"Escapades in Saas-Fee" The truth about the Christmas hit "Last Christmas"

40 years ago, "Last Christmas" was released and became one of the most famous Christmas songs of all time. In a TV show, Wham! musician Andrew Ridgeley revealed how the song came about.

To answer perhaps the most important question up front: Even though many people find the song annoying due to the constant soundtrack at Christmas time, Andrew Ridgeley still loves "Last Christmas" to this day.

The Christmas classic is still one of his favorite songs and is something like "Christmas money" for him today, the former Wham! star admitted with a smile on presenter Markus Lanz's TV show in 2019.

Exactly 40 years ago, on December 3, 1984, the pop duo consisting of Ridgeley and George Michael released the song "Last Christmas", which became the second worldwide top ten hit for the two Brits. Today, the song is a beloved and hated Christmas classic.

There are numerous myths surrounding "Last Christmas"

For years, numerous myths surrounded the creation of the song. For example, it was said that George Michael was "only" responding to the record company's request to release a Christmas song quickly after the success of "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go".

To this end, he allegedly rewrote the lyrics of a song he had already composed entitled "Last Easter". Neither Michael nor the record company ever confirmed this version of the story.

In 2019, while promoting his autobiography "Wham! George & Me" on "Markus Lanz", 61-year-old Ridgeley revealed how "Last Christmas" really came about - it was the result of a spontaneous flash of inspiration.

Ridgeley knew immediately that the song would become a classic

George Michael wrote the classic in 1984 on a "boring, dark, gray Sunday afternoon" at his parents' house, Andrew Ridgeley told the ZDF presenter, during a football match they were watching together.

"Suddenly George got up, disappeared upstairs, and when he came back he said: 'Andy, come up here, you've got to listen to this!' He had a simple keyboard there, and he played me the basic idea of 'Last Christmas', which was an amazing moment! I already knew then that it would become a Christmas classic!" Ridgeley recalled.

Ridgeley: "Saas-Fee was a fun time"

The video for "Last Christmas", which Ridgeley also talks about in his autobiography, remains legendary to this day. Working on the clip, which cost 60,000 pounds (around 67,000 Swiss francs) and was filmed in Saas-Fee in Valais, was great fun:

"It was a fun time with some escapades like skinny-dipping and obstacle courses in the snow - naked," said the ex-Wham! star. "Not practiced that often, definitely not a winter sport."

He has no regrets that Ridgeley's career as a pop star only lasted five years despite worldwide success with songs such as "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", "Club Tropicana" and "Last Christmas":

"We embodied youthful optimism and never intended to let Wham! grow up as a band," he once said in an interview with "Freundin".

"Last Christmas" and the hit parade

What certainly also helped Andrew Ridgeley was the ever-increasing income from their Christmas classic. Which has been more successful than ever in recent years, at least in chart terms:

On December 24, 2021, for example, the single reached number one in the singles charts in Germany for the first time, 37 years after its initial chart entry.

"Last Christmas" has never made it to number one in the Swiss charts, but since 2018 it has climbed to at least number three or two every year during the Advent season.

The song also became a chart-topper late in the UK: "Last Christmas" topped the British charts in December 2022 after reaching number two when it was first released.

"Twice in the same month!" tweeted Ridgeley enthusiastically. "You wait 36 years for a number one and then they often come like buses.".

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