Category: Wham!

Here is a fascinating article on “Last Christmas” and its longevity: Could “Last Christmas” Become the New “White Christmas”?

According to Stewart, after the post-WWII boom of classic Christmas songs died down, a new standard emerged every seven or eight years. He cited “Blue Christmas” and “Jingle Bell Rock” as early examples. The Donny Hathaway song “This Christmas” emerged from the ’70s (Mary J. Blige cites it as a favorite), as did John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War is Over)”– which Alicia Keys and Tim McGraw performed today on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

Stewart said “Last Christmas” is the latest example of the trend — and, despite being 25 years old, perhaps the most recent, as the rock historian had trouble naming a song recorded after 1984 that’s developed the same traction on radio and with other recording artists.

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

• New Wham! “Last Christmas” 40th Anniversary CDs and Vinyl
• WHAM!: Last Christmas Unwrapped Coming to BBC Two and BBC Music
• “Last Christmas” Is Christmas Number 1!
• Calling all Wham! Fans about Last Christmas
• “Last Christmas”

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I love the weeks before Christmas because I usually have the daily chance of hearing “Last Christmas” on the radio.  This is the only time of the year that I hear a George Michael song on the radio. 

Here is an article on George Michael overwhelmed by enduring success of Last Christmas

“I wrote it in the February of 1984 when I was 20. Apparently it’s the most played Christmas song of the last five years and that is just amazing,” he told a British radio programme.

“It’s crazy that something I wrote when I was 20 could still be being played. Especially now, at 46 – you think of yourself as a kid at 20. The idea it’s the song which reminds people of their Christmas as a child is great. Such a wonderful thing to achieve and you can experience it every Christmas.”