Sun. Apr 28th, 2024


Whether you were dancing in the ‘80s, or dancing now, it would be hard to find a more infectious track than “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go,” one of the biggest hits by the short-lived English ’80s pop band Wham! While the band’s legacy was eclipsed by the mesmerizing rise of its lead singer and songwriter George Michael, the new Netflix documentary “Wham!” takes us back to the heady days of youth, when George and his best mate Andrew Ridgeley took on the world and the pop charts with fun, bouncy, memorable songs that are still as fresh today.

But it’s not just about the music; the essence of the documentary is the incredible friendship between these two boys who first met and connected over their mutual love of music at school. The documentary shows how essential Ridgeley really was to sustaining the bond with Michael as the band took its meteoric rise.  

Ridgeley, who has mostly kept a low profile since then, rarely speaking to the press, is now front and center taking pride and promoting the achievements of Wham! 

Katherine Tulich had an exclusive chat with the musician, who spoke candidly about the music and his long friendship with George Michael in this video report. 

By Dave Jenks

Dave Jenks is an American novelist and Veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Between those careers, he’s worked as a deckhand, commercial fisherman, divemaster, taxi driver, construction manager, and over the road truck driver, among many other things. He now lives on a sea island, in the South Carolina Lowcountry, with his wife and youngest daughter. They also have three grown children, five grand children, three dogs and a whole flock of parakeets. Stinnett grew up in Melbourne, Florida and has also lived in the Florida Keys, the Bahamas, and Cozumel, Mexico. His next dream is to one day visit and dive Cuba.