Wham!

I've never reviewed a documentary before. But this one really moved me.

I had no idea of the backstory of George and Andrew's friendship. And admittedly, I had always thought of Wham as "George and that other guy". So it was great to see just how important Andrew was to them even becoming a group. The friendship portrayed here is truly amazing. What it must have been like to be in Andrew's shoes, seeing his best friend develop and grow into a huge worldwide phenomenon, while he gracefully stepped back.

Lots of music and concert clips and some cool behind the scenes information on how some of the songs came about. George Michael really was a phenomenal talent. Such a sad ending for him.

There are hardly any talking heads in this documentary. Even the old Andrew Ridgeley can only be heard, but is never seen. The story is basically told with archive footage. And what a great story this is, a bit like the Mozart fantasy in Amadeus (1984), but this time in real.

Two teenagers, who behave like stupid teenagers and are considered to be idiots by many experts from the music press, turn out a string of catchy songs that are still - 40 years later - well known and liked. They authentically embodied the youthful energy, genius and lust for life that's at the heart of pop music. When they ended the Wham!-project in 1986 with their final concert, nearly exactly 4 years after the release of their first - and unsuccessful - single in June 1982, the best reason given was that they considered themselves no longer to be adolescents. A rare realization.

Andrew Ridgeley was the moving spirit of Wham!, the energy. George Michael - nicknamed "Yog" by Andrew - was the genius. He became more and more obsessed with writing and producing songs, obsessed with the number 1 spot in the charts. He created most of the music, but turned a bit into a megalomaniac. During his solo career he wrote immortal songs like ... I don't know, actually. Aside from from the first post-Wham! Album, Faith (1987), he only released four more, from 1990 to 2004, with fine, but unremarkable music.

The Wham!-Story is unique, fabulous, magical. Does this documentary reveal the whole truth about this seemingly impossible success? Probably not. But it does a good enough job offering plausible explanations. It should satisfy most of its viewers.

Pop band formed in England by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.

And a Netflix documentary about this group.

As Turkey's biggest George Michael collector, this documentary contains records that I have never heard of before, and details that I have not seen.

This; The story of two misfits, who are not even alike, changing the history of music... This; A window into George Michael's personality... This; An impressive store of information about the entire world music industry over the England of the period.

This; A depiction of how volatile, forgetful the 80s were, despite not having the social media of today.

With pieces such as Careless Whisper and wham rap that George Michael wrote when he was only 16 years old, he proved what a great music person he was 43 years ago.

It is a very nice feeling to watch the unknowns of this great musician's adolescence period, but it is also a bit sad.

Here is the story of a lonely man in the crowd.

In England, because he comes from a Greek family... Because he has to do things he doesn't want in the music industry he loves so much ... Because he is a gay teenager who has to hide himself among the people he loves...

Long story short Wham! The documentary is a very important Netflix project not only for the fans of George Michael, but also because it portrays the period.

I had a smile on my face as I watched most of this film, remembering how lovely George and Andy were together and the infectious smiles on the both of them. Their music is still as catchy as ever, and it was nice to see a lot of early concert footage of the group that I'd never seen before. Thank you Mr. Ridgeley for putting this together. My only complaint was that it was about 15-20 minutes longer than it needed to be, and it could've had more clips of Andy and George in the studio together. Definitely a must-see if you're a fan of 80s pop music, and if you know little to nothing about the underpinnings of George's meteoric rise to solo career fame.

I was born in 1976 and grew up with Wham! Being a staple of the music on the radio as a kid. It was 'dare you to not dance and sing' amazing. I remember being 8 and belting out careless whisper so much that my mom begged me to stop and I did once my voice ran out. One day during a bath, I got my big toe stuck in the bathtub faucet. I was not paying attention as I was too focused on nailing the chorus down. The Wham!bulance and fire department had to come and free me from a very naked embarrassing situation. My mom did drain the tub and throw me a towel to cover up in. True story.

We all know how George Michael advanced after his 4 short years in Wham! We know his trials and tribulations and the heartbreaking end of his story.

But who really knows the story of how it all began?

This is a brilliant documentary as you hear this wonderful story of 2 best friends since pre-puberty follow their dreams and create something truly magical. It's a fun ride, with lots of opportunities to sing along, and yet the entire time I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

We ALL KNOW how hard that shoe drops when George is on his own.

Baby spoiler- it never happens.

These documentarians stayed laser focused on their formative years all the way up to the final tour. Then fin. It was so cool to see a documentary in todays times in which we crave off the negative, just spoon feed us the positive, even when we can still read between the lines.

I recommend this doc if you are a fan of their music. Even if you just LIKE it, this flick will remind you that you've been lying to yourself all these years, and you love them as much as the rest of us. Assimilate.