Wham! Members
Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling more than 30 million certified records worldwide from 1982 to 1986. Influenced by funk and soul music and presenting themselves as disaffected youth, Wham!'s 1983 debut album ''Fantastic'' addressed the United Kingdom's unemployment problem and teen angst over adulthood. Their second studio album ''Make It Big'' in 1984 was a worldwide pop smash hit, charting at number one in both the UK and the United States. Associated with the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US, the singles from the album—"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", "Everything She Wants" and "Careless Whisper"—all topped the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 1985, Wham! made a highly publicised 10-day visit to China, the first by a Western pop group. The event was seen as a maj ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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George Michael
George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musicians of all time, with sales of over 120 million records worldwide. Michael was known as a leading creative force in music production, songwriting, vocal performance, and visual presentation. He achieved seven number-one songs on the UK Singles Chart and eight number-one songs on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Michael won numerous music awards, including two Grammy Awards, three Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, twelve ''Billboard'' Music Awards, and four MTV Video Music Awards. In 2015, he was ranked 45th in '' Billboard''s list of the "Greatest Hot 100 Artists of All Time". The Radio Academy named him the most played artist on British radio during the period 1984–2004. [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Everything She Wants
"Everything She Wants" is a song by British pop duo Wham!, originally released as a single in 1984 on Epic Records on a double A-side with "Last Christmas". It was written and produced by George Michael, one half of the duo, becoming their third consecutive million-selling number-one hit in the United States. Origin Writing Like most other Wham! songs from this period, it was written by George Michael. He discussed in the Fall 1985 issue of ASCAP In Action: Michael elaborated on the song's lyrics and the meaning behind them in Dick Clark's Countdown radio show: Recording "Everything She Wants" was recorded in August 1984 at Marcadet Studios in Paris using a 3M 32-track recorder and was most likely finished off at Sarm West’s Studio 2 in London after most of ''Make It Big'' had been finished at Studio Miraval in southeastern France over a period of six weeks. [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shirlie Holliman
Shirlie Kemp (née Holliman; born 18 April 1962) is an English singer, who found fame in the 1980s with Wham! and as part of the duo Pepsi & Shirlie. Early years Shirlie Holliman was child four of five born to Arthur and Margaret Holliman and raised on a council estate in Bushey, near Watford, Hertfordshire. Holliman intended to train as a horse riding instructor, but after she developed hay fever at age 18 and with nothing else to do, her then boyfriend Andrew Ridgeley suggested she come and dance while he and his friend George Michael's band played a local gig. Music career Holliman was never a band member of what became Wham! but, like her friend Dee C. Lee, was paid on a per performance basis as a backing singer, and continued to live with her parents. After Lee left to join the Style Council and later marry its lead singer Paul Weller, she was replaced by "Pepsi" DeMacque, and this duo performed on all the Wham! songs and concerts. As George Michael desired to create mus ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Top Of The Pops
''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its history, it was broadcast on Thursday evenings on BBC One. Each show consisted of performances of some of the week's best-selling popular music records, usually excluding any tracks moving down the chart, including a rundown of that week's singles chart. This was originally the Top 20, though this varied throughout the show's history. The Top 30 was used from 1969, and the Top 40 from 1984. Dusty Springfield's "I Only Want to Be with You" was the first song featured on ''TOTP'', while the Rolling Stones were the first band to perform, with "I Wanna Be Your Man". Snow Patrol were the last act to play live on the weekly show when they performed their single "Chasing Cars". Special editions were broadcast on Christmas Day ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Young Guns (Go For It)
"Young Guns (Go for It)" (also listed as "Young Guns (Go for It!)" on some releases) is a song by English pop duo Wham! first released as a single in the UK by Innervision Records in October 1982. It was written and co-produced by George Michael, of the duo. The song was Wham!'s first hit, achieved with help from the BBC music programme ''Top of the Pops'', which invited Wham! on to the show as a last-minute replacement for another act which had pulled out. The producer of ''Top of the Pops'' Michael Hurll, had seen them on another programme, ''Saturday Superstore''.Bare by George Michael and Tony Parsons, Penguin Books, 1991. Page 83 Composition George Michael wrote the song about a teenage boy's worry that his best friend was getting too committed to a girl when he should have been enjoying his youth and the single life. It featured a middle eight aside in which the girl conversely tried to get her boyfriend to ditch the best friend, prompting a vocal battle, akin to a tug of w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Club Tropicana
"Club Tropicana" is a song by English pop duo Wham!, released in 1983 on Innervision Records. It was written by members George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. History "Club Tropicana" was written in 1981 in Ridgeley's living room, before the band or bandname had been fully established, and was the second Wham! song they came up with after the initial "Wham Rap!". Although only half finished at the time of recording, it became one of the three home demos hastily made on a hired porta-studio which led to their first record contract with Innervision Records. The initial song inspiration came from their excitement over the glamour and escapism of the then burgeoning New Romantic club scene, and George, Andrew and Shirlie's occasional visits to one such club in London, Le Beat Route. The song's lyrical theme was then expanded to also include the hedonism of summery Club 18-30 holidays, whilst musically fusing a Latin jazz rhythm with a groove inspired by the Gap Band's " Burn Rubber o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)
"Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)" is the debut single by English pop duo Wham! on Innervision Records, released in June 1982. It was written by Wham! members George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. History Wham Rap! was the first song written by Michael and Ridgeley following the breakup of their previous band, The Executive, but before they had officially formed (or named) Wham! The genesis of the song began in 1981 and was a result of Ridgeley making up his own words ("Wham! ''Bam!'' I am the man!") while dancing to "Rapper's Delight" with Michael and Shirley in Bogart's nightclub in South Harrow. As they continued to work on the song an ultimatum to Michael from his father inspired the line "Get yourself a job or get out of this house". A demo of Wham Rap! was recorded by local music producer Paul Mex, in January 1982 along with Club Tropicana and Careless Whisper on Mex's TEAC 4-track Portastudio, with the resulting 3 song demo-tape gaining Wham! their record contract with Innervisi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stylorouge
Stylorouge is a graphic design studio based in Yalding, Kent, formed in London by creative director Rob O'Connor in 1981. Art work created by the studio has included record sleeve designs for bands such as Siouxsie and the Banshees for their 1981's '' Once Upon a Time: The Singles'' compilation vinyl which was certified gold, Enya, Blur (it designed the band's first logo, and was still working with them in 2013), The Cure, Gary Glitter, Morrissey, The Sisters of Mercy, Stereophonics, Killing Joke, Sandie Shaw, Adam Ant, Catatonia, Jesus Jones, Squeeze, Crowded House, Dr John, Simple Minds, Sarah Brightman and Menswear. It was also responsible for the design and art direction of the original posters for the British film ''Trainspotting'', dubbed "some of the most iconic and memorable ilm postersof all time", and which inspired the poster by PolyGram for the sequel, ''Trainspotting 2''. The studio was also credited with adding the exclamation point to the name of then teenage band ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and breweries. While industry has declined in Watford, its location near London and transport links has attracted several companies to site their headquarters in the town. Cassiobury Park is a public park that was once the manor estate of the Earls of Essex. The town developed next to the River Colne on land belonging to St Albans Abbey. In the 12th century, a charter was granted allowing a market, and the building of St Mary's Church began. The town grew partly due to travellers going to Berkhamsted Castle and the royal palace at Kings Langley. A mansion was built at Cassiobury in the 16th century. This was partly rebuilt in the 17th century and another country house was built at The Grove. The Grand Junction Canal in 1798 and th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bushey Meads School
Bushey Meads School (also known as "BMS") is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in Bushey, Hertfordshire, England. The school forms part of the Bushey St James Trust, in partnership with Little Reddings Primary School and Hartsbourne Primary School. History The school was founded in 1957 as Bushey Secondary Modern School with a building designed for 636 pupils. In 1998 Dr Dena Coleman became the head teacher at Bushey Meads School. The school had a budget of about £3m and it had over 1,000 secondary and sixth form pupils. It had become grant-maintained to balance its budgets but money was tight. The school suffered from small classrooms. Coleman was head of the school until 2005. The school celebrated its 50th anniversary by taking a major role in the annual ''Bushey Carnival'' in 2007, basing some events on the history and successes of the school. The name Bushey Meads derives from the original surrounding area. The site where the s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Final (concert)
The Final was the farewell concert by English musical duo Wham! It was held at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 28 June 1986. A total of 72,000 people attended the event, which included support artists and special guests, such as Elton John and Simon Le Bon . The concert was preceded by the release of the greatest hits album of the same name. Background Wham! had announced their breakup in 1986. During late February Michael was a guest on the talk show ''Aspel & Company'', he announced that Wham! were to break-up and were to perform one last show. During production rehearsals for the Wembley concert, Wham! performed two warm-up shows in aid of Capital radio’s “Help a London Child” charity on 23 and 24 June at the Brixton Academy in London. 2-15 July 1986. Smash Hits. Publisher EMAP Metro. Retrieved 14 November 2019 In an interview in October 2019, Ridgeley said that the concert was unlikely to be released stating “I would love that to happen, but it was never act ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Final (album)
''The Final'' is a greatest hits album released in 1986 to summarize the career of British pop duo Wham!. The album was not initially released in North America, where an album entitled ''Music from the Edge of Heaven'' was released instead. Six songs from that album appear on this compilation. The compilation album was followed by the farewell concert of the same name on 28 June 1986, at Wembley Stadium. The CD edition omits "Blue (Armed with Love)" and the extended mixes. A deluxe edition of the album was released on CD/DVD and download in November 2011, with the DVD featuring all of Wham!'s music videos, including the video for " Young Guns (Go for It!)", "Last Christmas", and a remix version of the video for "Everything She Wants". It follows the track listing of the CD, with the exception of "Battlestations", as it was a B-side and not an official single. Background When George Michael guested on the ''Aspel & Company'' talk show on 1 March 1986, he announced that Wham! wer ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |