Wham! 1982--1986
Hi, Wham! fans, this is Amelie Zhao, a huge Wham! fan. This site was created JUST FOR YOU!
If you're a beginner, I'll do a brief introduction of Wham!. It was very popular in the 1980's. Wham! was formed by two people, George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.George Michael (born Yorgos Panayiotou, June 26, 1963) and Andrew Ridgeley (born Surrey, England, June 25, 1963). Wham! is from the UK--it was founded when they were about 20 years old. There are rumours that George Michael introduced 'rap' to the world.
George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley rose to fame in the 1980's as Wham!--the archetypal young guns of pop. The first group to perform in China, they were young and full of life. George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley shared the same dream of becoming musical stars. The two met in their childhood and formed a band which was originally called the Executives and eventually was changed to Wham UK. After the duo went touring internationally, they dropped the UK in the title.
Much to the chagrin of millions of fans worldwide, the two disbanded in 1986 to pursue solo careers. George Michael became a popular international solo artist, while Andrew Ridgeley went to Monaco to become an auto racer. His days as an auto racer did not last long, as he crashed several cars and had difficulty getting sponsors. He then went back to singing and also signed with Columbia Records in 1990. The partnership produced only one album, Son of Albert, logically named after Ridgeley's father. His musical style was quite different on this album than it was when he was with Michael. His first single, "Shake," had only moderate success and reached number 13 on the Australian charts. "Red Dress," another single from the album, did not make the charts at all, even though Michael sang some of the backup vocals. The album's sales were unsuccessful, and when it reached only 70 on U.S. charts, Columbia canceled Ridgeley's contract.
This picture was taken in the 1980's or so. They were young then!
