Football Match Broadcast and the Creation of 'Last Christmas'
On Sunday 12 February 1984, ITV broadcast the only live Sunday Division One match that month where Luton Town lost 0-5 to Manchester United, with goals scored by Robson (2), Whiteside (2), and Stapleton. During the winter of 1984, while The Big Match was airing—the only live football on TV—George Michael wrote the song "Last Christmas" in his childhood bedroom. His parents and Andrew Ridgeley were downstairs watching the football match, and Michael ran upstairs with a four-track recorder to lay down the melody. The song did not top the Christmas chart in 1984, being outperformed by Band Aid's "Do They Know It’s Christmas," but it ultimately reached Christmas No.1 in 2023.
Additionally, historical football insights reveal that out of 70 European Cup/Champions League winners, 30 teams were top of their domestic league at Christmas. Examples of English champions who were leading at Christmas and later achieved European success include Manchester United in 1967-68 and Liverpool in 1980-81, 1983-84, and 2018-19. Regarding Christmas Day football history, England last hosted a full Christmas Day top-flight match card in 1959, while Scotland last did so in 1971.
