Stevland Hardaway Morris, known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include R&B, pop, soul, gospel, funk, and jazz. A virtual one-man band, Wonder's use of synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments during the 1970s reshaped the conventions of contemporary R&B. He also helped drive such genres into the album era, crafting his LPs as cohesive and consistent, in addition to socially conscious statements with complex compositions. Blind since shortly after his birth, Wonder was a child prodigy who signed with Motown's Tamla label at the age of 11, where he was given the professional name Little Stevie Wonder.
Andrew John Ridgeley is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer, best known for his work in the 1980s in the musical duo Wham!
Warner Records Inc. is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the American film studio Warner Bros.
The Cold Crush Brothers are an American hip hop group that formed in 1978 in the Bronx, New York City. They were especially known for their memorable routines which included harmonies, melodies and stage-stomping performances. The Cold Crush Brothers still perform across the United States.
Jet Records was a British record label started by Don Arden in 1974, featuring musicians such as Lynsey de Paul, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Roy Wood, Gary Moore, Ozzy Osbourne, Alan Price, Adrian Gurvitz, Riot and Magnum.
Wham! were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling more than 30 million certified records worldwide from 1982 to 1986.
Make It Big is the second studio album from British pop duo Wham!, released in 1984. In comparison to their earlier work, Wham! had more control over the album's production and Michael would also be credited as a producer. The album was a commercial success, hitting number one in both the US and the UK and spawning four singles, all reaching the top three in the US and the UK.
T-Neck Records was a record label founded by members of the R&B/soul group The Isley Brothers in 1964, which became notable for distributing the first nationally-released recordings of Jimi Hendrix, their guitarist, and which later became a successful label after the Isleys began releasing their own works after years of recording for other labels, scoring hits such as "It's Your Thing" (1969) and "That Lady" (1973).
Simon Robert Napier-Bell is an English record producer, music manager, author and journalist. At different times, he has managed artists as diverse as the Yardbirds, John's Children, Marc Bolan, Japan, London, Sinéad O'Connor, Ultravox, Boney M, Sinitta, Wham!, Blue Mercedes, Alsou and Candi Staton, among others.
"Club Tropicana" is a single by English pop duo Wham!, released on 22 July 1983 on Innervision Records. It was written by members George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.
"Careless Whisper" is a song written by English pop duo Wham!. Released as the second single from the duo's second studio album Make It Big (1984), it was written by Wham! members George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, with Michael producing the song. Although the song was released as part of Make it Big, the single release is credited to either Wham! featuring George Michael or solely to George Michael.
Salsoul Records is an American New York City based record label, founded by three brothers, Joseph Cayre, Kenneth Cayre, and Stanley Cayre. Salsoul issued about 300 singles, including many disco/post-disco 12-inch releases, and a string of albums in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Fantastic is the debut studio album by British pop duo Wham!, released on 1 July 1983. It reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. It included the previously released singles "Young Guns", "Wham Rap!" and "Bad Boys". "Club Tropicana" was released as a single to coincide with the album's release. Although not on the album, "Club Fantastic Megamix" was released against the band's wishes by Innervision soon after Fantastic, and whilst they were in proceedings to leave the label.
"Bad Boys" is a song by English pop duo Wham! which was a hit in 1983. It was written and co-produced by George Michael, one half of the duo, and released on Innervision Records.
"Young Guns (Go for It)" (also listed as "Young Guns (Go for It!)" on some releases) is a song by English pop duo Wham! first released as a single in the UK by Innervision Records on 17 September 1982. It was written and co-produced by George Michael, of the duo. The song was Wham!'s first hit, achieved with help from the BBC music programme Top of the Pops, which invited Wham! on to the show as a last-minute replacement for another act which had pulled out. The producer of Top of the Pops Michael Hurll, had seen them on another programme, Saturday Superstore.
"Wham Rap! " is the debut single by English pop duo Wham! on Innervision Records, released in June 1982. It was written by Wham! members George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.
Space Monkey was a British pop group from the mid-1980s, led by the singer–songwriter guitarist Paul Goodchild. The group's sole album was 1985's On the Beam, issued in the UK by Innervision Records and in the US by MCA. A previous charting single release, "Can't Stop Running", was issued in 1983 on Innervision Records. It peaked at No. 53 in the UK Singles Chart in October 1983.
Jimmy the Hoover were a British pop band, who had a hit single with "Tantalise ". It was their only hit, reaching number 18 on the UK Singles Chart in July 1983.
"Club Fantastic Megamix" was a medley single released by Wham! in 1983, and was the last single release for the duo on Innervision Records. It was mixed by DMC's Alan Couthard and approved by Mark Dean, the manager of Innervision Records. The single was released three months after Wham! had begun proceedings to leave the label, and was disapproved of by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. The single, which consisted of a mix of the tracks "A Ray of Sunshine", "Love Machine" and "Come On" from the album Fantastic, reached number 15 on the UK Singles Chart.
Panayiotou and others v. Sony Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd. was a contract and entertainment law case before the High Court of Justice's Chancery Division. The plaintiff, entertainer George Michael, argued that his recording contract constituted an unreasonable restraint of trade. Michael alleged that the defendant had failed to promote his album Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 with due vigour as punishment when the artist decided to downplay his status as a sex symbol. Michael described his situation as "professional slavery" because his contract required that he produce music and cede the copyright to Sony for many years, leaving him no control over how the music would be marketed nor placing a reciprocal requirement that the label invest in promotion. Had the case succeeded, it might have curtailed the practice of signing artists to multi-album contracts. The court wholly rejected the claims.
