A Look at the Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped Documentary (Spoilers!)

Saturday, December 28, 2024

Image via IMDB.com

If I'm being brutally honest, I never would have predicted at the time of its release that "Last Christmas" by Wham! was destined to become a holiday classic. While I liked the British pop duo (and my friends loved them) we went to school with a lot of "tough" kids that were into heavy metal hair bands and sneaking cigarettes wherever they could. 


Anyone that was into the sunny pop of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley was easy fodder for these class bullies, who were immune to Wham! mania. The songs were viewed as cheesy and "gay" and "Last Christmas" was no exception. I mean just that line alone, "This year, to save me from tears, I'll give it to someone special" implied the singer was a wuss. 


But here we are forty years later, and we can safely say that Wham! fans are having the last laugh. "Last Christmas" is now, indeed, a holiday classic, right up there in the ranks amongst Bing Crosby's Christmas songs. It's been covered by Ariana Grande, Carly Rae Jepsen, Backstreet Boys, Taylor Swift, and even Crazy Frog—among countless others. 


It's also now the subject of an excellent Netflix documentary that premiered in December 2024 called Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped. The film serves nicely as a second part of sorts to the 2023 WHAM! documentary and takes a deep dive into the song's beginnings, its accompanying music video, and its cultural impact. 


For anyone that hasn't seen the 2023 movie (or—gasp—doesn't know who Wham! was) the story of how George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley met and rose to fame is briefly yet sufficiently explained at the beginning of the documentary. It also recalls how 1984 was their banner year ("the golden chapter" of their careers as Ridgeley puts it.) Make It Big, released that year, gave us the hit singles "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", "Careless Whisper", "Freedom", and "Everything She Wants". 


And just like that, Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped made me feel like I was 12 and wearing colorful Benetton sweaters and baggy winter coats again. We watch as the cast of the music video revisit the idyllic Swiss village of Saas-Fee, which was chosen because it was the only location in Europe that received snow in autumn of 1984, when director Andy Morahan was scouting for a wintery landscape. The ski lodge that the entourage travel to via cable car is still there, albeit hidden by a few pine trees that have exploded in size over the past four decades. 



When Did George Michael Write "Last Christmas"?


But the documentary is more than a happy nostalgia trip. For anyone that ever doubted George Michael's enormous talent, Ridgeley recalls how his musical partner "just disappeared" one day in 1983 while visiting Michael's parents and structured the song around a repeating synth melody in his head. Engineer Chris Porter recalls how Michael insisted on playing every instrument himself because he had a very meticulous vision of how he wanted it to sound. 


The result was perfection, a tune that juxtaposed sad lyrics about unrequited love against joyous sleigh bells and a drum machine/Roland keyboard rhythm. 


It's impossible not to feel chills when singer Sam Smith—one of the artists interviewed for the documentary—listens to Michael's soaring isolated vocals from the song. His voice is young, pure, and intimate—undoubtedly the song's most powerful component. 


Wham's backup singers, Helen "Pepsi" DeMacque and Shirlie Kemp (also known as Pepsi and Shirlie) receive more screen time here than in the 2023 documentary and talk about their close relationships with Michael and Ridgeley. Kemp, Michael, and Ridgeley were all school chums before DeMacque joined the group. 


Who Is the Girl in the Wham! "Last Christmas" Video? 


Just as Michael knew exactly how the song should be recorded, he also had a very clear vision in mind for the music video, describing it as "cinematic" with friendship being the main component, not unlike the movie The Big Chill (which was released in 1983). 


In fact, that well known music video is full of friends of the duo that happened to be available for a trip to Switzerland. The one exception was model Kathy Hill, who plays Michael's former flame in the video but was warmly welcomed into the Wham! circle. She still has the '80s dotted and striped scarf she wore in the video and recalls how Michael kept tripping and falling in the snow—which was perfect as the video wasn't scripted. 



The hijinks continued during the dinner party scenes, where real wine was served. At one point, the sparkly brooch (which originally belonged to Ridgeley's grandmother) that Hill wears in the video went missing. 


When Did "Last Christmas" Reach Number One on the Music Charts?


"Last Christmas" would have reached #1 on the music charts in 1984 if Band Aid hadn't released "Do They Know It's Christmastime" at the same time and kept the song at bay in the second position. George Michael, being the class act that he was, donated all of the royalties from "Last Christmas" to the Ethiopian famine relief fund. 


Since its release it has continued to enter the UK Top 40 on numerous occasions, finally reaching the top position in 2023—39 years after its release. 


Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped is also bittersweet for the obvious reason. George Michael passed away on Christmas Day in 2016 at the age of 53. But in a way, you can feel his presence throughout the documentary. "He would have loved this" recalls Pepsi DeMacque. Later in the film, a strong gust of wind nearly knocks over the Christmas trees behind the group's table as they reminiscence fondly about the man they affectionately called "Yog". Shirlie Kemp also reveals she went to visit a medium in 2023 who told her George would be with her "in the mountains." At the time, she didn't know what it meant. 


Coincidence? It's hard to believe that's all it was, with such a loving tribute to one of the most enduring Christmas songs and musicians of the 20th and now the 21st century. This documentary is required viewing for any Wham! or '80s music fan. 


4 comments:

  1. I probably like GM more as a solo artist. I remember digging songs like “Father Figure” and “Faith” when they were big.

    Nice to know you haven’t forgotten the blog!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Rich! George Michael's solo career was definitely the right move for him. Andrew knew it and wanted nothing but the best for his friend.

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  2. Many years ago
    someone had a keyboard
    it’s default was
    🎹“Wake Me Up”🎹
    (salemslot9 journal)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love it! Glad to see you are still reading this site. :)

      Delete

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