If you’ve followed pop music at all over the last several decades, you’re most likely aware of the duo Wham! And no, that’s not me being dramatic there with the exclamation mark — that was part of their name.
They were so popular during their short time together in the 1980s that they were, undeniably, a cultural phenomenon. Through their music, iconic music videos, and the way they looked, they entertained and influenced countless people — from other artists to fans all over the world.
Their hit songs remain as popular today as they were when they were first released — if not even more so. Among them are “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” “Careless Whisper,” “Last Christmas,” and “Everything She Wants.”
The music video for that last one is my favorite of all their videos.
Wham! consisted of musicians George Michael and Andrew Ridgely. Although their act split up in 1986 so that George could embark on what became an immensely successful solo career, the two musicians remained close friends until George’s sudden, unexpected death in 2016.
Wham! George Michael & Me: A Memoir (2019) is the story of Wham! from the point of view of Andrew Ridgely. Even though it took me a while to get to it, I had been wanting to read it since its release — mostly because I didn’t know much about Andrew and I wanted to learn more about him regarding his life in and out of Wham!
Since George Michael was the singer and main songwriter of the duo, most of the press about Wham! while they were together focused on him. Very little public attention seemed to be placed on Andrew — unless it was tabloid-type articles accusing him of being a playboy, a partier, etc.
Part of me has felt a little bit bad for him over the years, because he often got made fun of and insulted by a lot of people who said he was untalented, riding George Michael’s coattails, etc.
While George was undeniably “the star” of the duo, it always seemed to me that Andrew wasn’t getting enough credit for his role within Wham! After all, he co-wrote “Careless Whisper” — one of the most well-loved songs in the history of pop music.
I was very happy to finally hear Andrew Ridgely’s side of things in his book. While he does address the criticisms I mentioned above, he does so without any clear malice toward those who attacked him.
He appears to be very sincere throughout the memoir as he covers both the good and difficult times from being half of Wham! Thankfully for him, it seemed like most of those times were great — particularly his friendship with George.
The two first met when they were children, and he covers that period very thoroughly. I especially enjoyed learning about how the first thing Andrew and George bonded over was their shared love of music. They quickly became best friends, which led to them teaming up as Wham! when they were still teenagers.
Even though I’ve always liked Wham! quite a bit, I wouldn’t say I’ve ever been a “superfan” of them. Like most people, I loved their popular songs, but I owned just one of their three albums — Make It Big, which contained the majority of their biggest hits.
Despite that, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir. Not only was it very informative, but it was incredibly entertaining.
I listened to the audiobook version of it, which Andrew Ridgely narrated himself. I think he did a wonderful job of it. It felt like I was listening to an old friend of mine sharing stories about his past.
If you’ve ever been a fan of Wham!, or you’re simply curious to learn more about them, I highly recommend this memoir to you — especially the audiobook version. I loved it.
Thanks for reading. Have a great day!
Buddy
I’m always on the lookout for good biographies or autobiographies about musicians, so if you have any favorites, please let me know what they are.
P.S. – I also post regularly about books and music on social media. I can be found on BlueSky, Instagram, Threads, Medium, and Goodreads. Let’s connect in one or more of those places too!
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