Prince Harry is to be be inducted into the "Living Legends of Aviation" to honour his work in the British army.
22.12.2023 - 18:55 / ok.co.uk
Wham! have secured the Christmas 2023 number one single with Last Christmas, having missed out on the title for 39 years. The pop duo, comprised of the late George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, landed the top UK chart spots for their first and second albums and also found success with a number of hits – including Last Christmas in December 1984.
For several decades the song was known as the UK’s best-selling single to have never reached number one, until January 2021 when it finally landed the top spot. On Friday, the song was awarded the prestigious Christmas number one title.
Having met at Bushey Meads School in Hertfordshire, the pair released their debut album Fantastic in 1983 which peaked at number one, before their second album Make It Big a year later also reached the top spot. The duo had number one single success between 1984 and 1986, with tracks including I’m Your Man, Freedom and Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, after their festive track Last Christmas was beaten to the top spot by Band Aid’s charity single Do They Know It’s Christmas?.
The Wham! song lasted five weeks at number two.
After chart-topping single The Edge Of Heaven was released in 1986, the duo decided to bow out at the top, commemorating their partnership with one final performance.
The band staged a farewell gig at London’s Wembley Stadium on June 28 1986, where they said goodbye to their fans and each other.
They were joined on stage by guests including Sir Elton John and Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon. Michael fully established his solo career in 1987, jumping straight to number one with his first solo studio album, Faith.
This was followed by Listen Without Prejudice Volume 1 in 1990, Older in 1996, Songs From The Last Century in 1999 and Patience in
Prince Harry is to be be inducted into the "Living Legends of Aviation" to honour his work in the British army.
Shed Seven have shared their collaboration with Pete Doherty, ‘Throwaways’ from their new album ‘A Matter Of Time’.The track, which you can listen to below, sees The Libertines man share vocals with frontman Rick Witter.Speaking about how the collaboration came about, Witter recently told NME: “We played just before The Libertines on the main stage [at the Bingley Weekender in 2022] and while we were doing our set, I just looked at the side of the stage and discovered that Peter was stood there with my family watching the gig and he was singing every word.“So after we’d finished our gig, I went over and he was telling me that in the ’90s – pre-Libertines – he’d sit on his bed with his guitar and learn Shed Seven songs, which I thought was pretty cool. I just said, ‘Look we’ve got this song, we’ve got another couple of guests on our record, we might as well throw the boat out here, would you fancy jumping on?’ And he said, ‘I would absolutely love to’.”The song is the band’s sixth to be shared from their record after ‘Talk Of The Town’, ‘Starlings’, ‘Kissing California’, ‘F:K:H’ and ‘In Ecstasy‘ which features Happy Mondays singer Rowetta.Their new LP, which arrived last Friday (January 5), is currently on course to claim this week’s UK Number One album.It is ahead of this week’s chart topper – Lewis Capaldi‘s ‘Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent’ and the latest version of Busted‘s ‘Greatest Hits 2.0’, according to the Official Charts Company.Witter recently told NME: “I think it’s gonna be a big year for us, starting with the release of our brand new album in the first week of the 30th anniversary of our debut ‘Change Giver’.
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Miley Cyrus, which was released in January and went on to spend 10 weeks at the top of the singles charts. Other female acts who dominated the singles chart included Dua Lipa, Kenya Grace, Ellie Goulding, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, RAYE and more.More impressively, 48.5 per cent of all songs to reach the Top 10 in 2023 were released by women – a milestone which meant it was female musicians’ highest annual share of Top 10 hits of the century. Check out the 10 best-selling singles of the year overall below.1. Miley Cyrus – ‘Flowers’2. Dave & Central Cee – ‘Sprinter’3. RAYE ft 070 Shake – ‘Escapism’4. Taylor Swift – ‘Anti-Hero’5. Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding – ‘Miracle’6. Rema ft Selena Gomez – ‘Calm Down’7. SZA – ‘Kill Bill’8. PinkPantheress ft Ice Spice – ‘Boy’s A Liar Pt. 2’9. Harry Styles – ‘As It Was’10. Libianca – ‘People’As for albums, The Guardian reported that the last 12 months marked the ninth year of growth for the British music industry, with sales and streams increasing by 10 per cent (equivalent to 182.8million albums) and streaming hitting a record high with 179.6billion over the year.
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Shane MacGowan’s widow Victoria Mary Clarke has reacted to the news that The Pogues’ ‘Fairytale of New York’ was beaten to Christmas Number One by Wham!’s ‘Last Christmas’. Writing on X, she posted a link to the George Michael/Andrew Ridgeley track and said: “I love Wham!!! We loved George.” Wham! claimed the top spot on Friday (December 22), finally landing the coveted Christmas Number One for the first time after 39 years. I love ❤️ Wham!!! We loved George ❤️ Wham! – Last Christmas (Official Video) https://t.co/k1nrzqC8X3 via @YouTube— @victoriamary (@Victoriamary) December 24, 2023It made history as having the longest-ever journey to the UK Christmas Number One, after being held off the top on its original release in 1984 by Band Aid’s ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’.
Nearly 40 years after it topped the UK Christmas pop chart and made millions of pounds for charity, Band Aid’s charity anthem has come under fresh fire for its lyrics, which critics say perpetuate racist and patronising stereotypes of African people.
Charlotte Crosby will be jetting off to the Maldives with her family on Christmas Day, after the festivities didn't "feel the same" following the death of her beloved grandmother in 2022.The ex-Geordie Shore star, 33, will be heading abroad with her fiancé Jake Ankers and their daughter Alba Jean, one, as well as her mum Letitia, dad Gary and brother Nathaniel. Mum-of-one Charlotte has revealed that the decision to jet off came after experiencing the "worst" Christmas in 2022 after her nan sadly passed away in November. Charlotte told The Mirror: "Last Christmas, we obviously lost my Nana.
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Last Christmas by Wham! has made pop history, topping the Christmas chart for the first time since it was released almost four decades ago.