The creation of a timeless Christmas anthem can sometimes have the most mundane of origins. For one of the world’s most famous festive songs, the spark of inspiration came not from a snowy scene or a crackling fire, but from a televised football match.
The story goes that in the winter of 1984, the two members of the pop duo Wham! were passing a Sunday afternoon. While one half of the pair was more engaged with the live football broadcast—the only such broadcast available on television at the time—his musical partner found his attention wandering. Suddenly struck by a melody, he excused himself, hurried upstairs to a bedroom equipped with a simple tape recorder, and emerged not long after with the foundational track for what would become “Last Christmas.”
Based on the timeline and the broadcast details, the match believed to have been on screen that day was a First Division encounter from February 12, 1984, which saw Manchester United secure a decisive 5-0 away victory over Luton Town. The songwriter later confirmed the melody was composed in February, aligning with this fixture. For fans of the beautiful game, it was a memorable rout; for music history, it was the backdrop to the birth of a classic.
Festive Football Trivia
Christmas Leaders and European Glory: Being top of the domestic league at Christmas is no guarantee of continental success. Historical analysis shows that of the 70 winners of Europe’s premier club competition, only 30 were leading their domestic league on December 25th. Notable English clubs to have achieved this double include Manchester United in 1968 and Liverpool on several occasions. Conversely, some of the competition’s most legendary champions, like Bayern Munich in the mid-1970s and Aston Villa in 1982, were languishing in mid-table or lower at Christmas before rallying to lift the European Cup.
Christmas Day Fixtures: The tradition of playing league football on Christmas Day in Britain has faded. The last full slate of matches in Scotland occurred in 1971, with a handful of games persisting until 1976. In England, the final Christmas Day fixtures took place much earlier, in 1959.
Unconventional Gift Exchanges: The footballers’ secret Santa can sometimes reveal the dressing room’s inside jokes. In one notorious late-1990s example at an English club, gifts included a sheep’s heart for a player perceived as lacking fight, a hairbrush for a bald teammate, and a prison uniform shirt for a player who had served a custodial sentence—all reportedly taken in good humor.
A Perfectly Balanced Rivalry: A recent result in one of England’s most passionate local derbies has brought the historic head-to-head record to a remarkable equilibrium: 54 wins apiece and 49 draws after 157 meetings.