U.K. CHARTS: A FESTIVE FEAT

Wham! have finally secured the U.K.’s Official Christmas Singles #1 with “Last Christmas” (Epic). Over on albums, The Rolling Stones are on top.

Wham! hit the top today a record-breaking 39 years after first being denied the festive #1 spot. The track was originally written by the late George Michael with the aim of landing the Christmas #1, but was beaten by Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” Today, “Last Christmas” sets the record for the longest ever journey to the U.K. Christmas #1.

The track earned 13.3m streams over the last seven days and is the most-streamed Christmas #1 ever during Christmas week. It’s the U.K.’s third biggest song of all time with a combined lifetime total of 5.34m chart units, comprising 1.93m sales and nearly 413m streams.

Following a week of intense promo, which included 26 shows across six days, Sam Ryder rises eight to take second place with Amazon Music Original, “You’re Christmas to Me” (East West/Rhino).

On the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart, Hackney Diamonds (Polydor) returns to the top, having debuted at #1 in October.

Michael Bublé‘s Christmas (Reprise) holds steady at #2, while Cher’s festival collection, Christmas (Warner), lifts ten to #5.

Noah Kahan’s Stick Season (Mercury/Republic) rebounds to #6 while Jewels of Romance (UMG) by André Rieu & Johann Strauss Orchestra is up 11 to #8.

Pictured: Wham!'s Andrew Ridgeley