Wham is Christmas number one for the second time

Wham’s Last Christmas becomes the UK Christmas number one for the second year running.

George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley’s festive classic has topped the chart, beating songs by Mariah Carey, Gracie Abrams, Tom Grennan and Ariana Grande.

Ridgeley said he was “particularly pleased” for his late bandmate, who died in 2016, and that he had always wanted the song to reach number one.

“He must have been very pleased (that) his brilliant Christmas creation has become such a classic, almost as much a part of Christmas as mince pies, turkeys and pigs in a blanket.”

He said, “It’s truly a testament to what a wonderful Christmas song it is that it evokes Christmas in so many people’s minds and represents what we all want it to be.”

The Official Charts Company said the song was streamed 12.6 million times in the week before Christmas.

The only other songs to top the Christmas charts on two occasions are Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody and Band Aid’s Don’t They Know It’s Christmas. No one has managed this in consecutive years.

Last Christmas was originally released in 1984, but lost the top spot to Band Aid’s single, which raised money for famine relief in Ethiopia.

The charity made a fresh bid for the chart this year, with the 40th anniversary “Ultimate Mix” of Don’t They Know It’s Christmas, which combines vocals from different versions of the song recorded over the years.

But the re-release was halted after controversy over the lyrics, with critics calling the song dated and colonialist, and Ed Sheeran saying they were not asked For permission to reuse her voice.

Ultimately, the song charted at number 12, sandwiched between Kelly Clarkson’s Underneath the Tree and Andy Williams’ 1963 standard It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

Last Christmas was written by George Michael in his childhood bedroom in February 1984, “and as far as I’m concerned it was number one”, he told Smash Hits in 1986.

While the singer was visiting his parents’ home in Hertfordshire, he was suddenly inspired.

“There was a footy match on the telly and he suddenly jumped up and disappeared upstairs, where he had a little four-track studio,” Ridgeley told BBC News.

“About an hour later, he came back and said, ‘Andy Andy, you have to hear this.’ I have rarely seen him so excited or animated.

“And as soon as I heard it, it became so obvious that it had all the makings of a Christmas classic. It was a surprise moment.”

Last Christmas has re-entered the top 40 every year since 2007 due to the advent of downloads and then streaming – each of which allowed classic songs to contribute to the chart data.

With perennial favorites like Fairytale of New York and Jingle Bell Rock the soundtrack to the holidays, nostalgia has been the driving force behind the Christmas charts ever since.

Jack Saunders, who presents Radio 1’s chart show, said the competition for new songs was tough.

He said, “It takes time for a song to become hot and become a classic.”

“I think it would be a huge accomplishment for something to come out and be number one on the first ask.”

As a result, 29 of this year’s top 40 songs were Christmas-themed, with only two new songs among the standards: Tom Grennan’s It Can’t Be Christmas and Lofty’s Christmas Magic.

Both were commissioned by Amazon Music, which automatically plays them for anyone who asks to play Christmas music from their smart speaker.

This gave both artists the lead in the sales race, with Grennan’s song ultimately reaching number four.

The Coventry singer worked hard for that position, even getting a tattoo that read “Christmas is number 1...” on his right thigh, which he said he would complete whichever song was victorious.

Another song aiming for the number one spot was Freezing This Christmas, a parody of Mudd’s Lonely This Christmas, which criticizes the government’s decision to cut winter fuel payments for pensioners.

Although it was the most downloaded track of the week, protest songs have difficulty streaming – which now accounts for 87.7% of all music consumption in the UK.

Ultimately, the track reached the top 40, peaking at number 37.

US pop star Sabrina Carpenter topped the album chart with Short ‘n’ Sweet, a record which has produced three number one singles during the year.

Michael Buble’s Christmas Album came in second place, while Chappelle Rhone’s Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess came in third.