Category: Wham!

Categories
Andrew Ridgeley Last Christmas Wham!

“Last Christmas” Success in 2025

40th Anniversary “Last Christmas” CD Single
Amazon Ad

The success of the Wham! Christmas classic, “Last Christmas,” just gets better and better … and 2025 was no exception.

For the eleventh time, “Last Christmas” topped the UK charts. Sadly, it was knocked out of the Christmas #1 spot by Kylie Minogue’s “XMAS.”

“Last Christmas” debuted on Billboard’s Holiday 100 in December 10, 2011, at #10. This year Wham!’s holiday hit made it to #2, just behind Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”

Andrew Ridgeley said:

“I’m delighted to learn that Wham!’s perennial Christmas favorite, ‘Last Christmas,’ has secured the Billboard No. 2 spot this week,” Andrew Ridgeley marvels via email. “Since its release over 40 years ago, ‘Last Christmas’ has established itself worldwide as one of the most cherished Christmas classics, beloved by all generations.”⁠
⁠
“It’s an amazing testament to the special place the song occupies in so many hearts and one that George Michael would have been immensely proud of,” he continues. “Thank you, everyone who has embraced the song as a little piece of their own merry Christmas.”

“Last Christmas” topped the Billboard Global 200 this year, becoming the #1 song in the world.

According to Billboard:

Michael’s estate described “Last Christmas” as “a timeless record that embodies the very sound of Christmas and continues to resonate with audiences, while captivating new listeners around the world. Thank you to everyone who keeps this song at the very heart of Christmas.”

You can read more about “Last Christmas” in the following articles:

Make sure to follow Yours Only George on Facebook, X, Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Categories
Death Personal Wham! Yours Only George

Remembering George Michael on What Would Have Been his 62nd Birthday

Amazon Ad for George Michael’s “Careless Whisper”

Dear George Michael Lovelies,

Today is George Michael’s birthday. It would have been his 62nd birthday if he had been alive. George Michael was born on June 25, 1963.

As many fans understand, I struggle with his birthday every year. Since I was younger than George Michael when he was alive, I recently discovered that I am now older than George Michael will ever be. That is a difficult thing to recognize at this point in my life. Does anyone else feel that way?

This year has personally been a very rough year for me. For the few of you who still visit the site know, I have been contemplating whether I will keep the Yours Only George site open. The site is only earning a few cents a day, which does not cover my costs, and I just don’t know how I can keep it open long-term without figuring out how to get more traffic. I have worked very hard this year to update older parts of the site, despite a few disgruntled fans causing me heartache about the things that currently aren’t updated.

Last year, I posted my happiest and saddest moments for the 28 years that Yours Only George has been online. Obviously, the saddest moment was learning that George Michael would no longer be with us to share his smart and humorous personality, nor his gift for writing and singing songs that defined a generation.

To keep the spirit of George Michael alive for the George Michael fans, I have started a feature called “On this day” on Facebook, X, Threads, and Bluesky, pointing to things that have happened to George Michael through the years. I have forgotten about so many of these things, and it’s so fun to read about them again. Usually, these pages are also updated, which helps me keep things more up to date.

For those of you who were on the mailing list through Feedburner/Google, I have moved the mailing list to Follow.it. You should have received a message asking you to confirm that would you like to continue receiving e-mails. If you’re new to the site, you can subscribe here.

Please consider sharing information about the site, as it helps me pay the bills and keep the site open.

Thanks for your support over the last 28 years!

I hope you all find a special way to celebrate George Michael’s birthday and life today!

Melanie
Webmaster
Yours Only George

Categories
Andrew Ridgeley Awards Careless Whisper Wham!

George Michael’s “Careless Whisper” Tops Smooth’s All Time Top 500 for 8th Year

Amazon Ad

George Michael’s “Careless Whisper” is #1 on 2025’s All Time Top 500 for Smooth Radio. It is the seventh year in a row that “Careless Whisper” has topped the chart, and the eighth year at #1.

Andrew Ridgeley spoke to Smooth Radio about “Careless Whisper” reaching number one for the eighth year:

In the top 10, George Michael’s “A Different Corner” ranked at #3 for another year and “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” George’s duet with Elton John, moved up two spots to the #9 spot.

George Michael Rankings in Smooth’s Top 500

George Michael had a total of 19 songs in Smooth’s Top 500. Most songs moved up in the rankings, with the exception of “One More Try” and “The Edge of Heaven.” Here is the ranking:

  • #1 “Careless Whisper”
  • #3 “A Different Corner” (same as last year)
  • #9 “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” (duet with Elton John) (moved up from #11 last year)
  • #23 “Jesus to a Child” (moved up from #31 last year)
  • #32 “Father Figure” (moved up from #48 last year)
  • #56 “Somebody to Love” (with Queen) (moved up from #80 last year)
  • #67 “FastLove” (moved up from #104 last year)
  • #82 “Club Tropicana” (moved up from #105 last year)
  • #86 “Praying for Time” (moved up from #138 last year)
  • #97 “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” (moved up from #140 last year)
  • #105 “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” (duet with Aretha Franklin) (moved up from #114 last year)
  • #108 “Faith” (moved up from #116 last year)
  • #110 “One More Try” (dropped from #109 last year)
  • #114 “Everything She Wants” (moved up from #178 last year)
  • #117 “Freedom 90” (moved up from #169 last year)
  • #138 “I’m Your Man” (moved up from #163 last year)
  • #274 “As” (duet with Mary J. Blige) (moved up from #313 last year)
  • #288 “Freedom” (moved up from #320 last year)
  • #323 “The Edge of Heaven” (dropped from #284 last year)

“Heal the Pain” dropped out of the Top 500 this year. Last year it was #453.

Make sure to follow Yours Only George on Facebook, X, Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, and Pinterest. Join our mailing list for the latest news on George Michael.

Categories
Awards Last Christmas Wham!

George Michael Nominated for Ivor Novello Award for “Last Christmas”

40th Anniversary “Last Christmas” CD Single
Amazon Ad

George Michael has been nominated in the category of PRS for Music Most Performed at the 2025 Ivor Novello Awards. He has received the posthumous nomination for “Last Christmas,” which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024 and was the Christmas #1 song in the UK .

Other nominees in the category are:

  • “As It Was” written by Kid Harpoon, Tyler Johnson and Harry Styles and performed by Harry Styles
  • “Houdini” written by Caroline Ailin, Danny L Harle, Tobias Jesso Jnr, Dua Lipa and Kevin Parker and performed by Dua Lipa
  • “Prada” written by D-Block Europe, Obi Ebele (Da Beatfreakz), Uche Ebele (Da Beatfreakz), Jahmori “Jaymo” Simmons and RAYE and performed by Cassö, RAYE and D-Block Europe
  • “Stargazing” written by Peter Fenn, Jesse Fink and Myles Smith and performed by Myles Smith

George Michael is no stranger to Ivor Novello awards. In 1985, he won Songwriter of the Year and Most Performed Work for “Careless Whisper.” In 1989, he won Songwriter of the Year and International Hit of the Year for “Faith.” In 1997, he won Songwriter of the Year and Most Performed Work for “Fastlove”.

When George Michael first won an Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year in 1985, he was visibly emotional, and according to the official site, George regarded it as one of the most significant achievements of his career.

“It was the first proper sign from within the industry that what I was doing was actually worthwhile. And that was the reason that I got so emotional,” George Michael said about winning his first Ivor Novello Award.

Read more about the 40th anniversary of “Last Christmas” in the following articles:

Make sure to follow Yours Only George on Facebook, X, Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, and Pinterest. Join our mailing list for the latest news on George Michael.

Categories
Death Personal Wham!

George Michael Still Making It Big in 2024

Buy Now!
George Michael Poster
(Amazon Ad)

George Michael continues to make money, despite dying 8 years ago on Christmas day.

George Michael’s company, Nobby’s Hobbies Holding, reported a profit for the year, after taxation, of £1,125,467, compared to £16,198,128 in 2023.

The report is only for the year ending March 31, 2024. It would not include earnings from the 40th anniversary release of “Careless Whisper” and “Last Christmas.”

Dividends of £1,378,699 in 2024 (compared to £3,292,210 in 2023) were approved and paid by the directors.

Interestingly, under the future developments heading, the report states: “The activity of the group will broaden in the next one to three years to include live public performances.”

Earnings came from:

  • £2,992,964 from publishing income
    (compared to £20,623,079 in 2023).
  • £3,534,705 from record royalties
    (compared to £2,560,287 in 2023).
  • £6,260 from merchandise income
    (compared to 0 in 2023).
  • £0 for Class 4
    (compared to £275,000 in 2023).
  • £9,351 for Recharged income
    (compared to 0 in 2023).
  • £91,559 for the Wham! Netflix documentary
    (compared to £318,856).

Nobby’s Hobbies Holdings Limited is a private company, limited by shares, registered in England and Wales.

Subsidary undertakings of the company were:

  • Big Geoff Overseas Limited
  • Robobuild Limited
  • Wham Music Limited
  • George Michael Songs Limited
  • Infamy Inc.

Robobuild Limited, Big Geoff Overseas Limited, and Wham Music Limited paid donations to The Mill Charitable Trust in the amounts of £580,643, £1,410,000, and £340,000 respectively, which totals £2,330,643. The amounts donated in 2023 were £992,894, £375,000, and £500,000 respectively, which totals £1,867,894.

According to the report: The controlling party is the executors of the estate of G K Panayiotou by the virtue of its shareholding.

Nobby’s Hobbies Holding director’s report and consolidated financial statements is available here.

Make sure to follow Yours Only George on Facebook, X, Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, and Pinterest. Join our mailing list for the latest news on George Michael.