WHAM!’s Last Christmas has been crowned UK Christmas Number for the second year in a row Official chart History.
The iconic festive hit, which was first released in 1984 and celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, has now become the first song ever to achieve two consecutive Christmas Number 1 wins.
Now enshrined as Britain’s favorite Christmas carol, Last Christmas held off stiff competition from Gracie Abrams and Mariah Carey, as well as a madcap effort from Tom Grennan.
Originally conceived by the late, great George Michael as a contender for 1984’s Official Christmas Number 1, Last Christmas was originally blocked from the festive top spot by Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? but ultimately claimed the coveted chart crown in 2023, completing the longest ever journey to No. 1 of 39 years.
Tom, who admitted he got carried away with his hopes of a festive top stop and even got a tattoo in his dedication to the cause, reached number four with his release It Can’t Be Christmas.
Following the announcement, Andrew Ridgeley of WHAM! Official charts Company: ’37 years to number 1, 39 years to Christmas number 1, and then, like the London buses, they all come at the same time!’
WHAM!’s Last Christmas has been crowned UK Christmas Number for the second year in a row, making Official Chart History (WHAM!’s Andrew Ridgeley pictured)
The iconic festive hit, which was first released in 1984 and celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, has now become the first song ever to achieve two consecutive Christmas Number 1 wins (George Michael pictured 1984).
Tom, who admitted he got carried away with his hopes for the festive summit stop, and even had a tattoo in his dedication to the cause, reached number four
‘I’m particularly happy for George, he would have been delighted with it, his fantastic Christmas composition has become such a classic, almost as much a part of Christmas as mince pies, turkey and pigs in blankets.’
‘It is a truly beautiful Christmas carol that evokes and represents Christmas in many people’s minds as we all wish it was. I’d like to thank everyone who listened to, downloaded, purchased, streamed and became a part of Last Christmas. Thank you very much and Merry Christmas!’.
Last Christmas secured Christmas number 1 with 12.6 million streams and was also the physical bestseller of the week, thanks to a range of limited edition 40th anniversary collectibles including zoetrope vinyl, picture disc and CD.
WAM! now enter a rare Official Charts club, as one of the few acts to reach the Official Christmas Number 1 multiple times, alongside the likes of Queen, Spice Girls, The Beatles and Ladbaby.
Upon hearing the news, Andrew said, “Artists of that caliber and songwriters, of which George was one, transcend the centuries and decades and endure because of their quality.” I think that’s why Last Christmas has lasted.’
Gracie Abrams’ former chart-topper That’s So True ends the week at No.2 after a last-minute surge ahead of the Christmas competition, having previously topped the Official Singles Chart for five consecutive weeks.
While Mariah Carey may be celebrating 30 years of All I Want For Christmas Is You this year, she’ll have to settle for a No. 3 finish.
Meanwhile, Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet was announced as the official 2024 Christmas No. 1 album
Now enshrined as Britain’s favorite Christmas carol, Last Christmas held off competition from Gracie Abrams and Mariah Carey, as well as a madcap effort from Tom Grennan.
Andrew Ridgeley of WHAM! (R with George in 1986) said: ’37 years to reach number 1, 39 years to Christmas number 1, and then, like the London buses, they all come along at the same time!’
Gracie Abrams’ former chart-topper That’s So True ends the week at No. 2 after a last-minute surge ahead of the Christmas competition
While Mariah Carey may be celebrating 30 years of All I Want For Christmas Is You this year, she’ll have to settle for a No. 3 finish
Meanwhile, Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet was announced as the official 2024 Christmas No. 1 album
Tom definitively marked his bid with ‘Christmas no. 1 2024 is…’ on his right leg, with an empty space he hopefully left behind, his name.
The song first entered the Top 40 two weeks before reaching No. 25, before climbing to No. 6 on last Friday’s chart.
Despite missing out on number one, behind second, the fourth position was Tom’s highest ever charting solo single in Britain.
After the news, he said: “To everyone who has supported me, wherever you are, thank you for supporting me.”
“You will always be part of my family and part of my Christmas dream. So thank you from the bottom of my heart, it was amazing, and I love you all.”
While WHAM’s Andrew added: ‘I wish Tom every success in the future, the company relies on emerging talent. He’s going to have to do his job by writing something like Last Christmas, everyone will, but at some point someone will, I’m sure.”
Tom told me earlier The mirror: ‘The response has been brilliant – I can’t help but get excited now, to be honest.’
He added: “It’s something you grow up hearing about isn’t it, Christmas number one, it would be a great Christmas present to get one – all I can do now is keep my fingers crossed and hope people keep playing and downloading it , but I’ve already gotten a bit carried away and got a new tattoo on my leg, hoping we’ll get there.’
The musician has collaborated with Amazon and written a special festive song for their advert.
Tom showed off his crazy ‘Christmas number 1’ tattoo earlier this week as he begged fans to ‘flop’ his move and listen to his latest release.
Despite missing out on number one, behind second, the fourth position was Tom’s highest-charting solo single ever in Britain
Tom definitively marked his bid with ‘Christmas no. 1 2024 is…’ on his right leg, with an empty space he hopefully left behind, his name
Tom shared a video on his Instagram and said: ‘I thought I’d make it interesting. I’m going to get ‘Christmas No. 1 2024 is…’ and I’ll let you guys decide what goes on my leg.
‘It’s up to you. Stream it, buy the vinyl. We’ll see what happens. All of you, don’t let this fail.”
The images of Tom getting the tattoo were followed by the lyrics of It Can’t Be Christmas ‘Have I went stupid? Maybe. Have I gone crazy? Someone can save me.’ The reveal of Christmas Number 1 on Friday will be the jury’s turn!’
Martin Talbot, Chief Executive, Official Charts said: “Many, many congratulations to Andrew Ridgeley and Team WHAM! about an incredible piece of history reaching the official charts this week’.
‘It’s incredible to think that four years ago Last Christmas was the best-selling single that never reached No. 1 – and then finally reached the top in January 2021, finally became a Christmas No. 1 in December 2023 and is now the first consecutive Christmas. No. 1 in history, with nine weeks at the top (in five separate runs) to his name.”
It is now undoubtedly the British nation’s favorite Christmas carol of all time. And of course, we must all tip our hats to Sabrina Carpenter, whose album Short N’ Sweet caps what has been an incredible year for her to become the official Christmas No. 1 album.”