Last Christmas

"Last Christmas"
Back cover of original 1984 UK gatefold edition
Single by Wham!
from the album Music from the Edge of Heaven and The Final
A-side	"Everything She Wants" (various)
B-side	"Credit Card Baby" (Japan) "Blue (Live in China)" (1985)
Released	3 December 1984
Recorded	August 1984
Studio	Advision, London
Genre	Synth-pop Christmas
Length	4:27
Label	Columbia Epic CBS
Songwriter(s)	George Michael
Producer(s)	George Michael
Wham! singles chronology
"Freedom" (1984) "Last Christmas" (1984) "Everything She Wants" (1984)
Music video
"Last Christmas" on YouTube

"Last Christmas" is a single by the English pop duo Wham!. The song was written by its member George Michael and was released on 3 December 1984 by CBS Records internationally and as a double A-side by Epic Records with "Everything She Wants" in many countries in Europe. It was released as the lead single from Wham!'s third and final studio album Music from the Edge of Heaven, it also features on their greatest hits album The Final (1986). Andrew Ridgeley, the other half of Wham!, did not have any involvement in the recording or writing of the song. Michael sang, produced, and performed all of the parts on the record. The song has reached number one in several countries including Austria, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, and also Top 5 in Australia, Belgium, France, Norway and the United States.

Composition

The song describes a breakup during Christmastime. The engineer, Chris Porter, said that the upbeat rhythm track contrasted against the sadness of unrequited love. The same chord progression and melody is used for both the verse and chorus, with no middle eight.

Production

George Michael (left) wrote and performed "Last Christmas" without Andrew Ridgeley (right)

Wham! member George Michael wrote the song in February 1984 when he was in his childhood bedroom, he and the other member, Andrew Ridgeley, were visiting his parents at the time. Michael played Ridgeley the introduction and chorus melody, which Ridgeley later called "a moment of wonder". The duo went on to record the song in August 1984 at Advision Studios in London.

Music video

The music video for the song was filmed at the ski resort Saas Fee in Switzerland and shows the Wham! members, Michael and Ridgeley with girlfriends, with scenes of a happy Christmas holiday with "wistful memories about past romance". The video also features friends and family members, including the Wham! backing singers Pepsi & Shirlie and Michael's ex-girlfriend was played by the model Kathy Hill. The music video was originally filmed on 35mm film and was re-released on 13 December 2019 in 4K Ultra HD resolution.

Media

Michael in 1988.

In December 2024, an hour long TV documentary titled Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped, was aired on BBC Two and the BBC iPlayer to mark the 40th anniversary of the release of the song. The documentary features Ridgeley, Pepsi & Shirlie and other close friends from the music video and shows them visiting the location where the video was filmed as well as talking about the creation of the song. In the 2019 film Last Christmas, the song prominently features along with other George Michael songs.

Plagiarism allegations

In the mid 1980s, the publishing company Dick James Music sued Michael for plagiarism on behalf of the writers of "Can't Smile Without You" originally performed by David Martin and made popular by Barry Manilow, it was claimed that the song had taken its melody, but the case was dismissed.

Track listings

Digital download

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Last Christmas" (Single Version)	4:24
2.	"Last Christmas" (Pudding Mix)	6:46
3.	"Last Christmas" (Live at Wembley Arena, December 2006)	5:51
4.	"Last Christmas" (Instrumental)	4:25

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.

• George Michael – lead vocals, producer, composer, lyricist, arranger (Pudding Mix)
• Wham! – associated performer
• Chris Porter – engineer, mixing engineer

Chart performance

United Kingdom

In 1984, the song reached number two on the UK Singles Chart missing out of the Christmas number one by "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid, on which Michael also performed. The duo donated their royalties to the Ethiopian famine relief fund, the same cause as Band Aid. The song reached number one in the UK on 1 January 2021, achieving the record for the longest time for a single to reach number one in the UK, 36 years after the song was first released, previously held by "(Is This The Way To) Amarillo?" by Tony Christie. The record was beaten in June 2022 by Kate Bush with "Running Up That Hill", which took 37 years. In December 2023, the song went on to become Christmas number one for the first time. It also became the third-best selling UK single, with 5.34 million chart units, including 1.93m sales and nearly 413 million streams. In December 2024, it became the first song arcieve Christmas number one for two years in a row, the song secured number one with over 12 million streams and being the best selling song physically, thanks to the limited edition 40th anniversary collectibles, including zoetrope vinyl, picture disc and CD.

UK Singles Chart

Year	Peak	Chart run		Ref.
		Weeks	Date
1984	2	13	9 December 1984 – 9 March 1985
1985	6	7	8 December 1985 – 25 January 1986
1986	45	5	7 December 1986 – 10 January 1987
2007	14	5	2 December 2007 – 5 January 2008
2008	26	5	30 November 2008 – 3 January 2009
2009	34	4	6 December 2009 – 2 January 2010
2010	53	4	5 December 2010 – 1 January 2011
2011	26	4	4 December 2011 – 31 December 2011
2012	34	5	2 December 2012 – 5 January 2013
2013	36	5	1 December 2013 – 4 January 2014
2014	28	5	30 November 2014 – 3 January 2015
2015	18	5	4 December 2015 – 7 January 2016
2016	7	5	2 December 2016 – 5 January 2017
2017	2	6	24 November 2017 – 4 January 2018
2018	3	5	30 November 2018 – 3 January 2019
2019	3	6	22 November 2019 – 2 January 2020
2020	1	8	13 November 2020 – 7 January 2021
2021	2	8	12 November 2021 – 6 January 2022
2022	1	8	11 November 2022 – 5 January 2023
2023	1	9	10 November 2023 – 11 January 2024
2024	1	9	8 November 2024 – 9 January 2025
2025	1	9	7 November 2025 – 8 January 2026

Other territories

In Germany, "Last Christmas" is the most successful Christmas single of all time, it peaked at number one in December 2021. The song dropped from number 4 to number 64 in January 2008, making it the biggest fall out of the top 10 on the singles chart. In Ireland, the song reached number one on 30 December 2022 and returned number one again in 2024. It was not released as a single in the United States until November 2014, when it was released on 12" vinyl as a Record Store Day exclusive. It peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 2 in December 2025, the song also reached Number one on the Billboard Global 200, a ranking of sales and streams from over 200 territories. In Switzerland, where the music video was filmed, the song reached number one for the first time in December 2025.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1984–2026)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)	2
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)	1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)	2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)	2
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)	2
Denmark (Tracklisten)	1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)	1
France (SNEP)	2
Germany (Official German Charts)	1
Global 200 (Billboard)	1
Ireland (IRMA)	1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)	1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)	1
Norway (VG-lista)	2
Spain (PROMUSICAE)	6
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)	1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)	1
UK Singles (OCC)	1
US Billboard Hot 100	2
US Holiday 100 (Billboard)	2

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)	8× Platinum	560,000
Canada (Music Canada)	9× Platinum	720,000
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)	7× Platinum	420,000
Germany (BVMI)	7× Gold	2,100,000
Netherlands (NVPI)	Platinum	100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)	4× Platinum	120,000
Spain (PROMUSICAE)	2× Platinum	120,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	9× Platinum	5,400,000
United States (RIAA)	9× Platinum	9,000,000
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Version(s)	Label(s)
United Kingdom	3 December 1984	7-inch vinyl	Original	Epic Records
		12-inch vinyl	Pudding mix
Various	10 December 1984	12-inch vinyl	Pudding mix	Epic Records, CBS
Japan	15 December 1984	7-inch vinyl	Original	Epic Records
	21 December 1984	12-inch vinyl	Original "long version"
Europe	December 1985	7-inch vinyl	1985 version
		12-inch vinyl	Pudding mix
United Kingdom	December 1986	7-inch vinyl	85 version
Japan	9 December 1988	CD single (8cm)	85 version Pudding mix
Europe	December 1988	CD single (8cm) vinyl
Japan	21 November 2001	CD single
	17 November 2004
United Kingdom	22 November 2004	Digital download	85 version Pudding mix	Sony Music
United States	28 November 2014	12-inch vinyl	85 version Instrumental	Columbia Records
Various	13 December 2019	7-inch vinyl	85 version	RCA Records
United Kingdom	15 December 2023	CD single	85 version Pudding mix	Sony Music
		7-inch vinyl	85 version
United Kingdom	13 December 2024	CD single (40th Anniversary EP)	85 version Pudding mix 2006 live Instrumental
		12-inch vinyl 40th Anniversary EP