Tag: Wham!

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Careless Whisper Music Wham!

Vote for George Michael for Smooth Radio’s Top 500 in 2026

George Michael’s “Careless Whisper” (#ad)

George Michael’s “Careless Whisper” has topped Smooth Radio’s Smooth All Time Top 500 for 8 years (7 consecutive years). Will George Michael rank with the top song for 2026 to make it 9 years? That depends on you!

Last year, “Careless Whisper” topped the chart, with “A Different Corner” not far behind at #3. George Michael had a total of 19 songs in Smooth’s Top 500 in 2025. Most songs moved up in the rankings, with the exception of “One More Try” and “The Edge of Heaven.” Here were the top 5 rankings:

  • #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)

If we focus on these 5 songs, we could get George Michael more placements in the Top 10 this year and possibly even get “A Different Corner” as the #2 song for the year.

You can vote for up to 10 of your favorite songs of all time. Voting closes on Friday, April 24th at 12 p.m.

Smooth Radio counts down the hits from Friday, May 1st, to Monday, May 4th, 2026.

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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Books Wham!

Celebrating George: Three Decades of George Michael through the Lens

Celebrating George: Three Decades of George Michael through the Lens (#ad)

Photographer Brian Aris will be publishing a compilation of George Michael photos in his book, Celebrating George, with photos ranging from the Wham! days with Andrew Ridgeley to George’s solo days.

Celebrating George: Three Decades of George Michael through the Lens (#ad) will be released on March 17, 2026 in the U.S. It is available for preordering from Amazon (#ad).

Celebrating George: Three Decades of George Michael through the Lens (#ad) will be released on April 9, 2026, in the U.K. It is available for preordering from Amazon (#ad)

The book is described as:

This stunning collection of photographs features iconic George Michael images throughout his career—including many never before published.

The man born as Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou hated being photographed, and that makes this volume such an unusual and beautiful tribute to one of the music world’s most beloved stars. First meeting when he shot Wham!, Brian Aris gained George’s trust and subsequently enjoyed unprecedented access to document the complex and sensitive character behind one of pop’s most talented and consummate artists.

Dreaming of stardom from an early age, George achieved popularity first with Wham! and later reached heights of even greater success after re-creating himself as a serious solo artist with songs and music videos that remain iconic to this day. Tragically, he died on Christmas Day 2016 at just fifty-three.

With text documenting George’s life and Brian’s memories of his sessions and meetings with the star, together with iconic shots, contact sheets, and previously unseen images, this is an amazing, heartfelt tribute to one of the world’s most likable and talented performers who is one of the all-time immortal greats of pop music.

Celebrating George: Three Decades of George Michael through the Lens (#ad)

Brian Aris describes his time photographing George Michael:

“From the early days, when he first burst on the scene in 1981 as one half of Wham!, the pop duo he formed with Andrew Ridgeley, to the later years when he went on to enjoy even greater worldwide success as a sophisticated and glamorous solo artist, George was always fascinating to work with.”

Brian Aris, photographer of Celebrating George

An exhibition entitled “Celebrating George” with photos from Brian Aris will be at the Lucy Bell Gallery, from March 27 to May 2, 2026.

Brian Aris will be at the Lucy Bell Gallery for a book signing on Saturday, April 11, from 6-9 p.m.

A previous version of Celebrating George is also available at Aris Prints.

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 Pepsi & Shirlie Wham! Wham! in China

New Wham! Documentary: Wham! 10 Days in China

Andrew Ridgeley Biography: Wham! George Michael and Me Hardcover Book (#ad)

A few of you might remember my complaining last year that there was no 40th anniversary celebration of Wham!’s historic trip to China in 1985. Well, it looks like we might be getting a treat in 2026.

In 1985, George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley of the duo Wham! became the first Western pop act to perform in communist China. It’s a much talked about publicity stunt by Simon Napier-Bell to make Wham! a household name worldwide.

According to a press release, Zinc Media Group plc announced the completion of a new feature-length, 90-minute documentary produced for Sony Music Entertainment telling the story of WHAM!’s historic 1985 tour of China:

Wham! 10 Days in China uses newly restored and previously unseen archive footage alongside new interviews with Andrew Ridgeley to reveal the full story of the first Western pop act to perform in communist China. The concerts in Beijing and Guangzhou marked a significant cultural moment as Western pop music was introduced to Chinese audiences for the first time.

Zinc Announces WHAM! Documentary for Sony Music Entertainment

With the restored footage and exclusive interviews with Andrew Ridgeley and members of the touring party, the documentary will be a long-awaited look at the unseen footage.

The new documentary is directed by Mike Christie (Nick Cave’s Veiled World, New Order: Decades).

“The existence of this footage has been a mystery for years, spoken about in fragments but never truly seen. The story of the tour is intensely dramatic and finding a way to tell it in a form that the Wham! collective felt was finally worth pursuing has been a real honour.”

Mike Christie, director of Wham! 10 Days in China

In the 1980s, a Wham! in China documentary was released. In fact, there are two versions of the original Wham! in China documentary. Oscar-winning filmmaker, Lindsay Anderson, was originally hired to create the documentary. Because of conflicts, Lindsay Anderson’s version has been rarely seen, except for a screening of Wham in China: If You Were There in May of 2024. More information on the conflict is available in the previous link.

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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Last Christmas

“Last Christmas” Success in 2025

40th Anniversary “Last Christmas” CD Single
Amazon Ad

The success of the Wham! Christmas classic, “Last Christmas,” just gets better and better … and 2025 was no exception.

For the eleventh time, “Last Christmas” topped the UK charts. Sadly, it was knocked out of the Christmas #1 spot by Kylie Minogue’s “XMAS.”

“Last Christmas” debuted on Billboard’s Holiday 100 in December 10, 2011, at #10. This year Wham!’s holiday hit made it to #2, just behind Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”

Andrew Ridgeley said:

“I’m delighted to learn that Wham!’s perennial Christmas favorite, ‘Last Christmas,’ has secured the Billboard No. 2 spot this week,” Andrew Ridgeley marvels via email. “Since its release over 40 years ago, ‘Last Christmas’ has established itself worldwide as one of the most cherished Christmas classics, beloved by all generations.”⁠
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“It’s an amazing testament to the special place the song occupies in so many hearts and one that George Michael would have been immensely proud of,” he continues. “Thank you, everyone who has embraced the song as a little piece of their own merry Christmas.”

“Last Christmas” topped the Billboard Global 200 this year, becoming the #1 song in the world.

According to Billboard:

Michael’s estate described “Last Christmas” as “a timeless record that embodies the very sound of Christmas and continues to resonate with audiences, while captivating new listeners around the world. Thank you to everyone who keeps this song at the very heart of Christmas.”

You can read more about “Last Christmas” in the following articles:

Make sure to follow Yours Only George on Facebook, X, Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, and Pinterest.

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! Yours Only George

Remembering George Michael on What Would Have Been his 62nd Birthday

Amazon Ad for George Michael’s “Careless Whisper”

Dear George Michael Lovelies,

Today is George Michael’s birthday. It would have been his 62nd birthday if he had been alive. George Michael was born on June 25, 1963.

As many fans understand, I struggle with his birthday every year. Since I was younger than George Michael when he was alive, I recently discovered that I am now older than George Michael will ever be. That is a difficult thing to recognize at this point in my life. Does anyone else feel that way?

This year has personally been a very rough year for me. For the few of you who still visit the site know, I have been contemplating whether I will keep the Yours Only George site open. The site is only earning a few cents a day, which does not cover my costs, and I just don’t know how I can keep it open long-term without figuring out how to get more traffic. I have worked very hard this year to update older parts of the site, despite a few disgruntled fans causing me heartache about the things that currently aren’t updated.

Last year, I posted my happiest and saddest moments for the 28 years that Yours Only George has been online. Obviously, the saddest moment was learning that George Michael would no longer be with us to share his smart and humorous personality, nor his gift for writing and singing songs that defined a generation.

To keep the spirit of George Michael alive for the George Michael fans, I have started a feature called “On this day” on Facebook, X, Threads, and Bluesky, pointing to things that have happened to George Michael through the years. I have forgotten about so many of these things, and it’s so fun to read about them again. Usually, these pages are also updated, which helps me keep things more up to date.

For those of you who were on the mailing list through Feedburner/Google, I have moved the mailing list to Follow.it. You should have received a message asking you to confirm that would you like to continue receiving e-mails. If you’re new to the site, you can subscribe here.

Please consider sharing information about the site, as it helps me pay the bills and keep the site open.

Thanks for your support over the last 28 years!

I hope you all find a special way to celebrate George Michael’s birthday and life today!

Melanie
Webmaster
Yours Only George

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.