Last Christmas

"Last Christmas" is a single by the English pop duo Wham!. The song was written by its member George Michael and was released on 3 December 1984 by CBS Records internationally and as a double A-side by Epic Records with "Everything She Wants" in many countries in Europe. It was released as the lead single from Wham!'s third and final studio album Music from the Edge of Heaven, it also features on their greatest hits album The Final (1986). Andrew Ridgeley, the other half of Wham!, did not have any involvement in the recording or writing of the song. Michael sang, produced, and performed all of the parts on the record. The song has reached number one in several countries including Austria, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, and also Top 5 in Australia, Belgium, France, Norway and the United States.

Composition
The song describes a breakup during Christmastime. The engineer, Chris Porter, said that the upbeat rhythm track contrasted against the sadness of unrequited love. The same chord progression and melody is used for both the verse and chorus, with no middle eight.

Production
Wham! member George Michael wrote the song in February 1984 when he was in his childhood bedroom, he and the other member, Andrew Ridgeley, were visiting his parents at the time. Michael played Ridgeley the introduction and chorus melody, which Ridgeley later called "a moment of wonder". The duo went on to record the song in August 1984 at Advision Studios in London.

Music video
The music video for the song was filmed at the ski resort Saas Fee in Switzerland and shows the Wham! members, Michael and Ridgeley with girlfriends, with scenes of a happy Christmas holiday with "wistful memories about past romance". The video also features friends and family members, including the Wham! backing singers  and Michael's ex-girlfriend was played by the model Kathy Hill. The music video was originally filmed on 35mm film and was re-released on 13 December 2019 in  resolution.

Media
In December 2024, an hour long TV documentary titled Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped, was aired on BBC Two and the BBC iPlayer to mark the 40th anniversary of the release of the song. The documentary features Ridgeley,  and other close friends from the music video and shows them visiting the location where the video was filmed as well as talking about the creation of the song. In the 2019 film , the song prominently features along with other George Michael songs.

Plagiarism allegations
In the mid 1980s, the publishing company Dick James Music sued Michael for plagiarism on behalf of the writers of "" originally performed by David Martin and made popular by Barry Manilow, it was claimed that the song had taken its melody, but the case was dismissed.

Track listings

Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from .

 George Michael – lead vocals, producer, composer, lyricist, arranger (Pudding Mix)
 Wham! – associated performer
 Chris Porter – engineer, mixing engineer

Chart performance
United Kingdom
In 1984, the song reached number two on the UK Singles Chart missing out of the Christmas number one by "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid, on which Michael also performed. The duo donated their royalties to the Ethiopian famine relief fund, the same cause as Band Aid. The song reached number one in the UK on 1 January 2021, achieving the record for the longest time for a single to reach number one in the UK, 36 years after the song was first released, previously held by "(Is This The Way To) Amarillo?" by Tony Christie. The record was beaten in June 2022 by Kate Bush with "Running Up That Hill", which took 37 years. In December 2023, the song went on to become Christmas number one for the first time. It also became the third-best selling UK single, with 5.34 million chart units, including 1.93m sales and nearly 413 million streams. In December 2024, it became the first song arcieve Christmas number one for two years in a row, the song secured number one with over 12 million streams and being the best selling song physically, thanks to the limited edition 40th anniversary collectibles, including zoetrope vinyl, picture disc and CD.

 UK Singles Chart Year Peak Chart run Ref. Weeks Date 1984  2  13 9 December 1984 – 9 March 1985  1985  6  7 8 December 1985 – 25 January 1986  1986  45  5 7 December 1986 – 10 January 1987  2007  14  5 2 December 2007 – 5 January 2008  2008 26  5 30 November 2008 – 3 January 2009  2009  34  4 6 December 2009 – 2 January 2010  2010 53  4 5 December 2010 – 1 January 2011  2011  26  4 4 December 2011 – 31 December 2011  2012 34  5 2 December 2012 – 5 January 2013  2013 36  5 1 December 2013 – 4 January 2014  2014  28  5 30 November 2014 – 3 January 2015  2015  18  5 4 December 2015 – 7 January 2016  2016 7  5 2 December 2016 – 5 January 2017  2017 2  6 24 November 2017 – 4 January 2018  2018 3  5 30 November 2018 – 3 January 2019  2019 3  6 22 November 2019 – 2 January 2020  2020 1  8 13 November 2020 – 7 January 2021  2021 2  8 12 November 2021 – 6 January 2022  2022 1  8 11 November 2022 – 5 January 2023  2023 1  9 10 November 2023 – 11 January 2024  2024 1  9 8 November 2024 – 9 January 2025  2025 1  9 7 November 2025 – 8 January 2026 

Other territories
In Germany, "Last Christmas" is the most successful Christmas single of all time, it peaked at number one in December 2021. The song dropped from number 4 to number 64 in January 2008, making it the biggest fall out of the top 10 on the singles chart. In Ireland, the song reached number one on 30 December 2022 and returned number one again in 2024. It was not released as a single in the United States until November 2014, when it was released on 12" vinyl as a  exclusive. It peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 2 in December 2025,  the song also  reached Number one on the Billboard Global 200, a ranking of sales and streams from over 200 territories. In Switzerland, where the music video was filmed, the song reached number one for the first time in December 2025.

Charts
Weekly charts
 Chart (1984–2026) Peakposition Spain (PROMUSICAE) 6 US Holiday 100 (Billboard) 2

Certifications

Release history
 Region Date Format(s) Version(s) Label(s) United Kingdom 3 December 1984    Epic Records 12-inch vinyl Pudding mix Various 10 December 1984   Epic Records,  Japan 15 December 1984 7-inch vinyl  Epic Records 21 December 1984 12-inch vinyl Original "long version" Europe December 1985 7-inch vinyl   12-inch vinyl Pudding mix United Kingdom December 1986 7-inch vinyl  Japan 9 December 1988   Europe  December 1988  Japan 21 November 2001 CD single  17 November 2004 United Kingdom 22 November 2004 Digital download  Sony Music United States 28 November 2014 12-inch vinyl  Columbia Records Various  13 December 2019 7-inch vinyl  RCA Records United Kingdom 15 December 2023    Sony Music 7-inch vinyl 85 version United Kingdom 13 December 2024    12-inch vinyl 40th Anniversary EP

References

Category:Christmas songs
Category:1984 songs
Category:Wham! songs
Category:Whigfield songs
Category:Billie Piper songs
Category:Ashley Tisdale songs
Category:Crazy Frog songs
Category:Cascada songs
Category:Taylor Swift songs
Category:Joe McElderry songs
Category:Ariana Grande songs
Category:Carly Rae Jepsen songs
Category:James TW songs
Category:Backstreet Boys songs
Category:Synth-pop ballads