Was the other guy in wham gay
George Michael: Death of Wham! was because I was closeted and miserable
George Michael said the demise of Wham! — the band he formed with childhood friend Andrew Ridgeley — was tied to him being secretly gay.
“In reality, the turning point of Wham! was nothing to do with Wham!,” the late singer shared in an unaired interview in the upcoming Netflix documentary “Wham!”
“The turning point of Wham! was me as I suddenly reflection, ‘Oh my God, I’m a huge star and I’m gay,’ and the depression was about that,” he continued, “about the way I’d boxed myself in.”
The documentary tells the story of Michael and Ridgeley meeting in college and bonding over their shared romance of music. The two decided to form a musical duo and by the age of 20 had already found success.
The duo became the first Western pop execute to play in China, had a slew of No. 1 hits and achieved global achievement. They played their last gig at Wembley Stadium in June 1986.
The “Careless Whisper” singer realized he was homosexual or at the very least attracted to both genders at the age of 19.
“I had stayed over at this guy’s house,”
With a new Wham! documentary debuting, it seemed a good time to revisit this post from 2021…
From 1982 to 1986, there may have been no pop sensation more flourishing than Wham!. In their heyday, the group sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and penned 1980s staples like “Careless Whisper” and “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.” Their visit to China in 1985 did more to open that territory to Western music than most anything in the previous 50 years. The group’s frontmen were George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, two childhood friends that first formed a band called the Executive and then moved on to partner in Wham!. One of their earliest songs was called (cringe!) “Wham Rap (Enjoy What You Do).” Nonetheless, the two friends survived that, and ultimately released a series of chart-topping albums. They became the only British act to have three #1 singles on both the UK and U.S. charts. Then in 1986, at what appeared to be the top of their pop game, the duo abruptly called it quits to (separately) pursue more adult-oriented music. George Michael went on to have a hugely flourishing music career until his sudden death on December 25, 2016. But what the heck happened to Andrew
Andrew Ridgeley Says George Michael’s Delayed Coming Out Came At a ‘Personal Cost’ to Wham! Bandmate
While George Michael may be remembered today as a homosexual icon in his own right, the “Freedom ’90” singer’s former bandmate recently revealed that his delayed coming out cost the superstar dearly.
According to Michael’s longtime Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley, the “Faith” singer’s decision to keep his sexuality secret before eventually announcing it on live TV in 1998 ultimately damage him more than it helped. “I think it is fairly unarguable,” Ridgeley told Peoplein an interview published Wednesday (July 5). “He made the aim that it had a personal require, which I don’t think he ever quite reconciled.”
“George was thinking, ‘Yeah, I’ll just come out and say it,’ and I thought, ‘Well, how’s this gonna change anything for us?'” Ridgeley also told the publication. “The music’s still great and once the initial sort of hullabaloo is over, then it’ll probably be just that. But that was not the case, and George says th
George Michael said he was 'persuaded' to stay closeted in Wham! even though he 'really wanted to come out'
George Michael is now known as a LGBTQ+ icon, but the British crooner spent much of his career closeted after seeking advice from "the wrong people."
The brand-new Netflix documentary "Wham!" uses archival footage to scout the "pivotal moment" that Michael came out to his bandmate, Andrew Ridgeley, when the two friends were 19.
Back in 1983, the pop duo traveled to Ibiza, Spain, to film the music video for "Club Tropicana." In the documentary, Ridgeley recalled how Michael phoned him one morning to "come over and have a chat."
Ridgeley found Michael in bed in his hotel room. Shirlie Holliman, their backup singer and seal friend, was also there.
"He gave Shirlie a sort of quick glance. He said to me, 'Didn't know how to narrate you this, but I'm gay. If not homosexual, you know, bisexual,'" Ridgeley said. "For me, his sexuality had absolutely no bearing on us. I wanted him to be happy."
Despite his best friend's acceptance, Michael wouldn't reach out publicly for another 15 years.
"I said I was gonna talk to my mom and dad, and was persuaded in no uncertain
George Michael (courtesy georgemichael.com)
Heart mistake killed George Michael, 53, on Christmas 2016. Wham’s 1985 hit “Last Christmas” will never sound the same.
Michael’s songs poeticized queer wish and charted hits. Although many ’80s stars embraced gender-bending and flamboyance, appreciate Prince, David Bowie, Lad George, and even Michael Jackson, Michael pushed further, with lyrics that endure as thinly veiled expressions of queer love.
Wham’s breakout second album, Make It Big (1984), catapulted young Michael and Andrew Ridgeley to worldwide notoriety. From the start, their songs oozed with queer resonances, which haven’t been fully unpacked in most of the articles written in Michael’s wake.
The success of “Careless Whisper” (1984) surprised even Michael himself. As he explained to People, “I don’t know why it made such an impression… But it’s ironic that I wrote it when I was 17 and didn’t know much about anything. Certainly nothing much about relationships.”
Michael wrote the song to be conspicuously ambiguous about the gender he desired. All the references to “you” and “we” leave us in the dark. That ambiguity allowed listeners across