Wham! George & Me: Celebrate 40 Years of Wham! with the Sunday Times Bestseller
£9.60£10.40 (-8%)
Celebrate 40 years of WHAM! with the Sunday Times bestseller from one half of the world’s most famous bands
‘I couldn’t put it down. Such a fantastic book’ Chris Evans, Virgin Radio
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School mates. Band mates. Soul mates . . .
When Andrew Ridgley took George Michael, the new boy at school, under his wing, he discovered a soul mate.
In Wham! George and Me, Andrew tells the story of how they rode a rollercoaster of success around the world while making iconic records and surviving superstardom with their friendship intact. It is a memoir of love, music, the flamboyant 1980s and living in a pop hurricane.
No one else can ever tell their story – because no one else was there . . .
Forty years on from their explosion into pop music, Andrew Ridgeley tells the inside story of Wham!, his life-long friendship with George Michael and the formation of a band that changed music.
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‘A joyous celebration of the Wham! years. For anyone who was a teenager in the early 1980s, it will take you on a nostalgia trip. It’s an honest but affectionate account of a remarkable duo who remained true to their origins and their friendship throughout it all’ Daily Express
‘As infectious as their music’ Daily Mirror
‘A remarkably generous memoir. In more than one sense, the biography of a friend’ Spectator
‘A great story’ Saturday Live, Radio 4
‘A lovely book. A love letter to George’ Graham Norton, BBC One
‘Charming, heartfelt . . . there’s a real poignancy to Ridgeley’s description of Wham!’s glory days’ Sunday Times
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Additional information
| Publisher | Penguin (11 Jun. 2020) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 368 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0241385822 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0241385821 |
| Dimensions | 12.9 x 2.4 x 19.8 cm |
by Stuart Lunn
Great book
by Mr S L Rickwood
Totally excellent read – a story of two friends who stuck together and lived a dream in an era where pop music ruled.
Even if you weren’t a fan you could still get dragged along in the crazy story!
by jan smith
Absolutely loved this book! Brought back so many memories!
by Mark West
For the first time, Andrew Ridgeley tells the inside story of Wham! and his life-long friendship with George Michael. From their first meeting at school in 1975 to the farewell concert at Wembley Stadium in 1986, he reveals what it was like being at the centre of a pop hurricane and talks of his love for and friendship with George.
I was never the biggest fan of Wham! but they did soundtrack a big chunk of my teenaged years and I love “Last Christmas”, so I was willing to take a chance on this. Ridgeley’s remembrance of their early friendship – right up until Wham! really took off, to be honest – is wonderful, two mates against the world and trying to do their best. But then, once the fame hit, the book becomes a bit shallow and Ridgeley is on the defensive a lot. He mentions “I was confident” enough that you start to think he’s trying to kid himself and comments often that he co-wrote the early songs. Now the latter might be because of all the rumours and memes (the ‘George Michael gave him a co-writing credit so he’d never have to worry about money’) and if that’s the case then I understand it completely but we’ll never really know the full facts. He clearly had a terrific friendship with George and those reminisces were the best part of the book so it’s a shame the book jumps from 1991 to George’s untimely passing in 2016 without any mention of the intervening years. If you were a Wham! fan then you’ll probably love it, so I would recommend it.
by Amazon Customer
I really enjoyed reading this book, I couldn’t put it down, I think I must’ve read it in a a few days. It took me back to my teenage years when life was a lot more carefree and simpler and although I wasn’t a Wham! fan at the time (I was into Duran Duran), I did like their catchy pop songs… I like them even more so now I’m (much) older.
The book tells of how Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael first met, their dream to become a pop group and how that dream came true. There are lots of photos from Andrew Ridgeley’s personal collection throughout the book which I liked. The only thing I will say is, there wasn’t a lot to read after Wham! split. I know the book is about Wham! but I would’ve like to have known a little more about life for the author after they split, he doesn’t mention about his relationship with Keren Woodward from Bananarama at all. Maybe there was an agreement between them that she not be included in the book, who knows… I just felt the ending of the book was a little rushed hence why I’m giving 4 Stars.
All in all I loved the book, I just wished there had been a few more chapters to have read after Wham! split and obviously, wished that George Michael was still with us.
by Rosiegoescrazy
I adored Wham, too young to really take part in their rise and finale but oh how I adored, especially Andrew. This book not only gave me an amazing insight to the band and an incredible friendship but it also took me back to my own friendships at that time. Andrew Ridgeley is absolutely the best friend anyone could ever wish to have and once again I have Wham on my playlist in the car.
by Mr Jamie Whitehouse
Decent, easy and quick read.
Good to hear about Wham – especially the early days.
Just watched the new Netflix documentary and this is based on the book.
by lpjlove of music
Loving this book.Only read a few chapters so far.Such a good read.