"later years of his life. At his solo concerts he would still perform ""I'm Your Man"" and ""Everything She Wants"", the latter being one of the more critically acclaimed songs from the Wham era. Andrew Ridgeley moved to Monaco after Wham's breakup and tried his hand at Formula Three motor racing. Meeting with little success, Ridgeley moved to Los Angeles to pursue his singing/acting career, the failure of which caused him to return to England in 1990. Regardless, CBS Records, having taken up the option on Wham's contract that specified solo albums from Michael and Ridgeley, released a solo effort"
"George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and philanthropist who rose to fame as a member of the music duo Wham! and later embarked on a solo career. He was widely known for his work in the 1980s and 1990s, including hit Wham! singles such as ""Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"" and ""Last Christmas"" and solo albums such as ""Faith"" (1987) and ""Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1"" (1990). Michael achieved seven number one singles in the UK and eight number one songs on the"
"(including two in the traditionally-black Soul/R&B category), and two Grammy Awards from eight nominations. George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and philanthropist who rose to fame as a member of the music duo Wham! and later embarked on a solo career. He was widely known for his work in the 1980s and 1990s, including hit Wham! singles such as ""Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"" and ""Last Christmas"" and solo albums such as ""Faith"" (1987) and ""Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1"" (1990). Michael achieved"
"When George Michael was enrolled at the school, Ridgeley volunteered to take him under his wing. After years of playing in various music groups, the most notable being the Executive, Michael and Ridgeley formed Wham. They then approached various record labels with a homemade tape (which took 10 minutes to record in Ridgeley's living room) and signed with Innervision Records. The band left Innervision after the first album and signed with CBS. Wham enjoyed worldwide success from 1981 to 1986, selling more than 28 million records worldwide. Wham made their US debut appearance on Dick Clark's ""American Bandstand"" and became"
"as it was relayed through the speaker system. The two most notable absentees were George Michael and Bono: during Michael's line the cameras focussed on the studio audience, while Paul Weller mimed Bono's line to the camera. The charity received a further boost during Band Aid's five week tenure at the top of the UK charts with Wham! at number 2 with their double A-side ""Last Christmas""/""Everything She Wants"". Wham! singer George Michael had appeared on the Band Aid single and he and fellow band member Andrew Ridgeley donated all the royalties from their single to the Band Aid Trust."
"was used by George Michael as an introduction to his song, ""Faith"", played on a church organ. Freedom (Wham! song) ""Freedom"" is a hit song by British pop duo Wham!. It became the group's second number one hit on the UK Singles Chart and reached number three in America. It was written and produced by George Michael, one half of the duo. Wham! had already enjoyed a successful 1984 by the time ""Freedom"" was released in August of the year. ""Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"" had given them their first UK number one and had then reached the top"
"Edgar Winter, Aaron Neville and Elton John. He most recently produced and co-wrote songs for aspiring singer Julie Anne. Deon Estus Deon Estus (born Jeffery Deon Estus, July 4, 1956, Detroit, Michigan) is an American bassist and singer, best known as the bass player of Wham! and as the bassist on George Michael's first two solo projects. Estus' single ""Heaven Help Me,"" with additional vocals by George Michael, reached Number 5 on the ""Billboard Hot 100"" chart in 1989. Estus was born in Detroit and graduated from Northwestern High School in 1974. He sang second tenor in the choir at"
"were the duo Wham! with an unusual mix of disco, soul, ballads and even rap, who had eleven top ten hits in the UK, six of them number ones, between 1982 and 1986. George Michael released his debut solo album, ""Faith"" in 1987, and would go on to have seven UK number one singles. The 1985 concert Live Aid held at Wembley Stadium would see some of the biggest British artists of the era perform, with Queen stealing the show. Bonnie Tyler had major hits with ""Total Eclipse of the Heart"" and ""Holding Out for a Hero"", while Robert Palmer's"
"were credited as George Michael solo singles, they did appear on official Wham! studio albums. This compilation was compiled by George Michael to present the band as more serious artists and to draw connections with his solo career. As a result of his endorsement of it, it is more widely available than ""The Final"". Notes Released on VHS, VCD and DVD. Album Video/DVD The Best of Wham!: If You Were There... The Best of Wham!: If You Were There... is the second UK-released compilation, released in 1997 to summarize the career of British pop duo Wham!. It peaked at number"
"band member of what became Wham!, but like her friend Dee C. Lee, was paid on a per performance basis as a backing singer, and continued to live with her parents. After Lee left to join The Style Council and later marry its lead singer Paul Weller, she was replaced by ""Pepsi"" DeMacque, and this duo performed on all the Wham! songs and concerts. As George Michael desired to create music targeted to a more sophisticated audience than Wham!'s primarily teenage fan base, the announcement of Wham!'s break-up was made in the spring of 1986, with a grand finale concert"
"to tour China with Wham! and later backed Wham! frontman George Michael on his Faith tour. He also participated in the late-1980s collective Boogie Box High, which was spearheaded by George Michael's cousin, Andros Georgiou, and featured Michael along with other high-profile musicians; Estus appears on the group's only album, ""Outrageous"", released in 1989. Estus later performed with Michael at Rock in Rio and has continued to play bass as part of Michael's backing band. In 1989, Estus released a solo album entitled ""Spell"", produced by Colin Campsie and George McFarlane, with several tracks produced by George Michael. Released before"
"David (Austin) Mortimer, Andrew Leaver and Paul Ridgeley. When this group split, Michael and Ridgeley eventually formed Wham, signing with Innervision Records. British graphic design studio Stylorouge was credited with adding the exclamation point to the name of the band. Michael took on the majority of roles and responsibilities within the band—composer, producer, lead singer, and occasional instrumentalist. 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 which, part-parody, part-social comment, briefly earned Wham a reputation as a dance protest group. The debut record"
"Deon Estus Deon Estus (born Jeffery Deon Estus, July 4, 1956, Detroit, Michigan) is an American bassist and singer, best known as the bass player of Wham! and as the bassist on George Michael's first two solo projects. Estus' single ""Heaven Help Me,"" with additional vocals by George Michael, reached Number 5 on the ""Billboard Hot 100"" chart in 1989. Estus was born in Detroit and graduated from Northwestern High School in 1974. He sang second tenor in the choir at Northwestern under the direction of Brazel Dennard. His bass (guitar) teacher was the late James Jamerson of Motown's The"
"1981, he joined Greg Lake for his solo project, and in 1982 became a member of Gary Moore's studio and touring band. One of Eyre's longest and most successful associations was with the duo Wham!, for whom he became musical director. His works with Wham! include the successful album ""Make it Big"" in 1984 with the singles ""Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"", ""Freedom"", ""Everything She Wants"", and Michael's solo record ""Careless Whisper"". A massive world tour included China in April 1985, which generated a great deal of media coverage as it was the first visit to China by a"
"with their song ""Sometimes"" reaching number two in the autumn; this success would be followed by many more hits throughout the decade. After four successful years, the band Wham! split up in the spring. Made up of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, they finished with a farewell concert at Wembley Stadium, a greatest hits album ""The Final"" which reached number 2, and the single ""The Edge of Heaven"", their fourth and final number 1. George Michael also reached number 1 this year with a solo release, ""A Different Corner"", and went on to have a highly successful solo career. The"
"journalist John Harris described it as ""a rich, poetic, panoramic portrait of China's strangeness to the eyes of outsiders"". Sporting a beard, Michael appeared with Ridgeley onstage at Live Aid on 13 July 1985 (although they did not perform as Wham). Michael sang ""Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"" with Elton John, while Ridgeley joined Kiki Dee in the row of backing singers. In September, Wham released the single ""I'm Your Man"" which went to No. 1 in the UK charts. Around this time, Ridgeley began a relationship with Keren Woodward of Bananarama. Ridgeley also took up the"
"as a studio guest on the first series of the BBC 2 programme ""Fantasy Football League"" in 1994. In 2005, Ridgeley and Michael made plans to reunite as Wham for Live 8, but Ridgeley reportedly pulled out at the last minute. In 2012, Michael dismissed rumours that he and Ridgeley were set for a Wham reunion to mark the 30th anniversary of the group's first record. Michael said that there was no truth in speculation the group would reform for a one-off concert. Upon hearing of Michael's death on 25 December 2016, Ridgeley paid his respects on Twitter, saying, ""Heartbroken"
"Freedom (Wham! song) ""Freedom"" is a hit song by British pop duo Wham!. It became the group's second number one hit on the UK Singles Chart and reached number three in America. It was written and produced by George Michael, one half of the duo. Wham! had already enjoyed a successful 1984 by the time ""Freedom"" was released in August of the year. ""Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"" had given them their first UK number one and had then reached the top of the ""Billboard"" Hot 100 in the United States. George had then gone to number one with"
"and Shirlie Holliman. The scenario saw George Michael ""floating about on a lilo in his Speedoes and shades"", relaxing with the boys by Pike’s pool sipping cocktails. The scene of the trumpet-playing took place in the pool itself. Tony Pike got on well with the band and he was persuaded to take a small part in the video as the barman in one of the scenes. The success of the video and Wham!'s status at the time firmly placed Pike’s Hotel in the circles of the music industry and within a short time the hotel was attracting other stars and"
"already enjoyed a solo number one on the UK Singles Chart in 1984 with ""Careless Whisper"", which was credited as Wham! featuring George Michael in the US. After radio DJ Simon Bates first aired ""A Different Corner"" on Radio 1, he rated the song so highly that he immediately played it again from the beginning. Michael went back to the top of the UK chart with ""A Different Corner"", becoming the first solo act in the history of the UK chart to reach number one with his first two releases, although he was hardly an unknown or new act on"
"all go to number 1, following Gerry & The Pacemakers twenty years earlier; however, it would be their last. Their album ""Welcome to the Pleasuredome"" also reached number 1. Wham! had their first number 1 single this year after four earlier top 10 hits, the upbeat ""Wake Me Up Before You Go Go"". This would soon be followed by their second, ""Freedom"" later in the year, and their second album Make It Big also reached the top. One of the members of the band, George Michael, also released a solo single this year, the ballad ""Careless Whisper"" co-written by his"
"shown sitting and walking around the room whilst singing the song. A Different Corner ""A Different Corner"" is a song written and performed by George Michael which was released on Epic Records (Columbia Records in the US) in 1986. At the time of its release in April 1986, Michael was still a member of pop duo Wham! (the song is included on Wham!'s album ""Music from the Edge of Heaven"" only released in Japan and North America, as well as their compilation album ""The Final"", released worldwide), though he and partner Andrew Ridgeley had announced that they would split in"
"Last Christmas ""Last Christmas"" is a song by English pop duo Wham!, released on Epic Records in December 1984, on a double A-side with ""Everything She Wants"". It was written and produced by George Michael, and has been covered by many artists since its original release. The song reached number one in Denmark, Slovenia and Sweden and number two in seven countries; Belgium, Netherlands, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Norway and United Kingdom. Wham! donated all of their royalties to the Ethiopian famine. ""Last Christmas"" had its beginnings in 1984, while George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley were visiting Michael’s parents. Michael played"
"premiere of the China film. The Wham! partnership ended officially with the commercially successful single ""The Edge of Heaven"", which reached No. 1 on the UK chart in June 1986. The beginning of his solo career, during early 1987, was a duet with Aretha Franklin. ""I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)"" was a one-off project that helped Michael achieve an ambition by singing with one of his favourite artists. It scored number one on both the UK Singles Chart and the US ""Billboard"" Hot 100 upon its release. For Michael, it became his third consecutive solo number one in"
"Michael later launched a legal action against record label Sony, citing their lack of support for this project as one of the reasons he no longer wished to work with them. The album also included tracks by Madonna, Seal, Lisa Stansfield and Sly & the Family Stone, and was released by Epic (Sony) in the UK. The album cover features artwork by Keith Haring. Red Hot + Dance Red Hot + Dance is an album produced by the Red Hot Organization, an organization dedicated to raising money and awareness to fight the onslaught of HIV/AIDS. Pop star George Michael was"
"1.4 million copies in the UK. Wham donated all their royalties from the single to the Ethiopian famine appeal to coincide with the fund-raising intentions of Band Aid's ""Do They Know It's Christmas?"", the song which kept them out of the top spot. Nevertheless, Band Aid's success meant that Michael had achieved #1 status in the UK within three separate entities in 1984—as a solo artist, as one half of a duo, and as part of a charity ensemble. At the end of 1985, the US ""Billboard"" charts listed ""Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"" as the number-three song and"
"her stage name. On a New Year's Eve television show in Spain, Catch met Simon Napier Bell (former manager of Wham!'s George Michael). Shortly thereafter, Bell became her manager & signed her to Polygram subsidiary Metronome. Her 1st (and only) album in the label, ""Hear What I Say"", was released at the end of 1989 and was Catch's last album to date. It was produced by Andy Taylor (ex-Duran Duran), Dave Clayton (who has worked with George Michael and U2), and Jo Dworniak. Seven of the songs were co-written by her, in which Catch was able to collaborate more. It"
"didn't like his hair so he flew his sister over from England to cut it and we had to reshoot more scenes."" As the band felt they had ""screwed up"" the video, further footage of Michael singing the song onstage was later shot at the Lyceum Theatre, London. Credits adapted from the Extended Mix's liner notes. !scope=""row""| Japan (RIAJ) ""Careless Whisper"" has been covered by many other artists. A selection of those are presented here in chronological order: Careless Whisper ""Careless Whisper"" is a pop ballad by English singer-songwriter George Michael and his Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley (sometimes credited to"
"Dee and John's backing band. The video was featured in the video compilation version of ""The Very Best of Elton John"" in 1990, but the song was not included on any formats of the audio release edition of the compilation. The music video version of the song is abridged, with a running time of 4 minutes 11 seconds, almost two minutes shorter than the album version. Wrap Her Up ""Wrap Her Up"" is a song by English rock performer Elton John, featured on his 1985 album, ""Ice on Fire"". George Michael is featured on the song. Released as a single,"
"the UK from three releases, after 1984's ""Careless Whisper"" (though the single was actually from the Wham! album ""Make It Big"") and 1986's ""A Different Corner"". The single was also the first Michael had recorded as a solo artist which he had not written himself. The co-writer, Simon Climie, was unknown at the time; he later had success as a performer with the band Climie Fisher in 1988. Michael and Aretha Franklin won a Grammy Award in 1988 for Best R&B Performance – Duo or Group with Vocal for the song. In late 1987, Michael released his debut solo album,"
"The first set saw the band play most of the hits from the ""Fantastic"" album before George Michael was on stage alone singing tracks like ""Careless Whisper"", an unreleased track. The average set list was as follows: Break Tour dates as printed in the official Club Fantastic 1983 tour programme. Musicians t Sponsor Gary Crowley – ""Some of my bestest bestest memories will always include my stint as Wham!'s warm-up man on their debut Club Fantastic UK tour, 1983. The nearest I’ll ever get to being in the Beatles’ A Hard Day's Night."" – December 26, 2016 Club Fantastic Tour"
"as a 29-song, 2-CD set featuring several new songs (including duets with Paul McCartney and Mary J. Blige and a song from the short-lived TV series, ""Eli Stone"") in addition to many of Michael's successful songs from both his solo and Wham! career. Michael made his American acting debut by playing a guardian angel to Jonny Lee Miller's character on ""Eli Stone"", a US TV series. In addition to performing on the show as himself and as ""visions"", each episode of the show's first season was named after a song of his. Michael appeared on the 2008 finale show of"
"vocals to David Cassidy's 1985 hit ""The Last Kiss"", as well as Elton John's 1985 successes ""Nikita"" and ""Wrap Her Up"". Michael cited Cassidy as a major career influence and interviewed Cassidy for David Litchfield's ""Ritz Newspaper"". Wham!'s tour of China in April 1985, the first visit to China by a Western popular music act, generated worldwide media coverage, much of it centred on Michael. Before Wham!'s appearance in China, many kinds of music in the country were forbidden. The band's manager, Simon Napier-Bell, had spent 18 months trying to convince Chinese officials to let the duo play. The audience"