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Wham!
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(1981 – 1986)
Wham! (often written WHAM!) was a pop band formed in 1981. They were briefly known in the United States as Wham! UK due to a naming conflict with another band.
George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley met at Bushey Meads School in Watford, England. At first, they performed in a short-lived rock and roll band called The Executive. They then changed their name and signed with Innervision Records. Soon after a legal victory over Innervision, the duo was signed to CBS, Columbia Records in the United States and Canada and Epic Records for the rest of the world.
Further information: Artist development deal
Michael took on the majority of roles and responsibilities within the band— composer, singer, producer, and occasional instrumentalist— but the contribution of Ridgeley as the group’s image specialist and spokesman was crucial to the band’s initial success. Ridgeley convinced a reluctant George that Wham! needed to change their image and sound frequently, from the leather-clad moody singers of “Bad Boys” and “Young Guns (Go For It!)” to the more fashionable pop superstars of “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.”
Still teenagers, they promoted themselves as hedonistic youngsters, proud to live a carefree life without work or commitment. This was reflected in their earliest singles. Such works as “Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?)” have been seen as sarcasm advocating the other point of view.
The first record to be released by the band was “Wham Rap!”. It was a double-A side with a Social Mix and Anti-social Mix. The record was banned for general release in the UK due to the profanity in the Anti-social Mix.
George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley met at Bushey Meads School in Watford, England. At first, they performed in a short-lived rock and roll band called The Executive. They then changed their name and signed with Innervision Records. Soon after a legal victory over Innervision, the duo was signed to CBS, Columbia Records in the United States and Canada and Epic Records for the rest of the world.
Further information: Artist development deal
Michael took on the majority of roles and responsibilities within the band— composer, singer, producer, and occasional instrumentalist— but the contribution of Ridgeley as the group’s image specialist and spokesman was crucial to the band’s initial success. Ridgeley convinced a reluctant George that Wham! needed to change their image and sound frequently, from the leather-clad moody singers of “Bad Boys” and “Young Guns (Go For It!)” to the more fashionable pop superstars of “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.”
Still teenagers, they promoted themselves as hedonistic youngsters, proud to live a carefree life without work or commitment. This was reflected in their earliest singles. Such works as “Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?)” have been seen as sarcasm advocating the other point of view.
The first record to be released by the band was “Wham Rap!”. It was a double-A side with a Social Mix and Anti-social Mix. The record was banned for general release in the UK due to the profanity in the Anti-social Mix.
Top Albums
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The Best of Wham!: If You Were There...
Wham!Buy- Download Album
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Make It Big
Wham!Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $9.99
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The Final
Wham!
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Twenty Five
Wham! Buy- Download Album
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- iTunes $34.99
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Top Tracks
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Last Christmas
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Everything She Wants
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Freedom
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Young Guns (Go for It!)
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Shoutbox
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ofhinshaw wrote:
Check it out! --> www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5Aix07MLHE
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MadDennis wrote:
omg too many last christmas on the top tracks.... WTF?? Correct your tags everybody
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x3Candice wrote:
Last Christmas is the best song for christmas, and I prefer the original to all of the other covers. [40]
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NamelessUser wrote:
Wham!/George Michael is fantastic, and Last Christmas is brilliance personified. My favorite Christmas song without a doubt, right next to Paul McCartney's Wonderful Christmastime.
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matlin1 wrote:
Because he is tranvestit.
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prz_rulez wrote:
why song about a slut cannot be a Christmas song? ;)
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matlin1 wrote:
Last Christmas is not a Christmas Song! [3] It's a song about a bitch! :-P
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thenktor wrote:
Last Christmas is not a Christmas Song! [2] It's a song about a bitch! :-P
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JDonn wrote:
Last Christmas is the best song for christmas, and I prefer the original to all of the other covers. [40]
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plcnlc wrote:
Last Christmas is not a Christmas Song!
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love-again wrote:
Last Christmas is the best song for christmas, and I prefer the original to all of the other covers. [39]
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logan26121987 wrote:
Last Christmas is the best song for christmas, and I prefer the original to all of the other covers. [38]
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TheNordBeraht wrote:
Last Christmas is the best song for christmas, and I prefer the original to all of the other covers. [37]
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Paulina_H wrote:
Last Christmas is the best song for christmas, and I prefer the original to all of the other covers. [36]
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be-mad wrote:
Last Christmas is the best song for christmas, and I prefer the original to all of the other covers. [35]
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mari96 wrote:
Last Christmas is the best song for christmas, and I prefer the original to all of the other covers. [34]
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NezZZZZ wrote:
Last Christmas is the best song for christmas, and I prefer the original to all of the other covers. [33]
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callcollectplz wrote:
Last Christmas is the best song for christmas, and I prefer the original to all of the other covers. [32]
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Santi140 wrote:
Last Christmas is the best song for christmas, and I prefer the original to all of the other covers. [31]
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babamulon wrote:
Last Christmas is the best song for christmas, and I prefer the original to all of the other covers. [30] :D
Videos
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Listeners
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stansettle
Listening now
to Wake Me Up Before You… -
jacek_nl
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to Last Christmas -
Danikinz
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letmerunwild
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O_Kazarnovskiy
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lemon64
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Recent Activity
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wbauer, suuusi, bcbray and 3 other people added Wham! to their libraries. 14 minutes ago
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Testto wrote about Wham! in 15 Christmas Songs That Don't Suck. 14 hours ago
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RoRoNess, Anira_Sugar, speedo2491 and 23 other people added Wham! to their libraries. 15 hours ago
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kenshio0 tagged Wham! with british, new wave, dance and one other tag. Friday morning
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kenshio0, ikay87, pauloferrarimk2 and 1 other person added Wham! to their libraries. Friday morning
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thisbreeze tagged Wham! with ‘british’. Thursday evening
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seadawgg added Wham! to seadawgg’s library. Thursday evening
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Gentle_Person tagged Wham! with ‘dance’. Thursday evening
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kjbpimpin added Wham! to kjbpimpin’s library. Thursday evening
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CarolinaKaori tagged Wham! with pop and 80s. Thursday afternoon
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