WHAM! and CULTURE CLUB

two of my favourite bands

Let's begin with Wham! George Michael and Andrew Ridgely formed Wham! in 1981. They signed with Innervision Records in 1982 and released their debut album Fantastic, taking their debut single Young Guns (Go For It) into the UK top three. They then followed it up with two UK Top Ten Hits; Wham! Rap & Bad Boys. 1984 saw even greater success with their second album Make It Big and the single Wake Me Up Before you Go Go, topping the charts in America as well as Britain. Also in 1984, George Michael released the solo single Careless Whisper which reached the top and another Wham! single Freedom also reached the top of the charts. 1986 saw the breakup of George and Andrew as one of the best duos to come out of the Great UK.

Visit another cool Wham! site here

George Michael and Andrew Ridgely

STAR QUOTE

February 1989

"Best kept secret in the music business?

That George Michael is a heterosexual."

-Boy George

Culture Club lead singer George O'Doyd, known to all as Boy George,was a constant source of headlines due to his ready wit, his 'gender-bending', and his remarkable talent as a vocalist and a lyricist. Culture Club formed in 1981, when George was already well-known for his brief liason affair with Bow Wow Wow. When manager Malcolm McLaren was having problems with singer Annabella, he suggested to Boy George that he should form his own band, and he did just that. Cultre Club's first two singles didn't become hits, but their 3rd Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? skyrocketed on the UK chart towards the end of 1982 and reached #2 in America in early 1983. The debut album, Kissing to be Clever from which D.Y.R.W.T.H.M. emerged, made it in the top 5 in the Uk and top 10 in America. By the end of 1983, Boy George Mania hit Britain with the release of Karma Chameleon, which topped the charts on both sides of the atlantic, and the album Colour by Numbers made it to #1 in the UK and #2 in America. There was a tremendous expectation from everyone that their next album, Waking Up With The House on Fire would be better than the preceeding LP. It was a tough act to follow. At the end of 1984 the Culture Club appeal seemed to be evaporating, which ended in the disbandment in 1986.

Visit another cool Culture Club site here

If any of these facts are wrong, please let me know and I will do more research and change the facts I thought were actual facts. Email me at gnarley80s@yahoo.com