Wham! is an English pop band formed by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley in 1981.
George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley meet at school in 1975. In the late 1970s, together with classmates, they formed a group called The Executive . Although they are not successful, the two friends continue to write songs. In 1982, they signed a contract with Innervision Records , distributed by CBS Records < / span>, and decide to be called Wham !. The band then released their first album, Fantastic , and ranked first in the UK charts.
Wham! quickly achieved international success between 1984 and 1985, with songs such as Wake Me Up Before Go-Go , Freedom , Everything She Wants and Last Christmas . During the tour, George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley are accompanied on stage by two singers: Shirlie Holliman and Pepsi Demacque. In April 1985, Wham! is the first Western group to perform in Communist China. However, George Michael is gaining more and more independence from the band and is releasing two tracks under his name: Careless Whisper and A Different Corner .
At the end of 1985, he wanted to pursue a career as a soloist and the band split up. Wham! then released a last album, The Final , renamed Music from the Edge of Heaven in the United States. On June 28, 1986, the group gave a farewell concert in front of 72,000 spectators at the Wembley stadium in London. In 1987, George Michael released the album Faith and led an uninterrupted solo career, until his death in 2016. After Wham !, Andrew Ridgeley does not know the same success as him in music.
