LAST CHRISTMAS

'"Last Christmas"' is a song by British pop duo Wham!, released on Epic Records in 1984, on a double A-side with "Everything She Wants". It was written by George Michael, one half of the duo.

Contents

History

Music video

Cover versions

Track listing

Original 1984 release

1985 reissue

1986 reissue

Chart performance

Trivia

References

History

Wham! had been a dominant force in the UK Singles Chart in 1984 and news that they were planning a Christmas single meant that a battle for the coveted Christmas #1 spot in the UK seemed set to be between Wham! and the year's other big act, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who had achieved a third #1 in early December with "The Power of Love". However, the Band Aid project, helmed by Bob Geldof, produced the #1 single. Wham!'s offering peaked at #2 for much of the period, although George's involvement in Band Aid meant that Wham! still had an input. Wham! subsequently topped the monies raised by Band Aid by donating all of their "Last Christmas/Everything She Wants" royalties to the Ethiopian famine appeal.
"Last Christmas" did make #1 in various other countries.
The single sold well over a million copies and became the biggest selling single in UK chart history not to reach #1. A year later, it was re-issued for Christmas again (this time without a billed flip-side) and got to #6. A second re-issue at Christmas 1986 - by which time Wham! had split - stalled outside the top 40.
The song gradually sold in Japan, and finally became the best-selling single that not reached that country's top-10 chart, selling more than 600,000 copies and peaking on the chart at #12 in 1992.

Music video

The video to "Last Christmas" saw George and partner Andrew Ridgeley accompanying girlfriends to see friends at their home in an unspecified ski resort, although the funicular that can be seen in two shots is from Saas-Fee, Switzerland. It became clear early on, however, that Andrew's girlfriend had previously been in a relationship with George, and it was to her character the song was aimed. The video also featured the duo's erstwhile backing singers Pepsi and Shirlie and Spandau Ballet bassist Martin Kemp, the boyfriend and future husband of Shirlie Holliman.

Cover versions

A number of artists have recorded the song with varied levels of success. Danish singer Whigfield did a cover version of the song which just failed to make the top 20 in the UK at Christmas 1995. Richard Cheese did a cover of this on his 2006 album, ''Silent Nightclub''. The Danish band Raunchy made a metal-oriented cover of the song, which was released as a B-side on their limited edition-single Decemberklar. Other artists to cover the song include

★ Keshia Chanté

★ Hilary Duff

★ Human Nature

★ Darren Hayes of Savage Garden

★ Jennifer Love Hewitt

★ Leigh Nash

★ Dexter Freebish

★ Billie Piper

★ Ashley Tisdale

★ The Cheetah Girls

★ Manic Street Preachers

★ Jimmy Eat World

★ Roses Are Red

★ Busted

★ Crazy Frog, Hawk Nelson, The Ordinary Boys, Rubber Band (done in the style of The Beatles), Swedish artist Jan Johansen, Korean pop princess BoA, Korean singer and former H.O.T member Moon Hee Jun, Japanese actor Yuji Oda(with American Musician Butch Walker), Russian pop-group Smash!!, Norwegian musician Erlend Øye, although only the Wham! original has maintained status as an airplay and party staple each festive season in many countries. In much of Continental Europe (although not in the UK or Ireland) the original Wham! recording is reissued every year, and has achieved significant chart peaks in the 2000s especially in Germany.

Track listing

Original 1984 release

'7": Epic / A 4949 (UK)'
# "# "Everything She Wants" – 5:07
'7": Epic / QA 4949 (UK)'
# "Everything She Wants (Remix)" – 5:31
# "Last Christmas" – 4:24
'12": Epic / TA 4949 (UK)'
# "Last Christmas (Pudding Mix)" – 6:47
# "Everything She Wants" – 5:07
'12": Epic / QTA 4949 (UK)'
# "Everything She Wants (Remix)" – 6:30
# "Last Christmas (Pudding Mix)" – 6:47

1985 reissue

'7": Epic / WHAM 1 (UK)'
# "Last Christmas" – 4:24
# "Blue (Armed With Love) [Live in China]" – 5:43
'12": Epic / WHAM T1 (UK)'
# "Last Christmas (Pudding Mix)" – 6:47
# "Blue (Armed With Love) [Live in China]" – 5:43
# "Everything She Wants (Remix)" – 5:31

1986 reissue

'7": Epic / 650269 7 (UK)'
# "Last Christmas" – 4:24
# "Where Did Your Heart Go?" – 5:43
'12": Epic / 65026 6 (UK)'
# "Last Christmas (Pudding Mix)" – 6:47
# "Where Did Your Heart Go?" – 5:43

Chart performance

Chart (1984)	Peak position
Sweden	7
Switzerland	6
Norway	2
Austria	9
Netherlands	6
Finland	20
Australia	3
Japan	12
UK	2

Trivia

★ The opening instrumental features a Yamaha DX7 synthesizer, much in vogue at the time, using the "INT Preset #12 (Guitar)" sound. A Linn drum machine was used. The combination of the DX7 and Linn drum machine was a staple in early 1980's pop music.

★ The Nintendo 64 video game ''Beetle Adventure Racing'' samples this song in the level "Mount Mayhem".

★ The song is frequently confused with Kool and the Gang's hit "Joanna". Kool and the Gang preceded Wham! to the market by at least one year.

★ A version by the Rubber Band is often misattributed to the early Beatles, despite the fact that the song was written more than a decade after the Beatles stopped recording.^[1]

★ One version of the song, mostly found in compilation albums, has an error, where in the middle of the song, the tune pitches a few cents up. However, all Wham!/George Michael's original releases of the song feature the correct version.

★ A Newcastle man was found guilty of noise nuisance after playing the song at full volume from 1am until 4am in May.^[2]

References

1. Last Christmas - Day 12: A Memory of Light
2. Wham! fan silenced