Michael played Ridgeley the introduction and chorus melody to "Last Christmas", which Ridgeley later called "a moment of wonder". It was written by Michael in his childhood bedroom. "Last Christmas" had its beginnings in 1984, while George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley were visiting Michael's parents. The song has a tempo of 107 beats per minute. It was the most-played Christmas song of the 21st century in the UK until it was overtaken by " Fairytale of New York" in 2015. In a UK-wide poll in December 2012, it was voted eighth on the ITV television special The Nation's Favourite Christmas Song and was voted most popular song of the 1980s in Channel 5's Christmas 2020 countdown Britain's Favourite 80's Songs. Wham! donated all of their royalties to relief efforts for the Ethiopian famine. Outside the United Kingdom, the song topped the charts in Denmark, Slovenia, and Sweden and peaked within the top ten of the charts in several countries including Australia, Germany, Ireland, and the United States. The tune reached number one in the UK after it was streamed 9.2 million times in the last week of 2020 and sold 1,555 downloads, resulting in a total of 40,149 combined sales. This record is now held by " Moves Like Jagger" by Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera. Prior to it reaching number one, "Last Christmas" had for many years held the record as the highest-selling single never to top the charts by the Official Charts Company (OCC) with 1.9 million copies sold (not including streams). In doing so, it became the fifth UK number one single for the duo and surpassed Tony Christie's almost 16 year-long record for the longest time a single has taken to top the UK Singles Chart after its initial release with " (Is This The Way To) Amarillo?" in March 2005, which had itself taken 33 years 4 months to top the chart (with Peter Kay, though credited, only actually appearing in the video). After many chart runs in subsequent years, which included three more weeks at number two, and which saw the recording become part of RCA Records' catalogue, the song finally reached number one in the UK Singles Chart on New Year's Day 2021 (chart week ending date 7 January 2021), more than 36 years after its initial release. Upon its initial release in 1984, "Last Christmas" spent five consecutive weeks at number two in the UK Singles Chart-it was held off the top spot at Christmas by Band Aid's " Do They Know It's Christmas?" (on which Michael also performed). Described as a "high watermark of mid-80s British synthpop songcraft", it was written and produced by George Michael, and has been covered by many artists since its original release. " Last Christmas" is a song by British pop duo Wham!, originally released in December 1984 on CBS Records internationally and as a double A-side on Epic Records with " Everything She Wants" in the UK.
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