George Michael matches chart peak for Last Christmas 33 years after release
George Michael (Getty)
A campaign by George Michael and Wham! fans to get Last Christmas to the top of the charts has proven fruitful.
The Christmas classic missed out on the number one spot in last week’s Christmas Day charts.
Fans have now pushed it to number two – matching its highest ever chart ranking, 33 years after the song was first released. Ed Sheehan retained the number one spot.
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A campaign had been launched to give singer George Michael his first Christmas number one following his death last year.
Michael passed away on Christmas day 2016, giving particular pertinence to the song’s lyrics.
Despite the band’s classic holiday anthem being a firm holiday staple, it never topped the charts while George Michael was alive.
Last Christmas remains the best-selling song of all time to not take the number one spot.
The campaign, which used the hashtags #TeamGeorge and #LastXmas4XmasNo1, worked to put the Wham! classic ‘Last Christmas’ on the top of the much contested Christmas charts.
(Photo: @LastChristmasGM / Twitter)
Betting odds were slashed in the run up to the release of the chart, with many bookmakers offering 4/6 odds that George Michael would get his Christmas number one.
Michael’s former Wham! co-star Andrew Ridgeley backed the campaign to get the singer his first Christmas number one.
While many fans continue to love the festive song, his family released a heartfelt letter admitting they have found hearing Last Christmas particularly difficult.
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In a letter to fans his family, who refer to him as Yog, wrote: “This year has been a series of new and tough challenges for those of us close and loyal to Yog, not least of which was steeling ourselves this month, to hear ‘Last Christmas’ and ‘December Song’ streaming out of shops, cars, and radios, as it has done for decades, knowing he’s no longer here with us, missing him.
They added: “Yog, who loved Christmas, and always hoped it would snow… would want each of you that admired and loved him, (yes—he knows you did!!) to take a moment, raise a glass, enjoy his music and think of him fondly, making sure to enjoy your time with, and appreciate your family and friends.”
