Wham! hit #1 with “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”

Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go Wham!

Writer(s): George Michael (see lyrics here) Released: May 14, 1984 First Charted: May 26, 1984 Peak: 13 US, 12 CB, 12 RR, 4 AC, 12 UK, 14 CN, 17 AU, 8 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 1.7 UK, 4.16 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 436.62 video, 692.92 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The British pop duo Wham! was comprised of George Michael and Andrew Ridgely who met in 1975 in school when they were 12 years old. They first made music together in a ska-band called the Executives before forming Wham! in 1981. They achieved three top-10 hits in the UK from their debut album, Fantastic, but couldn’t crack the top 40 in the UK. However, their second album, Make It Big!, proved to be a prohetic title. The album’s lead single, “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” went to #1 in the U.K. in June 1984. It ended up being the crossover hit the group needed in America; five months later it topped the Billboard Hot 100. It also went on to reach the pinnacle in Australia, Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. The idea for the song came about when George and Andrew were teenagers and enjoyed going to the discos to party. One night when George came by Andrew’s house, he noticed a sign over the bed which he guessed Andrew put on the door for his mom to see before she left for work. It said “wake me up-up before you go-go.” George said it would make a great line in a song, or even as a title. Andrew explained he’d accidentally written “up” twice and the purposely compounded the error with “go-go. “ FB When George developed it into a song, he was aiming for “a really energetic pop record that had all the best elements of Fifties and Sixties records.” WK The song tells the story of a guy who’s upset when his girlfriend goes out dancing while he’s asleep. In the future, he asks that she wake him up before she goes. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Wham! FB Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 598. KL Jon Kutner/Spencer Leigh (2005). 1000 UK Number One Hits: The Stories Behind Every Number One Single Since 1952. London, Great Britain: Omnibus Press. Page 296. SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 11/28/2020; last updated 11/6/2022.

Wham! hit #1 in UK with Make It Big

First posted 5/30/2008; updated 11/29/2020.

Make It Big Wham!

Released: November 5, 1984 Peak: 13 US, 12 UK, 1 CN, 12 AU Sales (in millions): 6.0 US, 1.2 UK, 13.8 world (includes US and UK) Genre: pop

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (5/26/84, 13 US, 12 CB, 12 RR, 4 AC, 12 UK, 14 CN, 17 AU, sales: 2.84 million) Everything She Wants (12/15/84, 1 US, 4 AC, 12 RB, sales: ½ million) Heartbeat Like a Baby Freedom (10/13/84, 3 US, 1 UK, 4 AC) If You Were There Credit Card Baby Careless Whisper (8/4/84, 13 US, 14 CB, 12 RR, 15 AC, 8 RB, 13 UK, 12 CN, 14 AU, sales: 6 million) Total Running Time: 38:02 The Players: George Michael (vocals, keyboards) Andrew Ridgeley (guitar, backing vocals)

Rating: 3.952 out of 5.00 (average of 11 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “The title was a promise to themselves, Wham!’s assurance that they would make it big after struggling out of the gates the first time out. They succeeded on a grander scale than they ever could have imagined, conquering the world and elsewhere with this effervescent set of giddy new wave pop-soul, thereby making George Michael a superstar and consigning Andrew Ridgeley to the confines of Trivial Pursuit.” AMG “It was so big and the singles were so strong that it’s easy to overlook its patchwork qualities. It’s no longer than eight tracks, short even for the pre-CD era, and while the four singles are strong, the rest is filler, including an Isley Brothers cover. Thankfully, it’s the kind of filler that’s so tied to its time that it’s fascinating in its stilted post-disco dance-pop rhythms and Thatcher/Reagan materialism – an era that encouraged songs called Credit Card Baby.” AMG “If this dichotomy between the A-sides and B-sides is far too great to make this essential, the way Faith later would be, those A-sides range from good to terrific. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go is absolute silliness whose very stupidity is its strength, and if Everything She Wants is merely agreeable bubblegum, Freedom is astounding, a sparkling Motown rip-off rippling with spirit and a timeless melody later ripped off by Noel Gallagher.” AMG “Then, there’s the concluding Careless Whisper, a soulful slow one where Michael regrets a one-night stand over a richly seductive background and a yearning saxophone. It was an instant classic, and it was the first indication of George Michael’s strengths as a pop craftsman – which means it points the way to Faith, not the halfhearted Edge of Heaven.” AMG The album reached #1 in the UK in November 1984. Three months later, it topped the charts in the United States as well.

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Wham! DMDB encyclopedia entry for George Michael AMG All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine