New York, NY (Top40 Charts) WHAM! have made history this week as their beloved single "Last Christmas" tops the UK charts yet again, making it this year's official UK Christmas No 1, and only song in UK history to achieve such a feat for two consecutive years.
Around the world, "Last Christmas" continues to resonate with people all over the world, peaking at its highest ever position in its Billboard history at #No 2 in Canada where it went Diamond this week, and No 3 in the U.S. Across Europe, the song has reached No 1 in the Netherlands for the first time ever, has been Number 1 in Sweden for 4 consecutive weeks, and currently sits at the top of the charts in Austria, Germany and Poland.
Last week, WHAM!, George Michael Entertainment and Sony Music commemorated 40 years of "Last Christmas," by releasing a very special Last Christmas 40th Anniversary EP, available in limited edition vinyl, CD and digital.
Last Christmas Unwrapped, a brand-new Christmas special that tells the story of how George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley's WHAM! turned one song into a seasonal phenomenon, debuted on BBC 2 in the UK this month, and is now available to watch on demand via BBC iPlayer.
Originally, released by WHAM! back in December 1984, the seven-time multi-platinum classic peaked at Number One in 16 countries upon its release and is officially the fourth highest-selling single of all time in the UK. The song has now claimed the number one spot 9 times and has amassed an incredible 5 billion combined streams. Now, 40 years on, the song has woven itself into the very fabric of Christmas.
The song's lasting impact continues with breathtaking reimagined covers from today's superstars, most notably Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan who dueted the iconic song last week on Carpenter's A Nonsense Christmas on Netflix, as well as ROSÉ who covered it for BBC's Radio 1 Live Lounge. Andrew Ridgeley also appeared as a guest on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
The Last Christmas 40th Anniversary EP is available now and features all the original 7" and 12" versions plus George Michael's 2006 previously unreleased performance of Last Christmas at London's Wembley Arena. The EP is available on limited edition 12" Snowflake white vinyl, 12" picture disc, 12" zoetrope picture disc, plus CD and digital.
