Category: Wham!

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Andrew Ridgeley Awards Careless Whisper Wham!

George Michael’s “Careless Whisper” Tops Smooth’s All Time Top 500 for 8th Year

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George Michael’s “Careless Whisper” is #1 on 2025’s All Time Top 500 for Smooth Radio. It is the seventh year in a row that “Careless Whisper” has topped the chart, and the eighth year at #1.

Andrew Ridgeley spoke to Smooth Radio about “Careless Whisper” reaching number one for the eighth year:

In the top 10, George Michael’s “A Different Corner” ranked at #3 for another year and “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” George’s duet with Elton John, moved up two spots to the #9 spot.

George Michael Rankings in Smooth’s Top 500

George Michael had a total of 19 songs in Smooth’s Top 500. Most songs moved up in the rankings, with the exception of “One More Try” and “The Edge of Heaven.” Here is the ranking:

  • #1 “Careless Whisper”
  • #3 “A Different Corner” (same as last year)
  • #9 “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” (duet with Elton John) (moved up from #11 last year)
  • #23 “Jesus to a Child” (moved up from #31 last year)
  • #32 “Father Figure” (moved up from #48 last year)
  • #56 “Somebody to Love” (with Queen) (moved up from #80 last year)
  • #67 “FastLove” (moved up from #104 last year)
  • #82 “Club Tropicana” (moved up from #105 last year)
  • #86 “Praying for Time” (moved up from #138 last year)
  • #97 “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” (moved up from #140 last year)
  • #105 “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” (duet with Aretha Franklin) (moved up from #114 last year)
  • #108 “Faith” (moved up from #116 last year)
  • #110 “One More Try” (dropped from #109 last year)
  • #114 “Everything She Wants” (moved up from #178 last year)
  • #117 “Freedom 90” (moved up from #169 last year)
  • #138 “I’m Your Man” (moved up from #163 last year)
  • #274 “As” (duet with Mary J. Blige) (moved up from #313 last year)
  • #288 “Freedom” (moved up from #320 last year)
  • #323 “The Edge of Heaven” (dropped from #284 last year)

“Heal the Pain” dropped out of the Top 500 this year. Last year it was #453.

Make sure to follow Yours Only George on Facebook, X, Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, and Pinterest. Join our mailing list for the latest news on George Michael.

About Melanie

Melanie is the co-founder of Yours Only George and has been the webmaster of the site since 1997. Melanie has been a George Michael and Wham! fan since "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" in 1984.

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Awards Last Christmas Wham!

George Michael Nominated for Ivor Novello Award for “Last Christmas”

40th Anniversary “Last Christmas” CD Single
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George Michael has been nominated in the category of PRS for Music Most Performed at the 2025 Ivor Novello Awards. He has received the posthumous nomination for “Last Christmas,” which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024 and was the Christmas #1 song in the UK .

Other nominees in the category are:

  • “As It Was” written by Kid Harpoon, Tyler Johnson and Harry Styles and performed by Harry Styles
  • “Houdini” written by Caroline Ailin, Danny L Harle, Tobias Jesso Jnr, Dua Lipa and Kevin Parker and performed by Dua Lipa
  • “Prada” written by D-Block Europe, Obi Ebele (Da Beatfreakz), Uche Ebele (Da Beatfreakz), Jahmori “Jaymo” Simmons and RAYE and performed by Cassö, RAYE and D-Block Europe
  • “Stargazing” written by Peter Fenn, Jesse Fink and Myles Smith and performed by Myles Smith

George Michael is no stranger to Ivor Novello awards. In 1985, he won Songwriter of the Year and Most Performed Work for “Careless Whisper.” In 1989, he won Songwriter of the Year and International Hit of the Year for “Faith.” In 1997, he won Songwriter of the Year and Most Performed Work for “Fastlove”.

When George Michael first won an Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year in 1985, he was visibly emotional, and according to the official site, George regarded it as one of the most significant achievements of his career.

“It was the first proper sign from within the industry that what I was doing was actually worthwhile. And that was the reason that I got so emotional,” George Michael said about winning his first Ivor Novello Award.

Read more about the 40th anniversary of “Last Christmas” in the following articles:

Make sure to follow Yours Only George on Facebook, X, Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, and Pinterest. Join our mailing list for the latest news on George Michael.

About Melanie

Melanie is the co-founder of Yours Only George and has been the webmaster of the site since 1997. Melanie has been a George Michael and Wham! fan since "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" in 1984.

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Death Personal Wham!

George Michael Still Making It Big in 2024

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George Michael continues to make money, despite dying 8 years ago on Christmas day.

George Michael’s company, Nobby’s Hobbies Holding, reported a profit for the year, after taxation, of £1,125,467, compared to £16,198,128 in 2023.

The report is only for the year ending March 31, 2024. It would not include earnings from the 40th anniversary release of “Careless Whisper” and “Last Christmas.”

Dividends of £1,378,699 in 2024 (compared to £3,292,210 in 2023) were approved and paid by the directors.

Interestingly, under the future developments heading, the report states: “The activity of the group will broaden in the next one to three years to include live public performances.”

Earnings came from:

  • £2,992,964 from publishing income
    (compared to £20,623,079 in 2023).
  • £3,534,705 from record royalties
    (compared to £2,560,287 in 2023).
  • £6,260 from merchandise income
    (compared to 0 in 2023).
  • £0 for Class 4
    (compared to £275,000 in 2023).
  • £9,351 for Recharged income
    (compared to 0 in 2023).
  • £91,559 for the Wham! Netflix documentary
    (compared to £318,856).

Nobby’s Hobbies Holdings Limited is a private company, limited by shares, registered in England and Wales.

Subsidary undertakings of the company were:

  • Big Geoff Overseas Limited
  • Robobuild Limited
  • Wham Music Limited
  • George Michael Songs Limited
  • Infamy Inc.

Robobuild Limited, Big Geoff Overseas Limited, and Wham Music Limited paid donations to The Mill Charitable Trust in the amounts of £580,643, £1,410,000, and £340,000 respectively, which totals £2,330,643. The amounts donated in 2023 were £992,894, £375,000, and £500,000 respectively, which totals £1,867,894.

According to the report: The controlling party is the executors of the estate of G K Panayiotou by the virtue of its shareholding.

Nobby’s Hobbies Holding director’s report and consolidated financial statements is available here.

Make sure to follow Yours Only George on Facebook, X, Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, and Pinterest. Join our mailing list for the latest news on George Michael.

About Melanie

Melanie is the co-founder of Yours Only George and has been the webmaster of the site since 1997. Melanie has been a George Michael and Wham! fan since "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" in 1984.

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Andrew Ridgeley Careless Whisper George Michael Coin Last Christmas Pepsi & Shirlie Wham! Yours Only George

2024 Year in Review for George Michael’s Lovelies

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Wow! It’s been a fabulous year to be a George Michael fan. So many fun things have come to George Michael’s Lovelies this year! Here’s a quick recap:

In February, we were pleasantly surprised with a George Michael coin from the Royal Mint. George Michael collectable coins are part of the Music Legends series. The coins feature the Faith era look with his trademark sunglasses and an engraving of the refrain of Faith.

On March 22, 2024, Fantastic and Make It Big were released on Vinyl. Wham! also released deluxe editions of Fantastic and Make It Big on BluRay Audio.

“Careless Whisper” reached 1 billion streams on Spotify in May. Earlier in the year, “Careless Whisper” reached 1 billion YouTube views.

Also, in May, George Michael’s “Careless Whisper” topped Smooth’s All Time Top 500 for the 7th Year.

In June, Yours Only George celebrated its 27th anniversary. Thanks to all the fans who continue to visit the site and continue spreading the word about the site as it helps cover the webhosting costs to keep the website open year after year.

June 25th marked what would have been George Michael’s 61st birthday.

In October, we had the 40th anniversary release of “Careless Whisper,” which needless to say, topped the charts once again. With that, we had a number of “Careless Whisper” t-shirts and hoodies as new merchandise.

In November, an animated “Careless Whisper” was also released.

We were once again surprised by a 40th anniversary release of “Last Christmas,” with many “Last Christmas” goodies for our Christmas stockings.

December brought us Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped, a lovely special that brought the friends who starred in the “Last Christmas” back together.

“Last Christmas” topped the charts at number 1 for two weeks in December and topped the Christmas charts for the second year in a row. We also were gifted with a new animated “Last Christmas” video.

We also learned of The George Michael Fund, which will give grants to assist the organizations and issues which were close to George’s heart.

December 25, 2024, marked 8 years since we lost our George Michael.

Last but not least, “Last Christmas” topped the UK Charts for the 10th time for the last week of 2024.

I’m sure I missed a few things. Let me know what I missed in the comments!

Make sure to follow Yours Only George on Facebook, X, Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, and Pinterest. Join our mailing list for the latest news on George Michael.

About Melanie

Melanie is the co-founder of Yours Only George and has been the webmaster of the site since 1997. Melanie has been a George Michael and Wham! fan since "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" in 1984.

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Andrew Ridgeley Last Christmas Wham!

“Last Christmas” Tops UK Charts for 10th Time

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“Last Christmas” is the number one song once again on the UK Charts:

WHAM! remain strong at Number 1 with Last Christmas, celebrating the song’s 10th total week at the top of the Official Singles Chart.
Last week, George Michael & Andrew Ridgeley’s pensive Christmas classic became the first song to ever spend two consecutive years as the UK’s Official Christmas Number 1 single. This week it reaches its tenth non-consecutive week at Number 1, having first managed to reach the top of the Official Singles Chart on 1st January 2021.

Official Charts

Likewise, in the US charts, “Last Christmas” is also more popular than ever. According to Forbes:

“Last Christmas” currently sits at No. 3 on the Hot 100. That remains the single’s all-time peak, and it only reached that position earlier this season. The song climbs one rung to return to that position, and it’s yet to be seen if it can improve that number next year.

Wham’s ‘Last Christmas’ Is Bigger Than Ever In America

Read more about the 40th anniversary of “Last Christmas” in the following articles:

Make sure to follow Yours Only George on Facebook, X, Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, and Pinterest. Join our mailing list for the latest news on George Michael.

About Melanie

Melanie is the co-founder of Yours Only George and has been the webmaster of the site since 1997. Melanie has been a George Michael and Wham! fan since "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" in 1984.