"Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)" is the debut single by English pop 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 ...

Innervision Records Innervision Records was an independent record label distributed by CBS Records. The label was established around 1981 by Mark Dean and Shamsi Ahmed. Perhaps the most recognizable artist associated with Innervision was Wham!, who scored four to ...

, released in June 1982. It was written by Wham! members

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 ...

and

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 ...

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 "Rapper's Delight" is a 1979 hip-hop track by the Sugarhill Gang, produced by Sylvia Robinson. Although it was shortly preceded by the Fatback Band's "King Tim III (Personality Jock)", "Rapper's Delight" is credited for introducing hip-hop mus ...

" with Michael and

Shirley Shirley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Shirley'' (novel), an 1849 novel by Charlotte Brontë * ''Shirley'' (1922 film), a British silent film * ''Shirley'' (2020 film), an American film * ''Shirley'' (album), a 1961 album by Shirley Bas ...

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 "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 ...

and

Careless Whisper "Careless Whisper" is a song written by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. Released on the 1984 Wham! album '' Make It Big'', the single release was credited either to ''Wham! featuring George Michael'' (in North America and several other coun ...

on Mex's TEAC 4-track

Portastudio The TASCAM Portastudio was the first four-track recorder based on a standard compact audio cassette tape. The term ''portastudio'' is exclusive to TASCAM, though it is generally used to describe all self-contained cassette-based multitrack rec ...

, with the resulting 3 song demo-tape gaining Wham! their record contract with

some weeks later. Innervision quickly arranged for a proper demo of the song to be recorded at Halligan Band Centre in Holloway (on 24 March 1982) using session musicians on bass and drums, which was then used by Michael and Ridgeley as a backing track for promotional performances at various nightclubs in preparation for their debut release.

Synopsis

Although

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

was still an underground and almost exclusively American phenomenon in the early 1980s, Michael rapped—as the title implies—a number of verses about the joys of living every day to the fullest, reveling in unemployment and celebrating government assistance from the

Department of Health and Social Security The Department of Health and Social Security (commonly known as the DHSS) was a ministry of the British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Services. His ...

(the initials "DHSS" are repeatedly chanted during the song). The explicitly political song flew in the face of the conventional British left-wing who were talking about the '

right to work The right to work is the concept that people have a human right to work, or engage in productive employment, and should not be prevented from doing so. The right to work is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recognized i ...

' at the time. The chorus asked the question "Do you enjoy what you do?", which brought about the bracketed section of the title. The video depicted Michael and Ridgeley in their leather jackets, combining their moody image with a bright, effervescent

choreography Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design ...

. The video was filmed in London in February 1983 after the single was re-issued.

Music video

The music video shows George and Andrew as two unemployed youths who were spending their time teaching one another on how to live their life while roaming about the streets of

London 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 majo ...

. The two are joined by

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 ...

and their band in front of a white background with red letters reading 'WHAM!'. It is here that the group practises dance routines accompanied by background dancers.

Versions

Uncharacteristically for Wham!, the Unsocial Mix of the song contains multiple repetitions of the swear words " damn", "

bullshit ''Bullshit'' (also ''bullshite'' or ''bullcrap'') is a common English expletive which may be shortened to the euphemism ''bull'' or the initialism B.S. In British English, "bollocks" is a comparable expletive. It is mostly a slang term and a ...

", " shit" and "crap". All versions include "don't need this crap". These lines were included to illustrate the band's then-rebellious image, and future songs by Wham! would mostly refrain from using this type of language (although "Battlestations" does include an instance of "bullshit"). Both the Social Mix and the ''Fantastic'' album version have different verses from the Unsocial Mix; thus, there are three different sets of verse lyrics altogether. However, only the album version has appeared on CD.

Chart performance

The song, which had been tentatively released in June 1982 when Wham! were unknown, failed to make any impact and was later re-issued in January 1983 after the duo had achieved their breakthrough with " Young Guns (Go for It!)". The single subsequently reached No. 8 on 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 ...

, the second release of four hits from Wham!'s debut album ''

Fantastic The fantastic (french: le fantastique) is a subgenre of literary works characterized by the ambiguous presentation of seemingly supernatural forces. Bulgarian-French structuralist literary critic Tzvetan Todorov originated the concept, charac ...

''.

Remixes

A remix of the song was made in 1986, combining some of the Unsocial Mix with the album version. This version, entitled "Wham! Rap '86", was released on their American and Japanese album ''

Music from the Edge of Heaven ''Music from the Edge of Heaven'' is the final studio album from British pop duo Wham!. It was released on July 1, 1986 by Columbia Records. ''Music from the Edge of Heaven'' was only released in North America and Japan. In other territories, a ...

'', and as the B-side on the 7-inch single "

The Edge of Heaven "The Edge of Heaven" is a song by English pop duo Wham!, released on Epic Records in 1986. It was written and produced by George Michael, one half of the duo, and was promoted in advance as Wham!'s farewell single. History With the known desire ...

" in the UK, Australia and Europe.

Other appearances

The original version of the song was used for the 1985 film drama '' Perfect'' from

James Bridges James Bridges (February 3, 1936June 6, 1993) was an American screenwriter, film director, producer, and actor. He is a two-time Oscar nominee: once for Best Original Screenplay for '' The China Syndrome'' and once for Best Adapted Screenplay fo ...

, with

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes ''Carrie'' (19 ...

and

Jamie Lee Curtis Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, children's author, and activist. She came to prominence with her portrayal of Lt. Barbara Duran on the ABC sitcom '' Operation Petticoat'' (1977–78). In 1978, she m ...

. In September 2017, "Wham! Rap" was used for an H&M commercial starring

Naomi Campbell Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is an English model, actress, singer, and businesswoman. She began her career at the age of 15, and established herself amongst the most recognisable and in-demand models of the past four decades. Cam ...

Track listing

1982 release

*Note: Due to an error in labelling, the "Unsocial Mix" is listed as the single's A-side despite Michael specifically referring to it as the B-side in the song's lyrics: "Hey, everybody, now listen to me/Cut the radio bullshit, this is side B."

1983 reissue

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1982 songs 1982 debut singles 1983 singles Wham! songs CBS Records singles Innervision Records singles Songs written by George Michael Songs written by Andrew Ridgeley