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- [film reel whirs]
- [brief fanfare]
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[both] Hi.
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You've just seen
a typical morning in the life of Wham!,
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but things haven't really... [splutters]
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Once again. Can we do it again?
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[brief fanfare]
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[both] Hi.
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You've just seen
a typical morning in the life of Wham!
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Things haven't always been
this way for us.
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This is Bushey Meads School, where we met
at the tender age of 12 in 1975.
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We have with us today
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a very special guest.
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Mr. Ted Halliwell, my old headmaster.
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Ted, how are you?
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Never been better.
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Good. Ted, tell me, did you ever think
things would turn out like this?
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- Well...
- Thank you, Ted. Let's go to George.
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[George] When I was with Andrew,
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we were absolutely determined
to have a fantastic time.
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- [Andrew] Wham! was a brotherhood.
- [doorbell rings]
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It was playful.
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[George] A human, unpredictable mess.
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All of it was pop.
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[Andrew] And Wham! was
never gonna grow up.
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[George] It was like a dream, really,
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since we were kids.
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But at the time,
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everyone's like,
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"How can these two idiots
become so bloody massive?"
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"How does that happen?"
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♪ Wham! Bam! I am a man ♪
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♪ Job or no job ♪
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♪ You can't tell me that I'm not ♪
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♪ Do you enjoy what you do? ♪
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♪ If not, just stop ♪
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♪ Don't stay there and rot ♪
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♪ Ah! La, la la, la la ♪
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♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
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♪ La, la la, la la ♪
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♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
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♪ I ain't got no more worries ♪
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♪ I ain't got no more time for you ♪
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♪ Loving you takes such courage ♪
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♪ Everyone's got their eye on you ♪
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♪ I ain't got no more worries ♪
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♪ I ain't got no more time for you ♪
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♪ Loving you takes such courage ♪
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♪ And don't you think that I know it
I know it, I know it, I know it ♪
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[howling]
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[interviewer] George, can you just tell us
how you and Andrew got together?
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Uh, basically, we met when I was 11
and Andrew was 12
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in North London.
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The first day
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that I got to my new school, I met Andrew.
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Our form tutor walked in with a new boy.
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He had these sodding
great big window-frame glasses.
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[George] And I was very awkward.
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Slightly porky,
very strange-looking bloke.
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[Andrew] Very curly big bonce of hair.
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[George] And quite shy.
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[Andrew] Our teacher introduced him
as Georgios Panayiotou.
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[George] Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou,
that's it.
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[Andrew] "Who's going to
look after the new boy?"
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[George] Andrew put up his hand.
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I genuinely believe that
there's something predestined about it.
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I mean, the path
might have been totally different
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had I sat down
next to someone else that day.
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[Andrew] For me, he was Yog.
It was the nickname I'd given him.
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[George] There was such a bond there,
really.
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[Andrew] Essentially, Yog and I saw things
exactly the same way.
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Musically, we were joined at the hip.
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We'd spend hours doing skits
and putting together comedy radio shows.
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...writing songs, and then we started a band
when we were both about 16.
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[Andrew] We were the Executive.
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[recording] Uh, the Executive.
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One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight!
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[ska version of "Für Elise" playing]
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[George] It was ska music,
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and we were terrible, basically! [laughs]
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[Andrew] Uh, we weren't bad for 16.
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[music stops abruptly]
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[Andrew] Okay, wankers, third time!
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[ska music continues]
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[Andrew] The five of us just about covered
everything that we needed instrument-wise.
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[George] Come back, Andrew!
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Fizzled out after a year,
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as people didn't turn up for practices
or concerts or whatever.
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[Andrew] I wouldn't say it fizzled out.
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It rather more imploded,
and that just left me and Yog.
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[George] It was just gonna be us two.
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[Andrew] And we would just carry on
writing songs together.
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[Andrew] And we'd go out dancing
in London's West End.
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[George] And we went to a club
called the Beat Route.
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We were kinda doing
this, like, formation dance
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and having a laugh.
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Andy started shouting something
about "wham, bam" and all this, you know?
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[Andrew] So I just started rapping,
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"Wham, bam, I am the man."
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We thought
that'd be a good name for a group.
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Wham!.
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And it stuck.
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["Pleasure Boys" playing]
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♪ I really don't know much better... ♪
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[Andrew] And there was only ever one thing
that I wanted to do.
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Be in a band with Yog.
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[George] Andrew and I had developed
a knack for writing these catchy songs.
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We did a demo tape for £20
in Andrew's front room.
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We had, like,
a broom with a microphone tied to it
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and one of
those little four-track portastudios
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that had just come out
at the end of the '70s.
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♪ I said get, get, get on down ♪
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♪ I said get, get, get on down ♪
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[George] You know, we were all 17 or 18.
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[Andrew] The songwriting was
dictated by our circumstances,
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the environment around us.
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[reporter] Protests
throughout the country.
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The rocketing rise of unemployment
among 16-to 18-year-olds.
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[Andrew] We were fusing rap with disco,
and then we added pop.
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A social lyric to a disco backing.
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♪ Hey, everybody, take a look at me ♪
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♪ I've got street credibility ♪
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♪ I may not have a job
But I have a good time ♪
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♪ With the boys that I meet
Down on the line... ♪
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[Andrew] The silly chant
that I'd been singing at one of the clubs,
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we wrote the song "Wham Rap!" around it.
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♪ Wham, bam, I am a man ♪
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We just kept writing songs from there.
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["Club Tropicana" playing]
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[Andrew] Yog and I drew on
our clubbing experiences.
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[George] "Club Tropicana" was
written about the Beat Route.
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♪ Club Tropicana, drinks are free... ♪
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[Andrew] We only had a verse
and a chorus for that track.
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- [recorder clicks]
- [steady beat]
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Yog came round to my house one evening,
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and I'd been working on
a chord progression that I really liked.
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It was amazing because he said,
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"I've got a melody that fits over
that chord progression perfectly."
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[George] We'd come up with
roughly the same chord pattern.
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["Careless Whisper" demo playing]
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♪ As I fall once more... ♪
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♪ I smell the varnish ♪
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♪ Of this dance floor ♪
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♪ To the heart and mind... ♪
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[George] We finished it together,
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put it together very slowly
at home or on the bus,
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just add a little bit day by day.
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♪ Pain is all you'll find ♪
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♪ And I'm never gonna dance again ♪
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♪ Guilty feet have got no rhythm ♪
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♪ And it's easy to pretend ♪
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♪ But I know I'm not a fool... ♪
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[George] I remember it
when it was finished
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one day when we were bunking off school.
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I said to him, "I don't know who'll do it,
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and I don't know
whether I'll be good enough to sing it."
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"That is a number-one song."
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The actual demo tape
was about four minutes long.
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[Andrew] That was quite enough for me.
I was supremely confident.
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Even though it was one song,
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two-thirds of another,
and a quarter of the other.
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We'd go and doorstep record companies.
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[George] Two 18-year-old boys.
How cocky is that?
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We'd just stand there
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and insist that
we had booked an appointment.
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[Andrew] We had
a very disappointing response.
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[George] A guy chucked the tape back
over the table and said,
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you know, "Nice voice,
but go away and write some hit songs."
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They all sent "Careless Whisper" away.
They all sent "Club Tropicana" away.
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I remember my stomach turning over,
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and I remember the sinking feeling.
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I was absolutely devastated.
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Devastated.
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[Andrew] It was discouraging,
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but I knew a chap called Mark Dean,
who lived down the road from my parents,
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and he was in the record industry.
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[George] I think he discovered
Soft Cell and ABC.
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Andy kept on phoning my mum all the time,
saying, "Would you listen to a tape?"
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And, uh, I wouldn't.
I kept on avoiding him.
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I just thought,
"Oh, not another band next door."
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[George] Andrew put the tape
into Mark Dean's letterbox.
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There was no music on the tape.
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It was just George singing songs
with scratchy guitar.
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But it was still great,
and it was fantastic.
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[Andrew] He said,
"I'm gonna offer you a record deal."
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[George] We signed it at this little
greasy-spoon café. [chuckles]
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[Andrew] Pure joy.
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["Wham Rap!" playing]
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[Andrew] My mum started,
from day one, a scrapbook.
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And she built up an amazing collection.
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Cuttings, reviews,
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chart positions.
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She really committed to the scrapbook.
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Scrapbook number one.
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"Andrew and Yog signed record contract
with Innervision."
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"Wham!"
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That was it. You know, we were living it.
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[George laughs]
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[George] It was just absolutely magical,
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playing out your fantasies.
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It was just a dream
and with your best mate, you know.
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Wham! is really just Andrew and myself,
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but we thought
we would incorporate two girls,
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one of whom would be Andrew's girlfriend.
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[Andrew] Shirlie, Yog, and I
used to go out dancing.
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Then we felt
that's how we could present our music.
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Another is a professional.
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[Andrew] Dee C Lee joined us.
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[George] The two girls
had been inspired by the Human League.
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Andrew and I both loved Human League.
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[Andrew] George loves Human League.
I quite like them.
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The girls hadn't been
inspired by Human League.
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You know, we used what we had,
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and I had a girlfriend,
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and we had these dance routines.
That's what we had.
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So our first ever 45 was pressed.
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♪ You're gonna have a good time... ♪
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Hi, this is George Michael of Wham! here.
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Hope you enjoy the new single.
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It's called
"Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)."
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♪ Get, get, get on down ♪
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♪ Said get, get, get on down ♪
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♪ Hey, everybody, take a look at me ♪
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♪ I've got street credibility ♪
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♪ I may not have a job
But I have a good time ♪
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♪ With the boys that I meet
Down on the line ♪
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♪ Say D-H-S-S ♪
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♪ Man, the rhythm that they're givin'
Is the very best... ♪
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[Andrew] The response was extraordinary.
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Sounds described us
as socially aware funk.
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♪ Get yourself a job
Are you a man or a mouse? ♪
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[Andrew] But everything pointed toward it
being a hit.
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♪ Get some space
Get out of this place ♪
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♪ Wham, bam, I am a man ♪
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♪ Job or no job
You can't tell me that I'm not ♪
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♪ Do you enjoy what you do? ♪
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♪ If not, just stop ♪
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♪ Don't stay there and rot ♪
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[Andrew] The label, on that first single,
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credited Andrew Ridgeley and G Panos.
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Panos was a shortening of Panayiotou.
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[George] There is a very urgent need
for a stage name.
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♪ ...are gonna pay
Now reach up high ♪
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♪ And touch your soul... ♪
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[Andrew] George Michael.
245
00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:44,320
George is the English version
of the Greek name Georgios.
246
00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:48,520
Michael is the Christian name
of one of our good friend's dads.
247
00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:50,200
♪ 'Cause I know that you're smart... ♪
248
00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:53,560
[Andrew] It helped shape a persona.
249
00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:55,480
- ♪ Yeah! ♪
- ♪ Say wham! ♪
250
00:11:55,560 --> 00:11:57,480
- ♪ Wham! ♪
- ♪ Say bam! ♪
251
00:11:57,560 --> 00:11:58,560
♪ Bam! ♪
252
00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:00,840
[Andrew] We were convinced
it was gonna be a hit.
253
00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:04,880
But it didn't even make the top 100.
254
00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:08,320
It was a disaster.
255
00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:14,960
The record company felt
that we would need to build up a fan base.
256
00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:17,760
They proposed
that we did personal appearances
257
00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:21,200
in these small clubs
up and down the length of the country.
258
00:12:21,280 --> 00:12:22,680
[George] 'Cause we were D list.
259
00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:25,160
Yeah, we were seriously, seriously D rate.
260
00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:28,840
You'd see the same poor sods
every place you went.
261
00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:29,800
[crowd cheering]
262
00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:32,640
[George laughs] Like, mime artists
and shit like that
263
00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:36,240
that you would've seen
doing the same club as you last week.
264
00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:37,320
[host] George!
265
00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:39,760
Yes, George is gonna do a bit of rapping.
266
00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:42,280
[music playing]
267
00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:45,120
[George] And even though
it was embarrassing
268
00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:48,320
and you were constantly being
harassed by drunks and shit,
269
00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:50,456
it meant that we were prepared.
You know what I mean?
270
00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:51,560
[steady beat playing]
271
00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:52,800
Away we go!
272
00:12:52,880 --> 00:12:54,920
Right, some of you in the front, right,
273
00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:57,120
I'm gonna ask you to sing along
to some of this.
274
00:12:57,200 --> 00:12:59,800
[Andrew] We were
under massive pressure to chart,
275
00:12:59,880 --> 00:13:02,360
and George came up with "Young Guns."
276
00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:05,200
If "Young Guns" wasn't a hit,
we would be dropped.
277
00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:07,280
["Young Guns" playing]
278
00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:11,480
[man] What the fuck is that?
279
00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:13,080
♪ Hey, sucker ♪
280
00:13:14,680 --> 00:13:16,880
♪ What the hell's got into you? ♪
281
00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:21,160
[Andrew] So "Young Guns"
made its way up the charts to number 72.
282
00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:23,720
[George] "Wham Rap!" had been a failure.
283
00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:27,760
[Andrew] If this track wasn't a hit,
we weren't gonna make another record,
284
00:13:28,280 --> 00:13:30,280
and it stalled at number 42.
285
00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:33,080
It wasn't actually gonna make it
into the top 40.
286
00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:36,200
[George] And that was possibly
the worst week of my life.
287
00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:40,280
Christ's sake, you know? It felt bad.
288
00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:43,040
I spent a week thinking,
289
00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:45,520
"I'm not any good at this."
290
00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:47,960
That I was wrong about something
291
00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:51,040
that I believed with all my heart
since I was a child.
292
00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:57,080
And then we got
this miracle phone call out of the blue.
293
00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:03,960
[Andrew] We get a phone call
from Top of the Pops,
294
00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:08,200
asking us if we will appear
because another artist had dropped out.
295
00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:12,120
The only prime-time chart show.
296
00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:17,520
I'd never really seen stardom
above Top of the Pops, you know?
297
00:14:19,320 --> 00:14:21,320
A Top of the Pops appearance was
298
00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:23,840
the holy grail.
299
00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:29,480
[George] The night before,
we stayed in this little hotel.
300
00:14:29,560 --> 00:14:33,080
[Andrew] George drew the short straw
and got some crib to sleep in.
301
00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:35,040
[George] And it was a child-size bed.
302
00:14:35,120 --> 00:14:38,200
[Andrew] He had
a really uncomfortable, sleepless night
303
00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:40,480
with his feet poking over the end of it.
304
00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:47,760
[producer] Three, two, one...
305
00:14:47,840 --> 00:14:49,840
[Top of the Pops theme music playing]
306
00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:55,440
[Andrew] We get on stage,
look at each other, and think,
307
00:14:55,520 --> 00:14:57,360
"This is it. Let's do it."
308
00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:01,800
["Young Guns" playing]
309
00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:03,880
[audience whooping]
310
00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:07,000
♪ Hey, sucker ♪
311
00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:10,600
♪ What the hell's got into you? ♪
312
00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:15,000
♪ Hey, sucker ♪
313
00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:18,880
♪ Now there's nothing you can do ♪
314
00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:24,440
♪ Well, I hadn't seen your face
Around town awhile ♪
315
00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:26,560
♪ So I greeted you with a knowing smile ♪
316
00:15:26,640 --> 00:15:28,640
♪ When I saw that girl upon your arm ♪
317
00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:30,656
♪ I knew she'd won your heart
With her fatal charm... ♪
318
00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:33,400
[George] I mean, it looks terrible
when you look at it now,
319
00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:37,480
but at the time, it was considered
quite innovative and new,
320
00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:39,040
the way we presented ourselves.
321
00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:43,400
♪ Young guns having some fun ♪
322
00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:45,400
♪ Crazy ladies keep 'em on the run ♪
323
00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:46,600
♪ Wise guys realize... ♪
324
00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:48,240
[Andrew] We had virtually no clothes.
325
00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:53,120
I think there were about two outfits
that we circulated between us.
326
00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:55,720
♪ One, two, take a look at you ♪
327
00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:57,640
♪ Death by matrimony ♪
328
00:15:59,840 --> 00:16:03,360
[George] There's a certain energy
through the naffness, know what I mean?
329
00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:06,120
♪ Get back! Hands off! Go for it! ♪
330
00:16:06,200 --> 00:16:10,200
[Andrew] It was fairly amateurish,
but we looked original.
331
00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:11,520
We looked different.
332
00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:14,240
♪ Young guns having some fun ♪
333
00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:16,240
♪ Crazy ladies keep 'em on the run... ♪
334
00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:18,680
[George] It's such a funny dance routine
when you see it.
335
00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:22,280
But it worked in a weird kind of way.
Everybody remembered it at the time.
336
00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:25,080
We went and did it in my mum's back room.
337
00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:28,520
No choreographer was gonna come up
with that shit.
338
00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:36,920
- [song ends]
- [audience cheering]
339
00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:39,080
[presenter] Wonderful! Well done, Wham!!
340
00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:43,480
[George] But that was our moment
which definitely turned everything around.
341
00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:46,240
The single flew up the charts.
342
00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:49,960
[Andrew] Wham! had arrived.
343
00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:51,760
[upbeat music playing]
344
00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:53,680
[clock chimes]
345
00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:55,600
[cheering]
346
00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:58,280
[reporter] A happy start
to what we hope will be a great New Year.
347
00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:01,960
This is Andrew from Wham!
348
00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:03,720
- Hi!
- George from Wham!
349
00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:05,000
Hi.
350
00:17:05,080 --> 00:17:08,760
What are your predictions for 1983
on the musical side of things?
351
00:17:08,840 --> 00:17:10,640
[Andrew] Well, there's Wham!
352
00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:13,640
- [presenter] You've made it already.
- We've gotta have a number one yet.
353
00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:16,160
We gotta have three number ones.
Millions of number ones.
354
00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:19,280
What style of music do you think's
gonna be big in the summer of '83?
355
00:17:19,360 --> 00:17:20,760
Ours.
356
00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:23,040
[Andrew] Scrapbook number three.
357
00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:28,120
We are a hit band and 20 years old.
358
00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:30,720
[presenter] Wham! have got
two reasons to celebrate.
359
00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:32,560
It's Andrew's birthday. Happy birthday.
360
00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:35,360
And also they're in the charts
with "Wham Rap!."
361
00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:37,960
[audience cheering]
362
00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:40,160
[Andrew] "Wham Rap!" was rereleased,
363
00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:43,400
and it went to number eight.
Amazing result.
364
00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:47,400
Let's introduce the band.
365
00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:48,800
- Dee.
- Shirlie.
366
00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:50,960
- George.
- I'm Andrew.
367
00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:55,000
[Andrew] Innervision sort of pitched us
as cultural warriors.
368
00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:58,040
"Wham! will shape the views
369
00:17:58,120 --> 00:17:59,760
of every adolescent."
370
00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:04,400
And it pressured us
into writing to a certain formula.
371
00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:07,160
Youth kicking against adulthood.
372
00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:09,680
Let's check out
some social-comment rapping
373
00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:11,320
with a dance record from Wham!
374
00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:13,760
[Andrew] "Bad Boys" went to number two.
375
00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:16,240
- ["Bad Boys" playing]
- [George] Massive hit.
376
00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:19,240
♪ Bad boys stick together ♪
377
00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:21,280
♪ Never sad boys ♪
378
00:18:21,360 --> 00:18:23,960
♪ Do do do do do, woo woo! ♪
379
00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:25,680
♪ Good guys... ♪
380
00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:28,680
[Andrew] But neither of us
were happy with "Bad Boys."
381
00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:30,880
[George] "Bad Boys" was simply formula.
382
00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:33,600
I just didn't know what to do,
and I just wrote to formula.
383
00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:35,160
I absolutely hate that single.
384
00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:39,280
[Andrew] When we started songwriting,
385
00:18:39,360 --> 00:18:42,640
I was unemployed,
and that informed "Wham Rap!."
386
00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:45,640
The fact is, we were now a successful act.
387
00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:47,720
We weren't social commentators.
388
00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:54,600
[George] We had a very strong sense
of doing something different.
389
00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:58,520
A vision
of this kind of bright, new pop thing.
390
00:18:59,360 --> 00:19:02,000
I have genuine feeling
for a mainstream audience.
391
00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:04,800
That's what
youth culture's contribution to music was.
392
00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:06,480
Pop music.
393
00:19:07,120 --> 00:19:11,800
I think what's happening in England
is that there's a large escapist element
394
00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:13,640
creeping back into music now.
395
00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:18,640
- [host] What's the plans for the summer?
- We're shooting a video in Ibiza.
396
00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:23,520
- [host] What's the new single called?
- The new single's "Club Tropicana."
397
00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:27,800
[George] Three or four years ago,
with the punk thing, people were shouting.
398
00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:33,920
Now they're not ashamed
of being young, unemployed.
399
00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:37,400
They'd rather just go to a disco or a club
and forget about it.
400
00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:41,360
We thought we'd make this new pop music.
401
00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:44,720
[Andrew] The fantasy
that is "Club Tropicana."
402
00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:47,120
A new direction.
403
00:19:50,120 --> 00:19:51,240
A new identity.
404
00:19:55,720 --> 00:19:58,040
Neither of us had been to Ibiza before.
405
00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:00,680
[dreamy instrumental music playing]
406
00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:09,160
[Andrew] We were to shoot the video
in this paradise of a boutique hotel.
407
00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:11,080
The legendary Pikes,
408
00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:13,440
a known secret.
409
00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:16,640
An escape for the rich and famous
410
00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:18,720
and the celebrities of the era.
411
00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:22,120
It was like pop stars, is how they live.
412
00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:28,440
It was effervescent,
everything George and I imagined
413
00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:30,760
when we wrote the song
in my parents' living room
414
00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:32,840
but had never seen for real.
415
00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:40,880
For us, it was beginning to really shape
what Wham! was gonna become.
416
00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:44,600
[George] Two young guys
417
00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:47,360
who were hedonistic.
418
00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:50,560
[Andrew] That exuberance of youth.
419
00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:52,720
["Club Tropicana" playing]
420
00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:58,760
[Andrew] "Club Tropicana" was the point
where we became pure Wham!.
421
00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:04,760
♪ Let me take you to the place
Where membership's a smiling face ♪
422
00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:07,880
♪ Brush shoulders with the stars ♪
423
00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:13,160
♪ Where strangers take you by the hand
And welcome you to wonderland ♪
424
00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:16,120
♪ From beneath their Panamas ♪
425
00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:20,920
♪ Club Tropicana, drinks are free ♪
426
00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:22,600
♪ Fun and sunshine ♪
427
00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:24,640
♪ There's enough for everyone... ♪
428
00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:29,920
[George] The interesting thing is
that it was kind of inconceivable to me
429
00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:34,920
that I would ever become the kind of pinup
that I thought Andrew naturally was.
430
00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:40,600
But, actually, girls found me attractive
as well as Andrew.
431
00:21:44,360 --> 00:21:47,600
[Andrew] We stayed on
a couple of days after the shoot.
432
00:21:49,120 --> 00:21:50,320
One morning,
433
00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:52,080
the phone rang in my room,
434
00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:55,040
and Yog said to me,
"Can you come over and have a chat?"
435
00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:57,800
Nothing out of the ordinary,
as far as that goes.
436
00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:00,040
I walked around the swimming pool.
437
00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:02,560
I went into his room,
and Shirlie was there,
438
00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:04,480
which also wasn't unusual.
439
00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:06,800
Shirlie and I had split up,
440
00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:10,120
but we were
a really close trio of friends.
441
00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:12,720
Yog was in bed.
442
00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:16,840
He gave Shirlie sort of a quick glance.
443
00:22:17,920 --> 00:22:19,920
He said to me,
444
00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:22,440
"Didn't know how to tell you this,
445
00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:25,040
but I'm gay."
446
00:22:25,880 --> 00:22:27,880
"If not gay, you know, bisexual."
447
00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:33,400
[George] About six months before we went
to do the video for "Club Tropicana",
448
00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:36,840
I'd actually had something go on that,
449
00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:39,560
you know,
made my attraction to men fairly clear.
450
00:22:40,120 --> 00:22:43,560
I had stayed over at this guy's house.
451
00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:47,000
He tried to have sex with me,
and I'd been too scared.
452
00:22:47,600 --> 00:22:52,480
But I realized that I wanted to stay
in the bed for the night.
453
00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:54,560
I wanted to be close to this guy,
454
00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:56,760
which had never happened before.
455
00:22:57,840 --> 00:22:59,480
And I wrote a song about that.
456
00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:02,440
That's what that song was about.
457
00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:04,960
♪ I watch you breathe ♪
458
00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:07,280
♪ I cannot sleep... ♪
459
00:23:07,360 --> 00:23:10,400
[George] It kinda hit me
really in a very kind of profound way
460
00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:12,240
that something else was going on.
461
00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:17,440
Once I realized that this was
a part of my sexuality I couldn't ignore,
462
00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:20,640
I went to come out to Andrew.
463
00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:23,440
[Andrew] For me,
464
00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:28,400
his sexuality had
absolutely no bearing on... on us.
465
00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:31,840
I wanted him to be happy.
466
00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:36,920
[George] I said I was gonna talk to
my mum and dad and was persuaded,
467
00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:40,440
in no uncertain terms,
that it really wasn't the best idea.
468
00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:45,280
I don't think they were trying to protect
my career or their careers.
469
00:23:45,360 --> 00:23:48,680
I think they were literally
just thinking of my dad. [laughs]
470
00:23:48,760 --> 00:23:50,600
'Cause when you're 19, that's as far as...
471
00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:52,960
You look at your parents.
"Don't tell your dad."
472
00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:54,840
"My God, your dad'll hit the roof."
473
00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:59,120
[Andrew] We... We... We felt, you know,
that he just couldn't tell his dad.
474
00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:03,560
[George] The three of us
were so close at the time,
475
00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:07,720
but the point being
I'd really, really asked the wrong people.
476
00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:13,320
[Andrew] I mean, you know,
we were 19, 20 years old.
477
00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:15,800
Our perspective was a little narrower.
478
00:24:17,360 --> 00:24:19,760
[George] That is a pivotal moment.
479
00:24:21,280 --> 00:24:25,080
At that point in time, I really did.
I really wanted to come out.
480
00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:28,680
And then I lost my nerve completely.
481
00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:33,920
And just... [sighs]
482
00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:35,560
...by necessity,
483
00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:39,800
I went with full gusto
into the progression of Wham!,
484
00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:44,640
creating a new character.
485
00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:49,280
You're gonna do better and better
and shock everyone at how well you can do.
486
00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:52,680
Forging an identity through my success.
487
00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:05,560
[Andrew] George's songwriting
was developing
488
00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:09,080
at an amazing, inconceivable sort of pace.
489
00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:13,600
My songwriting just wasn't developing
in anything like the same way his was,
490
00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:16,640
and it created a little bit of friction.
491
00:25:17,360 --> 00:25:18,520
Through the album,
492
00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:22,840
through recording Fantastic,
we'd... we'd had a discussion.
493
00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:27,040
[George] And we talked about the fact
that if we wanted to be massive,
494
00:25:27,120 --> 00:25:28,720
we shouldn't share the writing.
495
00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:31,680
[Andrew] The goals
that we kind of set ourselves
496
00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:33,680
could only be attained, really,
497
00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:37,720
with the sort of quality of songwriting
that he was able to produce.
498
00:25:38,360 --> 00:25:41,680
[George] I've always seen the writing
as the gift I was meant to protect.
499
00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:43,680
Never been any question about that.
500
00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:46,560
[Andrew] It was uncomfortable for me
501
00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:50,040
because songwriting was something that I...
502
00:25:50,120 --> 00:25:51,720
really, how we started.
503
00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:56,360
We formed a band so we could write songs,
so it was a little difficult.
504
00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:01,240
[George] Andrew and I have
got it out the way very quickly
505
00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:04,680
and never had to discuss it again.
506
00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:08,960
["Wham Rap!" playing]
507
00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:17,040
Your album, quite seriously,
it was a great album
508
00:26:17,120 --> 00:26:18,760
'cause there's not one bad track on it.
509
00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:20,480
- A terrific album.
- Thank you very much.
510
00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:24,040
[Andrew] Our debut album Fantastic
had got to number one.
511
00:26:24,120 --> 00:26:26,600
[George] It was an amazing thing to see.
512
00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:31,720
[Andrew] It remained in the charts
for the best part of two and a half years.
513
00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:37,280
Fancy a bit of Wham!?
514
00:26:37,360 --> 00:26:38,800
- Yes.
- I thought you'd say that.
515
00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:42,800
[Andrew] However, the music press
didn't like "Club Tropicana" at all.
516
00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:47,080
They resented
that we had thrown the shackles off.
517
00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:49,400
It wasn't another protest song.
518
00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:52,680
I wasn't too keen on
the "Casablanca" single or whatever, but...
519
00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:55,600
- [host] "Club Tropicana."
- I knew it was one of those places.
520
00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:58,920
[Andrew] "Withering,
contemptuous, complete sell-out."
521
00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:03,360
When your first singles came out,
you had a mixed following,
522
00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:05,680
so you seem to have now
what we've got round here,
523
00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:08,920
which is a lot of young girls
madly in love with you.
524
00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:11,480
Is it a change of image?
It looks that way.
525
00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:14,000
We started off
with mainly a club audience,
526
00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:17,120
a lot of girls and blokes of our own age.
527
00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:20,400
And, uh, this year,
we've been in a lot of national press,
528
00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:22,480
and we've been in a lot of girl magazines.
529
00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:26,120
- [host] That's a choice of your own.
- Yeah, it's a choice of our own.
530
00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:28,000
[Andrew] It narked George
531
00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:32,160
because people
weren't taking him seriously
532
00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:33,280
as a songwriter.
533
00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:36,280
- George and Andrew from Wham!
- Morning!
534
00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:38,240
[host] A giant banana going to...
535
00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:40,320
Hugo Buckley, aged eight.
536
00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:42,480
- Poynton, Cheshire.
- [host] Right, great.
537
00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:46,600
[George] As a younger man
and as a younger songwriter
538
00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:49,920
trying to do my best,
those things really did hurt me.
539
00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:53,560
[Andrew] Despite the music press,
540
00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:58,320
we understood
that we were actually moving forwards.
541
00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:03,320
"Pop" became a very dirty word in England
for a good four or five years.
542
00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:07,280
We believe strongly in pop music
as very valid,
543
00:28:07,360 --> 00:28:09,600
and I think people lost sight of that.
544
00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:15,400
[Andrew] A genuine live nationwide tour
was our chance
545
00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:16,840
to prove the doubters wrong.
546
00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:18,440
Lovely T-shirt!
547
00:28:19,760 --> 00:28:22,720
Is there no chance
of cross-fading them with music?
548
00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:24,760
[Andrew] If it was gonna be a success,
549
00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:28,200
the Club Fantastic tour
had to be absolutely spot on.
550
00:28:29,120 --> 00:28:32,040
We never get what we want
unless we direct it fairly much ourselves.
551
00:28:32,120 --> 00:28:34,320
Before, it was, "It's a great idea, boys."
552
00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:36,120
[George] "What do you know? You're 19."
553
00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:38,840
"You'd never know
what you're talking about."
554
00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:41,200
- There are certain basic...
- That was a year ago.
555
00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:44,800
...basic rules to presenting yourself
that you know automatically,
556
00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:47,200
and we've actually
got that across to people now.
557
00:28:47,280 --> 00:28:50,040
[Andrew] This is an example.
Our own handiwork.
558
00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:52,080
It's the program for the tour.
559
00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:57,720
[George] I was supremely aware
that if I left the imagery to Andrew,
560
00:28:57,800 --> 00:28:59,320
kids kinda loved it.
561
00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:05,200
[Andrew] The outfits in the show
had to represent exuberance of youth,
562
00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:07,320
fun and excitement.
563
00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:10,040
[George] I'd admired Andrew
since we were kids,
564
00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:12,120
his kind of sense of style.
565
00:29:12,760 --> 00:29:16,400
I place a lot of that with him, you know?
566
00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:18,720
[Andrew] So I pushed the sportswear look.
567
00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:22,880
I chose red, and for some...
568
00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:25,120
probably 'cause he was colorblind...
[chuckles]
569
00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:27,520
...Yog chose canary yellow.
570
00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:32,400
We'd been joined by a new singer,
571
00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:34,840
Helen DeMacque, who we knew as Pepsi.
572
00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:37,400
She just slotted in beautifully
573
00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:40,200
and was a huge asset to us,
as was Shirlie.
574
00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:43,360
They added glamour
and a different kind of energy.
575
00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:44,536
There's no... There's nobody...
576
00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:47,120
It was weeks and weeks and weeks
of rehearsal.
577
00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:48,640
George being George,
578
00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:50,840
it was about detail.
579
00:29:51,560 --> 00:29:54,680
And in George's case, forensic detail.
580
00:29:58,680 --> 00:30:02,280
So much of how he defined himself
was wrapped up in his music.
581
00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:07,600
[George] And I went from being
Andrew's kind of shadow
582
00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:11,040
to being really
in the center of attention.
583
00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:12,960
One, two...
584
00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:15,040
["A Ray of Sunshine" playing]
585
00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:20,520
♪ Move it, move it, baby ♪
586
00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:23,600
♪ Can't you see I'm ready to dance? ♪
587
00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:30,600
♪ And I can't stop this rhythm
In my heart ♪
588
00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:35,840
♪ Move it, move it, baby
Can't you see... ♪
589
00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:38,320
[Andrew] And it was time
to go on the road.
590
00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:40,920
♪ Shuffle on your feet
Till the floor is hot ♪
591
00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:43,056
♪ Gonna make a lot of money
Gonna break your heart... ♪
592
00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:45,240
[crowd screaming, whistling]
593
00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:48,600
The music's really good.
I think they're really fit and gorgeous.
594
00:30:48,680 --> 00:30:50,680
- They're lovely.
- The music's fantastic.
595
00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:52,560
Both are gorgeous!
596
00:30:58,280 --> 00:31:01,960
[George] I was determined to be noticed
for what I did.
597
00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:05,040
What I didn't realize was gonna happen,
obviously Andrew starting it off,
598
00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:08,960
didn't realize that I was going to be
selling my physical persona.
599
00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:10,160
[distant crowd chanting]
600
00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:13,440
[George] All the kind of nonsense
that was borne out of that
601
00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:16,520
took me up a road
that I never thought I was gonna go on.
602
00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:19,680
I never, ever saw myself
as being a kind of teen idol
603
00:31:19,760 --> 00:31:21,080
or anything like that.
604
00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:24,320
[chanting getting louder]
605
00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:27,760
[George] I was really shy, so,
606
00:31:28,720 --> 00:31:32,360
to justify this kind of showy character
607
00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:35,800
that was the complete antithesis
of who I was growing up...
608
00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:38,960
I said
609
00:31:40,600 --> 00:31:42,320
that's the thing I put on.
610
00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:46,120
["Young Guns" playing]
611
00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:48,200
[crowd screaming]
612
00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:54,720
♪ Hey, sucker ♪
613
00:31:56,280 --> 00:31:58,200
♪ What the hell's got into you? ♪
614
00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:02,400
♪ Hey, sucker... ♪
615
00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:06,240
[Andrew] The reaction was stunning
everywhere we went.
616
00:32:06,320 --> 00:32:08,680
It was absolutely nuts.
617
00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:11,800
Both of us were absolutely fizzing.
618
00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:15,280
To sort of up the ante even more,
619
00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:20,360
George would run a shuttlecock
up and down his glistening, sweaty arm,
620
00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:23,840
and he'd drop it down his shorts,
and then he'd sling it in the crowd.
621
00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:26,000
- [crowd screaming]
- They went nuts.
622
00:32:26,080 --> 00:32:27,080
Everybody!
623
00:32:27,840 --> 00:32:29,800
♪ Young guns having some fun ♪
624
00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:31,680
♪ Crazy ladies keep 'em on the run ♪
625
00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:35,520
♪ Wise guys realize
There's danger in emotional ties... ♪
626
00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:38,280
We keep getting bombarded
with, you know, bangles.
627
00:32:38,360 --> 00:32:40,696
- We got dolly mixture...
- The garter. Did you get the garter?
628
00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:43,520
- No. I got a bra last night.
- Lovely big red and black garter.
629
00:32:44,680 --> 00:32:47,720
A pair of knickers the other night.
You see them?
630
00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:50,280
It's great. I mean, I love it.
631
00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:52,960
[interviewer] Would you rather
do anything else?
632
00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:54,920
Not right now. What's it, Saturday night?
633
00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:57,040
Down the Palace or something?
Not really, no.
634
00:32:57,120 --> 00:32:58,240
[interviewer chuckles]
635
00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:00,520
It's fantastic.
We're starting to get used to it.
636
00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:02,440
We're starting to expect it, really.
637
00:33:02,520 --> 00:33:06,120
But, I mean, it's fantastic.
It still doesn't make any sense, really.
638
00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:07,880
[distant cheering]
639
00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:11,520
[crowd screaming]
640
00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:16,400
[screaming intensifies]
641
00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:24,120
[Andrew] It took us both by surprise.
642
00:33:24,200 --> 00:33:26,560
[George] The madness
that was going on around us.
643
00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:30,040
[Andrew] But for him,
he got a high from it.
644
00:33:30,120 --> 00:33:33,760
[George] The whole Wham!,
thousands of girls screaming at you thing.
645
00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:35,960
Once I had a taste of it,
646
00:33:37,480 --> 00:33:38,800
it was very addictive
647
00:33:39,720 --> 00:33:43,000
and because I was very insecure,
it was extremely addictive.
648
00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:45,760
♪ A new state of mind ♪
649
00:33:46,880 --> 00:33:50,960
This is a number called "Good Times."
650
00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:52,480
♪ Good times... ♪
651
00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:55,560
[Andrew] Wham!
- mania had started.
652
00:33:56,320 --> 00:33:58,920
♪ Happy days are here again... ♪
653
00:33:59,600 --> 00:34:02,640
[reporter] George and his partner Andrew,
best known for their knees
654
00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:05,720
displayed in different pairs
of shorts onstage
655
00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:07,480
during their triumphant British tour.
656
00:34:08,480 --> 00:34:11,040
They're a very sexy band.
It was wonderful.
657
00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:14,080
I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
658
00:34:14,160 --> 00:34:15,200
[man] Wham!
659
00:34:15,280 --> 00:34:17,000
[crowd cheering]
660
00:34:18,320 --> 00:34:19,880
Thank you very much.
661
00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:22,800
Is anyone coming to see us
at Whitley Bay tomorrow?
662
00:34:22,880 --> 00:34:24,200
[crowd cheering]
663
00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:25,560
Okay, great.
664
00:34:25,640 --> 00:34:28,200
♪ I think I want to
Live the sporting life... ♪
665
00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:29,600
Come on!
666
00:34:29,680 --> 00:34:31,840
Wham! 1984 calendar.
667
00:34:31,920 --> 00:34:33,640
- Go straight to...
- The first...
668
00:34:33,720 --> 00:34:36,280
No, no, no. December is the best month.
669
00:34:36,360 --> 00:34:38,480
♪ Leave your cares behind ♪
670
00:34:40,480 --> 00:34:43,120
♪ These are the good times ♪
671
00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:47,280
[Andrew] We had a number-one album.
672
00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:49,200
["Good Times" playing]
673
00:34:49,280 --> 00:34:51,200
The tour was an absolute triumph.
674
00:34:51,280 --> 00:34:53,440
Somebody! Anybody! Everybody!
675
00:34:53,520 --> 00:34:56,040
[Andrew] The press interest
was off the scale.
676
00:34:56,560 --> 00:34:59,800
Absolutely amazing. Absolutely brilliant.
677
00:35:00,640 --> 00:35:03,040
[Andrew] We had a string of hit singles.
678
00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:04,840
[crowd screaming]
679
00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:09,000
[Andrew] And we had
680
00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:11,040
zero money.
681
00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:18,400
[George] Andrew and I
both came home off tour
682
00:35:18,480 --> 00:35:22,120
and would go home to Mum and Dad.
It was literally that bad.
683
00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:23,880
[interviewer] Have you made
a lot of money?
684
00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:25,120
Um...
685
00:35:25,200 --> 00:35:29,960
No, not really, and what money we've made,
we probably won't get to see
686
00:35:30,040 --> 00:35:32,720
because it gets spent
before you get to see it.
687
00:35:32,800 --> 00:35:33,840
Um...
688
00:35:33,920 --> 00:35:36,560
There are reasons why we haven't made
anything like as much money
689
00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:38,720
as most people would probably believe,
690
00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:39,920
but, you know...
691
00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:42,640
You're well on the way to success.
Is money coming in?
692
00:35:43,160 --> 00:35:44,360
Ask my mum. She's out there.
693
00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:45,560
- [host] Is she here?
- Yes.
694
00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:47,680
- [host] You bought things?
- I bought a jumper.
695
00:35:47,760 --> 00:35:48,640
[laughter]
696
00:35:48,720 --> 00:35:51,760
- It cost nearly as much as the car.
- Lavish. We're really lavish.
697
00:35:52,840 --> 00:35:55,120
[George] It was absolutely ludicrous.
698
00:35:55,200 --> 00:35:58,480
[Andrew] We received 4% apiece
on singles in the UK
699
00:35:58,560 --> 00:36:00,280
and 2% in the rest of the world.
700
00:36:00,360 --> 00:36:03,320
[George] Right.
We didn't get any money on 12 inches,
701
00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:05,560
which is what, principally,
were selling at the time.
702
00:36:05,640 --> 00:36:07,600
I mean, the whole thing was laughable.
703
00:36:07,680 --> 00:36:09,616
[Mark] When they first come
to the record company,
704
00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:12,480
all they want is fame. Money, secondary.
705
00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:14,120
And suddenly they make it,
706
00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:16,920
and six months later,
they're still sitting on the bus,
707
00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:20,120
saying, "Shouldn't we have some money
for doing this as well?"
708
00:36:20,200 --> 00:36:22,200
"Why is it held up in pipeline royalties?"
709
00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:25,520
"Why is it here?" "Why is it there?"
That's when the trouble begins.
710
00:36:26,560 --> 00:36:29,800
[George] Two 18-year-old boys
being taken to a greasy spoon.
711
00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:33,760
The issue is,
was it fair on the day it was signed?
712
00:36:34,360 --> 00:36:36,240
How can you call being told
713
00:36:36,320 --> 00:36:38,840
that they're not gonna have
their big chance at stardom
714
00:36:38,920 --> 00:36:40,760
if they don't sign this piece of paper...
715
00:36:40,840 --> 00:36:42,280
How is that fair?
716
00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:45,000
[Andrew] We needed management.
717
00:36:46,960 --> 00:36:50,200
Now, I've got this book here,
You Don't Have To Say You Love Me,
718
00:36:50,280 --> 00:36:52,360
and it was written by Simon Napier-Bell,
719
00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:54,120
who's actually here with me.
720
00:36:57,040 --> 00:37:00,360
[George] In the '60s,
Simon was a bit of a Svengali.
721
00:37:01,320 --> 00:37:02,800
[Andrew] I really took to Simon.
722
00:37:04,360 --> 00:37:06,720
[Simon] On Top of the Pops,
they projected themselves
723
00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:10,480
in a way which no other group from
Top of the Pops I'd ever seen had done.
724
00:37:10,560 --> 00:37:12,480
Both as a group, in that they understood
725
00:37:12,560 --> 00:37:14,960
how to use Top of the Pops
to project themselves,
726
00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:19,200
and they came across with
this incredible sort of erotic intimacy.
727
00:37:19,280 --> 00:37:22,040
Anyone we met
had to give us that confidence,
728
00:37:22,120 --> 00:37:24,240
and no one had until Simon.
729
00:37:25,080 --> 00:37:29,720
[Andrew] And so a new deal
was signed directly with CBS.
730
00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:31,800
♪ Feel all right, huh! ♪
731
00:37:31,880 --> 00:37:33,640
♪ Feel pretty good, y'all ♪
732
00:37:33,720 --> 00:37:35,280
♪ Uh! ♪
733
00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:37,160
♪ Nah, na-na-na-na ♪
734
00:37:37,240 --> 00:37:40,040
♪ Na-na-na-na, na-na-na, na-na-na ♪
735
00:37:40,120 --> 00:37:42,760
♪ Na-na-na-na, come on y'all
Let's say it one more time... ♪
736
00:37:42,840 --> 00:37:45,080
[Andrew] It was around that point
that it was decided
737
00:37:45,160 --> 00:37:47,200
just what to do with "Careless Whisper."
738
00:37:48,880 --> 00:37:53,200
So George went to Muscle Shoals Studio
in Alabama.
739
00:37:54,200 --> 00:37:57,360
[George] I had to record it
with Jerry Wexler,
740
00:37:57,440 --> 00:38:00,960
Aretha Franklin's producer
and Ray Charles' producer,
741
00:38:01,480 --> 00:38:05,600
and his session guys, who are called
the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section,
742
00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:08,760
and they had
the most stunning repertoire of work.
743
00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:12,360
And I was absolutely shitting myself.
744
00:38:12,440 --> 00:38:14,760
♪ Oh, come back, baby ♪
745
00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:16,960
♪ Baby, please don't go... ♪
746
00:38:18,280 --> 00:38:21,160
[Andrew] George respected Jerry Wexler
hugely
747
00:38:21,240 --> 00:38:25,000
and was a little in awe of the great man.
748
00:38:26,480 --> 00:38:30,120
[George] I would stand there,
ready to do my "I feel so unsure,"
749
00:38:30,200 --> 00:38:32,120
and Jerry would say...
750
00:38:32,200 --> 00:38:33,040
[Jerry] Stand by.
751
00:38:33,120 --> 00:38:36,920
[George] "Remember, George, that's where
Aretha Franklin sang "Respect,"
752
00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:38,920
or, "Now, just remember, George,
753
00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:42,360
that's where Ray Charles sang
"When a Man Loves a Woman."
754
00:38:42,440 --> 00:38:44,720
And you're like...
[sarcastically] "Oh, thank you."
755
00:38:44,800 --> 00:38:46,760
Right? Just before you do
your weedy little thing
756
00:38:46,840 --> 00:38:48,400
that you wrote on the bus.
757
00:38:49,840 --> 00:38:53,720
[Andrew] I was really keen to hear
what had been done with the track
758
00:38:53,800 --> 00:38:57,480
because we'd cowritten it together,
and we knew what it should sound like.
759
00:38:58,240 --> 00:39:00,560
[George] I thought,
"It's got Jerry Wexler's name on it."
760
00:39:00,640 --> 00:39:02,000
"It must be fantastic."
761
00:39:03,200 --> 00:39:04,560
[Andrew] Yog came back,
762
00:39:04,640 --> 00:39:07,320
and he said, "Just have a listen."
763
00:39:07,400 --> 00:39:09,640
♪ As I take your hand ♪
764
00:39:09,720 --> 00:39:10,880
♪ And lead you ♪
765
00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:14,160
♪ To the dancefloor... ♪
766
00:39:14,800 --> 00:39:16,240
[Andrew] It had been eviscerated.
767
00:39:17,400 --> 00:39:20,840
It lost all its character, its essence.
768
00:39:20,920 --> 00:39:22,400
It was average,
769
00:39:22,480 --> 00:39:25,160
and he said, "I don't like it either."
770
00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:29,560
[George] So it was a bit limp.
It was mostly down to me.
771
00:39:29,640 --> 00:39:32,920
Then it was suddenly,
"You gotta produce it yourself."
772
00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:34,120
♪ Though it's easy ♪
773
00:39:34,200 --> 00:39:35,200
[music stops]
774
00:39:36,240 --> 00:39:39,920
I then decided that I didn't actually want
the Jerry Wexler mix
775
00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:44,080
to be the final record, and I went in
and recorded the whole record again.
776
00:39:45,360 --> 00:39:47,040
And thank Christ I did.
777
00:39:47,120 --> 00:39:50,240
[Andrew] When he took the decision
to record "Careless Whisper"
778
00:39:50,320 --> 00:39:52,320
the way that he wanted it to sound,
779
00:39:52,920 --> 00:39:56,800
George went through ten sax players...
780
00:39:56,880 --> 00:39:59,000
[saxophone playing]
781
00:39:59,080 --> 00:40:04,280
...before Steve Gregory came in
and nailed the part.
782
00:40:07,080 --> 00:40:09,080
["Careless Whisper" playing]
783
00:40:11,120 --> 00:40:14,240
The production of "Careless Whisper"
was the second occasion, really,
784
00:40:14,320 --> 00:40:18,800
where he'd produced a track
solely to his vision.
785
00:40:19,520 --> 00:40:23,960
[George] Yes, I had also produced
a catchy song.
786
00:40:28,680 --> 00:40:29,760
I remember
787
00:40:30,640 --> 00:40:32,640
staying at Andrew's house,
788
00:40:33,520 --> 00:40:37,000
staying in the spare bedroom,
getting up in the morning...
789
00:40:37,840 --> 00:40:41,920
[Andrew] And I'd pinned a note
on my bedroom door,
790
00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:43,640
and I'd made a mistake.
791
00:40:43,720 --> 00:40:48,120
I'd written,
"Wake me up up before you go,"
792
00:40:48,200 --> 00:40:50,720
so I just amended the "go" to "go go."
793
00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:56,880
[George] It struck me that that was
somehow a wonderful title for a song.
794
00:40:57,960 --> 00:40:59,200
♪ Jitterbug ♪
795
00:40:59,800 --> 00:41:01,960
[Andrew] Next thing you know... [chuckles]
796
00:41:02,040 --> 00:41:03,840
..."Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go."
797
00:41:03,920 --> 00:41:07,000
- ♪ You put the boom-boom into my heart ♪
- ♪ Ooh-ooh ♪
798
00:41:07,080 --> 00:41:10,120
♪ You send my soul sky high
When your loving starts ♪
799
00:41:10,200 --> 00:41:11,440
♪ Jitterbug into my... ♪
800
00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:12,880
[George] And people loved it.
801
00:41:12,960 --> 00:41:15,960
♪ Goes a-bang-bang-bang
Till my feet do the same... ♪
802
00:41:16,040 --> 00:41:17,600
[host] "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"!
803
00:41:17,680 --> 00:41:21,080
♪ Something ain't right
My best friend told me what you did... ♪
804
00:41:21,160 --> 00:41:22,160
Wham!!
805
00:41:22,200 --> 00:41:24,320
♪ Left me sleeping in my bed... ♪
806
00:41:24,400 --> 00:41:27,120
With "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,"
it's Wham!!
807
00:41:27,200 --> 00:41:28,640
♪ ...with you instead ♪
808
00:41:28,720 --> 00:41:31,400
♪ Wake me up before you go-go ♪
809
00:41:31,480 --> 00:41:34,280
♪ Don't leave me hanging on like a yo-yo ♪
810
00:41:34,360 --> 00:41:36,120
♪ Wake me up before... ♪
811
00:41:36,200 --> 00:41:38,720
[Andrew] "Wake Me Up"
became our first number one.
812
00:41:38,800 --> 00:41:40,240
♪ When you hit that high... ♪
813
00:41:40,320 --> 00:41:43,440
- What did you do to celebrate?
- A party at my dad's restaurant.
814
00:41:43,520 --> 00:41:46,200
♪ 'Cause I'm not planning on going solo ♪
815
00:41:46,280 --> 00:41:49,680
♪ Wake me up before you go-go, ah ♪
816
00:41:50,280 --> 00:41:51,480
♪ Take me dancing tonight... ♪
817
00:41:51,520 --> 00:41:56,320
[Andrew] Massive validation of his ability
to write hit songs that he could deliver.
818
00:41:56,400 --> 00:42:01,080
♪ I wanna hit that high ♪
819
00:42:01,160 --> 00:42:02,520
♪ Yeah, yeah... ♪
820
00:42:03,320 --> 00:42:05,480
[George] "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
jumped out
821
00:42:05,560 --> 00:42:08,560
compared to the album
that I had co-produced
822
00:42:09,720 --> 00:42:11,000
the year before.
823
00:42:11,800 --> 00:42:15,360
So, suddenly,
it's not just a singer-writer.
824
00:42:15,440 --> 00:42:17,240
It's a singer-writer-producer.
825
00:42:19,120 --> 00:42:21,800
The musical community took the piss.
826
00:42:21,880 --> 00:42:25,200
"I mean, how can they look like that
and make music like this?"
827
00:42:25,280 --> 00:42:27,160
♪ Everything will be all right ♪
828
00:42:27,240 --> 00:42:30,400
♪ Wake me up before you go-go... ♪
829
00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:33,520
[George] "How can the country
be in love with these two idiots?"
830
00:42:33,600 --> 00:42:36,920
♪ Wake me up before you go-go, ah ♪
831
00:42:37,480 --> 00:42:42,600
♪ Take me dancing tonight... ♪
832
00:42:42,680 --> 00:42:44,680
Your record has been slagged in the press.
833
00:42:44,760 --> 00:42:46,680
[George laughs] Slagged, yeah.
834
00:42:48,320 --> 00:42:51,360
- ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, baby! ♪
- ♪ Jitterbug ♪
835
00:42:51,440 --> 00:42:53,920
[George] If I was listening to someone
singing that now,
836
00:42:54,000 --> 00:42:57,240
and I knew that they'd written it,
produced it, and sung it,
837
00:42:57,320 --> 00:42:59,320
I wouldn't be taking the piss out of them
838
00:42:59,400 --> 00:43:02,240
because they wore terrible clothes.
D'you know what I'm saying?
839
00:43:02,320 --> 00:43:04,960
♪ Cuddle up, baby
Move in tight... ♪
840
00:43:05,040 --> 00:43:06,480
For a fucking 20-year-old.
841
00:43:06,560 --> 00:43:08,120
♪ ...tomorrow night ♪
842
00:43:08,200 --> 00:43:10,240
♪ It's cold out there
But it's warm in bed... ♪
843
00:43:10,320 --> 00:43:12,760
Why the fuck
would they be taking the piss out of me?
844
00:43:12,840 --> 00:43:16,200
♪ We'll stay home instead ♪
845
00:43:20,160 --> 00:43:21,200
♪ Jitterbug ♪
846
00:43:25,240 --> 00:43:27,440
♪ Wake me up before you go-go... ♪
847
00:43:27,520 --> 00:43:29,280
[Andrew] After the success of
"Wake Me Up,"
848
00:43:29,360 --> 00:43:31,840
we went on to record the second album.
849
00:43:32,400 --> 00:43:36,000
The decision was taken to record it
in the South of France.
850
00:43:37,560 --> 00:43:40,880
[George] Our label was like,
"You've gotta produce it yourself,"
851
00:43:40,960 --> 00:43:44,280
whereas on the first one, I hadn't been
allowed to do it myself. You know?
852
00:43:47,960 --> 00:43:51,920
[Andrew] Château Miraval was
an excellent creative environment
853
00:43:52,000 --> 00:43:53,080
in which to work.
854
00:43:54,360 --> 00:43:59,480
George liked to write almost exclusively
as part of the recording process.
855
00:44:00,680 --> 00:44:03,720
[George] Into my most private place,
856
00:44:03,800 --> 00:44:06,440
which is really being in the studio.
857
00:44:08,560 --> 00:44:13,840
I'm a producer
before I'm a singer sometimes.
858
00:44:13,920 --> 00:44:18,040
Andy's guitar is on 10, really,
and Hugh's is on 11.
859
00:44:18,120 --> 00:44:20,120
I construct what I do
860
00:44:20,200 --> 00:44:23,680
and literally work for hours
and hours and hours.
861
00:44:24,720 --> 00:44:27,680
[Andrew] My contribution
to the writing and recording
862
00:44:27,760 --> 00:44:29,800
was now limited to the recording.
863
00:44:30,760 --> 00:44:33,560
Whilst we had taken that decision,
864
00:44:33,640 --> 00:44:35,600
it was... it was slightly difficult.
865
00:44:36,480 --> 00:44:38,000
[whooping]
866
00:44:38,080 --> 00:44:42,520
[Andrew] But it was a sacrifice
that I felt I had to make.
867
00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:46,920
[Simon] Contrary to what people say,
that Andrew had no part in Wham!,
868
00:44:47,000 --> 00:44:50,320
it was totally the opposite.
Wham! was Andrew.
869
00:44:51,480 --> 00:44:54,040
And George, when he was younger,
copied Andrew.
870
00:44:54,640 --> 00:44:58,080
It was Andrew and Andrew,
the real Andrew and the fake one.
871
00:44:58,920 --> 00:45:00,920
But as time went on, I think George,
872
00:45:01,000 --> 00:45:04,240
partly because he really did feel
that the group wasn't him,
873
00:45:04,320 --> 00:45:07,280
uh... he put more and more effort
into the songwriting and production,
874
00:45:07,360 --> 00:45:10,040
and Andrew was
reasonably indifferent to that
875
00:45:10,120 --> 00:45:12,720
and was an easy-going person,
so he let George do it.
876
00:45:13,720 --> 00:45:14,920
[Andrew] By this point,
877
00:45:15,640 --> 00:45:18,560
we could see that his songwriting
was taking him in a direction
878
00:45:18,640 --> 00:45:20,320
that was different from mine.
879
00:45:21,080 --> 00:45:22,640
But he was my best friend,
880
00:45:23,160 --> 00:45:28,000
and to be a part of that evolution
would be a great thing.
881
00:45:30,160 --> 00:45:32,920
I don't think
George really recognized his own talent
882
00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:35,360
until two, three years ago.
883
00:45:35,960 --> 00:45:38,880
I don't think he was fully aware
of what he could achieve,
884
00:45:39,680 --> 00:45:41,960
and, I mean, he's grown in confidence
885
00:45:43,200 --> 00:45:44,200
so much.
886
00:45:44,840 --> 00:45:46,600
["Freedom" playing]
887
00:45:46,680 --> 00:45:48,680
♪ Do, do, do... ♪
888
00:45:50,560 --> 00:45:53,320
♪ But you know that I'll forgive you... ♪
889
00:45:53,400 --> 00:45:55,480
[George] When I write a melody in my head,
890
00:45:56,600 --> 00:46:01,000
something at the back of my neck
just knows that I've hit it.
891
00:46:03,000 --> 00:46:05,720
It's almost like it was already there,
892
00:46:07,400 --> 00:46:09,800
but you hadn't spotted where it was yet.
893
00:46:11,720 --> 00:46:14,040
It's almost like
it comes to you fully formed,
894
00:46:14,640 --> 00:46:17,320
and you just pulled it out of nowhere.
895
00:46:18,120 --> 00:46:21,080
And the feeling that you have
that makes you shiver
896
00:46:21,160 --> 00:46:24,000
is that you found it.
897
00:46:24,880 --> 00:46:29,360
♪ Somebody tell me, oh ♪
898
00:46:29,440 --> 00:46:31,040
♪ Won't you tell me? ♪
899
00:46:32,200 --> 00:46:33,120
♪ Why I work... ♪
900
00:46:33,200 --> 00:46:37,000
[Andrew] Yog was very certain
of where his talent could take him.
901
00:46:38,920 --> 00:46:41,240
My life was a bit more straightforward.
902
00:46:41,920 --> 00:46:43,520
I was living in the moment.
903
00:46:44,280 --> 00:46:46,280
George let me take my bib off tonight.
904
00:46:46,360 --> 00:46:48,520
[laughter]
905
00:46:48,600 --> 00:46:53,200
I never felt that our music defined me
in the same way that it did for George.
906
00:46:53,280 --> 00:46:55,840
His songwriting was becoming the vehicle
907
00:46:55,920 --> 00:46:59,920
through which he could draw out
the person he wanted to be.
908
00:47:00,720 --> 00:47:02,520
I knew exactly who I was.
909
00:47:04,600 --> 00:47:07,240
[George] If you think about
what I was trying to do,
910
00:47:07,320 --> 00:47:10,480
as long as I was proud of the songs,
that was my goal.
911
00:47:12,000 --> 00:47:15,760
[Andrew] George was very sure of himself
when it came to making music,
912
00:47:15,840 --> 00:47:20,120
but he was less certain
in the personal aspect of his life.
913
00:47:21,840 --> 00:47:26,200
"Freedom" was the first track
Yog played to me as it was being recorded.
914
00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:31,280
It could equally
have related to, uh, his sexuality.
915
00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:36,080
♪ Like a prisoner who has his own key ♪
916
00:47:36,160 --> 00:47:39,040
♪ But I can't escape until you love me... ♪
917
00:47:39,120 --> 00:47:42,760
[Andrew] "A prisoner who has his own key"
and a "lover with another,"
918
00:47:42,840 --> 00:47:47,280
you know, he's definitely
referring to his own... dilemmas.
919
00:47:47,360 --> 00:47:49,960
[music fades]
920
00:47:50,040 --> 00:47:51,560
[George] As a young gay man,
921
00:47:52,360 --> 00:47:55,040
I knew I was just uncomfortable
'cause I was closeted.
922
00:47:56,000 --> 00:47:59,880
And then I was still kidding myself
that I was bisexual.
923
00:48:02,160 --> 00:48:05,840
Hang on to the little part of myself
that was attracted to women.
924
00:48:06,440 --> 00:48:08,000
At that point, you know,
925
00:48:08,680 --> 00:48:10,080
if you're making...
926
00:48:10,160 --> 00:48:11,320
if your goal is to become
927
00:48:11,400 --> 00:48:14,400
the biggest-selling artist
of, you know, that year or two,
928
00:48:15,160 --> 00:48:17,560
you're not gonna make life
difficult for yourself, are you?
929
00:48:21,440 --> 00:48:24,240
I was too young and too immature
930
00:48:24,320 --> 00:48:27,000
to know that I was sacrificing
as much as I was.
931
00:48:28,800 --> 00:48:32,120
[Andrew] As a young man
who was still trying to find himself,
932
00:48:33,040 --> 00:48:35,320
I knew Yog had lacked confidence.
933
00:48:37,040 --> 00:48:40,480
But I was unaware of just how deep-seated
the issues really were.
934
00:48:43,600 --> 00:48:48,680
[George] I have a memory
of that feeling of insecurity
935
00:48:50,360 --> 00:48:51,400
as a child.
936
00:48:55,320 --> 00:49:00,320
And the kind of scared teenager I was
felt very vulnerable.
937
00:49:01,000 --> 00:49:02,480
I mean, for many years,
938
00:49:03,320 --> 00:49:06,520
my support system was Andrew.
939
00:49:08,400 --> 00:49:09,880
[Andrew] I was self-assured.
940
00:49:11,600 --> 00:49:14,080
One school report
cited me as "disruptive."
941
00:49:15,640 --> 00:49:18,240
Andrew, a very sort of confident boy.
942
00:49:18,320 --> 00:49:19,960
A very cocky boy, you know.
943
00:49:20,680 --> 00:49:22,600
George was a quiet boy.
944
00:49:22,680 --> 00:49:24,320
Andrew was a leader.
945
00:49:25,800 --> 00:49:28,760
[Andrew] Our fathers
both came from abroad.
946
00:49:28,840 --> 00:49:32,520
My dad's family were from Egypt.
947
00:49:32,600 --> 00:49:34,640
[George] My father was from Cyprus.
948
00:49:34,720 --> 00:49:36,760
My father's father was a shepherd.
949
00:49:37,400 --> 00:49:42,440
And my father worked his arse off
and reaped the rewards.
950
00:49:43,080 --> 00:49:46,320
[Andrew] Jack viewed me
with a fair degree of skepticism.
951
00:49:46,960 --> 00:49:49,216
[George] My mum and dad thought
Andrew was the worst thing
952
00:49:49,240 --> 00:49:51,040
that could ever have happened to me.
953
00:49:52,040 --> 00:49:55,440
[Andrew] I'd visit his house,
rifle through the record collection.
954
00:49:55,520 --> 00:49:57,360
["Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" playing]
955
00:49:57,440 --> 00:50:00,280
[George] We talked about Elton's album
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.
956
00:50:00,360 --> 00:50:03,360
[Andrew] One of the albums
upon which our friendship was built.
957
00:50:03,880 --> 00:50:05,680
[George] We became firm friends.
958
00:50:05,760 --> 00:50:07,200
["Moonage Daydream" playing]
959
00:50:07,280 --> 00:50:09,160
♪ I'm an alligator... ♪
960
00:50:09,240 --> 00:50:10,960
[Andrew] By about the age of 14,
961
00:50:11,040 --> 00:50:15,280
I'd completely lost any interest
in education, such as it was.
962
00:50:15,360 --> 00:50:19,560
[George] And I had this idea that,
"Well, you get your A-levels,
963
00:50:19,640 --> 00:50:21,920
then you do a job for a while."
964
00:50:22,640 --> 00:50:23,680
[Andrew] No.
965
00:50:23,760 --> 00:50:27,040
All I could think about
was being in a band with George.
966
00:50:27,680 --> 00:50:30,480
[George] Andrew had been
quite an influence on me.
967
00:50:31,000 --> 00:50:33,320
[Andrew] He felt the pressure
from his mum and dad
968
00:50:33,400 --> 00:50:35,760
far more acutely than I did from mine.
969
00:50:35,840 --> 00:50:38,800
[George] I came from
a very oppressive household.
970
00:50:39,400 --> 00:50:42,760
Because being the domineering father
I have been or I am,
971
00:50:42,840 --> 00:50:44,960
I wanted to dictate terms with him.
972
00:50:45,720 --> 00:50:50,160
[George] My father's idea was obviously
for me to have an academic career.
973
00:50:50,240 --> 00:50:52,800
I wanted him to become
a doctor, an accountant.
974
00:50:52,880 --> 00:50:55,800
Behave like I expect you to behave,
you know?
975
00:50:56,560 --> 00:50:58,640
I said, "You couldn't sing
to save your life anyway."
976
00:50:59,520 --> 00:51:02,000
[George] My father banned me
from using the stereo
977
00:51:02,080 --> 00:51:03,840
and banned me from buying records.
978
00:51:03,920 --> 00:51:06,640
He was obviously gonna make me
stop wasting my time
979
00:51:06,720 --> 00:51:08,640
on dreams of the music business.
980
00:51:08,720 --> 00:51:12,480
[Andrew] I phoned up Yog and said,
"Look, we're forming a band now."
981
00:51:12,560 --> 00:51:15,960
"No, no, I don't think I can.
I don't think we can."
982
00:51:16,800 --> 00:51:19,040
I provided the sort of thrust.
983
00:51:19,120 --> 00:51:22,000
He... He reluctantly agreed.
984
00:51:22,920 --> 00:51:25,720
[George] Andrew was this kind of idol
that I had.
985
00:51:25,800 --> 00:51:28,360
He was the first person
that I'd ever hung around with
986
00:51:28,440 --> 00:51:32,440
that was much stronger than me.
Almost everything came from Andrew.
987
00:51:34,440 --> 00:51:39,040
Andrew changed my life in exactly the way
someone needed to change my life
988
00:51:39,120 --> 00:51:40,680
if I was gonna be a pop star.
989
00:51:41,560 --> 00:51:44,080
[Andrew] Georgios Panayiotou,
990
00:51:44,160 --> 00:51:50,160
who had struggled always
to define themselves inwardly,
991
00:51:51,160 --> 00:51:53,120
physically, his sexuality,
992
00:51:54,240 --> 00:51:56,200
transformed into...
993
00:52:01,160 --> 00:52:02,480
[Andrew] ...George Michael.
994
00:52:08,720 --> 00:52:10,480
["Careless Whisper" playing]
995
00:52:18,400 --> 00:52:22,760
♪ Time can never mend ♪
996
00:52:24,880 --> 00:52:31,120
♪ The careless whispers of a good friend ♪
997
00:52:31,200 --> 00:52:33,760
♪ To the heart and mind ♪
998
00:52:34,560 --> 00:52:37,160
♪ Ignorance is kind ♪
999
00:52:37,240 --> 00:52:39,920
♪ There's no comfort in the truth ♪
1000
00:52:40,520 --> 00:52:44,440
♪ Pain is all you'll find... ♪
1001
00:52:50,240 --> 00:52:54,520
[George] We knew that "Careless Whisper"
was the big single
1002
00:52:54,600 --> 00:52:56,160
right from the beginning of Wham!.
1003
00:52:56,760 --> 00:52:59,320
♪ Should've known better, yeah... ♪
1004
00:52:59,400 --> 00:53:02,120
[Andrew] I told George
that I completely supported the idea
1005
00:53:02,200 --> 00:53:04,600
of him releasing the song
as a solo single.
1006
00:53:05,120 --> 00:53:07,880
[George] You know,
there wasn't any kind of wrangling.
1007
00:53:10,080 --> 00:53:13,320
We always understood
that there would be a point
1008
00:53:13,400 --> 00:53:17,960
where there was a crossover between Wham!
and the start of my solo career.
1009
00:53:21,120 --> 00:53:25,120
♪ I feel so unsure ♪
1010
00:53:26,920 --> 00:53:29,400
♪ As I take your hand ♪
1011
00:53:29,480 --> 00:53:34,080
♪ And lead you to the dance floor ♪
1012
00:53:34,160 --> 00:53:36,360
♪ As the music dies ♪
1013
00:53:37,120 --> 00:53:39,640
♪ Something in your eyes ♪
1014
00:53:39,720 --> 00:53:42,920
♪ Calls to mind a silver screen ♪
1015
00:53:43,000 --> 00:53:46,720
♪ And all its sad goodbyes ♪
1016
00:53:46,800 --> 00:53:49,360
♪ I'm never gonna dance again ♪
1017
00:53:49,440 --> 00:53:52,960
♪ Guilty feet have got no rhythm ♪
1018
00:53:53,040 --> 00:53:55,040
♪ Though it's easy to pretend ♪
1019
00:53:55,120 --> 00:53:58,720
♪ I know you're not a fool... ♪
1020
00:54:00,520 --> 00:54:03,360
[Andrew] But the song would be billed
in the US
1021
00:54:03,440 --> 00:54:06,120
as "Wham! featuring George Michael."
1022
00:54:08,160 --> 00:54:11,520
The thinking beyond the move
was while Wham! was huge at home...
1023
00:54:11,600 --> 00:54:13,960
♪ Tonight the music seems so loud... ♪
1024
00:54:14,040 --> 00:54:16,240
[Andrew] ...we weren't quite there
in America.
1025
00:54:16,320 --> 00:54:17,880
♪ ...lose this crowd ♪
1026
00:54:17,960 --> 00:54:21,200
♪ Maybe it's better this way ♪
1027
00:54:21,280 --> 00:54:23,920
♪ We'd hurt each other
With the things we want to say... ♪
1028
00:54:24,000 --> 00:54:27,320
[Andrew] We wanted to sell out stadiums,
tour the world.
1029
00:54:27,400 --> 00:54:29,120
We wanted to conquer America.
1030
00:54:30,120 --> 00:54:33,160
George was never going to abandon
the Wham! project
1031
00:54:33,240 --> 00:54:36,080
without us fulfilling our goals.
1032
00:54:38,160 --> 00:54:40,440
Scrapbook 16.
1033
00:54:41,520 --> 00:54:44,840
[interviewer] We're talking with
Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael.
1034
00:54:45,360 --> 00:54:49,200
Your first real, major visit
to the States.
1035
00:54:53,080 --> 00:54:54,520
[Andrew] It's all part of marketing.
1036
00:54:54,600 --> 00:54:56,840
They like you to go in first time
and just...
1037
00:54:56,920 --> 00:54:59,040
[George] To whet the appetite
for the Yanks.
1038
00:54:59,120 --> 00:55:01,680
- [George] Lay the groundwork, as they say.
- [Andrew] Yeah.
1039
00:55:02,200 --> 00:55:04,320
[indistinct chatter]
1040
00:55:04,400 --> 00:55:07,880
I'm district manager for Sam Goody's.
We're having an in-store with Wham!,
1041
00:55:08,520 --> 00:55:11,880
and we're having a huge turnout,
the biggest one we've ever had.
1042
00:55:11,960 --> 00:55:14,880
Since '81, I've been
a large fan of them. See?
1043
00:55:14,960 --> 00:55:16,320
Official Wham! T-shirt.
1044
00:55:16,400 --> 00:55:19,040
[interviewer] Why are they so popular?
Nobody knows who they are.
1045
00:55:19,120 --> 00:55:21,040
They're popular in the clubs in New York.
1046
00:55:21,800 --> 00:55:23,800
[crowd screaming]
1047
00:55:29,120 --> 00:55:30,600
- They're so gorgeous.
- I know.
1048
00:55:31,280 --> 00:55:33,600
[Andrew] "Wake Me Up,"
our first US number one.
1049
00:55:33,680 --> 00:55:37,120
It was a huge foot in the door,
but whilst it elevated us,
1050
00:55:37,200 --> 00:55:40,440
it didn't confirm us
as a big artist in the States,
1051
00:55:40,520 --> 00:55:43,240
and we knew there was
a whole lot of work still to do.
1052
00:55:44,040 --> 00:55:48,160
And everyone still wanted to know
really who we were.
1053
00:55:49,440 --> 00:55:52,120
And, of course,
they wanted to know about the girls.
1054
00:55:52,200 --> 00:55:54,400
You probably have
girls following you everywhere.
1055
00:55:54,480 --> 00:55:57,080
Teenage girls, and maybe a couple of...
1056
00:55:57,160 --> 00:55:58,360
A few older ones.
1057
00:55:58,440 --> 00:56:01,760
...following you everywhere.
Is it hard to be so well known?
1058
00:56:01,840 --> 00:56:04,280
It's something you learn to live with
and you accept.
1059
00:56:04,360 --> 00:56:07,600
There are many rockers
who are in it for the girls, the groupies.
1060
00:56:07,680 --> 00:56:10,200
These things
don't seem to interest you all at all.
1061
00:56:10,280 --> 00:56:11,480
Oh, they interest us,
1062
00:56:11,560 --> 00:56:15,600
but, I mean, you know, you have to
take them... take them, um, in your stride.
1063
00:56:15,680 --> 00:56:17,720
- That's the wrong way to say it.
- They're not...
1064
00:56:17,800 --> 00:56:19,600
- After a while...
- They're not paramount.
1065
00:56:19,680 --> 00:56:24,080
If I can keep my, uh, feet on the ground,
then I think we'll be all right.
1066
00:56:27,080 --> 00:56:29,560
[George] And, like,
what the fuck are you gonna do?
1067
00:56:32,280 --> 00:56:36,520
If you have the option of hiding,
what else are you gonna do at that age?
1068
00:56:37,280 --> 00:56:41,680
To me, the whole kind of scream experience
1069
00:56:41,760 --> 00:56:43,360
that Wham! was based on
1070
00:56:43,440 --> 00:56:46,880
couldn't possibly be seen
as anything other than worrying.
1071
00:56:48,360 --> 00:56:52,320
George is totally aware of his own market.
With any artist, you're selling image,
1072
00:56:52,400 --> 00:56:57,760
and the strongest image to anybody
is a sexually identifiable image.
1073
00:56:57,840 --> 00:56:59,360
That's how everything is sold.
1074
00:56:59,440 --> 00:57:02,360
["Everything She Wants" playing]
1075
00:57:02,440 --> 00:57:06,480
[Andrew] Tabloid interest grew
in that spotlight of press intrusion.
1076
00:57:07,840 --> 00:57:10,440
I was rather more poorly behaved
than George.
1077
00:57:10,960 --> 00:57:15,560
- [George] Andrew was partying pretty hard.
- [Andrew] I was portrayed as Randy Andy.
1078
00:57:16,640 --> 00:57:18,720
♪ Somebody told me... ♪
1079
00:57:18,800 --> 00:57:20,240
[Andrew] Animal Andy.
1080
00:57:21,240 --> 00:57:25,600
The press were so focused on my behavior
that George flew under the radar.
1081
00:57:27,080 --> 00:57:29,080
I became a bit of a lightning rod.
1082
00:57:29,840 --> 00:57:32,840
[George] A foil for me,
you know, in the public sense.
1083
00:57:32,920 --> 00:57:36,400
♪ Is out of reach, not good enough ♪
1084
00:57:36,480 --> 00:57:40,360
♪ I don't know
What the hell you want from me, oh... ♪
1085
00:57:40,440 --> 00:57:43,920
[George] Basically, all through that time,
I'd had three girlfriends,
1086
00:57:44,440 --> 00:57:46,120
and I'd cruise as well,
1087
00:57:48,080 --> 00:57:50,280
out in the suburbs where I grew up.
1088
00:57:50,800 --> 00:57:54,080
Confused boy, wasn't I,
really, at the time?
1089
00:57:54,880 --> 00:57:57,760
- ♪ Do do do ♪
- ♪ La la la la la... ♪
1090
00:57:57,840 --> 00:57:59,640
[George] I deluded myself.
1091
00:58:00,280 --> 00:58:06,200
- ♪ Somebody tell me, oh ♪
- ♪ Won't you tell me? ♪
1092
00:58:07,320 --> 00:58:11,800
- ♪ Why I work so hard for you ♪
- ♪ Give you money... ♪
1093
00:58:11,880 --> 00:58:14,040
[Andrew] We went on a major UK tour.
1094
00:58:14,840 --> 00:58:18,000
♪ And now you tell me
That you're having my baby ♪
1095
00:58:18,080 --> 00:58:20,880
♪ I'll tell you that I'm happy
If you want me to... ♪
1096
00:58:20,960 --> 00:58:22,680
[Andrew] It was a far bigger scale.
1097
00:58:22,760 --> 00:58:24,160
♪ One step further ♪
1098
00:58:24,240 --> 00:58:25,840
♪ And my back will break ♪
1099
00:58:25,920 --> 00:58:27,640
♪ If my best isn't... ♪
1100
00:58:27,720 --> 00:58:29,560
[Andrew] And we were selling out arenas.
1101
00:58:29,640 --> 00:58:30,680
[crowd cheering]
1102
00:58:30,760 --> 00:58:33,400
[Andrew] We had fun with the album title.
1103
00:58:33,480 --> 00:58:35,400
Wham! Make It Big.
1104
00:58:35,920 --> 00:58:38,560
It was George's idea. It was a great idea.
1105
00:58:38,640 --> 00:58:39,960
It amused us immensely,
1106
00:58:40,040 --> 00:58:43,600
and that was one of the primary drivers
for a lot of things we did.
1107
00:58:44,120 --> 00:58:46,280
We were gonna take it around the world.
1108
00:58:47,880 --> 00:58:51,040
It's Wham! Day and coming to you
from an exotic location...
1109
00:58:51,120 --> 00:58:54,680
♪ How can it be good enough for two? ♪
1110
00:58:55,600 --> 00:58:57,520
Because Wham! are big
all around the world.
1111
00:58:58,800 --> 00:59:00,280
[reporter] To get a glimpse of Wham!,
1112
00:59:00,320 --> 00:59:02,280
they camped overnight
at Melbourne Airport.
1113
00:59:03,040 --> 00:59:04,760
[crowd screaming]
1114
00:59:05,520 --> 00:59:06,640
[all shout] Wham!
1115
00:59:08,320 --> 00:59:14,560
- ♪ Somebody tell me, oh ♪
- ♪ Won't you tell me? ♪
1116
00:59:15,600 --> 00:59:20,280
- ♪ Why I work so hard for you ♪
- ♪ Give you money ♪
1117
00:59:20,360 --> 00:59:22,880
♪ Oh, to give you money, oh! ♪
1118
00:59:23,560 --> 00:59:25,920
[Andrew] But despite a successful tour,
1119
00:59:26,000 --> 00:59:27,080
for George,
1120
00:59:27,160 --> 00:59:30,560
chart position was
the ultimate validation of his talent.
1121
00:59:33,400 --> 00:59:36,320
To get to number one
really mattered to him.
1122
00:59:39,480 --> 00:59:40,600
♪ Oh! ♪
1123
00:59:41,880 --> 00:59:44,360
♪ Why do I do the things I do? ♪
1124
00:59:46,320 --> 00:59:48,840
♪ I'd tell you if I knew... ♪
1125
00:59:48,920 --> 00:59:52,000
[Andrew] George needed success
as a songwriter
1126
00:59:52,080 --> 00:59:53,720
for personal affirmation.
1127
00:59:53,800 --> 00:59:57,040
♪ I don't even think that I love you ♪
1128
00:59:57,120 --> 00:59:58,200
[Andrew] One Sunday,
1129
00:59:58,720 --> 01:00:02,640
at his mum and dad's house,
there was a football match on the TV.
1130
01:00:03,640 --> 01:00:06,000
[George] No one was in
except Andrew and I.
1131
01:00:06,520 --> 01:00:11,560
[Andrew] And Yog just sat up bolt upright
and said, "I've gotta go upstairs."
1132
01:00:11,640 --> 01:00:12,840
"I've got an idea."
1133
01:00:12,920 --> 01:00:16,680
[George] And I wrote it
on one of those four-track portastudios.
1134
01:00:18,240 --> 01:00:21,160
I went downstairs,
and I said to Andrew, "I've done it."
1135
01:00:21,240 --> 01:00:22,840
["Last Christmas" playing]
1136
01:00:24,800 --> 01:00:27,080
I said, "We're gonna have
four number ones this year,
1137
01:00:28,120 --> 01:00:30,280
and we're gonna have
a Christmas number one,
1138
01:00:30,360 --> 01:00:31,800
and I've just written it."
1139
01:00:31,880 --> 01:00:34,840
I played it to him,
and he went, "Fuck yeah, that's... Yeah."
1140
01:00:34,920 --> 01:00:36,160
[laughs] Know what I mean?
1141
01:00:36,240 --> 01:00:37,920
♪ Happy Christmas ♪
1142
01:00:42,440 --> 01:00:44,920
[Andrew] The "Last Christmas" video shoot,
1143
01:00:46,520 --> 01:00:49,640
we shot it in Saas-Fee in Switzerland,
1144
01:00:49,720 --> 01:00:50,800
high in the Alps.
1145
01:00:51,320 --> 01:00:54,520
♪ Ah, ah ♪
1146
01:00:57,400 --> 01:01:01,160
♪ Last Christmas, I gave you my heart ♪
1147
01:01:01,240 --> 01:01:05,720
♪ But the very next day
You gave it away ♪
1148
01:01:06,360 --> 01:01:07,520
♪ This year... ♪
1149
01:01:07,600 --> 01:01:10,360
[Andrew] Christmas was a big deal for Yog,
always.
1150
01:01:12,000 --> 01:01:15,040
"Last Christmas" had to convey
all of that.
1151
01:01:15,120 --> 01:01:16,800
♪ Last Christmas... ♪
1152
01:01:16,880 --> 01:01:20,640
[Andrew] That sense of Christmas
as we perceived it, a fantasy.
1153
01:01:21,240 --> 01:01:23,760
♪ You gave it away... ♪
1154
01:01:23,840 --> 01:01:27,320
[George] "Last Christmas" was
all our mates, basically.
1155
01:01:27,400 --> 01:01:29,240
[Andrew] And we had a whale of a time.
1156
01:01:29,320 --> 01:01:33,000
- ♪ ...to someone special ♪
- ♪ Special ♪
1157
01:01:36,080 --> 01:01:38,920
[Andrew] Spirits were really high,
as you can imagine.
1158
01:01:40,720 --> 01:01:43,400
We were so taking the piss
out of ourselves.
1159
01:01:46,680 --> 01:01:51,120
♪ Once bitten and twice shy... ♪
1160
01:01:51,200 --> 01:01:54,920
[George] And I remember,
as we went through the filming of the day...
1161
01:01:55,000 --> 01:01:57,880
[Andrew] The assistant director,
in his wisdom,
1162
01:01:57,960 --> 01:01:59,680
had filled each glass to the brim.
1163
01:02:00,640 --> 01:02:02,280
[George] Real booze, loads of booze.
1164
01:02:02,360 --> 01:02:04,440
♪ It doesn't surprise me ♪
1165
01:02:05,240 --> 01:02:09,320
[George] And I think our joint humor
went into so much of what we did.
1166
01:02:09,400 --> 01:02:11,640
I think there was a deliberate attempt
1167
01:02:11,720 --> 01:02:15,280
at avoiding true slickness at all costs.
1168
01:02:15,360 --> 01:02:17,120
♪ ...what a fool I've been... ♪
1169
01:02:17,200 --> 01:02:19,720
[Andrew] You know,
it went downhill from there.
1170
01:02:19,800 --> 01:02:22,000
[George] Knockin' it back,
getting gradually more drunk.
1171
01:02:22,040 --> 01:02:25,680
♪ Last Christmas, I gave you my heart... ♪
1172
01:02:25,760 --> 01:02:28,320
[George] What I think's funny
is how much hair there is.
1173
01:02:28,840 --> 01:02:31,520
You can barely see the people
for all the hair.
1174
01:02:31,600 --> 01:02:35,440
♪ This year, to save me from tears ♪
1175
01:02:35,520 --> 01:02:39,440
♪ I'll give it to someone special... ♪
1176
01:02:39,520 --> 01:02:40,800
[Andrew] It was mayhem.
1177
01:02:40,880 --> 01:02:44,600
It was a remarkable video shoot
that it ever got made, actually,
1178
01:02:44,680 --> 01:02:45,840
to be honest with you.
1179
01:02:46,720 --> 01:02:49,400
♪ But you tore him apart ♪
1180
01:02:49,480 --> 01:02:52,200
♪ Maybe next year... ♪
1181
01:02:52,280 --> 01:02:54,720
[music fades]
1182
01:02:54,800 --> 01:02:57,080
[Andrew] We knew
we had a number one on our hands.
1183
01:02:57,160 --> 01:02:59,920
The release was
for the second week in December.
1184
01:03:03,200 --> 01:03:04,720
[reporter] The Ethiopian famine appeal
1185
01:03:04,760 --> 01:03:07,880
will be boosted by sales
of a special pop record.
1186
01:03:09,200 --> 01:03:13,280
Over 25 stars sang for nothing
at today's recording session in London,
1187
01:03:13,360 --> 01:03:15,840
and all the proceeds
will go to famine relief.
1188
01:03:15,920 --> 01:03:18,320
[Andrew] When we returned from Saas-Fee,
1189
01:03:18,400 --> 01:03:20,480
the office sent a request
1190
01:03:20,560 --> 01:03:23,680
to attend a recording
for a charity record.
1191
01:03:23,760 --> 01:03:25,720
[reporter] When Bob Geldof
of the Boomtown Rats
1192
01:03:25,800 --> 01:03:27,880
saw the TV pictures from Ethiopia,
1193
01:03:27,960 --> 01:03:29,840
he decided he had to do something,
1194
01:03:29,920 --> 01:03:32,840
and he found
his rock-music friends felt the same.
1195
01:03:33,840 --> 01:03:36,360
So George Michael of Wham!,
Sting of the Police,
1196
01:03:36,440 --> 01:03:38,640
Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet,
1197
01:03:38,720 --> 01:03:41,040
Bananarama, and a score of other stars
1198
01:03:41,120 --> 01:03:44,080
gathered to record a Christmas song
with a message,
1199
01:03:44,160 --> 01:03:47,040
from which all the profits
will go to Ethiopia.
1200
01:03:47,120 --> 01:03:49,000
["Do They Know It's Christmas?" playing]
1201
01:03:49,080 --> 01:03:53,240
♪ Feed the world... ♪
1202
01:03:54,800 --> 01:03:58,560
I always get really shy when there's
loads and loads of other pop stars about.
1203
01:03:58,640 --> 01:04:00,520
I just tend to clam up a bit.
1204
01:04:00,600 --> 01:04:03,280
But it's been good.
The song's really catchy.
1205
01:04:03,360 --> 01:04:06,560
It's a major threat
to our fourth number one.
1206
01:04:06,640 --> 01:04:08,800
[reporter] Fourth number one.
What's your next single?
1207
01:04:08,880 --> 01:04:11,000
It's called "Last Christmas."
It's a Christmas single.
1208
01:04:11,080 --> 01:04:12,960
- [reporter] Is it very Christmassy?
- Very.
1209
01:04:14,200 --> 01:04:17,520
[reporter] I can't ask you to sing a bit.
You'll get mortified.
1210
01:04:18,080 --> 01:04:20,400
- You can't ask? I'll sing you a bit.
- All right.
1211
01:04:20,480 --> 01:04:22,280
- It goes... [clears throat]
- Right.
1212
01:04:22,360 --> 01:04:25,520
♪ Last Christmas, I gave you my heart ♪
1213
01:04:25,600 --> 01:04:28,280
♪ But the very next day
You gave it away... ♪
1214
01:04:28,360 --> 01:04:30,840
- I'm not giving you any more than that.
- That was good.
1215
01:04:30,920 --> 01:04:33,600
I'll go and tell all my girlfriends,
"George sang to me."
1216
01:04:33,680 --> 01:04:36,440
["Do They Know It's Christmas?" playing]
1217
01:04:36,520 --> 01:04:38,520
♪ But say a prayer... ♪
1218
01:04:38,600 --> 01:04:42,760
[George] That's what was so ironic about
Band Aid, "Do They Know It's Christmas?".
1219
01:04:43,560 --> 01:04:46,760
Everyone else was just thinking
how fantastic it is.
1220
01:04:46,840 --> 01:04:48,640
It's gonna be great.
It's gonna be number one.
1221
01:04:48,720 --> 01:04:49,720
It's gonna be this, that.
1222
01:04:50,480 --> 01:04:53,680
And I had
all those same feelings about it,
1223
01:04:54,320 --> 01:04:57,680
but I just had
this little bastard ego thing
1224
01:04:57,760 --> 01:05:01,440
that I just had to keep squashing
that was going, "Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!"
1225
01:05:02,400 --> 01:05:04,520
"Shit!" You know what I mean?" [laughs]
1226
01:05:04,600 --> 01:05:07,160
Because this little ego inside me
had had the master plan
1227
01:05:07,240 --> 01:05:09,880
for the four number one singles this year,
1228
01:05:09,960 --> 01:05:12,600
and it had all worked.
Everything was ready.
1229
01:05:14,040 --> 01:05:18,000
The final BBC top 20 of 1984.
1230
01:05:18,080 --> 01:05:21,000
Wham! with "Last Christmas,"
still at number two.
1231
01:05:21,080 --> 01:05:25,600
And at number one for the second week,
number one for Christmas, Band Aid.
1232
01:05:26,120 --> 01:05:28,920
♪ Feed the world... ♪
1233
01:05:29,000 --> 01:05:32,000
[Andrew] "Do They Know It's Christmas?"
became an absolutely monster hit.
1234
01:05:32,080 --> 01:05:33,800
♪ No rain or rivers flow... ♪
1235
01:05:33,880 --> 01:05:35,360
[Andrew] The world responded.
1236
01:05:35,440 --> 01:05:37,360
♪ Do they know it's... ♪
1237
01:05:37,440 --> 01:05:39,240
[host] Some good news
this morning from Wham!
1238
01:05:39,320 --> 01:05:41,640
Even though they're at number two,
haven't made number one,
1239
01:05:41,720 --> 01:05:45,760
they are donating all the royalties
of their record worldwide
1240
01:05:45,840 --> 01:05:47,280
to the Ethiopia fund,
1241
01:05:47,360 --> 01:05:49,200
so that's numbers one and two
1242
01:05:49,280 --> 01:05:51,760
totally in aid
of the Ethiopia famine fund.
1243
01:05:53,280 --> 01:05:55,840
[George] It was still a strange feeling
to drive home
1244
01:05:55,920 --> 01:05:57,880
'cause, you know,
with the best will in the world,
1245
01:05:57,920 --> 01:05:59,800
trying to be the greatest altruist
in the world,
1246
01:05:59,880 --> 01:06:03,400
and having given every penny
that "Last Christmas" has ever made
1247
01:06:03,480 --> 01:06:05,680
to African relief funds,
1248
01:06:06,560 --> 01:06:10,160
and that bastard little... little...
that bastard insecure little thing
1249
01:06:10,240 --> 01:06:13,200
that wanted his four number ones
that year, you know...
1250
01:06:14,720 --> 01:06:15,880
It's irrational
1251
01:06:16,640 --> 01:06:18,560
and comes from a place of fear.
1252
01:06:22,280 --> 01:06:25,080
[Andrew] Whilst I was happy
just being in a band,
1253
01:06:25,680 --> 01:06:27,080
George needed more.
1254
01:06:27,640 --> 01:06:30,800
He needed recognition.
That was what he wanted.
1255
01:06:32,400 --> 01:06:35,360
Affirmation of who he was.
1256
01:06:38,640 --> 01:06:40,720
[reporter] The award season continues.
1257
01:06:40,800 --> 01:06:42,880
The official Oscars of the music business
1258
01:06:42,960 --> 01:06:45,400
were presented at
the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.
1259
01:06:51,000 --> 01:06:53,520
[Elton John] Probably one
of the best songwriters out of Britain
1260
01:06:53,560 --> 01:06:54,920
for a long time.
1261
01:06:56,600 --> 01:06:57,600
And that's serious.
1262
01:06:57,640 --> 01:07:01,320
People tend to put Wham! down
as a teenybopper band that won't last.
1263
01:07:01,400 --> 01:07:03,736
The people that put them down
are the bands that won't last.
1264
01:07:03,760 --> 01:07:06,640
I'm experienced enough to know.
You can tell a great songwriter.
1265
01:07:06,720 --> 01:07:09,480
On stage, I compared him
to Barry Gibb, Paul McCartney,
1266
01:07:09,560 --> 01:07:11,400
John Lennon, people like that. Um...
1267
01:07:11,960 --> 01:07:15,480
[hesitates] He has got what
Bowie and I would've loved to have had
1268
01:07:15,560 --> 01:07:17,440
when we were 21, 22.
1269
01:07:17,520 --> 01:07:18,920
Um...
1270
01:07:19,000 --> 01:07:21,280
And I'm not talking about
performing on stage, records...
1271
01:07:21,360 --> 01:07:24,640
The man's a great songwriter,
and this award ceremony today,
1272
01:07:24,720 --> 01:07:25,960
it's about songwriting.
1273
01:07:26,040 --> 01:07:28,040
[applause]
1274
01:07:31,800 --> 01:07:34,360
[stirring instrumental music playing]
1275
01:07:37,120 --> 01:07:39,120
[whistling, applause]
1276
01:07:42,720 --> 01:07:45,840
[shakily] It's the most important thing
that I've ever received
1277
01:07:45,920 --> 01:07:47,720
and that's happened to me.
1278
01:07:48,440 --> 01:07:54,000
And, uh, I'd just like to say
thank you to BASCA
1279
01:07:54,080 --> 01:07:56,480
and thank you
to everyone who's bought our records
1280
01:07:56,560 --> 01:07:58,480
for the last couple of years. Thank you.
1281
01:07:58,560 --> 01:08:00,560
[applause, whistling]
1282
01:08:06,160 --> 01:08:08,840
[George] I was kind of in shock
that that had happened.
1283
01:08:09,360 --> 01:08:12,600
The idea of being in the same room
with famous people
1284
01:08:13,280 --> 01:08:17,720
that actually recognize you as a musician,
people like Elton John, you know...
1285
01:08:19,400 --> 01:08:22,320
It took me a long time
to get used to the idea.
1286
01:08:27,000 --> 01:08:29,720
["Freedom" playing]
1287
01:08:29,800 --> 01:08:31,720
[Andrew] Scrapbook 25.
1288
01:08:31,800 --> 01:08:32,840
China.
1289
01:08:35,400 --> 01:08:39,320
♪ Every day, I hear a different story ♪
1290
01:08:39,400 --> 01:08:42,920
♪ People saying
That you're no good for me ♪
1291
01:08:43,000 --> 01:08:44,560
♪ Saw your lover with another ♪
1292
01:08:44,640 --> 01:08:47,760
♪ And she's making a fool of you ♪
1293
01:08:47,840 --> 01:08:49,200
♪ Oh... ♪
1294
01:08:49,280 --> 01:08:52,160
It is indeed a rare privilege...
1295
01:08:52,240 --> 01:08:55,840
...to say that my partner, Andrew, and I
are deeply honored...
1296
01:08:55,920 --> 01:08:58,120
I'm not gonna be able
to read my own handwriting.
1297
01:08:58,200 --> 01:09:00,280
- [Andrew] Nothing new, is it?
- [George laughs]
1298
01:09:02,160 --> 01:09:04,800
[Andrew] Our manager, Simon,
proposed to us
1299
01:09:04,880 --> 01:09:06,800
that we do a couple of shows in China.
1300
01:09:08,040 --> 01:09:09,880
[George] And it was a very clever idea.
1301
01:09:10,920 --> 01:09:14,080
[Andrew] America was
really interested in Communist China.
1302
01:09:14,600 --> 01:09:17,040
As the first modern pop group ever to go...
1303
01:09:17,560 --> 01:09:20,160
My stupid partner and myself...
1304
01:09:20,240 --> 01:09:22,160
[Andrew] ...we'd attract global attention...
1305
01:09:22,240 --> 01:09:25,160
♪ I don't want your freedom... ♪
1306
01:09:25,240 --> 01:09:27,320
...and bust America open wide.
1307
01:09:27,400 --> 01:09:29,400
[laughs] Let's get down to truth here.
1308
01:09:29,480 --> 01:09:33,640
...are deeply flattered
and privileged by the invitation
1309
01:09:33,720 --> 01:09:36,960
to play in front
of the Chinese "pube-lic."
1310
01:09:37,040 --> 01:09:42,160
♪ I don't need your freedom ♪
1311
01:09:42,240 --> 01:09:46,000
♪ Girl, all I want right now is you ♪
1312
01:09:46,080 --> 01:09:48,080
♪ Do, do, do ♪
1313
01:09:49,600 --> 01:09:51,280
♪ Whoa, whoa, yeah ♪
1314
01:09:52,320 --> 01:09:55,040
[on cassette] ♪ You put the boom-boom
Into my heart ♪
1315
01:09:55,120 --> 01:09:58,640
♪ You send my soul sky high
When your loving starts ♪
1316
01:09:58,720 --> 01:10:01,000
- ♪ Jitterbug into my brain ♪
- ♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
1317
01:10:01,080 --> 01:10:04,040
♪ Goes a-bang-bang-bang
Till my feet do the same... ♪
1318
01:10:07,360 --> 01:10:10,960
[Andrew] Our idea was
to project fun, exuberance.
1319
01:10:11,040 --> 01:10:12,440
The values of Wham!.
1320
01:10:13,160 --> 01:10:17,400
Our band and Shirlie and Pepsi,
everyone was committed.
1321
01:10:17,480 --> 01:10:19,240
- [cheering]
- [music playing]
1322
01:10:19,320 --> 01:10:20,480
One, two, three...
1323
01:10:24,840 --> 01:10:28,320
♪ See me, single and free
No fears, no tears, what I want to be ♪
1324
01:10:28,400 --> 01:10:30,560
♪ One, two, take a look at you ♪
1325
01:10:30,640 --> 01:10:32,760
♪ Death by matrimony ♪
1326
01:10:34,160 --> 01:10:35,400
♪ Whoo! ♪
1327
01:10:39,520 --> 01:10:43,840
[reporter] In Peking last night,
it was a two-man cultural revolution.
1328
01:10:43,920 --> 01:10:47,240
On stage, the British pop duo called Wham!
1329
01:10:47,320 --> 01:10:52,080
in the first big-name Western rock concert
ever on mainland China.
1330
01:10:52,160 --> 01:10:54,720
[man] You won't be able to see
the person in New York
1331
01:10:54,800 --> 01:10:58,200
who's interviewing you,
but you'll be able to hear their audio.
1332
01:10:59,600 --> 01:11:01,160
[Northern accent] Look, we're on telly.
1333
01:11:01,240 --> 01:11:03,000
[jingle playing]
1334
01:11:03,080 --> 01:11:04,440
Wham! in China.
1335
01:11:08,240 --> 01:11:10,560
[reporter] Good morning, George.
Good morning, Andrew.
1336
01:11:10,640 --> 01:11:12,280
- Morning.
- Good evening, Phyllis.
1337
01:11:12,360 --> 01:11:15,280
[reporter] George, let's...
George is the blond,
1338
01:11:15,360 --> 01:11:17,440
and Andrew is the brunette.
1339
01:11:17,520 --> 01:11:19,640
I say this
because this is a first for you all.
1340
01:11:19,720 --> 01:11:24,120
Everybody's so excited
to have you all on our television here.
1341
01:11:24,200 --> 01:11:27,360
Andrew, he's just really never been called
a brunette here.
1342
01:11:27,880 --> 01:11:30,360
- Oh. [laughs]
- That's very flattering, Phyllis.
1343
01:11:30,440 --> 01:11:33,720
[reporter] Why do you think
that they allowed Wham! to perform there?
1344
01:11:33,800 --> 01:11:35,720
I think they see us as fairly safe
1345
01:11:35,800 --> 01:11:38,280
because we don't really represent
rock and roll.
1346
01:11:38,360 --> 01:11:41,760
We represent more, you know...
I don't know, show business, pop,
1347
01:11:41,840 --> 01:11:44,360
but the videos and the records,
1348
01:11:44,440 --> 01:11:46,440
which, after all,
is all they know about us,
1349
01:11:46,520 --> 01:11:49,720
haven't shown
any kind of real rock and roll,
1350
01:11:49,800 --> 01:11:52,040
sex and drugs angle, I suppose.
1351
01:11:52,120 --> 01:11:55,800
You're saying because of your clean cut,
wholesome image?
1352
01:11:55,880 --> 01:11:57,640
Yeah. Onstage, anyway.
1353
01:11:57,720 --> 01:12:00,400
[chuckles] Wait a minute.
What are you like offstage?
1354
01:12:00,480 --> 01:12:02,720
A lot of our viewers would like to know.
1355
01:12:03,400 --> 01:12:06,760
I'm sure they'd like to know.
We'll let them use their imaginations.
1356
01:12:06,840 --> 01:12:09,040
Okay. Thank you, George, Andrew.
You're terrific.
1357
01:12:09,120 --> 01:12:10,480
[George] That was all right.
1358
01:12:11,360 --> 01:12:12,200
[George grunts]
1359
01:12:12,280 --> 01:12:16,720
Right, let's go out on the town.
Pick up some birds. Do the business.
1360
01:12:16,800 --> 01:12:18,600
["I'm Your Man" playing]
1361
01:12:18,680 --> 01:12:19,880
[Andrew gasps]
1362
01:12:19,960 --> 01:12:21,480
- [George] Is that cold?
- Yeah.
1363
01:12:22,640 --> 01:12:24,640
Best air conditioning in, uh...
1364
01:12:26,960 --> 01:12:28,400
"Chinois."
1365
01:12:28,920 --> 01:12:33,240
♪ Baby, I'm your man ♪
1366
01:12:33,320 --> 01:12:36,040
[George] It really did
make that difference in America.
1367
01:12:36,120 --> 01:12:37,840
[Andrew] The press response was massive.
1368
01:12:37,920 --> 01:12:41,280
In Communist China,
Wham! prompted millions of new swingers.
1369
01:12:43,440 --> 01:12:48,200
Rock has come to China in concert form
to see the British rock group Wham!
1370
01:12:48,280 --> 01:12:49,440
♪ Do it right ♪
1371
01:12:49,520 --> 01:12:50,640
♪ Right, do it with me ♪
1372
01:12:50,720 --> 01:12:51,840
♪ If you're gonna do it... ♪
1373
01:12:51,920 --> 01:12:55,160
[Andrew] It did elevate our status
1374
01:12:55,240 --> 01:12:57,160
as a global phenomenon.
1375
01:12:57,240 --> 01:12:59,640
♪ So good, you're divine... ♪
1376
01:12:59,720 --> 01:13:03,240
[George] But at the same time,
I had this little voice inside going,
1377
01:13:04,120 --> 01:13:05,720
you know, "What am I gonna do?"
1378
01:13:06,600 --> 01:13:10,240
I was intelligent enough
to know that this was the wrong road.
1379
01:13:10,320 --> 01:13:11,880
If I was looking for happiness,
1380
01:13:11,960 --> 01:13:16,040
I should not be trying to catch up
with Michael Jackson
1381
01:13:16,120 --> 01:13:17,720
or Madonna or whatever,
1382
01:13:17,800 --> 01:13:20,400
which was absolutely
what I was intent on doing.
1383
01:13:21,560 --> 01:13:24,680
[Andrew] The character
that he was having to present
1384
01:13:24,760 --> 01:13:28,960
was so hard to reconcile
with what he needed emotionally.
1385
01:13:29,040 --> 01:13:32,120
[George] I wanna be able
to develop as a human being,
1386
01:13:32,800 --> 01:13:34,240
but I feel trapped.
1387
01:13:35,200 --> 01:13:37,000
[Andrew] His future as a solo artist
1388
01:13:37,080 --> 01:13:39,680
was dependent on Wham!
becoming as successful
1389
01:13:39,760 --> 01:13:42,000
as the likes of Prince or Elton.
1390
01:13:43,440 --> 01:13:47,360
[George] I don't think there's any way
I could've controlled my ego enough
1391
01:13:47,440 --> 01:13:50,360
to have stopped me
exploring the possibility
1392
01:13:50,440 --> 01:13:52,920
of being the biggest-selling artist
in the world.
1393
01:13:53,000 --> 01:13:55,120
- Andy!
- [camera clicks]
1394
01:13:55,200 --> 01:13:59,000
However distressing
I was beginning to find fame,
1395
01:14:00,240 --> 01:14:03,680
my ego couldn't possibly have been stopped
at that time.
1396
01:14:10,240 --> 01:14:11,480
[Andrew] After Band Aid,
1397
01:14:11,560 --> 01:14:16,080
a live event was conceived
called Live Aid. It was a global event.
1398
01:14:16,160 --> 01:14:19,440
Yog had been invited
to perform with Elton John.
1399
01:14:19,520 --> 01:14:22,680
[reporter] The show will be seen
by more than one billion people,
1400
01:14:22,760 --> 01:14:26,360
and some of the younger performers
may be a little nervous tomorrow.
1401
01:14:26,440 --> 01:14:28,280
I don't know anything
about the billion people.
1402
01:14:28,360 --> 01:14:31,880
It's gonna be difficult enough for me
there being 75,000 in front of me
1403
01:14:31,960 --> 01:14:35,160
because I've never played
in front of that many people.
1404
01:14:37,920 --> 01:14:39,720
[crowd cheering and whistling]
1405
01:14:39,800 --> 01:14:42,720
[Andrew] It was a chance
for him to shine globally.
1406
01:14:42,800 --> 01:14:44,960
[Elton John] Onstage, Mr. George Michael.
1407
01:14:45,040 --> 01:14:47,520
[Andrew] And the song
"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"
1408
01:14:47,600 --> 01:14:50,440
was stitched into George's musical DNA.
1409
01:14:51,480 --> 01:14:53,840
♪ But you misread... ♪
1410
01:14:55,520 --> 01:14:58,600
[George] I idolized Elton as a child,
1411
01:14:58,680 --> 01:15:00,920
and when I'm with him,
1412
01:15:01,000 --> 01:15:05,720
I get a little voice from a nine-year-old,
you know, "God, I can't believe I'm here!"
1413
01:15:05,800 --> 01:15:09,440
♪ Closed the door ♪
1414
01:15:10,120 --> 01:15:14,560
♪ And left me blinded ♪
1415
01:15:14,640 --> 01:15:17,280
♪ By the light... ♪
1416
01:15:17,360 --> 01:15:19,880
- Everyone!
- [crowd cheering]
1417
01:15:19,960 --> 01:15:25,200
♪ Don't let the sun go down on me, yeah ♪
1418
01:15:25,280 --> 01:15:26,880
♪ Don't let the sun ♪
1419
01:15:26,960 --> 01:15:29,400
♪ Although I search myself ♪
1420
01:15:29,480 --> 01:15:33,000
♪ It's always someone else I see... ♪
1421
01:15:33,600 --> 01:15:36,520
[Andrew] Yog suggested that I might do
some backing vocals.
1422
01:15:36,600 --> 01:15:38,600
♪ ...of your life ♪
1423
01:15:39,400 --> 01:15:40,600
♪ To wander free... ♪
1424
01:15:40,680 --> 01:15:43,760
[Andrew] It was nice to be invited,
but it was his moment.
1425
01:15:44,280 --> 01:15:46,160
♪ Yeah ♪
1426
01:15:47,320 --> 01:15:49,280
♪ But losing everything ♪
1427
01:15:50,200 --> 01:15:55,800
♪ Is like the sun going down on me... ♪
1428
01:15:55,880 --> 01:15:59,120
[Andrew] George was emerging
as an artist in his own right.
1429
01:16:00,680 --> 01:16:04,400
At Live Aid, more than a billion people
got to see that for themselves.
1430
01:16:04,480 --> 01:16:11,480
♪ Like the sun going down on me ♪
1431
01:16:11,560 --> 01:16:13,560
[crowd cheering]
1432
01:16:14,400 --> 01:16:19,480
[Andrew] And then the encore was bonkers
because everyone was up onstage.
1433
01:16:19,560 --> 01:16:21,400
♪ Throw your arms around the world... ♪
1434
01:16:21,480 --> 01:16:25,240
We were rubbing shoulders
with David Bowie and Freddie Mercury.
1435
01:16:26,160 --> 01:16:28,040
♪ But say a prayer ♪
1436
01:16:30,080 --> 01:16:33,440
♪ Pray for the other ones ♪
1437
01:16:33,520 --> 01:16:37,880
♪ At Christmastime, it's hard... ♪
1438
01:16:37,960 --> 01:16:40,040
[Andrew] It was a surreal experience...
1439
01:16:40,120 --> 01:16:42,720
- [George] Have you had fun?
- [crowd cheering]
1440
01:16:42,800 --> 01:16:43,800
♪ Well, tonight... ♪
1441
01:16:43,880 --> 01:16:46,800
[Andrew] ...with these absolute icons
of the industry.
1442
01:16:46,880 --> 01:16:49,200
♪ Instead of you... ♪
1443
01:16:49,280 --> 01:16:50,320
Everyone!
1444
01:16:51,080 --> 01:16:52,920
[Andrew] It was a huge step up.
1445
01:16:53,000 --> 01:16:54,480
[music fades]
1446
01:16:54,560 --> 01:16:56,400
But it was just the beginning.
1447
01:16:57,040 --> 01:16:59,000
♪ Ah! La, la la, la la ♪
1448
01:16:59,080 --> 01:17:00,720
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
1449
01:17:00,800 --> 01:17:02,160
♪ La, la la, la la ♪
1450
01:17:02,240 --> 01:17:05,320
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
1451
01:17:05,400 --> 01:17:06,960
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
1452
01:17:07,040 --> 01:17:08,400
♪ La, la la, la la ♪
1453
01:17:08,480 --> 01:17:11,200
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
1454
01:17:11,280 --> 01:17:13,240
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah... ♪
1455
01:17:14,280 --> 01:17:15,680
[reporter] Wham! fans young and old
1456
01:17:15,760 --> 01:17:18,760
came to see
George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley
1457
01:17:18,840 --> 01:17:20,040
for their current US tour.
1458
01:17:21,000 --> 01:17:23,640
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
1459
01:17:23,720 --> 01:17:25,200
♪ I would lock you up ♪
1460
01:17:25,280 --> 01:17:27,360
♪ But I could not bear
To hear you screaming... ♪
1461
01:17:27,440 --> 01:17:30,320
[Andrew] The US stadium tour,
Wham! America,
1462
01:17:31,040 --> 01:17:33,280
was a big risk.
1463
01:17:33,360 --> 01:17:36,560
♪ The only one that mattered
Was me, me, me... ♪
1464
01:17:36,640 --> 01:17:39,680
At that point, Wham! had never played
a stadium anywhere.
1465
01:17:41,360 --> 01:17:42,920
It was a big gamble.
1466
01:17:43,000 --> 01:17:46,000
♪ It's too late to stop
Won't the heavens save me? ♪
1467
01:17:46,080 --> 01:17:47,960
But it paid off.
1468
01:17:49,200 --> 01:17:52,240
♪ Take me to the edge of heaven ♪
1469
01:17:52,320 --> 01:17:53,760
♪ One last time might be... ♪
1470
01:17:53,840 --> 01:17:56,840
[reporter 1] The British duo
that's taken the pop world by storm.
1471
01:17:57,440 --> 01:18:00,800
[reporter 2] Racking up three
number-one records in the United States.
1472
01:18:01,960 --> 01:18:05,000
In America, they were so big.
1473
01:18:05,080 --> 01:18:06,000
[cheering]
1474
01:18:06,080 --> 01:18:10,600
And I looked, and I thought,
"God, they've all come to see my son."
1475
01:18:12,400 --> 01:18:15,880
Could have kissed him, hugged him,
cuddled him, squeezed him. You understand?
1476
01:18:15,960 --> 01:18:17,840
He made me a very, very proud man.
1477
01:18:18,680 --> 01:18:22,400
[reporter 3] No doubt about it.
Wham! did make it big in America.
1478
01:18:24,440 --> 01:18:26,440
I did a very big U-turn.
1479
01:18:28,040 --> 01:18:29,120
Well done, boy.
1480
01:18:29,200 --> 01:18:32,040
♪ Baby
I get excited at the things that you... ♪
1481
01:18:32,120 --> 01:18:33,920
[reporter 4] At what point did you realize
1482
01:18:34,000 --> 01:18:36,720
you were going to be
a major star in America?
1483
01:18:36,800 --> 01:18:37,920
[George chuckles]
1484
01:18:38,680 --> 01:18:42,000
[Andrew] It was proper superstar status.
1485
01:18:43,640 --> 01:18:45,400
We'd broken America.
1486
01:18:47,320 --> 01:18:49,560
- Good night! Thank you!
- [crowd cheering]
1487
01:18:50,240 --> 01:18:52,000
You've been brilliant! See you soon.
1488
01:18:52,080 --> 01:18:55,000
♪ Take me to the edge of heaven ♪
1489
01:18:55,080 --> 01:18:57,080
♪ One last time might be forever... ♪
1490
01:18:57,160 --> 01:18:58,000
[music fades]
1491
01:18:58,080 --> 01:19:02,520
[George] The success was so much more
than I had ever dreamed of.
1492
01:19:03,360 --> 01:19:05,360
[emotional music playing]
1493
01:19:05,440 --> 01:19:07,440
[Andrew] And so...
1494
01:19:09,480 --> 01:19:11,680
whilst we crisscrossed the States,
1495
01:19:12,920 --> 01:19:16,240
the questions were,
"Where do we go from here?"
1496
01:19:18,000 --> 01:19:21,760
[interviewer] You've made it bigger
than almost anybody this year.
1497
01:19:21,840 --> 01:19:24,160
How does it feel
right in the middle of it?
1498
01:19:24,240 --> 01:19:27,280
Does it feel like
it's the biggest thing in the whole world?
1499
01:19:27,360 --> 01:19:28,960
I think the, um...
1500
01:19:30,560 --> 01:19:35,560
the success in America over the last year,
although we've worked very hard for it,
1501
01:19:35,640 --> 01:19:38,520
I think it's actually been
the biggest surprise,
1502
01:19:38,600 --> 01:19:41,480
the actual speed of success,
that we've come across
1503
01:19:41,560 --> 01:19:44,440
during the three years
we've been in the business,
1504
01:19:45,840 --> 01:19:49,200
just in terms of I think that we do need
some time to actually sit back,
1505
01:19:49,280 --> 01:19:52,440
and I think we're just gonna move on,
do something different now, I think.
1506
01:19:55,320 --> 01:20:00,280
In reality, the turning point with Wham!
was nothing to do with Wham!.
1507
01:20:00,360 --> 01:20:02,680
[crowd screaming]
1508
01:20:02,760 --> 01:20:06,800
The turning point with Wham! was me
as I suddenly thought,
1509
01:20:07,760 --> 01:20:10,160
"Oh my God, I'm a massive star,
1510
01:20:10,720 --> 01:20:12,000
and I'm gay,"
1511
01:20:13,080 --> 01:20:17,440
and the depression was about that.
It was about the way I'd boxed myself in.
1512
01:20:18,400 --> 01:20:20,400
You know, careful what you wish for.
1513
01:20:23,560 --> 01:20:26,200
[Andrew] We had achieved everything
1514
01:20:27,040 --> 01:20:30,080
as that superstar band,
1515
01:20:31,080 --> 01:20:32,440
and we were growing up.
1516
01:20:33,920 --> 01:20:37,520
It got to a point
where I didn't want any more of it.
1517
01:20:38,520 --> 01:20:41,080
Are you jealous of his solo success?
1518
01:20:41,160 --> 01:20:42,920
Don't mention the solo stuff!
1519
01:20:43,000 --> 01:20:45,480
No, I feel I'm a big part of it, you know?
1520
01:20:45,560 --> 01:20:48,200
- What are you gonna do when it stops?
- What am I gonna do?
1521
01:20:48,280 --> 01:20:51,040
Hopefully, I'll retire with grace
or do something with grace.
1522
01:20:54,240 --> 01:20:56,080
[George] Because I'd come out to Andrew,
1523
01:20:56,160 --> 01:20:59,240
he understood
there was more than a band at stake.
1524
01:20:59,320 --> 01:21:00,880
It was kind of my sanity,
1525
01:21:02,120 --> 01:21:05,000
and he didn't put any pressure on me
to continue.
1526
01:21:08,680 --> 01:21:12,360
He already knew why I was feeling trapped.
1527
01:21:13,720 --> 01:21:16,520
How do you feel when George has a hit
that you're not in,
1528
01:21:16,600 --> 01:21:19,720
and when he does music with other artists?
1529
01:21:19,800 --> 01:21:21,760
- Do you feel left out?
- No, no. I think it's...
1530
01:21:21,840 --> 01:21:23,320
I think it's what he should be doing.
1531
01:21:23,360 --> 01:21:29,680
You know, it allows his own
artistic, um... creativity to expand,
1532
01:21:29,760 --> 01:21:31,240
you know, which you've got to do.
1533
01:21:31,320 --> 01:21:32,680
You're basically saying
1534
01:21:32,760 --> 01:21:35,680
is that if it works for George, fine,
and what works for you is fine.
1535
01:21:35,760 --> 01:21:36,600
Yeah.
1536
01:21:36,680 --> 01:21:38,920
There are occasionally rumors
that you two may separate,
1537
01:21:39,000 --> 01:21:41,800
go opposite directions.
Can you foresee such a time, Andrew?
1538
01:21:41,880 --> 01:21:44,040
- Such a time? There'll be a time, yeah.
- Mm.
1539
01:21:46,680 --> 01:21:49,840
[George] I think Andrew was
ready to finish because,
1540
01:21:49,920 --> 01:21:52,440
much as he understood his importance,
1541
01:21:52,520 --> 01:21:55,000
he... he was tired of being,
1542
01:21:55,080 --> 01:21:57,080
you know, taken potshots at
1543
01:21:57,160 --> 01:22:00,720
as the lucky guy that's kind of
coasted along with George Michael,
1544
01:22:00,800 --> 01:22:03,360
and I think, you know,
he was so much more than that.
1545
01:22:04,400 --> 01:22:06,120
[Andrew] Had to end at some point.
1546
01:22:07,480 --> 01:22:08,720
We... We both knew that.
1547
01:22:11,640 --> 01:22:14,240
[poignant music playing]
1548
01:22:17,160 --> 01:22:20,160
[reporter 1] Thousands of Wham! fans
spent the weekend queuing
1549
01:22:20,240 --> 01:22:23,040
to get tickets
for the pop duo's farewell concert.
1550
01:22:23,120 --> 01:22:26,920
[reporter 2] 25,000 fans
descended upon Wembley Stadium yesterday
1551
01:22:27,000 --> 01:22:29,760
in a bid to get tickets
for their farewell concert.
1552
01:22:30,760 --> 01:22:34,720
[Andrew] Performing one show was symbolic.
1553
01:22:34,800 --> 01:22:38,200
There could only be one final show.
1554
01:22:38,920 --> 01:22:42,160
[reporter 2] Tickets are expected
to be sold out within hours.
1555
01:22:42,720 --> 01:22:44,760
[George laughs]
1556
01:22:44,840 --> 01:22:46,600
I'm sitting next to Wham!
1557
01:22:47,240 --> 01:22:48,480
[George] Here we are.
1558
01:22:48,560 --> 01:22:51,520
"The legend that is George Michael,"
you're supposed to say.
1559
01:22:51,600 --> 01:22:54,880
Yeah. I'm sitting next to the legend
that is George Michael.
1560
01:22:54,960 --> 01:22:56,000
And his friend.
1561
01:22:57,520 --> 01:22:58,520
Former partner.
1562
01:22:59,640 --> 01:23:03,320
[Paula Yates] And do you think you'll be
very sad on the last concert?
1563
01:23:03,400 --> 01:23:04,840
Or do you think it'll be jolly?
1564
01:23:04,920 --> 01:23:06,480
- I think it'll be...
- [Andrew] Happy.
1565
01:23:06,560 --> 01:23:08,600
[George] I think it'll be a bit of both.
1566
01:23:08,680 --> 01:23:11,360
I think it'll be
probably the best concert we've ever done,
1567
01:23:11,440 --> 01:23:13,720
and I think it'll be rather sad
that it's the last.
1568
01:23:13,800 --> 01:23:17,320
- [Andrew] Disappointing if it isn't.
- Mm. Let's pray that it's a nice day.
1569
01:23:17,400 --> 01:23:19,920
Let's all keep our fingers crossed
that the sun shines,
1570
01:23:20,000 --> 01:23:23,680
God smiles upon us,
and Wham! ends as it began,
1571
01:23:23,760 --> 01:23:25,080
with a smile on its face.
1572
01:23:25,160 --> 01:23:26,320
[Andrew] Fantastic ending.
1573
01:23:27,600 --> 01:23:29,880
- I love you.
- [Paula Yates] Tore at my heartstrings.
1574
01:23:29,960 --> 01:23:31,000
[George sniffles]
1575
01:23:31,080 --> 01:23:33,080
[crowd cheering]
1576
01:23:37,120 --> 01:23:41,440
We want Wham!! We want Wham!!
We want Wham!! We want Wham!!
1577
01:23:41,520 --> 01:23:43,520
[chanting continues]
1578
01:23:46,440 --> 01:23:48,400
[chanting continues]
1579
01:23:56,720 --> 01:24:00,320
[reporter] Andrew, George, ITN.
What's it like to play your last concert?
1580
01:24:00,400 --> 01:24:02,520
- We're excited.
- We'll let you know afterwards.
1581
01:24:02,600 --> 01:24:04,480
- Yeah!
- [reporter] Any regrets?
1582
01:24:04,560 --> 01:24:06,960
None whatsoever.
Huge thank you to everyone...
1583
01:24:07,040 --> 01:24:09,920
Not only today,
but for the last four years.
1584
01:24:10,520 --> 01:24:11,576
- All right.
- Thanks a lot.
1585
01:24:11,600 --> 01:24:12,600
Cheers.
1586
01:24:15,080 --> 01:24:17,880
[crowd chanting]
1587
01:24:22,920 --> 01:24:24,840
["Everything She Wants" playing]
1588
01:24:24,920 --> 01:24:26,600
[crowd cheering, whistling]
1589
01:24:28,480 --> 01:24:30,480
[crowd screaming]
1590
01:24:43,600 --> 01:24:45,600
[crowd screaming]
1591
01:24:57,720 --> 01:24:59,680
One, two, three, go!
1592
01:25:02,720 --> 01:25:03,920
♪ Whoo! ♪
1593
01:25:04,000 --> 01:25:05,480
[George] I was very proud.
1594
01:25:05,560 --> 01:25:07,240
I was very proud that day.
1595
01:25:07,320 --> 01:25:08,440
♪ Yeah ♪
1596
01:25:08,960 --> 01:25:11,680
[Andrew] And so we played the hits
one more time.
1597
01:25:12,200 --> 01:25:13,280
Good evening!
1598
01:25:13,800 --> 01:25:15,440
[crowd cheering]
1599
01:25:15,520 --> 01:25:17,400
This is "Club Tropicana."
1600
01:25:17,480 --> 01:25:18,560
[crowd screaming]
1601
01:25:18,640 --> 01:25:20,880
["Club Tropicana" playing]
1602
01:25:25,480 --> 01:25:29,040
Ladies and gentlemen, Pepsi and Shirlie!
1603
01:25:29,120 --> 01:25:31,120
["Bad Boys" playing]
1604
01:25:32,640 --> 01:25:34,440
♪ Dear Mummy, dear Daddy ♪
1605
01:25:34,520 --> 01:25:36,120
♪ Now I'm 19 ♪
1606
01:25:36,200 --> 01:25:39,240
♪ Oh yeah, I was your only son... ♪
1607
01:25:39,320 --> 01:25:40,720
[George] By the end of it,
1608
01:25:41,360 --> 01:25:44,880
I had no doubt that I could become
1609
01:25:45,800 --> 01:25:48,920
an international solo success.
1610
01:25:49,000 --> 01:25:51,000
[crowd cheering]
1611
01:25:52,520 --> 01:25:55,640
This one is called
"Wake Me Up Before You..."
1612
01:25:55,720 --> 01:25:57,320
[crowd] Go-Go!
1613
01:26:00,200 --> 01:26:02,160
["Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" playing]
1614
01:26:02,240 --> 01:26:05,160
[Andrew] By the time
we stepped out on that stage,
1615
01:26:05,760 --> 01:26:09,240
the second incarnation
was almost complete.
1616
01:26:10,600 --> 01:26:11,840
Yog
1617
01:26:12,640 --> 01:26:16,640
has become the artist
that he was destined to be.
1618
01:26:17,680 --> 01:26:19,320
["Freedom" playing]
1619
01:26:19,400 --> 01:26:21,720
♪ And you do... ♪
1620
01:26:21,800 --> 01:26:23,480
One more time!
1621
01:26:23,560 --> 01:26:26,680
♪ I don't want your freedom ♪
1622
01:26:26,760 --> 01:26:29,440
♪ I don't want to play around ♪
1623
01:26:30,080 --> 01:26:33,440
♪ I don't want nobody, baby ♪
1624
01:26:33,520 --> 01:26:36,560
♪ Part-time love just brings me down ♪
1625
01:26:38,760 --> 01:26:40,280
♪ Do, do, do ♪
1626
01:26:42,080 --> 01:26:43,760
[crowd] ♪ Whoa, whoa, yeah! ♪
1627
01:26:45,120 --> 01:26:47,600
♪ Do, do, do, do, do, do ♪
1628
01:26:47,680 --> 01:26:49,680
♪ Oh, oh ♪
1629
01:26:51,560 --> 01:26:57,760
♪ Whoa! ♪
1630
01:27:00,880 --> 01:27:03,200
- [song ends]
- [crowd cheering, whistling]
1631
01:27:04,360 --> 01:27:07,200
Thank you very much!
Good night! You've been brilliant!
1632
01:27:08,360 --> 01:27:09,560
[cheering fades]
1633
01:27:09,640 --> 01:27:12,960
[George] There was
this overwhelming feeling of pride
1634
01:27:14,080 --> 01:27:17,920
that we had made such an impression
in four years.
1635
01:27:19,120 --> 01:27:22,080
[Andrew] To see that
an awful lot of the people that were there
1636
01:27:22,160 --> 01:27:27,600
were there because Wham! represented
that part of their youth to them.
1637
01:27:29,400 --> 01:27:33,960
Wham! was never gonna be middle-aged
or be anything other than that
1638
01:27:35,560 --> 01:27:39,440
essential and pure representation
of us as youths.
1639
01:27:40,720 --> 01:27:43,160
[poignant instrumental music playing]
1640
01:27:43,240 --> 01:27:45,560
We all wake up
in the middle of our dreams.
1641
01:27:46,760 --> 01:27:48,960
Suddenly, it's not there.
1642
01:27:52,360 --> 01:27:56,880
Wham! as us, as what we were together,
1643
01:27:58,320 --> 01:27:59,960
was at an end.
1644
01:28:03,280 --> 01:28:07,080
[George] If I was gonna go to the place
that I believed I was about to go to,
1645
01:28:07,800 --> 01:28:12,800
there was no way that we could hang out
in the way that we had always done.
1646
01:28:12,880 --> 01:28:16,040
There was just no way.
It would've been too difficult for Andrew.
1647
01:28:17,320 --> 01:28:19,880
So it was a sad day in some ways.
1648
01:28:21,320 --> 01:28:23,000
It was the end of something.
1649
01:28:28,360 --> 01:28:32,520
Thank you, everyone, for coming tonight.
Thank you, George.
1650
01:28:32,600 --> 01:28:37,640
George embraced me and said,
"I couldn't have done it without you."
1651
01:28:39,200 --> 01:28:41,920
It said everything
that he needed to say to me.
1652
01:28:42,920 --> 01:28:44,080
The fact that we'd,
1653
01:28:44,640 --> 01:28:49,880
you know, we'd achieved
such huge success together.
1654
01:28:52,160 --> 01:28:54,360
You know, what our friendship represented.
1655
01:28:56,920 --> 01:29:01,160
[George] We were gonna be separate,
when we hadn't been since we were...
1656
01:29:01,240 --> 01:29:02,960
since we were kids.
1657
01:29:05,280 --> 01:29:07,080
[Andrew] I was happy for my friend.
1658
01:29:08,840 --> 01:29:10,840
He stood on the cusp of greatness.
1659
01:29:12,760 --> 01:29:16,840
But I didn't know
what being George Michael truly meant.
1660
01:29:19,520 --> 01:29:20,840
[George] I was on my own.
1661
01:29:25,520 --> 01:29:29,880
And I had no idea
how much I was gonna miss that support.
1662
01:29:31,600 --> 01:29:35,960
And I would always remember this journey.
1663
01:29:38,280 --> 01:29:41,320
Absolutely beautiful and happy, you know.
1664
01:29:42,720 --> 01:29:43,720
Wham!.
1665
01:29:44,520 --> 01:29:45,880
["I'm Your Man" playing]
1666
01:29:45,960 --> 01:29:47,640
♪ Oh! ♪
1667
01:30:06,080 --> 01:30:07,840
♪ Call me good ♪
1668
01:30:07,920 --> 01:30:09,000
♪ Call me bad ♪
1669
01:30:09,800 --> 01:30:13,240
♪ Call me anything you want to, baby ♪
1670
01:30:13,320 --> 01:30:15,080
♪ But I know, uh-huh ♪
1671
01:30:15,160 --> 01:30:16,360
♪ That you're sad ♪
1672
01:30:17,280 --> 01:30:21,280
♪ And I know I'll make you happy
With the one thing that you never had ♪
1673
01:30:21,360 --> 01:30:25,400
♪ Baby, I'm your man ♪
1674
01:30:26,520 --> 01:30:28,440
♪ Don't you know that ♪
1675
01:30:28,520 --> 01:30:34,120
♪ Baby, I'm your man ♪
1676
01:30:34,960 --> 01:30:35,800
♪ You bet ♪
1677
01:30:35,880 --> 01:30:38,320
♪ If you're gonna do it, do it right ♪
1678
01:30:38,400 --> 01:30:39,440
♪ Right, do it with me ♪
1679
01:30:39,520 --> 01:30:41,680
♪ If you're gonna do it, do it right ♪
1680
01:30:41,760 --> 01:30:43,280
♪ Right, do it with me ♪
1681
01:30:43,360 --> 01:30:45,040
♪ If you're gonna do it, do it right ♪
1682
01:30:45,120 --> 01:30:46,840
♪ Right, do it with me ♪
1683
01:30:46,920 --> 01:30:49,040
♪ If you're gonna do it, do it right ♪
1684
01:30:49,120 --> 01:30:49,960
♪ Right, do it with me ♪
1685
01:30:50,040 --> 01:30:53,120
♪ So good, you're divine ♪
1686
01:30:53,800 --> 01:30:55,200
♪ Wanna take you, wanna make you ♪
1687
01:30:55,280 --> 01:30:57,760
♪ But they tell me it's a crime, oh ♪
1688
01:30:57,840 --> 01:31:00,640
♪ Everybody knows
Where the good people go ♪
1689
01:31:00,720 --> 01:31:02,920
♪ But where we're going, baby ♪
1690
01:31:03,000 --> 01:31:04,920
♪ Ain't no such word as no ♪
1691
01:31:05,000 --> 01:31:09,920
♪ Baby, I'm your man ♪
1692
01:31:10,000 --> 01:31:12,280
♪ Don't you know who I am ♪
1693
01:31:12,360 --> 01:31:18,000
♪ Baby, I'm your man ♪
1694
01:31:18,080 --> 01:31:19,640
♪ You know, you bet ♪
1695
01:31:19,720 --> 01:31:21,760
♪ If you're gonna do it, do it right ♪
1696
01:31:21,840 --> 01:31:23,840
- ♪ Right, do it with me ♪
- ♪ Come on, baby ♪
1697
01:31:23,920 --> 01:31:27,240
- ♪ If you're gonna do it, do it right ♪
- ♪ Yeah, ooh, take me home ♪
1698
01:31:27,320 --> 01:31:32,640
- ♪ If you're gonna do it, do it right ♪
- ♪ Please don't leave me here ♪
1699
01:31:32,720 --> 01:31:34,520
♪ To do it on my own ♪
1700
01:31:34,600 --> 01:31:36,360
♪ First-class information ♪
1701
01:31:37,280 --> 01:31:41,000
♪ And you sense your inspiration ♪
1702
01:31:41,080 --> 01:31:44,000
♪ With some stimulation ♪
1703
01:31:44,640 --> 01:31:46,280
♪ Ooh, yeah ♪
1704
01:31:46,360 --> 01:31:49,120
♪ Do it right, oh... ♪