Make It Big | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 22 October 1984 (US) [1] 5 November 1984 (UK) [2] | |||
Recorded | 1984 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 38:02 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | George Michael | |||
Wham! chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
Singles from Make It Big | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [5] |
Robert Christgau | B [6] |
Rolling Stone | [7] |
Make It Big is the second studio album by English pop duo Wham!,released in 1984. In comparison to their earlier work,Wham! (George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley) 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. [8] In March 2024,Make It Big was reissued on vinyl for the first time in 30 years. [9]
The music video for single "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" had the duo in shirts that read Choose Life. It would be the first of several hits from the album. The second single "Careless Whisper" is technically a Wham! song as it appears on the Wham! album Make It Big. However,when released as a single,it was credited either to Wham! featuring George Michael (in North America and several other countries) or solely to George Michael (in the United Kingdom and some European countries) as it became apparent,that at some point in the near future,Michael would be embarking on a solo career. The music video for third single "Freedom" featured the duo while performing a concert in China;incidentally Wham! would become the first Western popular music act to tour China. The fourth single "Everything She Wants" was released as a double A-side with "Last Christmas";"Last Christmas" would later appear on Music from the Edge of Heaven ,an album released only in North America and Japan.
The album was mostly written and recorded at Studio Miraval in Southern France over a course of six weeks, [3] beginning in early July 1984. [10] This allowed Michael to escape press attention and work peacefully. According to Andrew Ridgeley,the decision to record in the south of France was made largely due to tax reasons,as well as it being the ideal place for them to spend the summer due to the hot weather. [11] Plus,it was one and a half hours away from London,and Michael "had to keep going back to do things for Careless Whisper". [11] Like "Careless Whisper" and "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go",most of the songs were recorded with a live rhythm section. [3]
The main album credits attribute it as having been mixed at Good Earth Studios in London and Marcadet Studios in Paris. [12] However,it turns out to be neither,as engineer Porter revealed:most of the album was mixed at Sarm West's Studio 2 (where "Careless Whisper" and "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" were recorded),with some mixing already completed at Studio Miraval. [13]
Make It Big,Wham's second album,would see the duo score hit singles in the United States. Their first album Fantastic was a hit in the UK but failed to make an impact in the US. Make It Big received some positive reviews. Christopher Connelly from Rolling Stone wrote that the "music is an unabashed rehash of Motown",adding "Make It Big is an almost flawless pop record,a record that does exactly what it wants to and has a great deal of fun doing it." [7] In a retrospective review,Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic writes,"They succeeded on a grander scale than they ever could have imagined,conquering the world and elsewhere with this effervescent set of giddy new wave pop-soul." [5] Billboard magazine described as "a one-two punch., [14] Cashbox gave a postive review and described as "less tense,more tuneful,&Dance rhythms" [15]
All tracks are written by George Michael, except where noted
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" | 3:50 |
2. | "Everything She Wants" | 5:01 |
3. | "Heartbeat" | 4:42 |
4. | "Like a Baby" | 4:12 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
5. | "Freedom" | 5:01 | |
6. | "If You Were There" | 3:38 | |
7. | "Credit Card Baby" | 5:08 | |
8. | "Careless Whisper" |
| 6:30 |
Total length: | 38:02 |
Wham!
Additional musicians
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [44] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
Canada (Music Canada) [45] | 6× Platinum | 600,000^ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [46] | Gold | 10,000‡ |
Finland (Musiikkituottajat) [47] | Platinum | 53,465 [47] |
France (SNEP) [48] | 2× Gold | 200,000* |
Germany (BVMI) [49] | Gold | 250,000^ |
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong) [50] | Platinum | 20,000* |
Japan (Oricon Charts) | — | 821,000 [23] |
Netherlands (NVPI) [51] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [52] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [53] | 4× Platinum | 1,300,000 [54] |
United States (RIAA) [55] | 6× Platinum | 6,000,000^ |
Summaries | ||
Worldwide | — | 10,000,000 [56] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Wham! embarked on a world tour to promote the album in December 1984, opening at Whitley Bay's Ice Rink, before going on to dates in Japan, Australia, United States, United Kingdom, Hong Kong and China, ending in April 1985 at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Canton.
"Last Christmas" is a song by English 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 since its original release, including Whigfield, Crazy Frog, Billie Piper, Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande.
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.
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.
"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.
"Freedom" is a 1984 song by English pop duo Wham! from their album Make It Big, released on 1 October 1984. It became the group's second number one hit on the UK Singles Chart and reached number three in America. It was written and produced by George Michael, one half of the duo.
"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.
"A Different Corner" is a song written and performed by English singer and songwriter George Michael that was released on Epic Records in 1986.
English singer-songwriter George Michael's releases consist of five studio albums, two compilation albums, one extended play, 44 singles, six promotional singles, 36 music videos, and five video albums. In his career, Michael sold an estimated 100 million to 125 million records worldwide, making him one of the world's best-selling artists of all time.
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, two remix albums and two documentary films.
Whamamerica! was a concert tour by English pop duo Wham!. The tour was launched following the success of their 1984 certified multi-platinum studio album Make It Big, which sold four million copies in the United States by the end of the year. The tour spanned nineteen days between August and September 1985, comprising nine shows across the United States and Canada.
Wham! in China: Foreign Skies is a 1986 documentary film about the English pop duo Wham! consisting of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. It follows Wham! on their historic 10-day visit to China during the 1985 world tour when they became the first Western pop act to visit the country. The film is a British venture produced by Big Boys Overseas Limited and CBS Records, with CBS/Fox Video serving as distributor.
Alone at Prom is the sixth studio album by Canadian rapper and singer Tory Lanez. It was released on December 10, 2021, through his independent label One Umbrella. The album's concept is built around '80s music, being inspired to that era of music and aesthetics.
Last Christmas: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album consisting of songs performed solely by George Michael and with Andrew Ridgeley through the eponymous pop duo Wham!. Serving as the soundtrack to the 2019 film Last Christmas directed by Paul Feig, it was released on 8 November 2019 by Legacy Recordings, on the date of the film's release, and consisted 14 existing songs, as well as a previously unreleased song originally completed in 2015 titled "This Is How ". It additionally featured a bonus track, released in the Japanese edition. The album featured at multiple chart positions since 2019 and received positive reviews.
The Singles: Echoes from the Edge of Heaven is the fourth compilation album by English pop duo Wham!, released on 7 July 2023 through Sony Music. It was released in a variety of formats in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the duo's formation, with the standard physical and digital version containing the duo's singles in chronological order that were released from 1982 to 1986, with the exception of "Club Fantastic Megamix" and "Careless Whisper", along with several B-sides. The expanded digital version adds 17 tracks, made up of different mixes of the singles, which are included across the separate singles in the CD and seven-inch vinyl box sets. The compilation was released two days following the Netflix release of the 2023 documentary film Wham!
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