Andrew Ridgeley shares emotional statement after Wham! achieve new milestone
17 December 2025, 12:36
The ‘Last Christmas’ artist is celebrating the group’s festive song’s latest success.
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Andrew Ridgeley has penned an emotional statement following Wham!’s ‘Last Christmas’’ latest achievement.
The fan-favourite Christmas song which last year became the first song to ever top the Christmas chart two years in a row has now hit No 1 on Billboard’s Global 200 chart for the first time.
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Reacting to the news on Tuesday night (December 16), Andrew shared via Instagram: “This is a remarkable moment for me, @whamofficial @georgemofficial @sonymusicuk.”
“To learn that ‘Last Christmas’ is currently the world’s favourite song, is the best Christmas gift we & George could ever have wished for,” he continued.
“Thank you @billboardcharts. Merry Christmas.”
‘Last Christmas’’ recent chart success is made all the more meaningful by how the song originally missed out on the coveted Christmas No 1 chart spot when it was released in 1984.
The track had to wait 39 years before it made it to pole position in 2023.
Up against Bob Geldof and Midge Ure’s ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ in its release year, Wham! shared at the time they were more than happy to miss out on the top spot as a result of the charity single’s success.
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Speaking in a behind-the-scenes interview at the Band Aid single’s recording, George Michael even admitted he would be upset if Wham!’s then unknown upcoming Christmas track threatened ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’’s success in the charts.
But over the years, fans have increasingly felt it was a huge shame that 'Last Christmas’ never got its chance to shine as a Christmas No 1, making its recent success a welcome development.
Whether or not ‘Last Christmas’ retains it’s title as UK Christmas No 1 for a third year in row remains to be seen.
Other competitors in this year’s race include Kylie Minogue’s ‘XMAS’ and Together For Palestine’s charity single ‘Lullaby’.
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