Wham!’s Last Christmas has made chart history after celebrating its 40th anniversary.

On Friday evening, it was revealed that the 1984 hit had cinched this year’s Christmas number one, becoming the first song to ever reach this accolade on two consecutive years.

Written by the late George Michael, the song was originally pipped to the Christmas number one spot by the Band Aid charity single Do They Know It’s Christmas? (as a gesture of good will, all royalties from the song have gone towards the Ethiopian famine relief fund).

Celebrating the accolade, Wham! star Andrew Ridgeley quipped to the Official Charts Company that it had taken Last Christmas “37 years to get to number one, 39 years to Christmas number one, and then like London buses they all come along at once”. 

“I’m especially pleased for George,” he said. “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.”

Andrew added: “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!”   

Just behind Last Christmas in this week’s chart is Gracie Abrams’ former number one hit That’s So True, while Mariah Carey’s own festive hit All I Want For Christmas Is You sits at number three.

Completing the top five is Tom Grennan – who previously vowed to get a tattoo of this year’s Christmas number one, in a bid to boost sales of his Amazon Music exclusive It Can’t Be Christmas – and the Rose and Bruno Mars collab, Apt.

In total, 29 Christmas songs have made it into the festive top 40 this year, including seasonal offerings from Ed Sheeran, Sabrina Carpenter, Ariana Grande and Kelly Clarkson.

The chart also includes classics from Slade, Brenda Lee and Paul McCartney.