Thursday, April 26, 2012

W is for Wham!


George Michael as a brunette.


       My friends and I didn’t know what to make of Wham.  Sure, they’re songs were catchy.  But everyone was dancing in those giant white shirts with black block lettering.  Maybe it was the butt slap in the video.  Possibly it was because the song had the word “jitterbug” in it. (I may or may not have owned a block letter shirt way back when.)




       Turns out behind the giant lettered t-shirt and dental ad smile, George Michael is a talented musician. 


When he went solo, he got a better look as seen in “Father Figure”:




And he got the biggest models of the time to be in his video “Freedom”:



He still retained a catchy Wham!-type beat in  “Faith”:




Why did so many of his hit songs begin with the letter “F”? 



Honorable Mention: Whitney Houston

33 comments:

  1. George Micheal's songs were always so much fun. I adored him int he 80's. :)

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  2. I definitely prefered him when he went solo. A lot of my friends had big crushes, but looking back at the videos now, it's so obvious he wouldn't have been interested...

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  3. I was never a HUGE GM fan, but when I was 16 (maybe? didn't check the date) Careless Whisper absolutely spoke to me. I LOVED that song.

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    1. Kristine, I loved that song too. But the line, "Guilty feet have got no rhythm," bugged me.

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  4. Holy carp! I remember WHAM.Looking at that video I'm like OMG, look at those little shorts and the yellow gloves. YIKES!

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  5. I danced to "Wake Me Up before You Go-Go" many a time in junior high. I also think that George Michael is talented. I have many of his solo songs on my iPod!
    If only the man could stay away from drugs, he may be making hit songs today!

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  6. "Wake Me Up" ALWAYS gets stuck in my head whenever I hear it, so I'm gonna save that for another day ;)

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  7. Wham was a bit too "pop eee" for my taste
    he's better as a single
    hmm he has a letter fetish???

    Moondustwriter's Blog

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  8. "Love Life" Or something!! Oh wow - love love love these big over size t-shirts with these oversize words! LOL!! It was definitely George, the Girls and The Other Guy (sorry Andrew!!) Take care
    x

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  9. "Wake Me Up before You Go-Go" IS AWESOME!!!! He's talented. For sure. it's too bad about the drugs. So sad. Whitney too. So sad!

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  10. LOVE IT!!! I remember being at a slumber party and everyone dancing around to Wake Me Up Before You Go Go! Love George Michael! :)

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  11. I had a giant letterbox shirt. I was soooo cool!

    What is up with George's tiny white shorts in the first video?? Too funny!

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  12. UGH, I remember Wham! I hated them as a kid (80s kid) but think they're fun as an adult.

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  13. Such catchy music! Though the outfits in the first video are a bit odd.

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  14. I'd love to get a Wham! album to indulge my Eighties nostalgia. In recent years, I've begun adding Eighties records to my large vinyl collection, and Wham! has been among the groups I'm most interested in buying an album of.

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  15. Ah yes, Wham! was a favorite!! I would listen my Faith and Listen Without Prejudice cassettes all the time. George Michael seemed to refine his sound and look as a solo artist.

    Ana

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  16. Poor Whitney.

    Yeah Wham was constantly on the radio. "Wake me up..." Like you and most folks here I wasn't exactly a huge fan, but no denying Wham was a part of our 80's-lives soundtracks. ;)

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  17. Hi Theresa!
    Don't you think his moving, long thin legs [straight-legged pants] and thin hips, leather jacket, tall hair remind you of Elvis when he first started singing? I do. Great song. Like you said, very catchy tune. ~Victoria Marie Lees

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  18. The clothes in the Wham video are so funny now! I always feel kind of bad for the other guy in Wham. Did he even have a purpose??

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  19. I feel my hair getting bigger just thinking about Wham.

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  20. I loved George Michael's solo songs best of all.
    (I also had a giggle at the enormous shoulder pads in the Father Figure clip, lol)

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  21. I enjoyed them in their heyday. As I got older and moved away from pop, I liked them less. But yeah, good group.

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  22. Theresa, Wham! was my post for today, too. I think it was because their songs were so catchy. I still like some of George Michael's work today.

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  23. They could sing. George Michael's still got it. Whitney Houston HM, yes! She's honoured on Glee next week but probably was in the US Glee ages ago.

    Denise

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  24. I did like that Wham song, and I liked several of George Michael's songs as a solo artist. Except thanks to Arrested Development, now when I hear the name George Michael I think of the singer and Michael Cera, who played a character named George Michael on the show. I watch too much TV. :)

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  25. I liked Wham, but I prefer George Michael solo.

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  26. Anyone that ever wondered if George Michael was gay need only look at a Wham video.

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    1. Definitely! Came as no shocker to my friends and me after those years watching "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go".

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  27. I've been a huge Wham fan from the beginning... or at least as far as I can remember... hence why I still love George Michael now... even went to this concert when he was in Australia last. He has the best voice.

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  28. Hey, music I actually know! Did George do "Last Christmas" with Wham? It's one of my favourite festive songs!

    And as for 'X', the only group I know is Xtreme, who sang "More Than Words", another one of my fave songs.

    J.C. Martin
    A to Z Blogger

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  29. Oh my gosh! I loved Wham! Still like George Michael.


    ScribblesFromJenn
    Happy A to Z-ing!

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  30. Oh my gosh! I loved Wham! Still like George Michael.


    ScribblesFromJenn
    Happy A to Z-ing!

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  31. '(I may or may not have owned a block letter shirt way back when.)'

    I'm layin' my money on 'may.'

    Heard kind of a funny joke. Andrew Ridgely (sp?) and John Oates formed a band called, 'Yeah, right.'

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