Wham!: George Michael & Me

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He then mainly stayed out of the spotlight, reappearing every so often, including a concert with George in Rio de Janeiro, BBC Two’s Fantasy Football League, the movie Last Christmas, and a 2005 documentary about George. Wham! were the definitive pop group of the 1980s. With their brightly colored short shorts and ridiculously catchy songs, the duo of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley ruled the charts from 1982 to 1986, when they opted to call it quits at the height of their fame. Along the way, the pair notched five No. 1 singles in their native UK and three in the U.S., paving the way for Michael to become an even bigger star with his subsequent solo career. Andrew Ridgeley and Keren Woodward have split up". RTÉ. 5 November 2017 . Retrieved 24 December 2017.

He lived with Bananarama band member Keren Woodward in Cornwall between 1990 and 2017. Since then he has been seen with influencer Amanda Cronin. I was offered a few film roles and I went to an acting coach," Andrew recalled. "It was immediately apparent to me that it was not something that I wanted to do. WHAM!, GEORGE MICHAEL AND ME is one of the best memoirs I have read in recent memory for several reasons, the first one being the exceptional quality of the writing. Andrew Ridgeley's prose is effortless, vibrant, fresh, modern, and dynamic. Andrew paints a vivid picture of the Thatcher years, the economic hopelessness that prevailed and the importance music played in the life of English youths. You experience the excitement of an exploding musical revolution as the author describes the clothes, the energy, the creativity that gave the young a reason to live and an escape from the dreary reality. From around the early '90s onwards, Ridgeley mostly avoided the spotlight he had grown accustomed to, aside from occasional appearances on TV and radio. Royalties for Wham! songs like "Careless Whisper" and "Last Christmas" most likely helped keep him in comfort during those years. I think Andrew Ridgeley was a true and devoted friend. I chose to listen to this one as I love memoir's narrated by the writer. Andrew tells the story of how they first met and grew to be friends and how Wham! was formed. His account comes across as thoughtful and genuine. No lurid innuendos or secrets revealed. I think he has done his friend proud.

Wham! were boring. At least that's what Netflix's sanguine documentary would have you believe

I did think the documentary would be a success, but I didn’t realise the depth of affection that it would elicit, or how deeply it might touch some people,” he says now, when we meet at Sony HQ in north London – looking as slim, fit and stylish as he did in Wham!’s heyday, wearing beige chinos, a blue polo shirt, white trainers and a Dunhill watch. Asked when he thinks they were both happiest, Ridgeley says, “I’ve been content and happy at various points, but my late teens, when Shirlie, Yog and I spent most of the time in each other’s company, was a carefree, golden period. I think Yog was probably at his happiest when he and Anselmo were in each other’s lives.” Brazilian designer Anselmo Feleppa was Michael’s self-confessed “first love”: they met in a hotel lobby in 1991, and lived together in Los Angeles until Feleppa died of Aids in 1993.

It’s extraordinary how much it feels like a dialogue between you and George finishing each other’s sentences. a b "Wham! reunion rumours quashed by George Michael". ITV News. 20 June 2012 . Retrieved 24 December 2012. Andrew Hart (1991). Understanding the Media: A Practical Guide. Routledge. p. 187 . Retrieved 24 December 2012– via Internet Archive. ridgeley nose.There is a marked contrast in yours and George’s confidence levels, and it’s illustrated by one of your standout statements in the film about how you always knew who you were and one of George’s standout statements about how he was trying to be you. There are many things my teenage self dreamed of discussing with Andrew Ridgeley, but bread wasn’t one of them. Ahead of watching Wham!, the hit Netflix documentary (4.4 million views in five days) created to mark the band’s 40th anniversary, few viewers would have anticipated Ridgeley emerging as its hero. Andrew Ridgeley fondly recalls George Michael as a shy, awkward, frizzy haired lad who shared his love for music, growing up during the heady disco days of the late 70's, writing songs in their living rooms to becoming one of the 80's hottest acts. 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. Theduo 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.