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WHAM! have scored the festive No1 with Final Christmas, making George Michael’s final want come true seven years after his loss of life.
The tune completed 5,926 copies forward of Sam Ryder‘s You’re Christmas To Me, clinching the win for the Eighties group.
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George, who was in Wham! with Andrew Ridgeley, had been decided to attain the Christmas No1 when it was first launched in 1984, nevertheless it was crushed by Band Support’s Do They Know It’s Christmas?.
The information was revealed on the Radio 1 chart present this night by presenter Jack Saunders.
The bittersweet tune about being left heartbroken in the course of the festive season surged in recognition following George’s loss of life and hit No1 for the primary time ever in January 2021.
It returned to the highest spot twice in 2022 and has spent the final fortnight at No1.
Earlier than that, it had held the title of the highest-selling single by no means to have topped the Official Charts.
The band’s former supervisor Simon Napier-Bell mentioned George at all times believed Final Christmas was “one of the best factor he ever wrote” – which was why he was particularly upset about its failure to assert the festive high spot.
He defined: “It is extraordinary how Final Christmas stands up. If it was made this week, would you make it any otherwise?
“He was at all times barely upset by the very fact he naggingly knew it was one of the best factor he ever wrote.
“George, above all, actually wished to be remembered as an excellent songwriter. And I believe on the backside of his thoughts?
“It was moderately annoying that the tune he obtained so good was a Christmas tune.”
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The video, which has been seen 857 million occasions on YouTube, was shot in a ski resort in Switzerland and featured Kathy Hill as Andrew’s girlfriend, who has beforehand damaged George’s coronary heart.
Andrew and George spoke in regards to the making of the tune of their self-titled Netflix documentary which was launched in June.
Andrew defined: “George wanted success as a songwriter for private affirmation.
“One Sunday at his mum and pa’s home there was a soccer match on TV. Yog simply sat bolt upright and mentioned, ‘I’ve obtained to go upstairs, I’ve obtained an thought’.”
George continued: “I went downstairs and I mentioned to Andrew, ‘I’ve finished it.’ I mentioned, ‘We’re going to have 4 No1s this 12 months and we’re going to have a Christmas No1.’ I performed it to him and he went, ‘F*** yeah. Yeah.’
“We knew we had a No1 on our arms. The discharge was for the second week of December.”
On being crushed by a charity single elevating cash for famine reduction in Ethiopia, he continued: “That was what was so ironic in regards to the Band Support – Do They Know It’s Christmas?.
“Everybody else was simply considering how unbelievable it’s, it’s going to be nice, it’s going to be No1 and it’s going to be this and that.
“I had all those self same emotions about it however I simply had this little b*****d ego factor that I simply needed to preserve squashing that was going, ‘S**t, s**t, s**t.’
“As a result of this little ego inside me had this grasp plan for 4 No1 singles this 12 months and every part was prepared.”
It’s now the ninth best-selling single in British music historical past, with 1.9million copies bought, not together with streams, whereas Band Support’s observe, which George additionally sang on, is the second largest vendor.
YouTuber LadBaby has claimed the coveted Christmas No1 for the previous 5 consecutive years along with his novelty sausage roll-themed singles in help of meals financial institution charity The Trussell Belief.
Final Christmas has managed to realize the unimaginable feat regardless of hundreds of thousands of individuals making an attempt to keep away from the tune all through December as a part of a sport dubbed Whamageddon.
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