Relive George Michael's phenomenal Wembley 'Last Christmas ...

18 December 2024, 14:03

George's famous performance was uploaded to the late star's official YouTube channel. Picture: @georgemichael on YouTube

By Hannah Watkin

The George Michael concert recording was released to celebrate the 40th anniversary of 'Last Christmas'.

George Michael’s 2006 performance of ‘Last Christmas’ at Wembley has been released for fans to listen and watch for the first time.

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of their famous festive hit, the footage and audio of George’s performance was made available on Wham! and George Michael’s official platforms on Friday, December 13.

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The Last Christmas 40th Anniversary EP is also now available on vinyl and CD.

“We’re excited to share with you all a brand new live video from George’s 2006 Wembley Arena show,” the George Michael official YouTube channel captioned a teaser for the full performance vid, which was published on the same channel.

Watch the full performance here:

The recording comes from an encore George Michael performed after finishing the final Wembley date of his 25 Live Tour in 2006.

During his set, George performed two Wham! songs: ‘Everything She Wants’ and ‘I’m Your Man’.

But it was only in the encore that the ‘Father Figure’ singer returned to the stage to treat the crowds to ‘Last Christmas’, alongside his other popular hits ‘Careless Whisper’ and ‘Freedom! ‘90’.

Christmas was a much-loved time of the year for George, who died on Christmas Day in 2016.

Surviving Wham! members Pepsi & Shirlie and Andrew Ridgeley recently reminisced about their friend Yog’s love for the festive period during an interview with Smooth’s Angie Greaves.

“We all love Christmas, you know, Christmas is lovely. But George loved it even more than we did,” Pepsi revealed.

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“He just loved the idea of gifts and that moment in time, the end of the year. Christmas trees, beautiful candles in his home, [George loved] welcoming everybody in, having a little party. He revelled in the vibe of Christmas,” she continued.

Andrew agreed, remembering: “George loved to give gifts, [but] he wasn’t particularly good at receiving gifts!”

Shirley added: “I think he liked Christmas as well because it was bigger than him.

“When you become a star of that name and that presence, all of a sudden he was equal with everyone because we’re all going to share Christmas together.

"He wasn’t the star of it; Christmas was bigger.”