Wham!’s Last Christmas has scored a first — by shooting to the top of the charts to enjoy its first ever year as Christmas Number 1 single in the UK.

The 1984 perennial favourite, penned by George Michael, has topped the charts in the past, but never in the last week before Christmas. It was denied the top spot in the year of its release by Band Aid’s barnstorming Do They Know It’s Christmas?.

And amid one of the most furiously fought battles for the Yuletide crown in recent memory, the race was almost too close to call as the 80s icons fought off the likes of Mariah Carey, The Pogues and Sam Ryder to claim the title 39 years after its release.

George Michael wrote the song as a Christmas number one contender — but it was a feat he would never see after dying at the age of 53 in 2016. But bandmate Andrew Ridgeley said on Friday: ‘George would be beside himself. It’s mission accomplished.’

The song became the bookies’ favourite to climb the charts after an earlier rush by fans of The Pogues to get Fairytale of New York to number 1 in memory of the Irish folk outfit’s frontman Shane MacGowan, who died in November.

Andrew Ridgeley beams as he holds the trophy commemorating Wham!’s long-awaited Christmas Number 1 for Last Christmas

George Michael as he appeared in the video for 1984 festive favourite Last Christmas, now at number one for the first time at Christmas

Andrew Ridgley as he appears int he video for Last Christmas

Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael perform in Beijing, China in 1985, a year after Last Christmas was released

The race for Number 1 was blown wide open after LadBaby (pictured in 2018) announced they were pulling out this year

In the end, the band’s duet with Kirsty MacColl failed to crack the top five, which was rounded out by Eurovision star Sam Ryder’s You’re Christmas To Me, Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You, Noah Kahan’s Stick Season and Ed Sheeran and Elton John’s duet Merry Christmas.

Speaking about the song’s status as a ‘perennial bridesmaid’, Ridgeley added: ‘It was a huge disappointment to us both when it didn’t reach Number 1 because, in our opinion, it was nailed-on. 

‘Had it not been for Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas?, it probably would’ve been Number 1. 

‘Thwarted for many years subsequent to that – the perennial bridesmaid – over recent years it seems it’s become part of the fabric of Christmas for a lot of people.’

How are the Official Charts decided? 

In 2014, the Official Charts began including audio streaming in the singles chart as sales fell out of favour with the rise of services such as Spotify.

In 2017, it overhauled the algorithm it uses to decide how many streams constitute the same value as a purchase of a single, based on whether people pay for their streaming.

From 12am Friday until 11.59pm on Thursday each week, the Official Charts count sales and streams from 8,000 sources – covering CDs, vinyls, cassettes and both downloads and streams of audio and video.

It counts 100 premium streams – by users who pay for Spotify Premium or other paid services – and 600 ‘free’ streams as one single ‘purchase’.

And everything from remixes to acoustic versions counts towards the chart entry for a single song.

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Warmly referring to Michael as ‘Yog’, he concluded: ‘Christmas Number 1 has been a long-held ambition for Yog and I, and for the fans, too. 

‘It’ll mean a lot to Wham!’s legacy – it’s the crowning glory. Last Christmas was conceived as a Christmas Number 1. 

‘Lofty ambitions, but Yog set lofty ambitions for himself as a songwriter. Our fans will have a real sense of achievement and pride in the fact it’s become Christmas Number 1.’

Speaking about Wham!’s historic achievement, Martin Talbot, chief executive of the Official Charts, said: ‘Having claimed the top spot for the first time last year, it is fantastic that WHAM! have claimed the Christmas Number 1 honour at last.

‘Of course, WHAM!’s victory also means that someone has to come second and it is hard to recall  harder-working Christmas Number 2 artist than Sam Ryder, who has chalked up more than 30 shows over the past seven days in a bid to take the crown.

‘Sam has made it truly a chart battle to remember – and should be comforted by the many years it has taken a song as iconic as Last Christmas to claim this most prized of chart achievements. 

‘We can all only hope Sam doesn’t have as long to wait. Fantastic work, Sam – you are already a winner in our eyes!’

Ryder’s bid for Christmas number one was backed by a huge publicity campaign, with the Eurovision star taking to the roads in a campaign bus to perform the song for fans across the country.

He also had the power of corporate juggernaut Amazon behind him, which promoted the song heavily on its Amazon Music service and made the sound the theme tune to its new festive film, Your Christmas or Mine 2. 

He said: ‘Christmas Number 2, isn’t that bonkers? When we wrote this song, in the blazing month of August, we didn’t even expect it to chart. But here we are, in a Mariah Carey and Wham! sandwich, and we’re the filling. I’m stoked.’

Ryder added that he hoped his success gave some inspiration to other songwriters trying to create a new Christmas classic. He added: ‘We always keep fighting. There’s always next week! Let’s go for it again, let’s get that Number 1.’

The race was blown wide open at the end of last month when repeat Christmas champions LadBaby announced that they were not releasing a song this year – prompting sighs of relief from those tired of sausage rolls as well as the rest of the music industry, given a fighting chance at the top spot for the first time in years.

Other festive classics to make the charts this week include hits by Shakin’ Stevens (10), Andy Williams’ It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (12), Band Aid (15), and Dean Martin’s Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (16).

But pop icon Cher has also broken a new record with her own Yuletide release. DJ Play A Christmas Song is the first female artist to have new material on the Official Singles Chart across seven decades.

And in the album charts, The Rolling Stones have claimed the top spot with their most recent album, Hackney Diamonds — a suitable present for guitarist Keith Richards, who turned 80 this week.