ONE of the biggest sorrows of George Michael’s sudden death on Christmas Day 2016 was that he loved the holiday season.
It was this adoration that led to his decision to record the hit single Last Christmas 40 years ago, just as he was transitioning from teenage pin-up to serious songwriter.
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The cast now, left to right, David Ridler, Andrew Ridgeley, Pepsi DeMacque-Crockett, Shirlie Kemp, Jonny Fowler, Pat Fernandes and Cheryl HarrisonCredit: BBC
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Shirlie and Pepsi at the artwork commemorating last Christmas in Saas-FeeCredit: BBC
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Andrew takes friends down the slopes where the video was shot Credit: BBC
But the move came as no surprise to his Wham! bandmates Andrew Ridgeley, Helen “Pepsi” DeMacque-Crockett and Shirlie Kemp, as they all experienced George’s indulgent Christmas Eve parties.
In the new BBC Two documentary Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped, they reveal that the megastar had a special reason for considering it the most wonderful time of the year.
At this week’s launch of the film — which sees the cast of the Last Christmas video return to the Swiss resort of Saas-Fee where it was filmed — Shirlie, 62, said of George: “Christmas was bigger than him, so he could disguise himself as Christmas.
“Desperate Moment”
“That was one of the reasons why he loved that time of year and why he loved going to sing carols.
READ MORE ABOUT GEORG MICHAEL
“Imagine if everyone had an iPhone back then. Our Christmas nights were the best.”
Nor was Shirlie just speaking figuratively. George truly saw the opportunity to wear a formal masked dress as his opportunity to go out in public without being recognized.
And that meant strangers on a London bus being unwittingly serenaded by one of Britain’s biggest pop stars, plus his unusually famous backing singers.
Pepsi, 66, laughs recalling their costumed adventures with George, explaining: “He lived in a little house in Kensington High Street and he said, ‘Okay, let’s go!’ He had all the wigs and everything.
“We would sing in front of the house, and then we would end up in a bar, spending the money we collected. Then it was like, ‘OK, let’s go there’, and it was like, ‘No, it’s too far to walk.’
Home of George Michael: From Pop History to Modern Marvel
“So we’d get on the bus with wigs and everything and then we’d end up in another pub causing havoc.”
Andrew, now 61, cautiously adds: “It was just the first verse and chorus we sang. That was the full extent of our knowledge of carols.”
The documentary, which screens on Saturday night, tells how George, who died suddenly eight years ago aged 53, came up with 1984’s Last Christmas, which sold almost two million copies.
Participating was a bittersweet experience, especially for Andrew, who founded Wham! with George in 1981 after they became friends at Bushey Meads School in Hertfordshire.
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George died on Christmas Day 2016
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Andrew, Pat, Jonny and Cheryl waving from the ski lift Credits: Not known, clearly with the picture table
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The cast in winter clothes as they embark on a field trip Credits: Submitted
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Love interest Kathy is now happily dating Andrew Credits: Submitted
Describing the depth of his grief for the singer, he tells the documentary: “Losing such a close friend, someone with whom you have a special friendship and a special bond, was a truly desperate moment.
“He was basically my other half. I never imagined a future without him. I think he would like to be here at this point in our lives.”
He added of George’s closest allies: “There was a core of friends who had been our friends for a while.
“Pat and Cheryl would usually be there, and Jonny and Dave, who I met at college when I was 16, and we’ve been friends ever since.”
Shirlie reveals that she struggled to celebrate Christmas for many years after George’s death. But in the end, she realized that this would not go down well with her partner, who she still feels is somehow with her.
She said: “You just have to be really open and positive when you lose someone — that they’re always there for you — because if that helps you cope, that’s what you should do.
“When you’ve loved someone and they’ve loved you, it doesn’t go away.”
The documentary explores how much it meant to George to fulfill his dream of giving Wham! Christmas No. 1.
It was one of the few things the band hadn’t accomplished in the year or two since they hit it big with songs like Club Tropicana and Bad Boys.
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George woos Kathy in the fire scene Credit: RECORD COMPANY
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Kathy Hill, now 67, was the only cast member who wasn’t part of George and Andrew’s tight-knit group of friends Credit: kathy_j_hill/Instagram
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David Ridler covered in snow carrying a pile of logs Credits: Submitted
They also scored big hits in 1984 with songs including Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go — their first No. 1 in the UK — and George’s unforgettable solo track, Careless Whisper.
The ceremonial first place in the ranking seemed to be the next target.
But those hopes were dashed by Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas?, on which George actually sang.
Far from feeling angry at the end, the big-hearted star pledged all her royalties since last Christmas to the same cause of helping the hungry.
He immediately went to record a song for organizer Bob Geldof in London after getting off the flight from Saas-Fee, after filming the iconic video for Last Christmas.
There, George was seen frolicking in the snow with his love interest, to whom he sang about giving his heart, before regretting it, “and then the very next day you gave it away”.
‘Music was his children’
The woman in question was model Kathy Hill, now 67 – the only cast member who wasn’t part of George and Andrew’s tight-knit group of friends who all appeared in the video.
In the new documentary, she and the rest of the cast from the Last Christmas video return to Saas-fee for a very emotional trip down memory lane.
This included a visit to the mountain house where they shot most of the material and reminiscing about some misadventures – including the loss of a brooch which was a central prop in the story of George’s doomed love affair.
In the documentary, Shirlie explains: “George was really an encourager to have his friends around him. I think he had an insight that it is a rather lonely job, and that there is a lot of traveling, so he wanted all the people he knows very well around him.”
When introducing the film, Andrew recalled how all the skinny people went swimming in Saas-Fee, which got them into big trouble with the hotel manager.
Not surprisingly, a lot of alcohol was consumed, especially during the dinner party scene, which did not have to be faked in any way.
Andrew got so drunk on wine when they filmed the famous meal, where George stares at the woman who despised him, that he ended up having to walk out of the final scenes to sober up.
I think he realized Wham! was the vehicle in which his songwriting could flourish.
Andrew Ridgeley
He says: “It was a real privilege to be able to return with old friends. And it could have been the day after.
“No one has changed in anything, in any case not character-wise.
“It was a wonderful experience and feeling to be able to share with them there, even though we obviously missed a very important person.”
Andrew speaks with great affection of how important last Christmas was to George, whom he always called Yog because it was a shortened version of his real name, Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou.
Although the Christmas theme made the song seem new, the single represented a major evolution in his songwriting.
It was a talent that would make him sell more than 100 million records as a solo artist. Andrew said: “Yog felt underrated as a songwriter and the best way to make a point was with No1.
“The skeptics were proven wrong during 1984 and his confidence soared.
“I think he realized Wham! was the vehicle in which his songwriting could flourish.
“Through (1984 album) Make It Big and Last Christmas, it was some of his best work.”
This makes me feel very thankful and grateful for what Wham! meant for people.
Andrew Ridgeley
Despite George’s huge efforts, the song didn’t actually become a Christmas number 1 until last year.
It finally made it to number one in part due to a whole new generation discovering the song and even recreating the video on social media.
Andrew said in the documentary: “Everyone wanted that No1 status and 2023 was that year. That Wham! and last Christmas reached so far and touched people so deeply, it’s extraordinary.
“I feel very thankful and grateful for what Wham! meant for people.”
Shirlie, whose TV presenter son Roman Kemp was George’s godson, added: “We’re paying tribute here to a song he wrote which was so amazing.
“His music was his children, that was his purpose.
“So the fact that we still respect that among the younger generations, he would like that.
“It’s amazing to write a song that you know will be playing every Christmas. He was a genius.”
- Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped airs on BBC Two on Saturday at 8.35pm.
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Source: HIS Education