Wham’s ‘Last Christmas’ Returns to No. 1 In U.K.

Wham’s “Last Christmas” (via RCA) is the gift that keeps giving, as the ‘80s classic returns to No. 1 in the U.K.

The holiday standard lifts 2-1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, published Dec. 30, for its second stint at the summit in 2022.

According to the Official Charts Company, “Last Christmas” scoops over 79,000 combined chart units, including a market-leading 18 million streams, to bag the last No. 1 of the year.

Less than a year earlier, “Last Christmas” was finally crowned on the survey, setting a new mark for the longest journey to the top, at 36 years.

The latest survey is brimming with Christmas spirit. Indeed, holiday numbers swamp the Top 40, taking out 34 spots, including nine of the top 10. Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” (Columbia) improves 4-2; Ed Sheeran & Elton John’s “Merry Christmas” (Atlantic) is up 5-3; Brenda Lee’s 1962 hit “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” (MCA) lifts 8-4, for a new peak; Michael Bublé’s “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas rebounds” (Reprise) is up 11-6; Bobby Helms bags a posthumous top 10 — his first in the U.K. — with “Jingle Bell Rock” (MCA) up 14-7; Lizzo lifts 15-8 with her Amazon Music “Original Someday At Christmas” (Atlantic); The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl’s “Fairytale of New York” (Warner Bros) gains 13-9; and Andy Williams’ “It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of Year” (Sony Music) soars 21-10. 

LadBaby set a new chart record when “Food Aid” (BMG) bowed at No. 1 last week, the husband-and-wife duo’s fifth Christmas leader. The charity fundraised falls sharply in its second week, down to No. 85.

Expect an entirely different looking chart this Friday (Jan. 6), as Christmas songs make their annual exodus.

The highest charting non-Christmas-themed song belongs to Stormzy, whose This Is What I Mean ballad “Firebabe” (0207/Merky) lights up 10-5, for its equal peak position.