Wham! had already had two number ones in the UK Singles Chart in 1984 and news that they were planning a Christmas single meant that a battle for the coveted Christmas number one spot in the UK seemed set to be between Wham! and the year's other big act,Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who had achieved a third number one in early December with "The Power of Love". However, the Band Aidproject helmed by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, produced the number one single "Do They Know It's Christmas?". Wham!'s offering peaked at number two for much of the period, although George's involvement in Band Aid meant that Wham! still had an input. Wham! subsequently donated all of their "Last Christmas/Everything She Wants" royalties to the Ethiopian famine.
In subsequent years, the song managed to reach the middle echelons of the UK Singles Chart on a regular basis:
1985: Reached number 2 (13 weeks)1986: Reached number 6 (7 weeks)1987: Reached number 45 (4 weeks)2007: Reached number 14 (5 weeks)2008: Reached number 26 (5 weeks)2009: Reached number 34 (4 weeks)2010: Reached number 53 (4 weeks)2011: Reached number 26 (4 weeks)2012: Reached number 34 (4 weeks)2013: Reached number 36 (4 weeks)2014: Reached number 28 (3 weeks)2015: Reached number 18 (5 weeks)2016: Reached number 7
"Last Christmas" has sold over 2 million copies as of January 2017 and is the biggest-selling single in UK chart history not to reach number one.[1]
Other countries and territoriesEdit
The song gradually sold in Japan and became the best-selling single that did not reach that country's top 10 chart, selling more than 600,000 copies and peaking on the chart at number 12 in 1992.
In 2009, the song re-entered the Spanish Lista de Canciones (singles chart) at number 9.
In 2013, it was the most streamed single on Christmas Day (in the UK) according toSpotify.[2]
In Germany, the song is the most successful Christmas single of all time, having spent 124 weeks on the German Singles Chart and attained a peak position of number 4. It has charted every year since 1997.[3] In January 2008, the song fell from number 4 to number 64 there, also making it the biggest fall out of the top 10 on the singles chart.[4]
In the Netherlands, the song never reached number one, peaking at number 2 in January 1985 (behind Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?"). In the Dutch Singles Top 100 (one of three charts in the Netherlands that claims to be the "official" chart, but it's the only one that is not broadcast and remains unpublished except on its own official web page), the song has now entered on 16 different occasions, including every year since 2006. Its highest position after 1984 was number 5 (during the 2007 Christmas season).[5] In the Dutch Mega Top 50 (which was first published in 1993), the song re-appeared in 1997, 2000, 2007, 2008, and 2013.
In the United States, the song has also re-entered the Billboard Holiday Songs Chart on a regular basis. As of November 25, 2016, total US sales of the digital track stand at 751,000 downloads according to Nielsen SoundScan, placing it 10th on the list of all-time best-selling Christmas/holiday digital singles in US SoundScan history.[6] The song debuted at number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the chart dated January 7, 2017.[7]