One of my all-time favorite Christmas tunes is Last Christmas from the British pop duo Wham! The now classic holiday staple was produced and written by George Michael, where his silky-smooth vocals emote just the right reflective tone that makes the piece so distinct. As such, this is often mistaken as a George Michael track, but this was one of his last collaborations with bandmate Andrew Ridgeley before going solo in 1986. It’s no surprise that this is a “Wham!” song with an asterisk attached.
In 1984 “Wham!” was enjoying the massive success of their Make It Big album, powered by the hit singles Careless Whisper & Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go. To cap off the band’s banner year, they released Last Christmas as a single in December and donated all the royalties to Ethiopian famine relief efforts. In addition, the British duo released a glossy music video, as they were already popular fixtures on MTV thanks to Michael’s handsome, leading man looks.
The Last Christmas video was helmed by British director Andrew Morahan, who has quite the prolific and diverse videography from Pet Shop Boys to Tina Turner and Van Halen. The soapy and TV-movie-style production shows bandmates Ridgeley and Michael celebrating Christmas with friends at a ski-resort cottage. But trouble arises when Michael starts making steamy glances at Ridgely’s lovely new girlfriend. It’s revealed in a flashback that Michael and the girlfriend were involved in a previous relationship, where they traded gifts many “last Christmases” ago. The clip is imminently watchable just for the gorgeous snowy Switzerland cinematography. And, of course, Michael sporting a thick golden mane of perfectly feathered, carefully sprayed hair.
The music video makes it clear that Michael had charisma to burn which was a perfect fit for the MTV era. The Last Christmas video also has a touch of irony, as this had the closeted Michael playing it straight for mainstream audiences. Leading him to create an image he would come to resent, as portrayed in his 1990 masterpiece Freedom’90, showing Michael destroying the artifacts of his hetero alter ego. And while his sexuality was one of the worst-kept secrets in the music world, Michael kept the brooding straight act until he officially came out in 1998. A move that gave him an uneasy spotlight as a gay icon until his tragic death in 2016 on…Christmas day.
Last Christmas is a prelude of George Michael before he embarked on a successful solo career where he would be considered one of the great pop vocalists of all time. And the now bona fide classic is one of the most covered Holiday songs in history by a variety of artists. But none of them can hold a candle to the original interpretation.
Check out the video below and let me know your thoughts in the comments section.
One of my favorite Christmas 🎄 songs from one of my favorite singers. Beautiful, instantly recognizable voice!
Had not seen this video in forever! Nice to revisit it. I am sure many consider this one of their most favorite songs of the season…every season.
Thanks for checking it out; definitely a fascinating snapshot of a young George Michael. I know this song annoys some people, but I love it, even outside Christmas.