It seems that eventually every band that ever got near the Billboard Hot 100 chart reunites for an album, a tour or both. But one group that topped that chart multiple times never reunited — and it wasn’t because they didn’t get along.
The duo Wham! — Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael — were massively successful in the ’80s, with three number-one hits, a number-one album and sold-out concerts worldwide. But they were only together for four years; after that, George Michael launched his own solo career, which was also massively successful.
While George and Andrew remained good friends and performed together every now and then, it was never under the name Wham!, and they never did a full-fledged reunion tour. Speaking to Vulture, Andrew explains, “We resisted the lure of a reunion with steadfastness because … [George’s] artistic destiny lay beyond Wham!”
“We understood quite early that one day the constraints that Wham! imposed upon his songwriting scope were too narrow,” Andrew continues. “He wouldn’t be able to develop fully as an artist within the parameters that Wham! set.”
And why was that? “Wham! was that representation and manifestation of our youth,” Andrew explains. “It was all about the vigor, experience, vitality, and exuberance of youth … [we] couldn’t drag Wham! into middle age … it was never going to work.”
“Obviously, the temptation was there for both of us … [but] it pretty much became an unspoken rule,” he says. “We discussed it one time: ‘We cannot reform and we can’t appear again as Wham!’ Because it would’ve been a betrayal of everything Wham! stood for, really.”
Despite never getting a Wham! reunion, at least we have the Wham! Netflix documentary, which is streaming now.
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