Christmas came early for Andrew Ridgeley in 1984. The previous year’s festivities were barely over when he heard a song he felt was a dead cert to be the next Christmas number one. Even better, it had been written by George Michael for their band Wham!.
Four decades later, the song’s enduring appeal means that, as long as Christmas is celebrated somewhere in the world, Last Christmas will be part of the soundtrack. It’s quite an achievement. Especially for a pop duo who were just 21 when it was released and were viewed as transitory pop pin-ups rather than cultural titans at that time.
But Ridgeley, talking to Big Issue, says the song’s long afterlife was quite deliberate. “George set himself a task as a songwriter to write a Christmas song that would endure and be perennial,” says Ridgeley, now a youthful 61. “It’s such a big ask. That’s why there aren’t that many really awesome Christmas songs. But Last Christmas was a song we both recognised as being a classic, and one we felt would be a shoo-in for Christmas number one.”
Ridgeley is speaking to the Big Issue 28 years to the week since George Michael broke a long media silence by giving an exclusive interview to our magazine in 1996.
Last Christmas finally made number one in the UK singles chart in 2021. In this week’s issue, read all about the Christmas classic.
What else is in this week’s magazine?
The unflagging volunteers making sure children in poverty aren’t left out this Christmas
Thousands of children in poverty in north-west England will wake up to sacks of toys on Christmas morning, as if by magic, thanks to hundreds of volunteers who have worked tirelessly through the year. They buy, wrap and deliver the presents to food banks, schools, women’s refuges and social services to reach families in need. “Every child should enjoy the magic of Christmas,” says Dee Drake, the founder of the Toy Appeal. “We give a little joy on Christmas Day.”
