One tea break at the office we were discussing our favorite Christmas songs of all time. Classics like White Christmas and Jingle Bells got quite a few votes but because I’m an eternal teenager, my vote went for Last Christmas by Wham!. I was 16 years old in 1984 when it was originally released. I remember watching the video over and over again with my friend, going *ahh…he is so cute* every time George slipped and fell in the snow. To this day it’s still the only Christmas song I don’t mind hearing 20 times a day in a run up to the big day. I recently went on a trip down memory lane and watched old Wham! clips on YouTube. The black blazer with the glittery flower brooch Andrew wears in the video must’ve been a real favorite as he was wearing it in most interviews in 1984.
The song has truly stood the test of time and I happen to believe it is the greatest modern Christmas song ever written. One person who was not a huge fan of George’s festive efforts was Barry Manilow who claimed George had lifted the melody for Last Christmas from his 1977 hit “Can’t Smile Without You”. Think of that what you may (and I happen to think that’s a lot of tosh. Have a listen and see if you agree.) The lawsuit was eventually settled out of court. What I had forgotten though was “Everything She Wants“, another huge Wham! favorite of mine, was the single’s B-side. So, when Christmas was over radio started playing “Everything She Wants” and the single kept on selling. To this day Last Christmas/Everything She Wants is the only million selling single not to have reached number one in the charts. That honor went to Bob Geldof’s Band-Aid “Do They Know It’s Christmas” charity single that year. George sings in that legendary line-up of 80s greats of course, so 1984 was a real Wham! bonanza year for me.
So, here it is, one more time, with cheesy Christmas jumpers and George’s Princess Diana hair-do: the video that gave me Alpine holiday envy for life.
MORE 80s memories:
Hear the young and innocent Wham! and see that blazer in action
Now those are some short shorts!
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