Last Christmas - owned by the Wham group consisting of 2 members: George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley - has affirmed its position at the top of the holiday music genre.
George's heartbreaking story of love given and lost at Christmas time has entered the consciousness of audiences around the world.
40 years of friendship
The 40th anniversary video for Last Christmas is a nostalgic 1980s short film featuring a snowy scene, as George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley throw snowballs and play with a group of long-haired friends in the Swiss resort of Saas-Fee.
It all looks so genuine and so much fun. The young men and women in the video are actually a group of friends and family members of the pop duo.
Two of them: David Ridler and Jonny Fowler (both 21 at the time) were old high school friends of George and Andrew. The two young men, fresh out of college and short on cash, jumped at the chance to go on a two-day, all-expenses-paid trip to the Swiss Alps with some old friends.
George Michael leaves the press conference for the film George Michael - A Different Story in Berlin on February 16, 2005.
Their friendship dates back many years, forged in school, then the pubs and clubs of Hertfordshire - where they grew up - and continues to this day.
The making of the music video is intimately recounted in BBC Two's documentary Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped , in which Andrew Ridgeley, backing singers Helen 'Pepsi' DeMacque-Crockett, Shirlie Kemp and a number of old friends make a pilgrimage back to Saas-Fee.
The emotion, of course, is still there in the absence of George Michael, who passed away suddenly on Christmas Day eight years ago at the age of 53.
Shirley Kemp married former musician-turned-actor Martin Kemp. Martin Kemp recalled that Christmas was a special time of year for George Michael. "I think he understood that his job was lonely, he had to travel a lot. So George wanted all the people he really loved to be with him. He always said the more the merrier, the more friends the better," Kemp continued.
George and Andrew's friendship was the foundation of the legendary Wham. The pair became close friends when Andrew was the only child at Bushey Meads School, Hertfordshire, to raise his hand when the teacher asked for someone to help new pupil Georgios Panayiotou (George Michael's birth name).
MV Last Christmas reaches nearly 1 billion views on YouTube
Both are the children of immigrants: Michael's father is Greek Cypriot, Ridgeley is of Egyptian/Italian/Yemenian descent. Music is the glue that binds them together.
George is shy and self-conscious but has great musical talent and finds motivation and confidence in Andrew.
Meanwhile, David Ridler met Andrew at college in Watford. Soon after, David's best friend Jonny and Andrew's best friend George joined the group, sparking a close friendship that would last throughout Wham's active years.
"I first got to know George when he was a waiter at the Odeon cinema in Watford. George was friends with Andrew at the time," David recalls.
They kept in touch when David and Jonny went away to study: David went to Bristol to study business and Jonny went to London.
"Wham were huge, had number one records, received worldwide acclaim. It got a bit crazy," David said.
'It was great, Jonny and I had no money, we had just left school. Andrew and George helped us with everything. We were taken everywhere, into town, frequented nightclubs and bars and had a thoroughly enjoyable time. Andrew's mum kept scrapbooks with pictures of Andrew, me and Jonny being thrown out of nightclubs, of us fighting, and lots of other funny stories. We were 21, having a rare time together,' David recalls.
David – now a father of two – was a part-time windsurfing instructor living on the riverbank where his parents’ house stood. By his own admission, he struggled to make ends meet.
1984 was a special year for many reasons. "We celebrated George's 21st birthdays in June and Andrew's in January," David says. Then in November, as Christmas approached, David was asked, "Would you like to join us and do this Christmas video?"
Each friend was paid $1,500 for two days of drunkenness and frolicking. David’s standout moment in the video is the “log carrier,” ambled through the door of the log house with a stack of logs in his hands and a freshly melted snowball on his head. In the blink of an eye, that moment was 40 years ago.
Particularly disturbing is the scene where the guests gather for a fun, wine-fueled dinner, where George Michael's character looks sadly across the table at Ridgeley's character, nestling into the woman (played by actress Kathy Hill) whom the audience recognizes as the object of his affections in the Last Christmas music video.
"The scenes around the table didn't need to be acted out, because we were so happy with all the flavors and atmosphere of a Christmas party," Andrew recalled.
Paul McCartney and George Michael (left) perform at the Live 8 concert in Hyde Park (London) on July 2, 2005
David and Jonny accompanied Wham on their final tour of Australia in January 1985.
Wham's brief heyday ended in 1986. The group performed their final concert at Wembley (London) in June 1986.
Sad Christmas Songs
Last Christmas hit number one on New Year's Day 2023. The song generates $377,000 in royalties each year, all of which is donated to charity.
Despite being born later, Last Christmas almost overwhelmed all the classic Christmas songs in 1984, spreading all over the world. The song has been played regularly at Christmas for the next 40 years. The MV Last Christmas has reached nearly 1 billion views on YouTube.
Last Christmas continues to increase in traffic with the appearance of countless covers by famous singers such as Taylor Swift, Whigfield, Ariana Grande, Good Charlotte group...
Similar to ABBA's Happy New Year , the song Last Christmas actually has no trace of Christmas joy.
The song tells the story of a boy who loves a girl with all his heart. He confesses his love on Christmas Eve. But the very next day, the girl rejects his feelings. So, to forget the pain, the boy finds someone else worthy of giving his heart.
Last Christmas is a collection of contradictions: there is the joy and happiness of the holiday season but also the sorrow and anguish of unrequited love.
Even though the guy said that this year he will find someone new, the whole song is still filled with pain and silent watching over a one-sided lover.
"George could write number one hits in his sleep. There's no doubt he was a star. Through all the ups and downs of his career, George was a good friend, a lovely guy. For most of his shows and tours, I always had a seat on his private jet. I was very, very lucky," Jonny confessed.
Both Jonny and David recall the moment they received the call from Andrew eight years ago, telling them that singer-songwriter George Michael had died. Their sadness was beyond words.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chuyen-chua-ke-ve-ca-khuc-giang-sinh-bat-hu-last-christmas-cua-george-michael-185241221160142634.htm
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