Wham!

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.

Did I need a Wham! Documentary in my life? I didn't think do, but turns out I was wrong. Now let's be clear I wasn't a Wham! Fan. I did grow up in the 80s, but I don't think there's a single Wham! Song I like. So why on earth am I watching this? Well partly the power of Netflix marketing and partly that I do enjoy a good documentary. And this is a good documentary. It doesn't break any moulds, the format of tons of archive is fairly standard now, but there is a wealth of stuff here that takes you right back to the era with nailed on authenticity. Two high school mates, fooling around with music, playing, experimenting. Nothing much else to do and plenty of social discord to feed off, as they muck around with home demos. What's obvious though is they've got talent and drive and in George (or Yog), a great charismatic singer. 'Wham Rap' still leaves me cold, but hey at least there was some substance to it and in 'Careless Whisper', although it's pure schmaltz, it's pop potential really does smack you in the face. What's interesting now, watching in 2023 is the reliance they had on the record industry to be given a break. No social media or accessible DIY scene. Young George and Andrew aren't work shy, putting in the hours on dingy club tours, but it's a lucky break getting the chance to fill in for a no show on Top of the Pops and from there things go nuts. It's all about the look. It's the 80s after all. Pretty boys (plus the two girls) and a dance routine what more do you need? Nothing apparently. The hits keep coming, charting every single. There's no talking heads and most of the narration comes from Andrew Ridgley, stock filling in where the archive gets sparse, but there's plenty from George Micheal too, these parts beautifully edited to make it feel like he's been part of the production with the two friends still bouncing off one another. No more so, than when the subject of George's sexuality comes out. How he handled it or rather didn't. His realisation that he was gay, at a time where that was still an issue in a Conservative British society. Instead of being excepted as it would be today (in music at least), it's repressed and hidden. Overshadowed by the critical punches they took as their pop star rose. Screaming teenagers taking over as they go on tour, they play up to it, leaving by what I'm sure are the front doors of Manchester Apollo (58:50) in towel robes, when they could've snuck out the side door. It's the era of Whamania and they admittedly love it, sticking their faces on merch... and making sod all money. It's details like this that make documentaries on subjects you didn't think you cared about interesting. Because you don't know everything and often because you've not paid attention and dismissed something, you've not realised there's more meat on the bone. So we wind through the sordid issues or dodgy record deals, the band creative separation, ambition and two people on different paths. Ridgley talks openly and candidly, as much of the story becomes commanded by George. It's to Ridgley's credit that he drives this so well. It's a love letter to a lost friend. Am I a converted Wham! Fan? No, not at all, but I'll admit more respect for George Micheal and Andrew Ridgley, what they did and how they did it.

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.

After a long day at work I needed something to watch and this came up since I had added it to my list.

It was nice to listen to George and Andrew go through the beginning of their friendship to the inspiration and growth of their music careers. You could see the ache Yog had for becoming that artist he always wished to be. These two young men had such an incredible experience and near the end when you could feel George becoming the solo star he was meant to be, it became a bit heartbreaking but you could see that was necessary. George was a powerhouse and yet he began a quiet, gentle soul. Made me teary at the end but truly enjoyed it.

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.