"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" is a song by the English duo
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 ...
, first released as a single in the UK on 14 May 1984. It became their first UK and US number one hit. It was written and produced by
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 ...
. The single was certified
platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Platinu ...
in the US, which at the time commemorated sales of over two million copies. The music video features Michael and Ridgeley wearing
oversized message T-shirts ("CHOOSE LIFE") created by
Katharine Hamnett
Katharine E. Hamnett (born 16 August 1947, in Gravesend, Kent) is an English fashion designer best known for her political T-shirts.
Early life
Hamnett was born on 16 August 1947, the daughter of James Appleton, a group captain. She attende ...
, starting a craze covered in the 2002 VH1 series ''
I Love the 80s''.
The song was ranked number 28 on
VH1
VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...
's 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s.
History
Michael's inspiration for the song was a scribbled note that his bandmate
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 ...
had left for his parents, intended to read "wake me up before you go" but with "up" accidentally written twice, so Ridgeley wrote "go" twice on purpose.
In 1984, George Michael had this to say on the development of the song:
It was recorded within two days at
Sarm West Studio 2 in London, with a live rhythm section.
[ The song, according to Michael, had been done in one take without any drop-ins (overdubs) at all - production-wise, he noted that the two options to him were "either to be like ]Trevor Horn
Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English music producer, label and recording studio owner, musician and composer. He is best known for his production work in the 1980s, and for being one half of the new wave band The Buggles (wit ...
and go for stunning sounds on your own, or just get a great sound on each instrument and go for a live take".
The UK sleeve was designed by Peter Saville, with photography by Trevor Key
Trevor ( Trefor in the Welsh language) is a common given name or surname of Welsh origin. It is an habitational name, deriving from the Welsh ''tre(f)'', meaning "homestead", or "settlement" and ''fawr'', meaning "large, big". The Cornish lan ...
.
Reception
''Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' said that "the Motown groove and patent vocals of 'Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go' are perfect CHR material which is executed expertly by this British duo."
The song entered the UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
at number four – after much hype from the duo claiming they would go straight in at number one, which was a rare occurrence then – and climbed to the top spot seven days later, staying there for two weeks. The song also went to the top of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States, holding the top spot for three weeks.
Music video
The music video for the song was directed by Andy Morahan
Andrew Douglas Morahan (born 11 August 1958) is a British commercial, film and music video director. He is the son of director Christopher Morahan and the half-brother of actress Hattie Morahan.
Married to Joanna Lewis, he has two children.
Vi ...
. It showcases the band performing for an audience of mostly teenagers at Brixton Academy
Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Wes ...
in South London. The band was wearing Katharine Hamnett
Katharine E. Hamnett (born 16 August 1947, in Gravesend, Kent) is an English fashion designer best known for her political T-shirts.
Early life
Hamnett was born on 16 August 1947, the daughter of James Appleton, a group captain. She attende ...
t-shirt designs that said "CHOOSE LIFE".
Popular culture
The song was notably used in the gas station sequence in ''Zoolander
''Zoolander'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by and starring Ben Stiller. The film contains elements from a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the '' VH1 Fashion Awards'' television ...
''. It was also featured in the opening for the 2016 Primetime Emmy Awards (where Jimmy Kimmel is attempting to get to), the episode "The Unincludeds" in season 13 of ''American Dad!
''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Since 2014, the series has been airing new episodes on TBS. ''American Dad!'' is the first television ...
'' and premiere episode of ''Moon Knight
Moon Knight is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin, the character first appeared in ''Werewolf by Night'' #32 (August 1975).
The son of a rabb ...
''.
Track listing
*Note: The US 7-inch single (Columbia 04552) has identical track listing.
It was also released as a CD single in 1999
Chart performance
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
See also
* List of ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number-one singles of 1984
References
External links
*
Song review from AllMusic
{{Authority control
1984 songs
1984 singles
1985 singles
Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Cashbox number-one singles
CBS Records singles
Columbia Records singles
Dutch Top 40 number-one singles
Epic Records singles
European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
Music videos directed by Andy Morahan
Number-one singles in Australia
Number-one singles in Iceland
Number-one singles in Norway
Number-one singles in Sweden
RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Songs written by George Michael
Song recordings produced by George Michael
UK Singles Chart number-one singles
Wham! songs
Songs about dancing