In those early post-Wham! years, Andrew also tried his hand at Formula Three racing around Europe. While motorsport didn't work out for him, his team owner Dave Price remembers him fondly. Andrew co wrote Careless Whisper and that he missed Band Aid as he thought it was a hoax so George went without him and he went to a local cafe for his brekkie, soon realising what he had missed out on She was also with him for most of his life milestones, and George left the bulk of his estate to her and Yioda when he died aged 53 from heart and fatty liver disease. How come the documentary keeps such a tight focus on WHAM! without getting into you or George before and after?

neemt George (hij noemt hem Jok, een afkorting van zijn Griekse naam Georgios) op sleeptouw als hij op zijn eerste schooldag verlegen het lokaal in schuifelt. Everyone has been working so hard to bring you his music, the movie is going to be there to celebrate and remember Yog and his music well into the future…and we thank everyone whose efforts brought his music to you." After 20 years of a relatively quiet life in Cornwall, 2017 was a pretty major year for Keren Woodward.I interviewed Andrew's then-partner Keren five years ago when she was rehearsing for a Bananarama reunion tour. She told me: “I’ve lived in Cornwall for over 20 years – I moved to Cornwall to re-balance myself after the madness of the ’80s. I’m pretty much a local now." In 1984, Ridgeley underwent surgery to have his septum straightened to improve his breathing after having broken his nose as a child of nine. [10] After photos were published in British newspapers showing Ridgeley's bandaged face, Wham!'s manager, Simon Napier-Bell, fabricated a story that the bandages were the result of Ridgeley having been hit in the nose in a nightclub. After days of tabloid headlines, the true reason was revealed. [11] Ridgeley in 1985 zet George op een voetstuk als één van de beste zangers en songwriters van zijn generatie, iemand die niet onderdoet voor Freddie Mercury en Elton John. I had a very anti-pathetical relationship with the press, and it didn’t do me any good. I saw it as a sport, they saw it as sport, but actually it would have been far easier, had I been slightly less confrontational. I don’t think that served me well.”

I think we as a family, (there are lots of us, we Greek Cypriots, we're everywhere)!! have come to fully appreciate (although we already knew really), quite how much love there is out there in the world, for both Yog and his beautiful music. George has left for us in his songs, in the transcendental beauty of his voice, and poetic expression of his soul, the very best of himself. I loved him and in return, we, you, have been loved."

Sanghera, Sathnam (12 October 2019). "Andrew Ridgeley Cheltenham Festival". Cheltenham Literature Festival 2019 . Retrieved 20 July 2023. There is a marked contrast in yours and George’s confidence levels, and it’s illustrated by one of your standout statements in the film about how you always knew who you were and one of George’s standout statements about how he was trying to be you. How have you, and all of his friends, dealt with the period since he's died?" asked Morgan. To which Ridgeley replied, "I would imagine much like anyone else does. There's a period of grief, and it's a difficult adjustment. A loss of a great friend is traumatic and emotionally tough. Almost as emotionally tough as the Dallaglio Cycle Slam!" In April 1985, Wham! played shows in Beijing and Guangzhou, China, and in doing so, they became the first western pop act to perform in the Communist country. “It was the hardest performance I’ve ever given in my life,” Michael told the Chicago Tribune after the first gig. “I couldn't believe how quiet the crowd was at first. … I didn’t realize that they weren’t clapping because they thought we were begging for applause. And I didn’t realize that they weren’t good at clapping in time to western music because their sense of rhythm is so different to ours.”

Andy tells us everything. Well, likely not everything. He's a true friend to George through & through. Readers get a first-hand account of the start of the friendships, school days, listening to records at each other's houses & the birth of Wham! Ridgeley performed a cameo role in Last Christmas, a 2019 film that featured many songs by Wham!. [24] [25] In 2018, Ridgeley appeared on Good Morning Britain to discuss a charity race through the French and Swiss Alps called Dallaglio Cycle Slam. Presenter Piers Morgan pressed Ridgeley on Michael's death which had taken place just two years earlier, but he was clearly uncomfortable with this line of questioning.

In 1990, Ridgeley released a solo album, but hadn’t really wanted to – he wanted to do a single first to see how it landed – and it was disappointing. “It was misjudged,” he says. Ridgeley left the spotlight, having achieved his life’s ambitions in his early 20s, living off Wham! royalties. There is something winningly youthful about him and the way he has spent his life – cycling, surfing, walking, a brief stint as a racing-car driver. He didn’t have children, although he helped to raise his stepson, during a long relationship with fellow 80s popstar Keren Woodward, of Bananarama. Keren chipped in: “I loved those bands too! That was the difference with Bananarama though, we had that punk attitude and had a DIY way of doing things.”

Andrew Ridgeley pictured at the start of the Tour of Britain race in Penzance in September 2021 (Image: Greg Martin / Cornwall Live) A very good point indeed. More tolerance, less spite and malice. It’s almost gladiatorial, isn’t it? But without the gladiator having any semblance of a chance. It’s not even giving them a sword, or any armour. Some people will find it titillating to a degree. But a lot of people are repulsed by it. Yet the tabloids seem to think that’s what people want. I’m sure they’d argue that there is an appetite, and they’re feeding the appetite. But have they created the appetite in the first instance?” What is also not clear are the many years between the dissolution of Wham! and the death of George Michael. I would have liked a bridge to close the gap. But it’s the end of Wham!, failed solo album for Ridgeley, failed motor racing career and then the phone call in 2016 letting him know his best mate died. For the firsttime, Andrew Ridgeley—one half of one of the most famous bands in the world—tells the inside story of Wham!, his lifelong friendship with George Michael, and the formation of a band that changed the shape of the music scene inthe early eighties. But by 1986, George's decision to go solo ended the band and with that, Wham! bowed out with one last concert at Wembley. The tabloids were predictably cruel after that, claiming that Ridgeley was the weak link who didn't really contribute anything of value to the band's sound.

Wham! were boring. At least that's what Netflix's sanguine documentary would have you believe

In 1986, " The Edge of Heaven" became Wham!'s fourth and final U.K. No. 1 single. With Michael keen to move into a more adult market, the duo broke up after a farewell concert dubbed "The Final" in front of 72,000 people at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, 28 June 1986. On the topic of tabloid newspapers pressuring people to come out against their wishes, he says “It’s for an individual to make their sexuality public – or not. It’s no one else’s business. And if it’s legal and within the law, then it can’t really be criticised.”