Wham! | |
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Directed by | Chris Smith |
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Running time | 92 minutes [3] |
Country | United Kingdom [1] |
Language | English |
Wham! is a 2023 documentary film about the English pop duo Wham! consisting of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. The film marks the 40th anniversary of their 1983 debut album Fantastic . Directed by Chris Smith it relies primarily on rare archive footage and audio interviews by the duo, including television appearances, concert footage, private home video, behind-the-scenes outtakes, and family comments all linked together using scrapbooks created by Ridgeley's mother. [4] The film was co-produced by Ventureland / Passion Pictures, Nemperor Production, and Library Films with Altitude Film and Netflix serving as distributors. [1] [5] [6]
Wham! had its world premiere at the Sheffield DocFest on 17–18 June 2023 and given a limited theatrical release in the United Kingdom on 27 June. It was reviewed as a cleverly stitched together film, using audio posthumously of Michael and new audio from Ridgeley. It was released worldwide to stream on 5 July 2023 on Netflix and received generally positive reviews from critics. [1] The film was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Documentary.
Wham! begins with Ridgeley and Michael who first met at Bushey Meads School in 1975 when they were 12 and 11 years old, respectively. It covers the journey of the pop duo featuring home videos and never-before-seen archive footage. The film is all framed together using a large series of scrapbooks with articles and photos documented by Ridgeley's mother throughout the film. It discusses how they put together their first demo tape with a full version of "Wham Rap!" and a portion of "Careless Whisper" recorded in Ridgeley's front room, eventually signing a record deal with Innervision Records in March 1982.
An important turning point for the band after the release of their first single "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)" which failed to enter the UK Singles Chart, was an opportunity to appear on Top of the Pops in November 1982 performing "Young Guns (Go for It)" which rose in the chart from 42 eventually reaching number 3. Wham! follow up with a reissue of "Wham Rap!" which becomes a hit charting at number 8 and "Bad Boys" at number 2. "Club Tropicana" see the duo fly to the Spanish island of Ibiza, their first music video shoot abroad. It was filmed at Pikes Hotel with Ridgeley describing it as being more in line with their intended image. The single becomes a chart success in Europe.
They later sign to Epic Records with Simon Napier-Bell as their manager due to a dispute with Innervision. In 1984, the band went to Studio Miraval in Southern France to record their second studio album Make It Big. Wham! discuss the big success of their first number 1 single "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" and how Michael was inspired by a note Ridgeley had left on his bedroom door for his mother to wake him up the next morning. In late 1984, Michael describes how he felt attending the event to record Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" at Sarm West Studios which would coincide with the release of their own single "Last Christmas", showing outtakes from "Last Christmas" video shoot filmed in Saas-Fee, Switzerland.
It concludes with Ridgeley and Michael reflecting on their sell-out farewell concert the Final on 28 June 1986 at Wembley Stadium. The film ends with unseen alternative music video footage of "I'm Your Man", with the song playing over the credits.
The initial concept for a documentary film was when Ridgeley contacted co-producer Simon Halfon about the idea, around the same time as Ridgeley's 2019 memoir Wham! George & Me. Halfon then pitched the project to Kate Townsend, the VP for original feature documentaries at Netflix and John Battsek. [7] [8] In June 2022, it was announced that a documentary film about the band Wham! was in production and had the official support of Ridgeley, with Chris Smith signed on to direct. The official social media of Ridgeley and Michael announced and asked the public for any footage they may have. [9]
In the early stages of the project, Smith said that he approached it with the possibility of using on-screen interviews, however, during the editing process, Smith had decided to use a variety of archive interviews of Michael throughout the years and a new audio interview from Ridgeley. Smith, Lyons (editor), Halfon (producer), and Black (archive producer) spent a number of days in Ridgeley's studio during the recording. [10] [8] According to Smith, one of the biggest surprises were the scrapbooks (around 50), that Ridgeley's mother put together documenting the entire four years. [7] [8]
Among the tapes of archival material of varying quality discovered and located by the team was a VHS tape of their 1983 Hammersmith Odeon concert from the Club Fantastic Tour owned by Wham! bass player Dave West. This was found not long before the film's completion. [8] Also available were the original demos of "Wham Rap!" and "Careless Whisper" recorded by Paul Mex for their eventual record contract. [10] Finding footage for the Final concert was also an important inclusion. [10]
The film restoration was performed by R3store Studios in London to clean and scan the archive material, with many reels untouched for 40 years. They also restored large portions of Wham! in China , the 1986 documentary film. [10] During the post-production editing process, some material that did not make the final cut was footage of Wham! visiting the United States for the first time in 1983 to perform on television shows. [10]
Composer Tim Atack was in charge of the film's musical score. Studio cut excerpts used and concert footage of the following tracks in order:
Wham! held its world premiere at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England for the 30th Sheffield DocFest on 17 June 2023 with a Q&A session after the screening with the film's director Chris Smith and Wham! member Andrew Ridgeley, both via video call. On 18 June it was given another DocFest preview at the Showroom Cinema’s Warner Chappell Production Music screen. [6] An advanced BAFTA screening followed on 20 June 2023 with Smith, Halfon, Battsek, Ridgeley and Wham! backing singer Shirlie Holliman in attendance for a Q&A session hosted Anna Higgs at BAFTA's Piccadilly headquarters in London. [11] Further screenings with Smith in attendance followed in June at the Paris Theater in Manhattan and July at the Bay Theater in Palisades Village, Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles. [12] [13]
Wham! was released theatrically on 27 June 2023, in the United Kingdom by Altitude Film Distribution and was released on Netflix on 5 July 2023.
An official trailer was released on 15 June 2023 and featured the songs "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)" and "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go". [14] While no official soundtrack for the film has been issued, a compilation album on various formats was released two days after the documentary film The Singles: Echoes from the Edge of Heaven . [15]
According to Netflix, Wham! was watched by 4.4 million people in its first five days of digital release worldwide in any language and ranked 8th for the most watched TV and film. [16] It was the most-watched film in the United Kingdom debuting at number one for the week ending on 9 July 2023. [17] It also reached the top ten most-viewed film list in 23 countries during the same week including Ireland, Greece, Cyprus, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Malta, Iceland, Belgium, Netherlands and Canada. [18] The following week 10-16 July 2023, the film was the second most-watched film in the U.K. and Ireland and remained as a top 10 film in eight other countries. [19] [20] [21]
Upon its premiere at the 2023 Sheffield DocFest, the film received positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 90% of 48 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.2/10.The website's consensus reads: "While Wham! may mostly appeal to those familiar with shoulder pads and cassette tapes , it's hard not to swing along to this tribute pop-umentary about George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley." [22] On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 73 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [23]
Screen International film critic Fionnuala Halligan wrote, "The quality is far above the norm for this type of memoir assemblage, even if the substance is full of air bubbles..." [1] In a positive 4/5 star review for the London Evening Standard , El Hunt called it an "illuminating film" with it being "cleverly stitched together and drawing on a vast archive of audio recordings, their narrative does not shy away from reappraising the band's past and even calling themselves out." [24] Wendy Ide from The Guardian gave the film 4 stars out of 5, saying, "The film, which creates a dialogue between recent interviews with Ridgeley and older archive recordings of Michael, pays tribute to the close bond between the two Bushey Meads school friends who found themselves living the dream." [25]
Nick Hilton of The Independent was critical of the film, rating the film two of five stars saying, "Wham! inadvertently becomes a music documentary without much interest in music. Like the band themselves, this is a breezy watch, but if there's profundity beneath the perms and the cut-offs, the film struggles to find it." [26] Robert Moran from The Sydney Morning Herald felt the film was "as bright as the band's short-shorts and as satisfying as their enduring hits." [27]
San Francisco Chronicle 's Mick LaSalle wrote that Wham! "tells a sweet story, but also a goofy and entertaining one, because these guys were more '80s than anybody, more even than Miami Vice and Duran Duran", giving it 3 out of 4 marks. [28] Chicago Sun-Times 's Richard Roeper wrote that "the end result is a feel-good documentary about a feel-good band who were never destined for a decades-long run but had one hell of a good time dancing at the top of the pop charts for a few crazy years", rating the film three of four stars. [29] Kevin Harley, writing for the Radio Times gave it 3 stars, saying, "While the film can seem somewhat shallow, it works best as a warmly nostalgic celebration of fleeting youth and friendship." [30] Debiparna Chakraborty from Far Out gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars, writing "...the documentary acts as a vehicle for nostalgia, celebrating the effervescence of youth and the mercurial nature of fame." [31] Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com described it as "a total blast, regardless of your level of fandom. On the most superficial level, it's just a joy to relive this time of pop culture excess and sing along with these insanely catchy tunes." [32]
Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) and nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
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British Academy Television Awards | 18 February 2024 | Best Documentary | Wham! | Nominated | [33] |
FOCAL International Awards | 20 June 2024 | Best Use of Footage in a Cinematic Feature | Wham! Ventureland / Library Films / Nemperor | Won | [34] |
Best Use of Footage in a Music Production | Nominated | ||||
Golden Reel Awards | 3 March 2024 | Outstanding Achievement in Music Editing – Documentary | Wham! Music Editor: Greg Gettens | Nominated | [35] |
Golden Trailer Awards | 30 May 2024 | Best Foreign Documentary | Wham! "Greatness", Netflix, Ignition Creative London | Nominated | [36] |
"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 since its original release, most notably by 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!.
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.
"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.
"Wham Rap! " is the debut single by English pop duo Wham! on Innervision Records, released on 11 June 1982. It was written by Wham! members George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.
Sheffield DocFest, is an international documentary festival and Industry Marketplace held annually in Sheffield, England.
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.
The Big Melt is a documentary film about the Sheffield steel industry which combines archive footage with a live soundtrack. It was produced by Heather Croall and Mark Atkin and Martin Rosenbaum and directed by Jarvis Cocker and Martin Wallace for the 20th annual Sheffield Doc/Fest in 2013, to celebrate the centenary of the steel industry. The film was made using footage from the BFI National Archive. The film was commissioned by BBC Storyville and BBC North in association with the BFI, using public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
From The Sea to the Land Beyond: Britain's Coast on Film is a documentary feature film directed by Penny Woolcock, with an original soundtrack by British indie-rock band Sea Power. The project was produced by Heather Croall and Mark Atkin of Crossover to premiere at the Sheffield Doc/Fest as part of The Space project from the BBC and the Arts Council England. The film was edited by Alex Fry.
Heather Ann Croall is an international arts festival CEO and artistic director and documentary producer, best known for leading Sheffield Doc/Fest and Adelaide Fringe, and her work on live music / archive films including The Big Melt, From the Sea to the Land Beyond, Girt By Sea, From Scotland With Love, Atomic, Living in Dread and Promise
Beautiful Noise is a 2014 American music documentary film, written and directed by Eric Green. The film documents three rock bands—Cocteau Twins, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and My Bloody Valentine—and their influence on shoegazing and other alternative rock genres. Beautiful Noise features extracts from over 50 interviews with bands and artists, as well as archival footage and music videos.
The 50 Year Argument is a documentary film by Martin Scorsese and co-directed by David Tedeschi about the history and influence of the New York Review of Books, which marked its 50th anniversary in 2013. The documentary premiered in June 2014 at the Sheffield Doc/Fest and was soon screened in Oslo and Jerusalem before airing on the British Arena television series in July. It was also screened at the Telluride Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival and was seen at the New York Film Festival, in September, and at other film festivals. It first aired on HBO in September 2014 and was given other national broadcasts. It had a limited theatrical release in Toronto in 2015.
Altitude Film Distribution is a British film distribution company, part of the Altitude Film Entertainment group. The parent company was launched in 2012 by Optimum Releasing founder Will Clarke. Altitude Film Entertainment is vertically integrated, with divisions that handle film production, finance and international sales, as well as UK distribution.
James Jones is a British director who makes documentary films for international television and theatrical release.
The Club Fantastic Tour was the debut concert tour by English pop duo Wham!, launched in support of their first studio album Fantastic (1983). It was sponsored by Fila sportswear and spanned two months from October to late November 1983, comprising 30 sold-out shows across England, Scotland and Wales.
The Final was the farewell concert by English pop duo Wham!. It was held at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 28 June 1986. A total of 72,000 people attended the event, which included support artists and special guests, such as Elton John and Simon Le Bon. The concert was preceded by the release of the greatest hits album of the same name.
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.
The Arbor is a 2010 British film about Andrea Dunbar, directed by Clio Barnard. The film uses actors lip-synching to interviews with Dunbar and her family, and concentrates on the strained relationship between Dunbar and her daughter Lorraine.