A requirement for induction is to have released a certain number of albums (about six or seven). Wham and countless others listed on this web site will never be inducted for this reason, alone! You might, as well, remove Wham and the many one-hit wonders on this web site because they are irrelevant.

Posted by lordgow on Wednesday, 11.21.07 @ 14:32pm

Did you just hibernate in the 80s or something, or are you coompletely thick? There's really no other way that you could get away with thinking that Wham! only had one hit

Posted by liam on Wednesday, 11.21.07 @ 14:40pm

I know that Wham had more than one hit. How many albums did they release? How many albums did Big Country, Culture Club, Falco (who happens to be dead), etc. release? They need to have released a certain number of albums to be considered for induction. The number of hits has nothing to do with anything. I used the "one-hit wonder" phrase, as a generalization. It really had nothing to do with Wham, proper. I doubt that they or most of these defunct groups released enough albums, in their short times!

Posted by lordgow on Wednesday, 11.21.07 @ 14:48pm

sex pistols?

Posted by liam on Wednesday, 11.21.07 @ 14:54pm

lordgow, you've ben miss informed. it's not how many albums/cds that you release, it's the the date/year on which the album/cd or single was released is what gets them on the road to the hall of fame. that's what the year next to the means that that's the year they are eligible to be in.

Posted by A.L. on Tuesday, 11.27.07 @ 23:16pm

Sadly enough Wham was the best at this style of music in the mid 80's.... Every chic wanted to be with them and the guys wanted to be them.... They will probably get in and all us Rockers will be made sick by them once again

Posted by dave on Thursday, 12.27.07 @ 18:35pm

WHAM!

The Billboard 200 Albums Chart

01. 1983 - # 127 - Fantastic!
02. 1984 - # 01 - Make It Big
03. 1986 - # 10 - Music From The Edge Of Heaven

The Billboard 100 Singles Chart

01. 1983 - NA - Bad Boys
02. 1983 - NA - Young Guns (Go For It!)
03. 1984 - # 01 - Careless Whisper
04. 1984 - # 01 - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
05. 1985 - # 01 - Everything She Wants
06. 1985 - # 03 - Freedom
07. 1985 - # 03 - I'm Your Man
08. 1986 - # 10 - The Edge Of Heaven
09. 1986 - # 50 - Where Did Your Heart Go?
10. 1986 - NA - Last Christmas
11. 1986 - NA - Wham Rap '86

Posted by Roy on Thursday, 05.28.09 @ 12:52pm

WHAM!

The Billboard 200 Albums Chart

01. 1983 - # 127 - Fantastic!
02. 1984 - # 01 - Make It Big
03. 1986 - # 10 - Music From The Edge Of Heaven

The Billboard 100 Singles Chart

01. 1983 - NA - Bad Boys
02. 1983 - NA - Young Guns (Go For It!)
03. 1983 - NA - Wham Rap (Enjoy What You Do)
04. 1984 - # 01 - Careless Whisper
05. 1984 - # 01 - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
06. 1985 - # 01 - Everything She Wants
07. 1985 - # 03 - Freedom
08. 1985 - # 03 - I'm Your Man
09. 1986 - # 10 - The Edge Of Heaven
10. 1986 - # 50 - Where Did Your Heart Go?
11. 1986 - NA - Last Christmas
12. 1986 - NA - Wham Rap '86

Posted by Roy on Thursday, 05.28.09 @ 12:58pm

What are you trying to say here, Roy (as though I really don't know what's coming next...). I'm left to assume that you've shifted off of Chicago and Bernie Taupin and are now making a push for WHAM? I can never tell in your case since you don't leave that many clues. Specific's Roy, we need specific's...

Like maybe a few words...

sentences...

something...

Posted by Cheesecrop on Thursday, 05.28.09 @ 17:09pm

Future Rock Legends posted this statement above:

Wham!'s short career in the '80's wasn't long enough to get them inducted into the Hall, but George Michael has a legitimate shot.

If Chic can be nominated and eventually get inducted, then so can WHAM! If Percy Sledge can, so can Wham!. If Leonard Cohen can, so can Wham!

Music critics have said that if Leonard Cohen had never released another album after his first album, he still would have been inducted. His place in Rock history would still have been significant because Songs of Leonard Cohen was a flawless album!

Posted by Roy on Thursday, 05.28.09 @ 17:30pm

Roy...if WHAM! were to get in, the HoF would lose any credibility they have left. the chance of them being inducted is absolutely ZERO!!! Where do you come up with this stuff?

One thing you stated does point to a definite truth...Percy Sledge should've never been inducted...period.

Posted by Gitarzan on Thursday, 05.28.09 @ 17:36pm

I think Roy is short for hemorrhoid, because he sure is a pain in the butt.

Posted by Brian Snyder on Thursday, 05.28.09 @ 19:44pm

Roy - Don't necessarily agree w/you on Wham!, but am thrilled that you chose to elaborate. You are quite right in what you say - under the logic you presented, Wham! could easily get in.

I'm not all for it, but if in fact they did make it in, I can't think of a reason to argue against it, based upon what you've laid out here.

Posted by Cheesecrop on Friday, 05.29.09 @ 17:06pm

Oh my gosh. Small Faces fans were made fun of like crazy for "Itchyoo Park", but no one makes fun of "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go". Are you kiddin me?

Posted by Dude Man on Friday, 05.29.09 @ 17:23pm

Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go is totally cheeseball, but I've yet to meet anyone who doesn't secretly like this song.

However, other than that one, the only listenable song they have is Freedom. I hate Careless Whisper and Everything She Wants.

Posted by Philip on Friday, 05.29.09 @ 17:53pm

"Music critics have said that if Leonard Cohen had never released another album after his first album, he still would have been inducted. His place in Rock history would still have been significant because Songs of Leonard Cohen was a flawless album!" - Roy

Does anyone believe the first album from Wham was equally flawless??

Posted by interviewer on Friday, 05.29.09 @ 18:03pm

"Careless Whisper" is one of my guilty pleasures but that aside no they should not be inducted. And I hate "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go". No, George Michael shouldn't be inducted solo either (though he's another guilty pleasure.)

Posted by Sam on Friday, 06.11.10 @ 19:41pm

"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go is totally cheeseball, but I've yet to meet anyone who doesn't secretly like this song. " - Philip

*lifts up hand*

Well here I am!!!


Actually Sam beat me to it with this statement: "I hate Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" (pretty much sums up how I feel, I could say it doesn't really register with me or it's not my thing or it's something that may grow on you but no, I'm afraid I have to say I h*te "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham! sorry Philip!!)

Posted by Tahvo Parvianen on Saturday, 08.14.10 @ 11:42am

Ha! It's okay guys. Like I said, it's one of two songs that I know by them that I like. I hate "Careless Whisper" and was appalled when Seether covered it.

Posted by Philip on Saturday, 08.14.10 @ 11:50am

WHAT? Seether covered it? Oh God "Broken" was a wimpy song. These limp-dick second and third wave post-grunge bands (Creed, Nickleback, Staind, Seether etc.) must NEVER enter the Hall or our Hall, and the only post-Nirvana post-grunge I'd even consider inducting would be Stone Temple Pilots, since they evolved and Core was a solid Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains knock-off. I do have a soft spot for Candlebox and Live though.

Posted by Sam on Sunday, 08.15.10 @ 19:52pm

If ABBA and Chic can, Wham can!

Posted by Roy on Wednesday, 11.24.10 @ 19:33pm

ABBA and Chic had longer careers, and were actually kind of influential (moreso the latter, probably). Wham! did not and were not. ABBA and Chic actually have some legitimate critical acclaim and are respected by other musicians. Wham! have none of that. George Michael might get in on his own, however.

Posted by Sam on Sunday, 12.5.10 @ 06:22am

Maybe they'll be inducted as Wham!/George Micheal.

Posted by Roy on Thursday, 01.20.11 @ 06:21am

I'll be damned surprised if they/he ever get The Call.

Posted by Paul in KY on Thursday, 01.20.11 @ 13:07pm

The 80's equivalent of BSB. George Michael, maybe. Wham? no.

Posted by GFW on Sunday, 05.22.11 @ 15:59pm

George Michael, of course. Wham, no.

Posted by Person on Thursday, 01.5.12 @ 18:28pm

What if the Rock Hall nominates and inducts Wham! and George Michael one time as Wham!/George Michael? Do you think they will do it? Would you be okay with that?

Posted by Roy on Tuesday, 01.10.12 @ 14:31pm

STUDIO ALBUMS

WHAM!

01. 1983 Fantastic
02. 1984 Make It Big
03. 1986 Music From The Edge Of Heaven

GEORGE MICHAEL

01. 1987 Faith
02. 1990 Listen Without Prejudice
03. 1996 Older
04. 1999 Songs From The Last Century
05. 2004 Patience

As you can see, Wham! produced 3 studio albums worth of original material, while George Michael produced 5 studio albums, 4 with original material. So it's 3 for Wham! and 5 for George Michael. Not that much difference. George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley should get back together and produce another album or two as WHAM!

Like Parliament/Funkadelic, The Small Faces/The Faces, and Joy Division/New Order, a case can be made for Wham!/George Michael, and that's where joint inductions should stop.

Posted by Roy on Thursday, 01.26.12 @ 10:41am

http://www.futurerocklegends.com/artist.php?artist_id=George_Michael

George Michael

Posted by Roy on Thursday, 01.26.12 @ 10:44am

JOINT INDUCTIONS: What Was/What Should Have Been/And What Will Be

01. 1996 - Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship
02. 1997 - The (Young) Rascals
03. 1997 - Parliament/Funkadelic
04. 2012 - The Small Faces/The Faces
05. 20?? - Joy Division/New Order
06. 20?? - Wham!/George Michael

Posted by Roy on Saturday, 01.28.12 @ 06:39am

The case has been made for a WHAM!/George Michael joint induction, and the case is solid!

Posted by Roy on Sunday, 01.29.12 @ 07:58am

If he ever gets inducted Michael's solo career was successful enough to stand or fall on it's own. In any event, whether jointly or individually you have a lot of commercial success and but not much novelty, innovation, or any longstanding effect on music. I hate the other "I" word (influence) but I really can't see that either. A case can be made based on commercial success but there are a bunch of other artists that can also say that.

Posted by astrodog on Sunday, 01.29.12 @ 13:31pm

George Michael was a great songwriter. The songs he wrote as a member of Wham! are classics. Songs like Bad Boys, Young Guns, Wham Rap, I'm Your Man, Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, Careless Whispers, Everything She Wants, Freedom, Last Christmas. If the Rock Hall inducts George Michael solo, they are leaving out all that great material he produced with Wham!, which is where his career started. The right thing to do would be to nominate and induct him for his entire career as Wham!/George Michael, not so much for Andrew Ridgeley's sake, but for George Michael's sake. George Michael's solo career was equally successful to his career with Wham! If ABBA and CHIC can be inducted, WHAM! can too! I wouldn't induct George Michael twice. I can see the Rock Hall nominating and inducting him under Wham!/George Michael for his entire body of work. A case can be made. It will happen!

Posted by Roy on Sunday, 01.29.12 @ 20:09pm

Wham! and clasic in the same sentence. What a world. A case can be made for a lot of bands. And against them too. We will see. Btw, I don't think Chic was ever inducted.

Posted by astrodog on Sunday, 01.29.12 @ 21:25pm

Wham!/George Michael

Bad Boys * Young Guns * Wham Rap * I'm Your Man * Freedom * Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go * Everything She Wants * Careless Whisper * Last Christmas * The Edge Of Heaven * A Different Corner * I Knew You Were Waiting For Me * Faith * Father Figure * I Want Your Sex * Monkey * One More Try * Kissing A Fool * Praying For Time * Freedom * Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me * Too Funky * Fastlove * Jesus To A Child

Posted by Roy on Sunday, 01.29.12 @ 21:45pm

This case is a bit similar to Them/Van Morrison in that the later solo career was more important than the earlier group career, although the earlier group career wasn't without accomplishment. It's not identical though, because in Morrison's case, the solo career was much greater, while in Michael's case the difference is smaller.

Posted by Brian on Monday, 01.30.12 @ 18:51pm

http://songhall.org/vote/entry/1275

George Michael is nominated for The 2012 Songwriters Hall Of Fame

George Michael

George Michael burst on the scene in 1984 when he hit No. 1 with “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” the first of his three consecutive chart-toppers as the singer and songwriter of Wham! His success only grew when he went solo, topping the charts again and again with hits like “Faith” and “One More Try.” With over 100 million records sold, he has been cited in England as the most played artist on radio between 1984 and 2004.

Key songs in the Michael catalog include “Careless Whisper,” “Faith,” “Father Figure,” “I Want Your Sex” and “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.”

Posted by Roy on Wednesday, 02.1.12 @ 07:46am

1983 - Bad Boys by Wham!
1985 - Bad Boy by Miami Sound Machine

Posted by Roy on Friday, 02.3.12 @ 08:05am

JOINT INDUCTIONS: What Was/What Should Have Been/And What Will Be

01. 1996 - Jefferson Airplane/Starship
02. 1997 - The (Young) Rascals
03. 1997 - Parliament/Funkadelic
04. 2012 - The Small Faces/The Faces
05. 20?? - Joy Division/New Order
06. 20?? - Wham!/George Michael
07. 20?? - Miami Sound Machine/Gloria Estefan

Posted by Roy on Wednesday, 02.15.12 @ 07:10am

George Michael was a great songwriter. The songs he wrote as a member of Wham! are classics. Songs like Bad Boys, Young Guns, Wham Rap, I'm Your Man, Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, Careless Whispers, Everything She Wants, Freedom, Last Christmas. If the Rock Hall inducts George Michael solo, they are leaving out all that great material he produced with Wham!, which is where his career started. The right thing to do would be to nominate and induct him for his entire career as Wham!/George Michael, not so much for Andrew Ridgeley's sake, but for George Michael's sake. George Michael's solo career was equally successful to his career with Wham! Wham! and George Michael each had a classic number one album. Wham! had 1984's Make It Big, and George Michael had 1987's Faith. I wouldn't induct George Michael twice. I can see the Rock Hall nominating and inducting him under Wham!/George Michael for his entire body of work. A case can be made. It will happen!

THE HITS

Wham!/George Michael

Bad Boys * Young Guns * Wham Rap * Freedom * Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go * Everything She Wants * Careless Whisper * Last Christmas * The Edge Of Heaven * A Different Corner * I'm Your Man * I Knew You Were Waiting For Me * Faith * Father Figure * I Want Your Sex * Monkey * One More Try * Kissing A Fool * Praying For Time * Freedom * Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me * Too Funky * Fastlove * Jesus To A Child

STUDIO ALBUMS

WHAM!

01. 1983 Fantastic
02. 1984 Make It Big
03. 1986 Music From The Edge Of Heaven

GEORGE MICHAEL

01. 1987 Faith
02. 1990 Listen Without Prejudice
03. 1996 Older
04. 1999 Songs From The Last Century
05. 2004 Patience

As you can see, Wham! produced 3 studio albums worth of original material, while George Michael produced 5 studio albums, 4 with original material. So it's 3 for Wham! and 5 for George Michael. Not that much difference. George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley should get back together and produce another album or two as WHAM!

Posted by Roy on Sunday, 02.26.12 @ 06:56am

Wham! sparked something of a pop revival in the mid-'80s and could arguably be held responsible for sparking off the boy band trend of the '90s. They were unashamedly pop, to the point of padding the front of their trousers for television appearances. At the heart, however, was a string of catchy singalong singles written by George Michael (born Georgios Kyrriacos Panayiotou in London to a Greek restauranting family).

George met Wham!'s other half, Andrew Ridgeley, at school in the London suburb of Bushey, and in 1979 they started performing together as part of the ska-based band the Executive. When that group dissolved, they wrote songs, made demos, and rushed into a recording contract with the equally eager independent label Innervision, scoring an instant hit with "Wham Rap!" (they thought that "wham" was the sound they made when Michael and Ridgeley performed together). In order to move to a recording contract with Sony label Epic, Wham! was forced to walk away from most of the royalties from their debut album, Fantastic. None of that mattered when their 1984 single, "Wake Me up Before You Go Go," became a worldwide hit, accompanied by a video of the pair cavorting in their sportswear. Almost immediately, George Michael started thinking of a solo career, and released "Careless Whisper," issued in the U.S. under George Michael of Wham!

Wham!'s end came suddenly two years later, in 1985, reputedly when the group's manager, Simon Napier-Bell (later to manage Take That), decided to sell a share of his management to a South African entertainment conglomerate. Supposedly, as part of a stand against South African politics, George Michael immediately announced Wham!'s breakup. They gave their farewell performance before a sold-out audience of 72,000 fans at London's Wembley Stadium.

George Michael comfortably stepped straight into his own highly successful solo performing and recording career. Andrew Ridgeley's post Wham! album, Son of Albert, sold poorly and produced just one minor hit, "Shake."

Born in Surrey, England in 1963, Andrew Ridgeley is known as the silent musician of Wham!, the '80s rock group with George Michael which produced such hits as "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" and "Careless Whisper." Although he occasionally helped write music, sang, and played instruments, his chief role in the group was that of George Michael's best friend. Since the breakup of Wham! In 1986, Andrew Ridgeley has spent his time producing and album and pursuing his own personal interests. He produced several solo songs including "Shake," "Red Dress" and "Mexico." Ridgeley's musical influences include the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Everly Brothers and David Bowie.

George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley shared the same dream of becoming musical stars. The two met in their childhood and formed a band which was originally called the Executives and eventually was changed to Wham! UK. After the duo went touring internationally, they dropped the UK in the title. The group eventually became the first '80s rock band to have an album with three number one hits. The album, Make It Big, sold more than one million copies. In 1984, Wham! became the first non-Asian pop band to play in China. Much to the chagrin of millions of fans worldwide, the two disbanded in 1986 to pursue solo careers.

George Michael became a popular international solo artist, while Andrew Ridgeley went to Monaco to become an auto racer. His days as an auto racer did not last long, as he crashed several cars and had difficulty getting sponsors. He then went back to singing and also signed with Columbia Records in 1990. The partnership produced only one album, Son of Albert, logically named after Ridgeley's father. His musical style was quite different on this album than it was when he was with Michael. His first single, "Shake," had only moderate success and reached number 13 on the Australian charts. "Red Dress," another single from the album, did not make the charts at all, even though Michael sang some of the backup vocals. The album's sales were unsuccessful, and when it reached only #70 on U.S. charts, Columbia canceled Ridgeley's contract.

Despite the downfall of Ridgeley's singing career at Columbia Records in 1990, he still used his musical talents elsewhere. He played guitar at Michael's live performance of "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" and was seen with Princess Diana and David Bowie at an AIDS benefit in 1993. He married Keren Woodward, a member of the band Bananarama; they have one son. Ridgeley has no intention of returning to the music industry and spends his time surfing, motor racing and owning a restaurant, Bar 92.

George Michael was the biggest British pop star of the 1980s, spinning a series of infectiously catchy pop singles into global stardom that saw him sell over 100 million albums worldwide. Blessed with good looks, a fine voice, and a knack for writing engaging melodies that worked well with dance-friendly rhythms, Michael became the rare teen sensation who matured into a respected star as an adult, though his life after achieving pop icon status has not been without personal and creative challenges.

Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou on June 25, 1963; his father was a Greek Cypriot restaurant owner who changed his name from Kyriacos Panayiotou to Jack Michael when he emigrated to England in the 1950s. Born in the North London suburb of East Finchley, Michael's family relocated to Bushey, Hertfordshire when he was in his early teens, and George struck up a friendship with one of his new schoolmates, Andrew Ridgeley. Both Michael and Ridgeley were interested in music, and in 1979 they formed a ska band called the Executive; the group didn't go far, but it gave them a taste for the spotlight, and they took what they learned and in 1981 formed a pop duo called Wham! The early Wham! demos impressed executives at Innervision, an independent record label who signed the group to a contract. By 1982, Wham! had hit the U.K. pop charts with "Wham Rap" and "Young Guns (Go For It)," and scored an American record deal with Columbia. However, Michael and Ridgeley soon discovered how unfavorable their deal with Innervision was, and they opted out of their contract by forfeiting all future royalties on material from their first album, Fantastic, to sign with Sony worldwide. The choice proved to be shrewd; Wham!'s second album, 1984's Make It Big, transformed them from British hitmakers to a genuine international sensation, as "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," "Everything She Wants," "Careless Whisper," and "Freedom" became wildly successful in the U.K., Europe, and the United States. Wham! soon became one of the biggest new acts on Earth, and in 1985 they became the first Western pop group to tour the People's Republic of China. But Michael displayed an ambition that went beyond Wham!'s new success, and the "Careless Whisper" single was released with the credit "Wham! Featuring George Michael," setting the stage for him to strike out on his own. In 1986, after Michael had released a proper solo single, "A Different Corner," Wham! announced their breakup and said farewell to their fans with a sold-out concert at London's Wembley Stadium.

Michael wasted no time making his mark on his own, releasing his first solo album, Faith, in 1987. He produced and arranged the album, as well as writing the songs, and it managed to top Wham!'s phenomenal success, spawning a series of major hit singles (including "I Want Your Sex," "Father Figure," "Kissing a Fool," and the title track) and selling over twenty million copies worldwide, moving close to ten million units in the United States alone. Michael promoted the album with a series of stylish, sexy music videos and a concert tour that found him playing 137 shows over the space of 16 months. Faith left no doubt that Michael was one of the new icons of pop music, and after recording successful duets with Elton John ("Wrap It Up" and "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me") and Aretha Franklin ("I Knew You Were There [Waiting For Me]"), he proved he had the respect of veteran acts as well as the younger audience. However, Michael felt reigned in by his image as a sexy pop singer, and after taking a well-deserved vacation in 1989, he released Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1 in 1990, a set that was noticeably more somber, sophisticated, and personal than his previous work. Presumably to put the focus on his music rather than his image, Michael refused to appear in any music videos for the album and declined to tour in support; the album fared well commercially, but not as well as Faith, and Michael began expressing dissatisfaction with Sony, declaring his contract was financially inequitable and creatively stifling. Michael sued Sony to end his contract, leading to a long and costly legal battle that ended in 1995, with Michael signing to the newly launched Dreamworks Records label in the United States and Virgin in the rest of the world. (During the interim, Michael released a live EP which include material he performed with the surviving members of Queen at the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.) In 1996, Michael finally released his third solo effort, Older, which followed in the more contemplative vein of Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1. While the album went platinum in the United States, it was considered a commercial disappointment considering the success of Michael's previous work, though it fared better in Europe and the UK.

In 1998, Michael released Ladies and Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael, a career-inclusive two-disc anthology that featured solo material as well as recordings with Wham! It also included a new song, "Outside"; the song and its video were created in response to a widely publicized incident in which Michael was arrested by an undercover cop in Los Angeles for "performing a lewd act" in a public restroom. After the arrest made headlines, Michael publicly acknowledged his homosexuality, and in time it was revealed the song "Jesus to a Child" from Older was written in tribute to his late partner Anselmo Feleppa, who died of AIDS-related illnesses in 1993. In 1999, Michael released an album of covers, Songs from the Last Century, which was released worldwide by Virgin after Michael parted ways with Dreamworks. In 2002, Michael signed a new record deal with Polydor and released the single "Freeek," with a new album expected to follow. However, the subsequent full-length release, Patience, didn't arrive until 2004, and in a surprising move, it was issued not by Polydor, but the Sony-affiliated Epic label after Michael returned to the company he'd left nine years earlier. Michael also told journalists that he expected it to be his final commercially released album, adding he hoped to release future material online, with any proceeds going to charity. A second career-inclusive two-CD collection, Twenty-Five, was issued in 2008, and arrived after Michael once again found himself the subject of some controversy. In 2006 and 2007, he had been arrested on drug-related offenses in the U.K., and in 2010, he'd served four weeks in Suffolk's Highpoint Prison after pleading guilty to driving under the influence of cannabis. During a 2006 television interview, Michael smoked what appeared to be a joint and spoke openly of his marijuana use, saying, "I'd say it's a great drug, but obviously it's not very healthy. You can't afford to smoke it if you've got anything to do."

-AMG

Posted by Roy on Sunday, 02.26.12 @ 22:03pm

"Wham! sparked something of a pop revival in the mid-'80s and could arguably be held responsible for sparking off the boy band trend of the '90s."
--------------------------------------------------

As opposed to Duran Duran and seemingly a dozen other groups from the early days of MTV? Who writes this stuff? :) Of course it's Allmusic. These type of unresearched statements are their bread and butter.
Anyway, so far all you have is a commercially successful pop act. So is Celine Dion and many others. To me unless you have overwhelming commercial success (Madonna, arguably Whitney Houston), you need more than a few standard pop hits. And citing Wham! as an influence would be on the same level as citing Bucks Fizz as an influence.

Posted by astrodog on Monday, 02.27.12 @ 00:58am

So, apparently the reason why WHAM! broke up was because the group's manager, Simon Napier-Bell decided to sell a share of his management to a South African entertainment conglomerate. Supposedly, as part of a stand against South African politics, George Michael immediately announced Wham!'s breakup. That doesn't mean George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley can't record again as WHAM! They own the name.

Posted by Roy on Friday, 07.27.12 @ 07:29am

Wham!'s next album title?

WHAM! REUNION

Posted by Roy on Friday, 07.27.12 @ 22:27pm

Wham!'s next album title?

WHAM! REUNION

Posted by Roy on Friday, 07.27.12 @ 22:28pm

Axl Rose likes Wham!/George Michael.

Posted by Roy on Tuesday, 08.28.12 @ 09:04am

Like Joy Division/New Order, The Small Faces/Faces, The (Young) Rascals, Parliament-Funkadelic, he should be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame just once for his entire career as Wham!/George Michael. That's how Joel Whitburn has him listed in the Billboard books. George Michael was a great songwriter. The songs he wrote as a member of Wham! are classics. Songs like Bad Boys, Young Guns (Go For It), Wham Rap, I'm Your Man, Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, Careless Whispers, Everything She Wants, Freedom, Last Christmas. If the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts George Michael solo, they are leaving out all that great material he produced with Wham!, which is where his career started. The right thing to do would be to nominate and induct him for his entire career as Wham!/George Michael, not so much for Andrew Ridgeley's sake, but for George Michael's sake. George Michael's solo career was equally successful to his career with Wham! Wham! and George Michael each had a classic number one album. Wham! had 1984's Make It Big, and George Michael had 1987's Faith. I wouldn't induct George Michael twice. I can see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominating and inducting him under Wham!/George Michael for his entire body of work. The case is made. It will happen! WHAM! produced 3 studio albums with original material, while George Michael produced 4 studio albums with original material. So they are pretty much even. A joint induction as Wham!/George Michael is the right thing to do.

THE ALBUMS

Wham!/George Michael

Fantastic * Make It Big * Music From The Edge Of Heaven * Faith * Listen Without Prejudice * Older * Songs From The Last Century * Patience

THE SINGLES

Wham!/George Michael

Bad Boys * Young Guns (Go For It) * Wham Rap * Freedom * Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go * Everything She Wants * Careless Whisper * Last Christmas * The Edge Of Heaven * A Different Corner * I'm Your Man * I Knew You Were Waiting For Me * Faith * Father Figure * I Want Your Sex * Monkey * One More Try * Kissing A Fool * Praying For Time * Freedom * Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me * Too Funky * Fastlove * Jesus To A Child

Posted by Roy on Friday, 05.31.13 @ 10:13am

"Joy Divison/New Order"

i puked a little (a lot)

Posted by GFW on Friday, 05.31.13 @ 12:23pm