Former Wham! manager Simon Napier-Bell recalls the making of 'Last Christmas', George Michael's festive masterpiece
Christmas 1984 was a wonderful time for Wham!. The previous Christmas had been truly awful - the group had been in dispute with CBS, their career at a halt, unable to release records, massive lawyers' bills and no money to pay them. But in one year everything had turned around. They'd signed a new deal, got a huge advance, seen 'Wake Me Up Before You Go Go', 'Careless Whisper' and their new album go to the top of the charts, and had their first No.1 in America. Half-nostalgic, half-joyful, it seemed to allude to much that was familiar. Wasn't that the rhythm of Kool and the Gang's 'Joanna'? The chord sequence of 'Mr Postman'? The melody from Peaches and Herb's 'Reunited'? A perfect example of what great pop should be - instantly captivating. George and Andrew decided to do a show in the same vein - Christmas Eve at Wembley Arena, the place decorated like Regent Street. The show ended with 'Last Christmas'; glitter balls revolving, snow flakes falling, George and Andrew dressed as Father Christmas. The sort of thing I normally loathed, but I was as caught up in it as the rest of the audience. That was George's genius; he could do with songs and shows what he found much harder to do by himself - make everyone love him. The after-show party was even better. Elton planted a kiss on George's lips in front of all, and Princess Di did much the same, though more discreetly. Hollywood thrills Frankie Goes To Hollywood score their third No. 1 of the year with 'The Power of Love' on I December, following 'Relax' and 'Two Tribes'. The group are the first band since fellow Scousers Gerry and the Pacemakers to have a UK No 1 with their first three singles. Band on the run On 15 December, 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' by Band Aid goes to No. 1. The charity single, masterminded by Bob Geldof and featuring an all-star line-up, becomes the then biggest-selling UK single of all time, with more than three and a half million sales. Def Jam
In October George disappeared into the studios to record a Christmas song. It seemed an ucky thing to attempt but George was the master of tackling 'uck'. On and on he went and just couldn't get it right. Then, finally, his daily pout gave way to smiles - he'd created another pop masterpiece. And he'd also conquered the 'uck' factor - not by making a Christmas record that avoided sentimentality, but by making one so sentimental that even the most unsentimental person found themselves swept up in it.
In other news 
On New Year's Eve, Def Leppard dummer Rick Allen crashes his Corvette Stingray on the A57 outside Sheffield. Allen loses his left arm in the accident. Remarkably, he later continues playing one-handed on a specially adapted drum kit.
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