Wham's Last Christmas

While there are no shortages of classic Christmas songs that have been wildly embraced by popular culture in recent decades, there are also some Christmas songs that were popular for a time and then disappeared from airplay. The classic "Snoopy and the Red Baron" songs by the Royal Guardsmen were hugely popular in the 1970's have essentially faded into obscurity.

Then again, no one remembers the Royal Guardsman so this is somewhat understandable. However, the 1980's British band WHAM! were a wildly popular band of the 1980's that sold millions of albums. This is why it is somewhat curious that there classic song Last Christmas has faded from the pop culture radar.

The History of the Song

In 1984, WHAM! was riding a wave of popularity, but many considered their plan for a Christmas single to be somewhat misguided. Would the public accept a Christmas single from a band that was not really cut from the Perry Como mold? WHAM! considered the release of the Last Christmas single a challenge and in 1984 against a great deal of conventional wisdom, Last Christmas was released as the A side to a single that also featured the song Everything She Wants.

Conventional wisdom was proven wrong and the single went on to sell one million copies (platinum status) and stayed on charts in 1985 and 1986. Unfortunately, the song would soon disappear from the airwaves as, much like the 1970's music, the tunes of the 1980's were pegged as dated and no longer popular with audiences.

The 1980's in Retrospect

It would seem that much of the great music of the 1980's was dropped down the proverbial Orwellian black hole for many years. For whatever reason, the music of the early 1980's did not get the nostalgia boost that many other eras of music received. However, this has changed a great deal in recent years as far more critical acclaim as been heaped on music from the era. As such, the classic Last Christmas song has seen a sort of annual resurgence in radio airplay during the Christmas season.

The Comeback of Sorts

As time progressed, the music of the 1980's began to take on a nostalgic feel and compilations of music from the era began to sell well. This led to the resurgence in popularity of Last Christmas that has allowed to song to achieve a perennial classic cult Christmas song of sorts. As such, it has made a return to airwaves after a two decade absence and now has a new legion of fans.