Last Christmas by Wham! tops chart first time after 36 years

Wham!'s festival song titled Last Christmas has topped the UK singles chart for the first time, 36 years after it was first released.

George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley's festive classic was streamed 9.2 million times over the last week, reports the Guardian.

First released in December 1984 "Last Christmas" was originally held off the top spot in 1984 by Band Aid's charity single Do They Know It's Christmas?

Since the song was released in 1984, it has returned to the top 10 a further six times. Fans had previously launched a campaign to get it to number one in 2017, to mark the first anniversary of George Michael's untimely death on Christmas Day 2016.

Unfortunately, it only reached number two - and was thwarted by Ed Sheeran's Perfect.

It has reached the Top 40 nearly every year since, going Top 3 the last four years.

Wham!'s Andrew Ridgeley said he was "delighted, somewhat amazed and profoundly pleased" that the song had finally reached No 1 and paid tribute to his late bandmate and the song's writer, George Michael.

He said the chart placing was "a testament to its timeless appeal and charm". He added: "It is a fitting tribute to George's song-writing genius … he would have been immensely proud and utterly thrilled."

It sets a new record for time elapsed between a song being released and reaching No 1. This was previously held by Tony Christie with his song (Is This the Way to) Amarillo.