For many Americans, their only reference to one of the UK’s much-coveted cultural phenomena, the Christmas number-one, is the holiday movie, “Love Actually.” In the film, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2023, the character Billy Mac, a washed-up pop star, yearns to regain relevance by scoring the top spot the week of Christmas with his song “Christmas Is All Around.” But across the pond, it’s seen as sort of a big deal every December.
In a way, there’s a story this week that’s like art imitating life. Because 2023 marks the 29th anniversary of the release of Wham’s “Last Christmas” single. Just like the character in the movie, Andrew Ridgeley (the other member of the duo; singer-songwriter George Michael passed away in 2016) heard the news live, just seconds before the song was announced by the BBC as the country’s new number-one song for Christmas.
Ridgeley told BBC News…
