SPEEDOS, SHUTTLECOCKS AND EXUBERANT, LIFE-AFFIRMING TUNES – WHEN GEORGE MICHAEL AND ANDREW RIDGELEY EXPLODED ONTO THE SCENE WITH THEIR DEBUT ALBUM, THE POP WORLD DIDN’T QUITE KNOW WHAT HAD HIT IT

MARK LINDORES

Simon Napier-Bell: “George invented the image of the band from observing Andrew”

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Let us take you to a place where membership’s a smiling face… In December 1982, Wham! made their debut on Top Of The Pops, performing their second single, Young Guns (Go For It!), an appearance that encapsulated everything with which they’d later become synonymous. With their clean-cut good looks, catchy hooks and irresistible sense of fun, that watershed performance catapulted them into the homes – and hearts – of teenage girls nationwide, firmly establishing them as (shuttlecock jokes aside) the perfect pop package.

George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley’s ascent from the DHSS to TOTP had been a rapid one. After leaving school, they’d played in a couple of different bands, including a ska-pop five-piece called The Executive, but had decided to continue as a duo. They were signed up by Innervision Records soon after, and appeared on the TV pop show less than a year later.

In their early days, the pair would divide their time between songwriting and signing on, and it was around this time that they were joined by Shirlie Holliman – Ridgeley’s then-girlfriend. The three of them would choreograph dance routines, which they’d perform at local nightclubs. “It was so much fun,” recalls Holliman. “The three of us got on brilliantly – they became my world. We’d all go dancing together and Wham! started out as an extension of that. They were great times but I sometimes felt like a spare part next to George – his talent overawed me, and still does. He was the organiser and Andrew had the charisma.” An obviously gifted musician, Michael took on the bulk of the songwriting duties. The duo wanted to be as big as possible in as short a time as possible, and Ridgeley reasoned that allowing Michael to write the material was the way to achieve that. While Ridgeley’s role in Wham! has been endlessly debated over the years, Simon Napier-Bell, who managed the band from 1983-86, insists that he was integral to their success. “Andrew was the image,” he explains. “Wham! was two lads around town – heterosexual and having fun. George invented the image of the band from observing Andrew. He then chose to act out the role of the second of the two lads around town. Sure, George wrote the songs, but songwriters can be hired or recruited – the one essential of any group is its personality; its image. And that was pure Andrew. Without him, Wham! could never have existed.”

Inspired by the music they were hearing at clubs such as London’s Le Beat Route – the likes of Chic, the Bee Gees and Earth, Wind & Fire – the pair decided to record a demo tape to approach record labels with. They hired a Portastudio for £20 and recorded four of the tracks they’d written in Ridgeley’s parents’ living room. The tape, which contained Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?), Club Tropicana, Come On! and Careless Whisper, was rejected by all of the major labels, but a chance meeting with an old friend in London’s Three Crowns pub gave them their big break.