Wham!’s Andrew Ridgeley Recalls Hearing ‘Last Christmas’ for the First Time: ‘Absolutely Knockout’ (Exclusive)

“Last Christmas” became an instant classic – and Andrew Ridgeley knew it from the start!

The musician, 60, attended the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Friday, where he paid tribute to his Wham! bandmate and childhood friend George Michael, who was inducted posthumously.

Before taking the stage, he reflected on the enduring popularity of the holiday hit, which was both written and produced by Michael, who died suddenly on Christmas Day 2016 aged 53.

When asked about the lasting legacy of “Last Christmas,” Ridgeley told PEOPLE that it’s “not really a surprise, in a way.”

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“The first time I heard it, it was absolutely mind-blowing,” he says. “It sounded like a Christmas classic for all the world.”

He adds, “Christmas is distilled if you ask me. That’s the essence of Christmas.”

“And so the enduring nature of it, the enduring nature of it is not really a surprise,” he continues. “But it’s a wonderful privilege to be given Wham!, to have one of the all-time Christmas classics – which I think it’s fair to say is likely now.”

Ridgeley also says that Michael’s posthumous honor — which included an emotional performance of the singer’s song, Carrie Underwood’s “One More Try” — “means a lot.”

“He’s built a fantastic portfolio of material. He was an incredible artist,” he says of the late performer. “And this honor is fitting.”

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Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael of Wham! perform together in 1985.

Michael Putland/Getty

And while “Last Christmas” is Ridgeley and Michael’s most popular song, the guitarist’s favorite Wham! memory is not associated with it – or any other track for that matter.

“I think it’s live work or rather live work in the show. The live stuff we did,” he tells PEOPLE.

“Those were great days and it was great fun, and that’s why you started the band,” he says. “You start a band to write songs and play them. Those were really the most intensely pure moments, really.”

Ridgeley and Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou) formed the British pop duo in 1981 and went on to release hits including “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”, “Everything She Wants” and “Careless Whisper”.

The end of Wham! — and the start of Michael’s solo career — came in 1986, when the duo said goodbye with a now-legendary farewell concert in London that drew an audience of 72,000 fans.

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George Michael performs with Wham! in 1985.

Michael Putland/Getty

In July 2023 — decades after Wham!’s last performance — Netflix released a documentary, WHAM!, about the duo’s meteoric rise and epic end. Ahead of the release, Ridgeley spoke exclusively to PEOPLE about the last time he saw his Wham! bandmate before his unexpected death.

The musician said the childhood friends often met “over the Scrabble board” and Michael “was a big fan [of the board game] and we would have regular games [it].”

“He beat me a week before, and I got my revenge,” he continued. “It brought us back to … the core of our school friendship and supremacy. It was a game that stimulated him and me.”

“That was a few months before he died,” Ridgeley added.

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Ridgeley also spoke at the time about Michael’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which he said was “obviously a great privilege.”

“And I’m sure he would recognize him as such. He was aware of the meaning of recognition from his peers,” he said.

“He would be rightfully proud and he deserves his place there. You know, he’s a true legend and icon of contemporary music,” Ridgeley continued. “I said this in my tribute to him at the BRITs, that he was a supernova in a firmament of bright lights and stars, and that he was probably the best singer-songwriter of his generation.”

“There are not too many who were a candle to him,” he added.

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The 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is available to stream on Disney+, and ABC will air a special featuring performance highlights and highlights on Monday, January 1 at 8:00 PM ET.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education