Wham!’s Last Christmas tops festive chart for the second year running

A Keir Starmer protest song also made it into the Top 40.

The triumph coincides with the iconic song's 40th anniversary, and fended off fierce competition from pop singer Gracie Abrams' hit single That’s So True as well as Mariah Carey’s immortal hit All I Want For Christmas Is You to take home the Christmas number one gong.

The duo's only surviving member, Andrew Ridgeley, appeared on The Official Chart on Radio 1 with Jack Saunders last night to accept the accolade.

“Thirty-nine years to Christmas No 1, and then like London buses they all come along at once!” Ridgeley told Saunders.

“I’m especially pleased for George," he added. "He would have been utterly delighted, his fabulous Christmas composition has become such a classic, almost as much a part of Christmas as mince pies, turkey and pigs in blankets.”

He continued: “It’s testament to a really wonderful Christmas song that in a lot of people’s minds evokes and represents Christmas as we would all wish it to be.

“I’d like to thank everyone who has listened to, downloaded, bought, streamed ‘Last Christmas’ and been a part of history. Thanks so much and Merry Christmas!”

Wham!’s second year at the top of the charts sees them join a rare group of artists to have achieved the Christmas No 1 multiple times, including Queen, The Beatles, the Spice Girls and novelty pop duo Ladbaby.

Further down the charts, a parody song taking aim at the Labour government's controversial winter fuel payment cuts made its way into the Top 40 - reaching number 37.

The track was produced by a duo by the name of Sir Starmer and the Granny Harmers and is based on Mud’s 1974 Christmas No 1 Lonely This Christmas.

Titled Freezing This Christmas, the lyrics include the lines: “It’ll be freezing this Christmas, without fuel at home/ It’ll be freezing this Christmas, while Keir Starmer is warm/ It’ll be cold, so cold, without fuel at home, this Christmas.”