''Son of Albert'' is the only studio album by

Andrew Ridgeley Andrew John Ridgeley (born 26 January 1963) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer, best known for his work in the 1980s in the musical duo Wham!. Early life Ridgeley was born in Windlesham, Surrey, England, to parents ...

. Originally released in May 1990, Ridgeley's effort was a sharp turn away from his former pop image with

Wham! 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 ...

years earlier. Focusing more on guitars and drums, the critical reaction to Ridgeley's attempt at a solo record was mixed. After rather unimpressive sales from ''Son of Albert'', Ridgeley gradually quit playing music professionally. Two singles from the album, "Red Dress" and "Shake", were released in 1990 with little success (with the exception of a top twenty hit in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

for the latter). Another song, "Mexico", was scheduled to be released as the album's third single, but was dropped."Mexico" Song Information
Ridgeley's album is named after himself, as the son of Albert Ridgeley.AndrewRidgeley.com (UK)
/ref> In January 2018, a remastered and expanded edition of the album was released in the UK on

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as well ...

Reception

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'' praised the instrumental "verve" of the songs, but criticized them for lacking conviction: "Ridgeley seems to have redefined himself as a kick-in-the-pants rock & roller, but his songs still come out sounding like manufactured pop."

Track listing

All songs arranged and produced by Andrew Ridgeley and Gary Bromham, unless noted otherwise. The 2018 Expanded Edition includes the original album tracks from the vinyl, CD, and Cassette release, plus extra bonus tracks.ANDREW RIDGELEY: SON OF ALBERT, SPECIAL EXPANDED EDITION
- Cherry Red Records

Personnel

Musicians

* Andrew Ridgeley – lead vocals, additional vocals, Spanish vocals on "Mexico", voice box * Mary Cassidy, Lauren Fownes,

Brie Howard Brie Howard-Darling (also known and credited as Brie Darling, Brie Howard, Brie Brandt, and Brie Berry) is an American drummer, singer, percussionist, songwriter, artist, cake designer, and actress of Filipino and European descent. She has recor ...

, Miss Johnny,

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 musici ...

(on "Red Dress"),

Tessa Niles Tessa Margaret Niles ( ''née'' Webb; born 27 January 1961 in Ilford, Essex) is an English singer, best known as a backing singer for a wide variety of contemporary artists. She began her professional singing career in 1979. Early life and ca ...

– additional vocals * Gary Bromham,

Dan McCafferty William Daniel McCafferty (14 October 1946 – 8 November 2022) was a vocalist and songwriter best known as the lead singer for the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth from its founding in 1968 to his retirement from touring with the band in 2013. ...

, Mark "Bobby" Robinson – Spanish vocals on "Mexico" * Robert Ahwai, Gary Bromham,

Phil Palmer Philip John Palmer (born 9 September 1952) is a rock sideman and session guitarist who has toured, recorded, and worked with numerous artists. He is best known for his work with Eric Clapton and Dire Straits. Biography Palmer grew up in nort ...

– guitars * Tony Barnard, Michael Cozzi – acoustic and electric guitars *

Hugh Burns Hugh Burns (born 13 December 1965) is a Scottish former professional football player who is best known for his time with Rangers and Kilmarnock. Club career Burns began his career with Cambuslang Rangers before joining Rangers. Whilst at I ...

– Spanish guitar on "Mexico", acoustic and electric guitars * Gary Masters – keyboards * Mark Feltham – harmonica * Graham Edwards,

Deon Estus Jeffery Deon Estus (July 4, 1956 – October 11, 2021) was an American musician and singer, best known as the bass player of Wham! and as the bassist on George Michael's first two solo projects. Estus' single "Heaven Help Me", with additional ...

Davey Faragher David Allen "Davey" Faragher (born August 18, 1957) is an American bass guitarist from Redlands, California. Faragher's career took off and received critical notice as a founding member of the nineties band Cracker, and his subsequent work wit ...

, Jerry Ferguson, Paul Gray – bass *

Danny Thompson Daniel Henry Edward Thompson (born 4 April 1939) is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist. He has had a long musical career playing with a large variety of other musicians, particularly Richard Thompson and John Mart ...

– Spanish vocals on "Mexico", electric bass, double bass * Gary Bromham,

Pat Torpey Patrick Allan Torpey (December 13, 1953 – February 7, 2018) was an American drummer and singer, best known as the drummer and backing vocalist for the rock band Mr. Big. As well as playing for other various singers and artists such as; John ...

, Paul Ridgeley – drums * Laurence Cottell, Dave O'Higgins, Paul Spong – horns * Danny Cummings – percussion * Richard Gibbs – voice box

Production

* Engineered by Harvey Birrell, Jacques Erhardt, Gordon Fordyce, Paul Gomersall, Martyn "Max" Heyes, Russell Leahy, Gary Wilkinson, and Perry Cleveland-Peck * Mixed at Amazon Studios,

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

; Comforts Place, Lingfield;

Mayfair Studios Mayfair Recording Studios, earlier called Spot Studios or Ryemuse Studios, was a recording studio in London, England, located in Mayfair from the 1960s to 1981, then in Primrose Hill from 1981 until it closed in 2008. In the early years the studio ...

, London, and

Olympic Studios Olympic Studios was a renowned British independent commercial recording studio based in Barnes, London. It is best known for its recordings of many artists throughout the late 1960s to the first decade of the 21st century, including Jimi Hendr ...

, London * Mixed by Paul Gomersall, Martyn "Max" Heyes, and Tim Weidener * Photography by Julian Broad * Album design by Andrew Ridgeley and Simon Halfon * Management: Lippman Kahane Entertainment * Recorded at Comforts Place, Lingfield; Compass Point,

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

; Eden Studios,

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

; EMI/Pathé Studios,

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

; Galaxy Sound Studio,

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; Ground Control, Los Angeles; Great Linford Studios, Great Linford; Maison Rouge, London; Mayfair Studios, London; Olympic Studios, London; Terminal 24, London, and Skylight Studios, London

Chart performance

Album

"Shake" single

References

{{Authority control 1990 debut albums Andrew Ridgeley albums Columbia Records albums