Christmas memories

ANDREW RIDGELEY tells us about celebrating the 40th anniversary of a Wham! classic

- REBECCA MAHONEY

WHAM!: LAST CHRISTMAS UNWRAPPED

SATURDAY, 8.35PM, BBC2 DOCUMENTARY

With lashings of hairspray, neon and very-short shorts, pop group Wham! put the ‘boom boom’ into our hearts in the 1980s. But George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley also gave us one of the best Christmas songs of all time – and this year, to save us from tears, it’s turning 40!

To mark the ‘Whamiversary’ of iconic, infectious hit single Last Christmas, band members Andrew, Pepsi DeMacqueCrockett and Shirlie Kemp join fans, friends, producers and artists to relive the beloved track’s conception and enduring success in a new documentary for BBC2.

Hour-long special Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped features archive interviews with George, who passed away on Christmas Day 2016, plus tributes from stars including Bob Geldof, Mary J. Blige and Sam Smith. Cameras also capture a magical reunion between the friends who featured in the music video, shot in the snowy Swiss resort of Saas-Fee.

In an exclusive interview, Andrew, 61, chats to TV Times about the genius of ‘Yog’, as he calls his childhood best friend and bandmate George, and the legacy of Last Christmas…

We can’t believe it’s 40 years since the song was released! Can you remember when you first heard it?

Well, it was conceived in a brilliant moment of genius by Yog alone. We were at his parents’ house, watching football show