Andrew Ridgeley believes George Michael would like to see what kind of lasting impression “Last Christmas” made.
In a recent interview with Billboard’s Pop Shop Podcastthe musician — one half of iconic ’80s pop duo Wham — opened up about what he believed his lifelong friend, who died suddenly on Christmas Day 2016, would think of the follow-up to the 1984 track’s top three on Billboard Hot 100 for the first time and became the UK Christmas No.1 for the second year in a row, according to the BBC.
According to Ridgeley, 61, Michael would find the song’s popularity “extremely gratifying”.
George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley from Wham.
Brian Rasic/Getty
Andrew Ridgeley of Wham! says the recreation of ‘Last Christmas’ scenes for the documentary feels ‘incomplete’ without George Michael
“You know, Yog [a nickname for Michael]we placed great importance on success in the United States. It was, for any artist, of that era… you weren’t anywhere unless you were a big deal in the States. You might have been a big deal in the UK, but the US was really the golden prize. We were lucky enough … and one or two of our contemporaries had great success in the United States,” he told the publication.
Added Ridgeley of the holiday hit, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year: “So for the song to reach its current position on the charts … George would be absolutely thrilled, as would I. And that would mean a lot to him.”
In an interview with Hello! magazine on Saturday, Dec. 14, Ridgeley also revealed that he recently returned to Saas-Fee, Switzerland, where the music video for “Last Christmas” was shot. The experience, he said, felt “incomplete” without his late bandmate Michael.
“We had a great time and recreating those scenes was like yesterday,” Ridgeley told the British publication, before adding that he wished Michael could have been with him in the Swiss mountains.
He continued, “But it was incomplete because Yog was not with us. I think enough time has passed since his death that we can remember and look back mostly fondly. He would want us to enjoy each other, even if he wasn’t there.”
Ridgeley returned to the snowy mountains to film part of a new BBC documentary, Wham!: Unwrapped Last Christmaswhich chronicles the song’s trajectory from Christmas hit to cultural phenomenon.
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Wham!’s Andrew Ridgeley recalls first hearing ‘Last Christmas’: ‘Absolutely a knockout’ (Exclusive)
In November 2023, Ridgeley told PEOPLE that he knew “Last Christmas” was a hit from the start before he took the stage at the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, where Michael was posthumously inducted.
He said his success “isn’t really a surprise, in a way.”
“The first time I heard it, it was absolutely mind-blowing,” Ridgeley said. “It sounded like a Christmas classic for all the world.”
He continued: “It’s a Christmas distillation if you ask me. That’s the essence of Christmas.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education