{"id":9624,"date":"2024-12-17T16:51:47","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T16:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/?p=9624"},"modified":"2024-12-18T10:03:35","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T10:03:35","slug":"with-christmas-just-around-the-corner-george-michaels-iconic-song-last-christmas-is-once-again-dominating-the-airwaves-but-there-is-a-sad-reason-behind-why-george-michael-wrote-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/?p=9624","title":{"rendered":"With Christmas just around the corner, George Michael&#8217;s iconic song Last Christmas is once again dominating the airwaves. But there is a sad reason behind why George Michael wrote it"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header\">\n<h3 class=\"entry-title\" style=\"text-align: center;\">\u201cLast Christmas\u201d is back on the charts, but few know the heartbreaking reason George Michael wrote it<\/h3>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p><ins class=\"982a9496\" data-key=\"4684f1d5199fddad42f9065d023e495d\"><\/ins>Did you know there\u2019s a heartbreaking reason behind George Michael and Wham!\u2019s decision to create arguably the greatest festive song of them all, \u2018Last Christmas\u2019?<\/p>\n<p>Between June 1982 and 1986, the late George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley\u2019s vibrant pop project Wham! ruled the airwaves.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Watch George Michael\u2019s performance of \u201cLast Christmas\u201d below.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"VkmRided\"><\/div>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"George Michael - Last Christmas (Live at Wembley Arena, 17th December 2006)\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GnlXotGDwqw?feature=oembed\" width=\"790\" height=\"593\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-origwidth=\"790\" data-origheight=\"593\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>During their short but sweet reign, the pair \u2013 alongside Helen \u2018Pepsi\u2019 DeMacque-Crockett and Shirlie Kemp \u2013 put out three studio albums and 14 singles before bringing the curtain down for good at Wembley Stadium.<\/p>\n<p>Following the demise of the band, Michael \u2013 whose real name was Georgios \u2018Yog\u2019 Kyriacos Panayiotou \u2013 embarked on a fruitful solo career up until his sudden and tragic death in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Ridgeley, 61, has continued to pour time into charity work and is a former Formula Three motor racing driver.<\/p>\n<p>Two years before Wham!\u2019s breakup, the group decided to record their first \u2013 and subsequent last \u2013 Christmas single, \u2018Last Christmas\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>The synth-pop song, which has stood the test of time, was solely written and produced by Michael and was released via CBS Records on December 3 1984.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/470579594_122132756426383119_2294728779820845195_n.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=3840&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt8bbf16c2d7a209e5\/bltfa51595dbb0fb049\/675b0fb321f0f45b86fda13c\/resize-2_(16).jpg\" alt=\"Wham!'s 'Last Christmas' is the subject of a new BBC documentary (CBS Records)\" width=\"1440\" height=\"854\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Why did George Michael and Wham! decide to release \u2018Last Christmas\u2019?<\/h3>\n<p>According to a new BBC Two documentary titled Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped, the \u2018Freedom\u2019 singer considered the festive period the most wonderful time of the year. But in a tragic turn of events, he would die of heart disease at the age of 53 on Christmas Day.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking from the Swiss resort of Saas-Fee, were the \u2018Last Christmas\u2019 music video was filmed, Shirlie said of Michael: \u201cChristmas was bigger than him, so he could disguise himself in Christmas.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was one of the reasons he loved that time of year, and why he liked to go carol singing. Imagine if everyone had iPhones back then. Our Christmas Eves were the best.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pepsi added that the two-time Grammy Award winner had a penchant for dressing up over the holidays, recalling one particular festive adventure.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe lived in a little mews house on Kensington High Street and he went, \u2018Right, let\u2019s go!\u2019. He had all the wigs and everything,\u201d she said. \u201cWe sang in front of a house and then we\u2019d end up in a pub spending the money that we had collected. Then it was like, \u2018OK, let\u2019s go over there\u2019, and it was like, \u2018No, it\u2019s too far to walk\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo we got on a bus with the wigs and everything, and then we\u2019d end up in another pub, causing havoc.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/470579594_122132756426383119_2294728779820845195_n.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=3840&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt8bbf16c2d7a209e5\/blt1c0258eeb2465261\/675b131b2b1010b23961b425\/george-michael-wham.jpg\" alt=\"Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael during their Wham! days (Hulton Archive\/Getty Images)\" width=\"1440\" height=\"972\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>The long-lasting legacy of \u2018Last Christmas\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>The TV documentary also reveals how one of Michael\u2019s lifelong goals was to make a Christmas number-one hit.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, \u2018Last Christmas\u2019 failed to peak higher than second place during his lifetime.<\/p>\n<p>The track lost out at the time of its release to Bob Geldof\u2019s star-studded Band Aid charity single, \u2018Do They Know It\u2019s Christmas?\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, Michael\u2019s vocals do feature on the 1984 track\u2014so arguably he did fulfil his dream after all!<\/p>\n<p>Seven years after Michael\u2019s death in 2016, \u2018Last Christmas\u2019 finally reached the coveted Christmas Number 1 for the first time in 39 years.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/470579594_122132756426383119_2294728779820845195_n.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-85986680-f4fab31.jpg?quality=90&amp;resize=980,654\" alt=\"How George Michael wrote Last Christmas: &quot;He knew he'd nailed it\u201d | Radio Times\" width=\"980\" height=\"654\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>What did Andrew Ridgely say about \u2018Last Christmas\u2019 finally becoming number one in the UK?<\/h3>\n<p>Following the \u2018Last Christmas\u2019 chart triumph, Ridgely sat down with the Official Charts to discuss how pleased Michael would be with the placement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, nigh on 39 years, Last Christmas has finally ascended to the much-cherished and sought-after Official Christmas Number 1 spot, which was always the main goal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGeorge would be beside himself, after all of these years, finally obtain Christmas Number 1. It\u2019s mission accomplished!<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYog [George] said that he wrote Last Christmas with the intention of writing a Christmas Number 1. That was the challenge; the goal that he set for himself.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>British public crowns \u2018Last Christmas\u2019 as their third-favourite Christmas song<\/h3>\n<p>In 2020, Wham!\u2019s \u2018Last Christmas\u2019 was also crowned as Britain\u2019s third favourite Yuletide song, according to a 2020 poll.<\/p>\n<p>YouGov discovered that seven percent of UK dwellers loved the melancholy anthem best, with 13 percent of those aged 18-24 selecting it as their best pick.<\/p>\n<p>The track was beaten to the top spot by Mariah Carey\u2019s \u2018All I want for Christmas is You\u2019 and \u2018Fairytale of New York\u2019, first performed by The Pogues and the late Kristy MacColl in 1988.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cLast Christmas\u201d is back on the charts, but few know the heartbreaking reason George Michael wrote it Did you know there\u2019s a heartbreaking reason behind George Michael and Wham!\u2019s decision &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[584],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","hentry","category-the-voice","post_format-post-format-video"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9624"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9624\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10049,"href":"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9624\/revisions\/10049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}