IT’S the song you can’t escape every December – blaring from radios, pubs, shops and office Christmas parties.
Almost 40 years after it was released, Wham!’s “Last Christmas” remains one of the most-played festive tracks on the planet.
Written by George Michael in his childhood bedroom, the 1984 single was famously held off the Christmas Number 1 spot by Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” – a record he also sang on.
Originally, Wham! donated all proceeds from the song to the Ethiopian famine appeal.
Now, forty years later, the track stands among the highest-earning hits in British pop history.
So how much does it bring in today?
Industry estimates that have been widely quoted for years put the song’s annual royalties at a staggering £300,000.
This figure, first reported by The Independent is still regarded as the standard benchmark.
Exact numbers are kept secret by the PRS, but £300,000 is the accepted yearly total for “Last Christmas”.
That’s enough to place it at number five in Britain’s top-earning Christmas songs of all time.
George Michael tragically died on Christmas Day 2016 at the age of 53.
He was found peacefully in bed at his home in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, by his partner Fadi Fawaz.
The coroner later confirmed the cause of death as natural causes – dilated cardiomyopathy with myocarditis and a fatty liver.
George Michael originally donated the royalties from Wham!’s “Last Christmas” to famine-relief causes linked to Band Aid in 1984.
Since his death, his estate has continued this tradition.
Each year the full royalty income from the song is donated to charity.
What are the biggest earning Christmas songs?
Here are the top 10 biggest earning Christmas songs of all time
- Slade – Merry Christmas Everyone: £500,000
- The Pogues – Fairy Tale of New York: £400,000
- Mariah Carey – All I Want For Christmas Is You: £376,000
- Bing Crosby – White Christmas: £328,000
- Wham! – Last Christmas: £300,000
- Paul McCartney – Wonderful Christmastime: £260,000
- Jona Lewie – Stop The Cavalry: £120,000
- The Pretenders – 2000 Miles: £102,000
- Cliff Richard – Mistletoe And Wine: £100,000
- East 17 – (Tony Mortimer) – Stay Another Day: £97,000
In 2024, his family established the George Michael Fund, which is managed by The Talent Fund on behalf of The Mill Charitable Trust.
According to the fund’s website, it directs grants to organisations and causes that were important to George and that he strongly supported during his lifetime.
In a statement issued on the George Michael Fund website, it says: “Last year to help mark its 40th anniversary, we were delighted that through a donation of George’s record royalties, accumulated from sales of Last Christmas, THE GEORGE MICHAEL FUND made over 20 grants to organisations working with children and young people throughout the UK.
“Funding supported the UK’s biggest gift giving effort in its mission to ensure no child wakes up to nothing on Christmas morning.
“Grants also helped children and young people struggling with their mental health to access counselling, and funding supported organisations helping LGBTQ+ young people facing family estrangement or homelessness.
“This funding made a huge difference, and we’re delighted that THE GEORGE MICHAEL FUND has been able to do it all again this year.
“George loved Christmas. We know he would have been thrilled about the special place Last Christmas has in people’s hearts at this time of year, and are overjoyed that its enduring legacy is able to help children and young people facing tough times.
“Making a difference in young people’s lives was something George felt strongly about throughout his career, and the trustees are proud to be able to continue his charitable legacy and support the issues that mattered most to him.”
