Wham! ABC
A is for Andrew Ridgeley, the other half of Wham! Together the soul boys went nightclubbing before forming their first band, The Executive. Andy is known to some as Nodgeley (which incidently, has nothing to do with his nose.)B is for Bad influence. It was Andy's style and overbearing confidence that attracted George to him. As their relationship advanced, they began to see that they did indeed have a lot in common.
C is for Careless Whisper, George's first solo venture which, in the summer of 1984, topped the UK charts.
D is for Demo - practically all their song casts on plastic have been drawn from demo discs which were made in the hope of attacting major record companies. Even "Careless Whisper" was pulled off a shelf two years ago.
E is for Elton John. Elton flew George and Andrew back to England after borrowing some of their studio time in France. The lads have always been avid fans of Elton's and, at the recent Live Aid concert, they joined him on stage and George sang Elton's hit "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me".
F is for "Freedom". In October 1984, the fans proved once more that Wham! weren't a passing phase. Selling over half a million copies, "Freedom" shot to no.1, earning George and Andrew yet another award, this time a Golden Disc.
G is obviously for George. Born on 25th June 1963, he was formerly known as Georgios Panayiotou. On off days, George thinks he looks like Benny in Crossroads.
H is for Shirlie Holliman, Wham!'s backing vocalist. Formerly, she went out with Andy, but after meeting Spandau Ballet's Martin Kemp backstage at a gig, their relationship died, and Shirlie was later to be engaged to Martin.
I is for Identity, something which Wham! are desperately trying to maintain. In an age when fashion, hairstyles and videos are just as important as the record itself, Wham! are proving that when it comes to basics, it's most definitely the music that counts. In 1984 "Freedom" was the only no.1 not to have a cover video.
J is for January - Andrew's birthday. Born in Windlesham, Surrey, Andrew later attended Bushey Meads School, Hertford. It was there that he met George.
K is for Kyriacos, George's father. He came from a family of immigrant Greek Cypriots, who had long settled near London. Locally he is known as Jack.
L is for "Last Christmas". The video to this was the first to feature a proper story line, and was shot on location in Switzerland.
M is for millionaire, "Sun-kissed Millionaires" they've been called, but is it all true? "It would be nice if it were correct", says George "but it's not, I'm certainly not a millionaire, neither of us are."
N is for New York, George's favourite city. He says "I've contemplated living there, if I ever get the chance. It really would be the ideal situation for me. I'm in love with the place! I love it's dynamism."
O is for old. George and Andrew are both 22 years old.
P is for Punch-up, or rather publicity punch-up! During his much heralded "nose-job" Andy put out a press release, saying that in an arguement over a girl, a friend, David Austin, threw a champagne ice bucket at him which broke his nose. "What's a broken nose between friends!" he said, and the press believed him. It was all a ploy to cover up for the fact that Andy had to have plastic surgery to help him breathe normally.
Q is for the Quibble the lads had with their record company after the release of their debut album "Fantastic". The album was well on it's way to becoming Wham!'s first platinum record, but there were no singles to keep the fans happy. The record company that Wham! were so desperately trying to escape from, decided that while their lawyers wrangled over the binding contract, they would release a special single called "Club Tropicana Megamix" much to George and Andrew's annoyance.
R is for Record Company. After the contracts with Epic had been signed, their first priority was to get the single everyone had been waiting for, out to the shops. Secondly they waited to see it shoot to the top. The inevitable happened in May of last year as "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" topped the UK charts.
S is for Wham!'s manager, Simon Napier-Bell. He had managed bands through the sixties and was already looking after Japan when, in search for a new talent, he came across Wham! They seemed perfect and proved later that they were.
T is for T-shirts. Wham! certainly made an impression on the summer look of '84 with their own curruption of the Katherine Hamnetts big letter "T-shirt" CHOOSE WHAM!
U is for Ultimate - Wham! basically have achieved every goal conceivable for a commercial pop group. Gold and Platinum discs and reminders of their hard work and expensive touring.
V is for Violin. As a child, George learned to play the violin, and later he obtained and 'O' level in the Music Theory.
W is for debut single "Wham Rap". Released in 1982, it was their most unsuccessful single, and to the band's horror, it sulked in the UK charts instead of dominating them.
X is for Xmas. "Last Christmas" saw Wham! involved in two more projects. Most importantly for the lads was their "Last Christmas" single. Although it didn't get to no.1, there was a very good reason for this. Wham! appeared on the "Band Aid" record "Do They Know It's Christmas" and it was this record that pipped Wham! to the post for the number one spot.
Y is for "Young Guns (Go For It)". The follow-up to "Wham Rap" proved to be a great success, reaching to no. 3 just before Christmas 1982. It gave the Wham! boys a much needed break.
AND FINALLY:
Z is for Zero - the number of chart successes that Wham! haven't had.