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Wham!’s Last Christmas finally reaches top of the singles chart

It has notched up 9.2 million streams over the past week, four years after George Michael’s death.

Pop duo Wham! – Andrew Ridgeley (left) and George Michael – on stage at Wembley Stadium in 1986 (PA) Expand

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Pop duo Wham! – Andrew Ridgeley (left) and George Michael – on stage at Wembley Stadium in 1986 (PA)

Pop duo Wham! – Andrew Ridgeley (left) and George Michael – on stage at Wembley Stadium in 1986 (PA)

Pop duo Wham! – Andrew Ridgeley (left) and George Michael – on stage at Wembley Stadium in 1986 (PA)

By Sherna Noah, PA Senior Entertainment Correspondent

Wham! song Last Christmas has shot to the top of the singles chart, 36 years after its release.

The ballad sets a new record for the time taken for a single to reach the top spot, the Official Charts Company said.

It has notched up 9.2 million streams over the past week, four years after Wham! frontman turned solo singer George Michael died.

When it was released in December 1984, Last Christmas was beaten to the top spot by Band Aid’s charity single Do They Know It’s Christmas?

The track spent five weeks at number two and was the UK’s best-selling single to not reach the top of the singles chart.

It has re-entered the Top 40 several times since downloads were introduced to the Official Chart, but never reached number one.

LadBaby claimed the Christmas number one single last month, for the third consecutive year.

The YouTuber’s song Don’t Stop Me Eatin’ raised money for food bank charity The Trussell Trust.

Tony Christie’s (Is This The Way To) Amarillo? previously held the record for the longest time taken for a single to reach the top of the singles chart, the Official Charts Company said.

It took just over 33 years to get to number one thanks to the re-release with Peter Kay in 2005.

Meanwhile, in the official albums chart, Michael Buble’s Christmas album climbs to the top this week.

Online Editors

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