Wham!
Artist Type: Group
Group Formed:
1981
Group Dissolved:
1986
External Links:
Surge Tracks
Played By
| From Eton to Essex | |
| Channel Hoppers | |
| Switching Off With You... | |
| The 3D Show | |
| The Breakout Show |
Artist Biography
Wham! (often written WHAM!) was a pop band formed in 1981. They were briefly known in the United States as Wham! UK due to a naming conflict with another band.
George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley met at Bushey Meads School in Watford, England. At first, they performed in a short-lived rock and roll band called The Executive. They then changed their name and signed with Innervision Records. Soon after a legal victory over Innervision, the duo was signed to CBS, Columbia Records in the United States and Canada and Epic Records for the rest of the world.
Further information: Artist development deal
Michael took on the majority of roles and responsibilities within the band— composer, singer, producer, and occasional instrumentalist— but the contribution of Ridgeley as the group's image specialist and spokesman was crucial to the band's initial success. Ridgeley convinced a reluctant George that Wham! needed to change their image and sound frequently, from the leather-clad moody singers of "Bad Boys" and "Young Guns (Go For It!)" to the more fashionable pop superstars of "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go."
Artist Discography
Albums
Fantastic (1983)
Make It Big (1984)
Music From the Edge of Heaven (1986)
Singles
Club Fantastic (1983)
Club Tropicana (1983)
Everything She Wants / Last Christmas (1984)
Last Christmas (1984)
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (1984)
Young Guns (1982)