WHAM!

[BetterButter]

 

[Maisiesmom]

I watched this last night and thought it was pretty good. I knew who Wham was, and liked some of their songs, but I was and always will be a George fan. Andrew was such a good friend to him and  it was too bad that George had to hide his true self for so many years, just to be taken from us so young. Those young men worked really hard to get to be what they wanted and I found the show to be very interesting.

[Irlandesa]

I thought this was pretty terrific.  It did a great job of centering the music, telling the story of a friendship, and showcasing the evolution of a boy who'd become a man and a huge solo success on his own. 

[pancake bacon]

This documentary was great. For many like me who grew up outside the US, I got into Wham with “Young Guns” and “Club Tropicana” and thought Andrew was jus the HOTTEST. George was the one with the musical gifts, and you could see even then he would go beyond Wham. 

Over the years, Andrew was seen as a kind-of hanger on to George, and didn’t add to value to Wham. This documentary helped show that Andrew was also a musical gift to George, elemental in helping reach the heights.  Andrew was a good enough friend to recognize and George was outpacing him. It’s heroic, in a sense… 

 

[shipmate]

I remember when Wham played veterans stadium in Philadelphia in 1985 (?). Rumor at the time was he was seeing Brooke shields, and her mother was preventing him from sleeping with her and taking her virginity. Fun fact: the opening acts were Chaka Khan and Katrina and the waves!

this documentary was very well done - loved it. Wham’s music was everything great about 80s music. I’ve always thought that (the original) Freedom and I’m Your Man were underrated songs so glad to see them featured in this!

[sadie]

Took me right back to my glorious youth. Andrew is truly a kind soul and I’m so glad they showed him for the true friend he was to George. I shed a bit of a tear at the end, it still makes me sad we lost George so young. He really was a talent.  I know everyone says it about their childhood but there really will never be another time like the 80’s, if only I could go back and live it all again. This was nicely done! A great way to spend my Sunday afternoon. 

[CherryMalotte]

22 hours ago, shipmate said:

I’ve always thought that (the original) Freedom and I’m Your Man were underrated songs so glad to see them featured in this!

Oh definitely - I'm Your Man is probably my fave, though I have some fondness for Young Guns.  I have that first lp - even though I was more a punky paisley underground type of girl a good pop song is irresistible.  

Was a bit worried that it would be some gossipy snipe fest but instead it was wonderful, well balanced, and a lovely tribute.

[Marigold66]

I was too young to be a true Wham! fan but I remember watching the videos for "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" and "Careless Whisper" on VH-1 endlessly lol. They are forever imprinted on my childhood.  But boy did I love some "Faith" era George Michael and beyond.  This documentary was pure joy and I will always lament the fact that I never got to see him live in concert!  And Andrew Ridgely seemed like a stand up guy, especially in regards to letting George know his sexual orientation didn't have any bearing whatsoever on him or their band.   George's voice and showmanship was truly one of a kind.  Also 53 is way too young to pass...it's truly tragic.  

[Straycat80]

I thought this documentary was very well done. Lots of things I didn’t know because I wasn’t a really huge fan of Wham! But I liked a lot of their songs. I’m glad George had the friendship and understanding of Andrew. Back in the 80’s gay men were still closeted, it had to have been so hard for George feeling he couldn’t be his true self.

It’s sad George died so young. To this day I feel he had one of the best male singing voices ever. 

[bilgistic]

I was pleasantly surprised at how well done this documentary was. I was a preteen to teenager when WHAM! was big, and I remembered every song they played in the doc. Not a single bit of geometry left in the dome but "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" is imprinted forever. I thought George was so beautiful!

It was really, really lovely to see a lifelong platonic male friendship in a world of toxic masculinity.

[libgirl2]

I'm going to make it a point to watch it this weekend. I saw Wham back in 85-ish. I always loved Andrew Ridgely. I liked the band but I was just okay with George Michael's solo career. I think I felt that he "betrayed" his friend. Then I read Andrew's book. I'm looking forward to this. 

[libgirl2]

Just finished it and I love Andrew Ridgley even more than before. I also forgot how many Wham! songs I liked. 

[Bastet]

On 7/7/2023 at 2:07 AM, pancake bacon said:

Over the years, Andrew was seen as a kind-of hanger on to George, and didn’t add to value to Wham. This documentary helped show that Andrew was also a musical gift to George, elemental in helping reach the heights.  Andrew was a good enough friend to recognize and George was outpacing him. It’s heroic, in a sense… 

I liked all of their songs I heard on the radio, and I think even had one of their albums, but if you'd asked me what "the other guy" was called, I couldn't even have come up with Andrew's name.  I knew nothing about the band, and was definitely one of those who thought "Well, of course" when George switched to being a solo artist, because it didn't seem to me like Andrew did anything.  So this was an enlightening documentary for me.

On 7/30/2023 at 3:53 AM, bilgistic said:

It was really, really lovely to see a lifelong platonic male friendship in a world of toxic masculinity.

Yes!  I have a friend who grew up as a gay teen in 1980s Texas, and his childhood best friend, a straight guy, remains his best friend to this day.  One of the reasons for that is that when my friend came out to him, the best friend reacted just like Andrew was described as reacting -- your sexual orientation is completely irrelevant to our friendship.

I also thought the trio of George, Andrew, and Andrew's ex-girlfriend was an interesting friendship.

I liked hearing George's conflicting emotions about "Do They Know It's Christmas?" being a smash hit -- he's glad, proud to have been part of it, but, dammit, it's keeping his own Christmas song from hitting number one!  (I love both songs to this day, and I hate a lot more Christmas songs than I like.)

[DanaK]

I finally managed to watch this. It was very enjoyable. I was in my early 20s in the US when I first started liking Wham, with the song “Wake Me Up” from their 2nd album, which I guess was when they started making it big in the US. I liked several of their singles from their 2nd and 3rd albums; I’m not sure I ever heard anything from their first album before now. I didn’t really know the details of their initial lives and career so that was pretty interesting. It’s surprising they were only a band for 4 years; they had such huge success in such a short time, but it was somewhat clear even at the time towards the end that George was headed for solo success, especially with the release of “Careless Whisper”; it’s good to get it clarified that CW was deliberately released as a solo single in the U.S. I’m glad to see Andrew understood that and didn’t hold him back and was happy for him. I’m also glad we learned how much Andrew contributed to the group because at the time, it didn’t seem like much to me. It’s also good to know that Andrew easily accepted George was gay but sad to hear George didn’t feel he could come out until later

It’s not clear where they got the narration from Andrew and George. Did they do a previous doc or audiotapes about their lives and the group?

Edited July 7 by DanaK