George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley of pop duo Wham! on their single 'Last Christmas'.
At a London rehearsal space George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley of Wham! discuss their single ‘Last Christmas’. Andrew Ridgley explains the song is about having a romance at Christmas and getting jilted.
George Michael says he was keen to make a classic Christmas record,
Even if you took the lyric off you would know that it was a Christmas single.
George Michael describes the ‘Last Christmas’ video directed by Andrew Morahan as,
Cinematic in the extreme.
The inspiration behind the 'Last Christmas' video are the films ‘The Four Season’ and ‘The Big Chill’
Of all those people meeting once a year and place a romance in that situation and I think it works.
The video was filmed at the idyllic Swiss resort of Saas-Fee in November 1984. Rather than using lip syncing commonly used in music videos, George Michael was keen for the visuals tell the story of the failed relationship and unrequited love.
First released on 3 December 1984, ‘Last Christmas’ was denied the United Kingdom (UK) number one chart position by Band Aid's 'Do They Know It's Christmas?'. George Michael died suddenly on Christmas Day in 2016 at the age of 53. In 2020, 36 years after it was first released ‘Last Christmas’ topped the UK singles chart for the first time. At the end of 2022 it returned to the number one spot for a second time.
This episode of 'Video File' was broadcast on 21 December 1984. The presenter is Marty Whelan.
‘Video File’ was a 30 minute programme featuring a different musical artist each week. The presenter was Marty Whelan. Marty was replaced as presenter by Gareth O’Callaghan in 1990. The programme ran until 1991. The first episode of ‘Video File’ was broadcast on 16 November 1984 and featured Nik Kershaw.
