple of Christmas for many individuals.”
In the past, Last Christmas has been popular during the holiday season, but it has never reached the top of the charts during Christmas itself. However, in 2021 it achieved this feat, climbing to No 1 on New Year’s Day. It once again dominated the charts in December 2022 and remained at the top spot for two weeks in 2023. According to the “chart sales” measurement, which takes into account both sales and streams, Last Christmas is the third most successful song in UK history, with Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You in first place and Band Aid in second.
In recent years, the competition for the top spot on the Christmas music charts has been pretty much decided beforehand. This is due to the impressive efforts of YouTube sensation LadBaby, who has successfully raised money for charity and kept traditional holiday songs like Wham! and Mariah Carey from claiming the number one spot. Mark Hoyle, also known as LadBaby, has achieved an impressive feat of securing five consecutive number one hits since 2018. His covers of classic rock songs with cleverly rewritten lyrics about sausage rolls have captured the hearts of the public. Hoyle has announced that he will not be participating in this year’s race, stating that “we’ve decided to pass the baton.” He also expressed his surprise at the success, saying “we never expected it to be five, I’ll be completely honest. It just happened over the years, and we were amazed by the support from the public.”
His releases benefited food bank charity the Trussell Trust, which nonetheless had a boost this year thanks to another fundraising single, a cover of Wizzard’s I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day by TikTok collective Creator Universe, which reached No 29 and topped the sales and downloads charts (Wizzard’s original reaches No 26 in the official Top 40).
In another section of the graph – and as a win for the commercialization of Christmas – former UK Eurovision performer Sam Ryder is currently at No 2 with the song “You’re Christmas to Me,” which was created as part of a partnership with Amazon. The song is featured in the Amazon Prime movie “Your Christmas or Mine 2” and was exclusively available for streaming on the retailer’s platform. Chart analysts suggest that the song’s success can be attributed in part to its promotion on Amazon’s Alexa smart speakers. Other songs associated with Amazon that have performed well in recent years include Jess Glynne’s “This Christmas” and Ellie Goulding’s “River.” Additionally, Jorja Smith’s cover of “Stay Another Day” has reached No 18 this week after previously breaking into the Top 10.
Ryder put in a lot of effort to earn his spot on the charts, performing at 26 shows in the past six days. He wanted to emphasize that he was an independent artist, without the support of a label since his one-album deal with Parlophone Records for his debut studio album in 2022. “We didn’t even anticipate making it onto the charts,” he mentioned about his song “You’re Christmas to Me.” “But here we are, sandwiched between Mariah Carey and Wham!, and I couldn’t be happier. I hope this inspires other grassroots and indie artists to go for it – all you need is passion and determination.”
Carey’s dependable All I Want for Christmas Is You is still to have a Christmas No 1, only reaching No 3 this year. Breakthrough US singer-songwriter Noah Kahan is a rare non-Christmassy presence at No 4 with Stick Season, while Ed Sheeran and Elton John’s Merry Christmas is at No 5 and Shakin’ Stevens is at No 10 with Merry Christmas Everyone. Festive hits from Andy Williams, Kelly Clarkson, Dean Martin and Band Aid are all in the Top 20, too.
Unfortunately, the Pogues and their supporters were let down when their efforts to get Fairytale of New York to the top spot on the charts fell short. The song is currently at No 6 for this week. Many had high expectations for the song, as it was previously prevented from reaching Christmas No 1 in 1987 by Pet Shop Boys’ Always on My Mind. The recent passing of lead singer Shane MacGowan had also sparked the release of a vinyl edition of the song in hopes of boosting its chances.
Cher has made a comeback this year with an impressive dance-pop song called DJ Play a Christmas Song, which has reached No 20 on the charts this week. This achievement has made her the oldest woman to have a Top 40 single in the UK, at the age of 77. She has surpassed the previous record holder, Shirley Bassey, who was 70 when she reached No 37 with her song The Living Tree in 2007. (The oldest person to ever reach the Top 40 is still Captain Tom Moore, who charted at the age of 99 with his rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone, and this record may never be broken.)
The chief executive of the Official Charts Company, Martin Talbot, expressed amazement at the fact that Wham!’s Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael were just beginning their careers when Cher had her first UK No 1 hit, almost two decades before their release of “Last Christmas”. He then proceeded to pay tribute to Cher.
This week’s album chart has Cher’s Christmas album at number 4, while the Rolling Stones’ “Hackney Diamonds” takes the top spot. The release of this 31st studio album coincided with guitarist Keith Richards’ 80th birthday. Although the album initially reached number 1 upon its October release, it has consistently remained in the Top 10 due to its continued popularity. The recent reissue, which includes live recordings from the Racket club in New York, helped push the album back to the top.
Source: theguardian.com
