Wham!, George Michael and Me: A Memoir

by Andrew Ridgeley

Overview

For the first time, Andrew Ridgeley—one half of one of the most famous bands in the world—tells the inside story of Wham!, his lifelong friendship with George Michael, and the formation of a band that changed the shape of the music scene in the early eighties. 
 
In 1975 Andrew took a shy new boy at school under his wing. They instantly hit it off, and their boyhood escapades at Bushy Meads School built a bond that was never broken. The duo found themselves riding an astonishing roller coaster of success, taking them all over the world. They made and broke iconic records, they were treated like gods, but they stayed true to their friendship and ultimately to themselves. It was a party that seemed as if it would never end. And then it did, in front of tens of thousands of tearful fans at Wembley Stadium in 1986.
 
Andrew’s memoir covers in wonderful detail those years, up until that last iconic concert: the scrapes, the laughs, the relationships, the good, and the bad. It’s a unique and one-and-only time to remember that era, that band, and those boys.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781524745318
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/08/2019
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	78,049
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Andrew Ridgeley is a musician and record producer best known for his part in Wham!. He lives in England.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 1: Decisions, Decisions
 
November 1979
 
We were the best of friends, and two sides of the same coin. Georgios Panayiotou was a studious and shy, broccoli-haired sixteen-year-old with a muffin-top waistline and a wardrobe full of questionable outfits. I, on the other hand, was self-assured and outgoing. A bright spark, but not so clever; a smart alec mischief-maker dressed in a charity-shop mohair suit and parka jacket, swerving studies for my A-levels in a school that had bored me to tears. But the pair of us were joined at the hip through a shared love of music, Monty Python sketches and our juvenile humour. And then I made the decision that would change both our lives forever.

Yog, we’re forming a band . . .
 
For the best part of two years, it had been all I’d thought about, and having spent so much time in each other’s pockets at school, there was only one person I wanted to play music with: the boy set to become George Michael. He had great rhythm and feel, an outstanding sense of melody and he was an even better singer. During our early friendship we’d idolised the same bands and artists, a wide variety of music from favourites like Queen to new sounds from the likes of Manchester’s Joy Division. By 1979, we were into ska, a very modern British take on reggae that mixed Caribbean grooves with jagged guitars. Bands such as The Specials, Madness, The Beat and Steel Pulse had captured our imaginations, not just musically but through their clothes, too. With a mod revival also under way following the release of the movie Quadrophenia, kids across England were suddenly dressing in sharp suits and Hush Puppies shoes. Buzz cuts were a cool choice at the hairdresser’s. Luckily my life in suburban Hertfordshire was as tuned in to the scene as the kids clubbing in London or Birmingham. Music was something I wanted to be a part of.
 
‘But, Andy,’ said Yog when I called him after school, ‘I want to, but I can’t . . .’
 
There were some mumbled excuses about A-level pressure and the unforgiving mood of his parents, who seemed eager to'protect'him from any further distractions – like me. However, I wasn’t about to be deterred. I’d set my heart on this course of action and I wasn’t about to let Yog’s concerns about his mum and dad thwart it.
 
‘No, it’s now or never,’ I told him. ‘We’re forming a band today.’
 
Yog knew I could be single minded, especially once my mind was set on something. He also understood that I wasn’t actually asking him, I was telling him. Sensing that I wasn’t about to give up, his resistance fizzled away.
 
“OK, Andy,’ he said, taking a deep breath. ‘Let’s do it.’
 
Yog was in. Now I had something to be excited about, a goal to achieve – a purpose. As far as I was concerned, there was nothing we couldn’t do and nobody that would stand in our way. Our friendship was invincible, and to my mind chart success awaited. I had no idea what that success would actually mean, but I could feel it. I knew it. What eventually took place was more spectacular than I could ever have imagined . . .

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Long Goodbye 1

Part 1 Young Guns 21

1 Decisions, Decisions 23

2 The New Boy 27

3 Parallel Lines 41

4 Teenage Kicks 57

5 Girls! Girls! Girls! 71

6 Rude(Ish) Boys 85

7 One Step Beyond 97

8 Melody Makers 107

9 Wham! Bam! (I Am! A Man!) 117

10 The Edge of Heaven 131

11 Becoming George 147

12 Party Nights and Neon Lights 163

Part 2 Making It Big! 173

13 Freedom 175

14 Revelations 189

15 Soul Boy (Let's Hit The Town) 199

16 The Teenage Fan Club 207

17 Fun and Games 223

18 Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow 241

19 Feeding the World 251

20 The Clothes Show 259

21 Orient Excess 267

22 Come Together 281

23 The End of a Party 299

24 How Not To Be a Pop Star 311

25 You Have Been Loved 327

Acknowledgements 343

Picture Credits 345

Editorial Reviews

One half of one of the world’s most famous bands tells his (fascinating) side of the story, offering readers intimate access into how his friendship with George Michael developed, and taking them behind the scenes of Wham’s beginnings, heights, and lows.”
—Entertainment Weekly

“A tender, admiring tribute to [George] Michael, whom Ridgeley repeatedly calls his best friend” 
—The Washington Post

“A memoir of a friendship as much as it is a look back on pop stardom, Ridgeley's first book is an enjoyable callback to a different, yet thanks to its preservation on videotape still instantly memorable, musical era... While the book is focused on Michael, it isn't an explosive tell-all — but that makes it a more enjoyable read. Ridgeley's motivations for writing the book seem as rooted in telling his side of the Wham! story as they are in reminding readers of Michael's songwriting genius, often overlooked by pop-averse critics and taken for granted by listeners who gorged on the hooky riches of the '80s. Written in sepia hues that allow Wham!'s floodlight-illuminated musical triumphs to glow even more brightly, it's a loving tribute to a friend and a more innocent pop era.”
—NPR

From the Publisher

10/11/2019

Musician Ridgeley met George Michael when they were school boys at Bushey Meads School, in Hertfordshire, England. Fast friends, they pored over record collections, wrote songs, started a short-lived group, and eventually formed Wham!, one of the most successful British pop acts of the 1980s. In this breezy, nostalgic memoir, Ridgeley recounts roughly a decade of their friendship, starting with their first meeting in 1975 and concluding with Wham!'s farewell show at Wembley Stadium in 1986. Early on, Ridgeley seemed to be the motivator, as Michael struggled with self-confidence; however, Michael eventually blossomed and rose to stratospheric heights as a songwriter and singer. Readers get a front row seat to Wham!'s early live and TV appearances, music videos, and world concert tours, including a historic one of China in 1985. Ridgeley vividly portrays the pandemonium of excited fans and tabloid frenzy. VERDICT This fond memoir of friendship and fame will appeal to fans of Wham! and 1980s pop. [See Prepub Alert, 4/8/19.]—James Collins, Morristown-Morris Twp. P.L., NJ

Library Journal

If you only heard WHAM's music, you only know part of the story. For Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael, music was fun and a way to meet girls. Their meteoric rise to worldwide fame as WHAM! in the 1980s was a shock, but one they embraced. Ridgeley narrates their story, saying he never intended for the band to last. He tells a jaunty tale of their rise and eventual breakup, not brushing past the painful portions. He's like a guy sitting around the pub with his mates, telling great backstage stories. He speaks with humility and passion tinged with regret about watching Michael launch a huge solo career and Michael's attempts to hide his homosexuality, which he eventually embraced. And he talks about his friend's death of a heart ailment at age 53. M.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

MARCH 2020 - AudioFile

If you only heard WHAM's music, you only know part of the story. For Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael, music was fun and a way to meet girls. Their meteoric rise to worldwide fame as WHAM! in the 1980s was a shock, but one they embraced. Ridgeley narrates their story, saying he never intended for the band to last. He tells a jaunty tale of their rise and eventual breakup, not brushing past the painful portions. He's like a guy sitting around the pub with his mates, telling great backstage stories. He speaks with humility and passion tinged with regret about watching Michael launch a huge solo career and Michael's attempts to hide his homosexuality, which he eventually embraced. And he talks about his friend's death of a heart ailment at age 53. M.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

MARCH 2020 - AudioFile