‘Wham!’ Is A Buddy Film Disguised As A Music Documentary

As an angry and insecure teenager in 1980s America, I viewed the world through the time-honored prism of “This rules” and “That sucks.” Things that ruled: punk, metal, hip hop, denim jackets, sneakers, and beer. Things that sucked: school, teachers, cops, jocks, trendy clothing and pop music. Certain pop songs, however, would cut through my rigid aesthetic. Perhaps, I would even confide in a trusted friend, “Yo…I kind of like that song.” With its Motown swing and addictive sing-along chorus, Wham!’s “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” was indeed one of those songs, even if band members George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley looked like a couple of goofballs in the music video. 

While Michael’s solo career and tragic death at the age of 53 has tended to overshadow his former band, Wham! was an important First Act, laying the groundwork for all that followed. The new Netflix documentary, simply titled Wham! , is the first to treat the band with equal respect as earlier profiles of its enigmatic lead singer. Directed by Chris Smith, who is also responsible for the excellent Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened documentary, it uses archival footage and voiceover narration to chart the parallel path between the band’s rise and dissolution and Michael and Ridgeley’s friendship.  

The story begins with 12-year-old Andrew Ridgeley meeting new student 11-year-old Georgios Panayiotou at the school where Ridgeley’s mother worked on the outskirts of London. Andrew took Georgios under his wing, referring to him throughout the film by his family nickname “Yog,” a Greek derivation of his given name. Where Ridgeley was confident and precocious, Panayiotou was shy, bespectacled and chubby, a far cry from the iconic pansexual image of his future self. Though different in temperament, they shared a background as the children of immigrants and a burning desire to make it in the music world. 

While the film covers many well-known basics, it does contain several shocking revelations, such as the fact that at the age of 16, Ridgeley and Panayiotou formed a ska band, The Executive. Even more gob-smacking, Wham!’s first single was apparently…a socially conscious rap song? I mean, it’s pretty far from what anyone would call hip hop though is historically interesting. Coming out in 1982, it was certainly one of the first UK singles to pay homage to the new sounds coming out of New York City. 

Like countless others before them, the nascent Wham! pestered record labels and weathered rejection before landing a punitive recording contract which paid them pence on the pound. Their early singles were critically well-received but sold next to nothing as the group paid its dues playing dance clubs up and down the back of England. An appearance on Top Of The Pops would change their fortunes. Their public profile rose exponentially and each new single charted higher than the last. Somewhere along the way, Georgios Panayiotou adopted the stage name George Michael, growing into the persona with each appearance. 

With success came change. The clubby dance tracks became more pop-friendly, a shift which provoked a critical backlash. The band were seen as empty-headed hedonistic escapists ignoring the realities of hardscrabble British life but their growing fanbase didn’t care one bit. George Michael’s songwriting grew in leaps and bounds, leaving Ridgeley behind, and he soon took over the group’s production as well. Though Ridgeley acknowledges his musical partner’s genius and vision, he admits the transition was “difficult.” 

While in Ibiza shooting the video for the 1983 single “Club Tropicana,” Michael told Ridgely he was gay. Though the revelation had no effect on their personal relationship, Michael says he was encouraged not to come out publicly, despite his desire to do so. “It was a pivotal moment,“ he says. The struggle between his private life and public persona would lead to depression and in the long run push him to pursue a solo career. 

By the mid-1980s, Wham! had conquered the UK, America, and were one of the first modern pop bands to play China. While Michael yearned to step out on his own, Ridgeley grew tired of the pop life and media spotlight and the pair amicably agreed to split up. A final concert at Wembley Stadium was held in June 1986. Ridgeley is philosophical about the breakup saying, “I never felt that our music defined me in the same way that it did for George. His songwriting was becoming the vehicle through which he could try out the person he wanted to be. I knew exactly who I was.”

Wham! is a documentary about one of the most successful pop acts of the 1980s but at its heart it’s a buddy film. In chronicling almost every moment in their six-year existence, it runs longer than its hour and a half run time, not unlike the exhaustive 40-plus scrapbooks Ridgeley’s mother maintained during their tenure. Still, one can’t help but be struck by the intimate portrayal of two boys whose friendship enabled them to climb to the top of the world and admire the view.

Benjamin H. Smith is a New York based writer, producer and musician. Follow him on Twitter: @BHSmithNYC.