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The emotional reason George Michael wrote festive classic Last Christmas revealed
13 December 2024, 14:56
Wham stars Andrew Ridgeley, Helen 'Pepsi' DeMacque-Crockett and Shirlie Kemp have revealed the heartbreaking reason George Michael penned 'Last Christmas'.
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The emotional reason George Michael wrote the festive classic 'Last Christmas' has been revealed by his Wham bandmates.
In a recent documentary titled Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped starring his bandmates Andrew Ridgeley, Helen 'Pepsi' DeMacque-Crockett and Shirlie Kemp, the 80s legends have explained why George wrote their hit song 'Last Christmas'.
Speaking to the camera, Shirlie said: "Christmas was bigger than him, so he could disguise himself in Christmas."
She added: "That 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."
During an interview on Heart Breakfast, Andrew went on to reveal how the song came about, telling Amanda Holden and JK: "We were killing time at his mum and dad’s place and Yog [George] just sort of got up in a flash and he had a little four-track recording studio in those days.
"He came back down about an hour later or so and grabbed me excitedly and dragged me upstairs and says “Andy, you’ve got to hear this” and it was instantly recognisable as a song of quite some genius.”
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Watch Wham discuss 'Last Christmas' here:
Reminiscing with Wham about the most famous Christmas song of all time!
While the song has become a Christmas classic, it didn't reach the No.1 spot until 2023.
Speaking about this momentous occasion, Andrew said: "Everyone wanted that No1 status and 2023 was that year. That Wham! and Last Christmas has reached so far, and touched so deeply so may people, is remarkable.
"It makes me feel very grateful and thankful for that which Wham! meant to people."
Unfortunately George was not here to see this exciting moment, with the talented songwriter passing away on Christmas Day 2016, at the age of 53.
Later in the documentary, Andrew revealed his feelings towards George's passing, stating: "To lose such a close friend, someone that you have a particular friendship with and a particular bond, was a truly desperate moment.
"He was essentially my other half. I never conceived of a future without him. I think he would have loved to have been here at this point in our lives."
Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped airs on BBC Two on Saturday at 8.35pm.
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