wham! legendary British rock band. At the origins of the team are George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. It's no secret that the musicians managed to win a multi-million audience not only thanks to high-quality music, but also due to their frenzied charisma. What happened during the performances of Wham! can be safely called a riot of emotions.
Between 1982 and 1986 The band has sold over 30 million albums. The singles of the British group regularly registered a place for themselves in the musical Billboard. Musicians in their tracks touched upon problems close to humanity.
The history of the creation and composition of the team Wem!
Creation of the Wham! closely related to the name George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. Young people went to the same school. In high school, George and Andrew began to communicate closely, and later they were enrolled in the musical group The Executive. The musicians created tracks in the style of ska.
In the early 1980s, George and Andrew decided to separate from bandmates David Austin Mortimer, Andrew Leaver and Paul Ridgeley. The musicians decided to create their own band, which was called Wham!
In the new team, George took on the functions of a composer, producer, vocalist and accompanist. At the time of the creation of the team, the young musician was only 17 years old. Andrew followed the image of the group. In addition, he was responsible for the choreography, make-up and stage persona.
The result is a solid image of two musicians who lead a moderate, even relaxed lifestyle. George and Andrew, despite being "light", touched on social issues in their songs.
Already in early 1982, the duo signed a contract with the record company Innervision Records. Actually, then the musicians presented their debut single. We are talking about the track Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do).
But due to the political background and the presence of obscene language, distribution of the two-sided 4-track compilation was impossible. Partly young musicians remained in the shadow of the music industry.
Music by Wham!
The real popularity of the Wham! acquired after the presentation of the second composition of Young Guns (Go for It). This song hit the major music charts in the UK. In addition, the track began to air nationally as part of the program Top of the Pops.
In the video clip for the song, Michael and Andrew appeared before the audience in snow-white T-shirts and tucked up jeans. In addition, in the video clip, the musicians appeared surrounded by seductive dancers. This ensured that the list of fans was replenished with teenagers.
In 1983, with the support of popular producer Brian Morrison, the musicians presented several more tracks. A little later, the band's discography was replenished with the debut album Fantastic.
Especially music lovers and fans liked the songs: Club Tropicana, Love Machine and Nothing Looks the Same in the Light.
Signing with Columbia Records
Moreover, these tracks were popular in the United States of America, which allowed the musicians to sign a contract with the prestigious label Columbia Records.
The composition Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go hit the top of the charts in several countries around the world. Interestingly, this track is considered one of the duo's best works along with the tracks Heartbeat and Freedom.
In 1984, these and several other compositions were collected on the general album Make it Big, which hit the top ten. In honor of the release of the new collection, the musicians performed in Australia, Japan and the USA.
After the tour, the duo had an interesting collaboration with the songs Everything She Wants and Last Christmas. The musicians released a double album. As a result, this disc has become one of the most commercially successful projects in European countries.
In the mid-1980s, having donated funds from the sale of the single to fight the plight of the people of Ethiopia, the musicians decided to go on tour to Asia. And then Michael and Ridgeley joined the Live Aid music festival and, together with Elton John and other performers, performed the musical composition Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me.
After this event, Andrew and George began to develop as independent individuals. The guys have their own interests. So, Andrew became interested in rally racing, and George began to collaborate with David Cassidy.
The collapse of the Wham!
In the mid-1980s, Michael had a reassessment of creativity. The musician began to acutely perceive the fact that the work of the group is interesting to teenagers. The musician wanted to create adult music.
After Michael and his partner recorded the single The Edge of Heaven and released the EP Where Did Your Heart Go?, as well as a collection of the best compositions, the artist shared with fans that from now on the Wham! ceases to exist.
George managed to realize his own intentions. He realized himself as a solo singer. Andrew at that time moved to Monaco and began to compete in Formula 3 races. Soon the duo reunited again to perform in Birmingham. A little later, the guys appeared at the Rock in Rio festival in Brazil.
wham! is the prototype for a number of "boy" teams of the late 1980s and early 1990s, among which the 1st position was occupied by New Kids on the Block in the United States of America and Take That in the UK.
Curiously, the debut track that Robbie Williams released after leaving Take That was the musical composition Freedom by George Michael.
Interesting facts about Wham!
- The track Last Christmas is rightfully considered one of the most popular compositions of the group. This musical composition is dedicated to the failed relationship between lovers who fell in love with each other at Christmas, broke up the next day, and a year later did not recognize each other at all.
- The track Freedom'86 also has an interesting story: “With Freedom, I began to position myself as a serious author,” said George Michael. It was from this track that the artist's maturation began.
- In the mid-1980s, when the band was at the top of the musical Olympus, the British company Mark Time Ltd presented the music editor Wham! The Music Box for the ZX Spectrum home computer, which includes several Wham!
- George Michael's real name is Yorgos Kyriakos Panayiotou. The future star was named after his father.
- In the mid-1980s Wham! became the first Western group to go on tour to China, giving the final concert at the Proletary Sports Palace.
