George Michael was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the best-selling recording artists of all time and was named one of the greatest singers of all time by Rolling Stone. Michael was known as a creative force in songwriting, vocal performance, and visual presentation.
"Last Christmas" is a song by British pop duo Wham!. Written and produced by George Michael, it was released on 3 December 1984 via CBS Records internationally and as a double A-side via Epic Records with "Everything She Wants" in several European countries. The song has been covered by many artists including Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Whigfield, Crazy Frog and Billie Piper.
Andrew John Ridgeley is an English musician, best known for his work in the 1980s in the musical duo Wham! consisting of Ridgeley and George Michael. Associated with the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US, they were one of the most successful pop acts during the 1980s, selling more than 30 million certified records worldwide from 1982 to 1986. Their singles "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", "Everything She Wants", and "Careless Whisper" all topped the US Billboard Hot 100. In 2019, Penguin Random House published Ridgeley's memoir Wham! George & Me.
Wham! were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981 consisting of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They were one of the most successful pop acts during the 1980s, selling more than 30 million certified records worldwide from 1982 to 1986. Associated with the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US, the singles "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", "Careless Whisper", and "Everything She Wants" all topped the US Billboard Hot 100. Their 1984 Christmas hit "Last Christmas" has become a staple of the holiday season since its release, with all proceeds from the single going to charity.
Faith is the debut solo studio album by the English singer George Michael, released on 2 November 1987 by Columbia Records and Epic Records. In addition to playing various instruments on the album, Michael wrote and produced every track on the recording except for one, "Look at Your Hands", which he co-wrote with David Austin. A pop album with influences of R&B, funk and soul music, Faith's songs include introspective lyrics, which generated controversies about Michael's personal relationships at that time.
Make It Big is the second studio album by English 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. Make It Big was certified 4× platinum in the US during the time of its release, and has since been certified 6× platinum in the US. In March 2024, Make It Big was reissued on vinyl for the first time in 30 years.
"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 recorded by English singer-songwriter George Michael. Released as the second single from Wham!'s second studio album Make It Big (1984), it was written by 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.
Fantastic is the debut studio album by English 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.
"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" is a song by English pop duo Wham!, first released as a single in the UK on 14 May 1984. It became their first UK and US number one hit. It was written and produced by George Michael. The single was certified platinum in the US, which at the time commemorated sales of over two million copies. The music video features Michael and bandmate Andrew Ridgeley wearing oversized message T-shirts created by Katharine Hamnett, starting a craze covered in the 2002 VH1 series I Love the 80s. The song was ranked number 28 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s.
"Everything She Wants" is a single by the British pop duo Wham!, released in 1984 under Epic Records. The song was part of a double A-side release with "Last Christmas". Written and produced by George Michael, a member of the duo, "Everything She Wants" garnered significant acclaim, marking Wham!'s third consecutive million-selling number-one hit in the United States.
"I'm Your Man" is a song by British pop duo Wham!, released in 1985 on Epic Records in the UK and most of the world, and Columbia Records in the US. It was written and produced by George Michael.
"The Edge of Heaven" is a song by English pop duo Wham!, released on Epic Records in 1986. It was written and produced by George Michael, one half of the duo, and was promoted in advance as Wham!'s farewell single.
The Final is a greatest hits album released in 1986 to summarise the career of English pop duo Wham!. The album was not initially released in North America, where the album Music from the Edge of Heaven was released instead. Six songs from that album appear on this compilation. The compilation album coincided with the farewell concert of the same name on 28 June 1986, at Wembley Stadium.
Twenty Five is the second compilation album by English singer-songwriter George Michael released in the UK on 13 November 2006, celebrating the 25th anniversary of his music career. It was released on 13 November 2006 by Sony BMG. It debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and number 23 on the Billboard 200, and it reached the top 20 on most other album charts. After Michael's death in December 2016, the album re-entered the Billboard 200 at a new peak position of number 12.
The Best of Wham!: If You Were There... is the second UK-released compilation to summarise the career of English pop duo Wham!. It was released in 1997, and peaked at number 4 on the UK Albums Chart. The end of the album features a hidden track that was first heard on their debut album, Fantastic.
English musical duo Wham! released three studio albums, four compilation albums, four video albums, 12 music videos, 14 singles, one promotional single, two remix albums and three documentary films.
Tron: Legacy is the soundtrack album to the 2010 film of the same name, released by Walt Disney Records on December 3, 2010. It is the only film score by French music duo Daft Punk.
Last Christmas is a 2019 Christmas romantic comedy film directed by Paul Feig and written by Bryony Kimmings and Emma Thompson, who co-developed the story concept with her husband, Greg Wise. Named after the 1984 song of the same name and inspired by the music of George Michael and Wham!, the film stars Emilia Clarke as a disillusioned Christmas store worker who forms a relationship with a mysterious man and begins to fall for him; Thompson and Michelle Yeoh also star.
The soundtrack for the 2018 American animated superhero film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, based on the Miles Morales incarnation of the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man and produced by Sony Pictures Animation, consists of a soundtrack featuring original songs written for and inspired by the film and an original score composed by Daniel Pemberton. The soundtrack was released under the title Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse under the Republic Records label on December 14, 2018, while Pemberton's score was released as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse under the Sony Classical label three days later.
