Last Christmas
| "Last Christmas" | ||||
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UK vinyl sleeve for the original 1984 and international release | ||||
| Single by Wham! | ||||
| from the album Music from the Edge of Heaven | ||||
| A-side | "Everything She Wants" (various) | |||
| B-side |
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| Written | February 1984 | |||
| Released | 3 December 1984 | |||
| Recorded | August 1984 | |||
| Studio | Advision (London) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | ||||
| Songwriter | George Michael | |||
| Producer | George Michael | |||
| Wham! singles chronology | ||||
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"Last Christmas" is a song by the English duo Wham!, released on 3 December 1984 via CBS Records internationally and as a double A-side via Epic Records with "Everything She Wants" in multiple European countries. It was written, performed and produced by the Wham! member George Michael. He wrote it in February 1984 about a Christmastime breakup and recorded it that August.
On release, "Last Christmas" spent five consecutive weeks at number two on the UK singles chart. It was beaten to Christmas number one by the charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid, on which Michael also performed. Wham! donated their royalties to relief efforts for the Ethiopian famine.
Until 2021, "Last Christmas" was the highest-selling UK single never to reach number one. It has entered the UK singles chart every year since 2007, reached number one for the first time on New Year's Day 2021, and became Christmas number one in 2023. Combining sales and streams, it also became the third-best selling UK single, with 5.34 million sales. In 2024, it became the first song to become Christmas number one for consecutive years. "Last Christmas" has also topped the charts in 14 other European countries. In December 2025, it reached number one on the Billboard Global 200.
In the UK, "Last Christmas" was voted eighth on the 2012 ITV television special The Nation's Favourite Christmas Song and voted the most popular 1980s song in Channel 5's Christmas 2020 countdown Britain's Favourite '80s Songs. It has been covered by artists including Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Whigfield, Crazy Frog, Jimmy Eat World and Billie Piper.