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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.
George Michael released his first solo single, “Careless Whisper,” on July 23, 1984, in the UK. Today is the 40th anniversary of the release date for “Careless Whisper.”
Amazon UK is listing a CD of “Careless Whisper” as well as a Vinyl for preorder. According to the description:
George Michael’s ‘Careless Whisper’ is one of the most iconic songs of all time and 2024 celebrates its 40th anniversary. Hailed as a pop masterpiece, it topped the charts in 25 countries when it was released in 1984. The track has since been certified multiple times Platinum around the world. To mark this incredible milestone, the limited edition ‘Careless Whisper’ EP brings together all of the versions in one special release. It features instrumental and extended mixes and a previously unreleased live version recorded at Madison Square Garden, New York.
The official site is listing new “Careless Whisper” products that are available for preorder and available on October 18, 2024.
Make sure to follow Yours Only George on Facebook and X, and 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.
It looks like we are going to be getting a Christmas gift from Wham!
Wham! will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the song “Last Christmas” and wants to hear “Last Christmas” stories from fans.
Calling All WHAM! Fans
We invite you to help us celebrate the 40th anniversary of Last Christmas! As part of an exciting new project, we want to hear your Last Christmas stories.
Do you have a personal connection to the song? Do you have any videos, photos or stories? Have you ever performed your own version?
This looks like another fun project. A similar call for fans’ help came before the Netflix Wham! documentary.
Make sure to follow Yours Only George on Facebook and X, and 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.
When I first started coming up with my Top 5 favorite things that have happened over the last 27 years at the Yours Only George site, I kept coming up with some truly sad things that have happened. I decided to have a happy list of George Michael things that have happened and a list of sad things that have happened.
I am posting my Top 5 Saddest George Michael things about the site from the last 27 years:
5
When Princess Diana died, we decided to start a Princess Diana tribute page, which ended up being far larger than ever anticipated with contributions from the Yours Only George site, Yogmael, and Gnotes. As I wrote at the time: “And so, in my grief, my best friend and I decided to create a small tribute page for you, which turned out to be much larger than I ever expected it to be. In a world that is often cynical and cruel, it is so beautiful and fitting that people united to make this page for a woman who had so much love in her heart. You taught us how to love, and I can only hope that we will share your gift with one another. Thank you for giving us the greatest gift of all.” (This is one of the many pages that needs to be updated with new graphics.)
4
I remember searching for George Michael news one night in 1997. If I looked late at night, I would get all the tabloid news that was published in the U.K. while most people were asleep. I remember not wanting this information to be true: George’s beloved mother, Lesley Angold Harrison Panayiotou, died on February 26, 1997, of cancer. I created a small page with quotes of all the lovely things George Michael said about his mother over the years. There is also a second tribute page to Lesley Panayiotou written from a fan’s perspective.
3
George Michael was known for various accidents involving cars. The accident on the M1 was another scary moment in the life of George Michael. It was such a crazy moment where we once again didn’t know if George was going to make it.
2
When George Michael had pneumonia, I remember not much was being said. The only information that was coming was through the tabloids, and it sounded bad.
When George first spoke to the press after nearly dying in the hospital, it was heartbreaking. Whenever I see this clip, I start crying.
1
I still have not totally dealt with the death of George Michael. I like to think there is an alternate universe where he is still alive, happy, and making music. I will never forget the moment that Shannon, cofounder of this site, called me on Christmas day and told me that George Michael had died. I had previously been worried about him because his voice did not sound strong during the Red Line interview. George Michael had cheated death so many times before that it was shocking that he would die on Christmas day.
Thanks to all the Lovelies for all the support through the years, in the good times and the bad!
Make sure to follow Yours Only George on Facebook and X, and 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.
On June 1, 2024, Yours Only George is celebrating its 27th anniversary. Shannon and I started this site in 1997 back when AOL gave free space for web sites. We later moved it to a webhost and bought the domain www.yogworld.com.
We had our first fan club in 1986 and came up with the name “Yours Only George” in the early 1990s. The name not only represented fans dedicated to George Michael, but also spelled out “YOG,” George Michael’s nickname. The name “Yog” was originally given to George Michael by Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley.
I am forever thankful to Shannon for her friendship and support. There is no better friend in this world than Shannon. This site would not be here without her.
Over the past five months, I have been going page by page to update the site. Considering that it is two sites in one and it has about 500 pages, there is a lot to work on!
I am posting my Top 5 Favorite things about the site from the last 27 years:
5
The George Michael Links section is really the beginning of the entire Yours Only George web site. Back in the mid 1990s, I had gone to a seminar, and the gist was that links were a key to success. It was only later that we became known for the George Michael news. At one point, I think there were at least 400 links. I recently deleted any that were no longer available.
4
Amazon Ad
I remember being shocked when I saw the Yours Only George website listed as a source for a few George Michael biographies. The first one is George Michael: The Biography (Amazon Ad) by Rob Jovanovic. The second one is George Michael: A Life (Amazon Ad) by James Gavin. I was also recently approached to write a George Michael book. Maybe some day I will!
3
When George Michael died, one tabloid picked up on the fact that Andrew Ridgeley called George Michael “Yog” in his Twitter post about George Michael dying. The writer wrongly said Andrew’s nickname of Yog stood for “Yours Only George.” The nickname “Yog” derives from the Greek pronunciation of George’s given name: Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou. The “G” on “Georgios” is pronounced with a “y” sound like “yogurt.” Unfortunately, this inaccurate information has propagated to other sites.
2
Amazon Ad
It was an absolute thrill when we interviewed Shirlie Kemp. I wish I had dated the article. I think it was in February 1998. We interviewed Shirlie when she was running the George Michael fan club during the Aegean record label era. Some day I hope to interview Shirlie again.
1
My absolute favorite memory was finding out that George Michael not only knew about the Yours Only George web site, but George Michael also had the Yours Only George web site bookmarked on his computer! This was in 2004. Jill Taylor, a DJ, did an Internet search before her interview with George Michael, and she found the Yours Only George web site. She mentioned the site during the interview. George was very nice, said he knew about the site, and even had it bookmarked on his computer.
I never had the chance to meet George Michael, but knowing George visited the site is the next best thing.
Make sure to follow Yours Only George on Facebook and X, and 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.
Simon Napier-Bell’s George Michael documentary, “George Michael: Portrait of an Artist,” (Amazon Ad) will be on Kaleidoscope Film Distribution’s Cannes slate, according to Variety.
The documentary was directed by Simon Napier-Bell, the manager of Wham! in the mid 1980s who masterminded the historic Wham! trip to China. “George Michael: Portrait of an Artist” includes interviews with Stevie Wonder, Sanandra Maitreya, Stephen Fry, Kenny Goss, Chris Cameron, Rufus Wainwright, Piers Morgan, and Jo Whiley.
The 2023 documentary is described as:
Packed with rare archive footage and candid interviews from the likes of Stevie Wonder, Stephen Fry, and many more of his close friends and colleagues, witness George Michael’s meteoric rise to superstardom like never before. This fascinating documentary exposes, honestly and respectfully, the man who he was, with unprecedent insights into both his professional persona as a world-renowned celebrity, and his tumultuous personal life that nearly brought his career to an early end.
Make sure to follow Yours Only George on Facebook and X, and 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.
George Michael’s “Careless Whisper” is #1 on 2024’s All Time Top 500 for Smooth Radio. It is the sixth year in a row that “Careless Whisper” has topped the chart, and the seventh year at #1.
George Michael Entertainment released the following statement about this achievement:
On behalf of George Michael Entertainment, we are delighted that Smooth Radio listeners and George’s loyal fans have once again, for the 6th consecutive year, voted for George Michael’s Careless Whisper as their number one song in Smooth’s “All Time Top 500” for 2024.
In this year, the 40th anniversary of its release, this is an incredible achievement as Careless Whisper has now topped Smooth’s chart for a total of 7 years.
We know that George would be proud and truly grateful just as we are, for the continued support of Smooth Radio, its listeners and his loyal fans around the world.
George Michael had a total of 20 songs in Smooth’s Top 500. Here is the ranking:
#1 “Careless Whisper” #3 “A Different Corner” #11 “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” (duet with Elton John) #31 “Jesus to a Child” #48 “Father Figure” #80 “Somebody to Love” (with Queen) #104 “FastLove” #105 “Club Tropicana” #109 “One More Try” #114 “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” (duet with Aretha Franklin) #116 “Faith” #138 “Praying for Time” #140 “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” #163 “I’m Your Man” #169 “Freedom 90” #178 “Everything She Wants” #284 “The Edge of Heaven” #313 “As” (duet with Mary J. Blige) #320 “Freedom” #453 “Heal the Pain”
Make sure to follow Yours Only George on Facebook and X, and 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.
When George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley as Wham! went to China in 1985, director Lindsay Anderson was charged with the documentary for this historic event.
For the first time, Anderson’s documentary of Wham! in China, If You Were There, will be screened for the public on May 25 and May 31, 2024. Unfortunately, tickets have already sold out.
The 79-minute documentary is described as the following:
In 1985, at the height of their success, WHAM! were invited to be the first western pop group to tour Communist China since the Cultural Revolution. Accepting the offer, the duo made an unlikely approach to Anderson, asking him to direct a documentary record of the tour. However, the collaboration ended awkwardly when his cut of the film was rejected by the band. The film was subsequently re-edited to incorporate more concert footage and released as WHAM! In China: Foreign Skies. Anderson’s cut, titled If You Were There… has never before been screened publicly, making this a not-to-be-missed, potentially once-only opportunity to see it.
Thanks to Andrew Ridgeley, and to Chris Organ and David Austin of George Michael Entertainment for their co-operation in connection with this screening.
According to The Guardian:
The exact sequence of events leading to Anderson’s dismissal are not easy to discern from his papers. Napier-Bell wrote that the first cut of the film was “achingly boring” and that Michael thought a second version appeared to be “scornful” of Wham!.
“It should have been possible for Lindsay – or any director with an ounce of compromise in him – to have adjusted it to what Wham! needed as a promo tool,” says Napier-Bell today. “But he obviously felt it beneath him to compromise with two upstart kids. He was always a difficult old bugger, full of guilt at his own public school education, but suffering from the superiority it had given him.”
Make sure to follow Yours Only George on Facebook and X, and 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.
Wham!’s Fantastic (sponsored link) and Make It Big (sponsored link) are being rereleased on vinyl today.
Check out our previous post with all the information on these vinyl rereleases.
The Official Wham! Facebook page is celebrating with the following videos:
Will you be buying Fantastic or Make It Big on vinyl? Let us know in the comments!
Make sure to follow Yours Only George on Facebook and X, and 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.
If we want George Michael to have more songs in the Top 10 of Smooth’s All Time Top 500, then we should focus on voting for the songs that did well in 2023.
It’s probably best to focus on the ten songs that did the best if we want George to have 3 or more songs in the Top 10. “Jesus to a Child” was close to being in the Top 10 last year. Possibly we should team up with the Elton John and Aretha Franklin fans to get more votes for the duets.
You can pick up to 10 George Michael songs in order of preference, choosing your number 1 song first. You can vote here.
Smooth’s All Time Top 500 will be counted down from Friday, May 3rd, at 10 a.m. to Monday, May 6th, at 7p.m.
Make sure to follow Yours Only George on Facebook and X, and 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.
The Life and Music of George Michael is making its way across the United States in February and March. The show is a concert featuring one singer for the Wham! years and another singer for George Michael’s solo career.
Are you going to see the Life and Music of George Michael? Tell us more about it in the comments.
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.
The Wham! documentary lost to “20 Days in Mariupol” at the BAFTA awards.
Simon Halfon had the following to say about the loss:
The @BAFTA awards were a lot of fun last night ! WHAM! we are reliably informed came somewhere between 2nd and 5th in the #documentary category. I’m not sure, but I think that means we qualify for a Europe next year…special thanks to @NetflixUK for throwing the best party! pic.twitter.com/vE9Cm11pwJ
You can see the entire list of winners for the BAFTA awards here.
Do you think Wham! should have won best documentary? Let us know in the comments.
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.
The New York Times has a new article on Chris Smith, the director of the recent Wham! documentary.
The following part of the article had me chuckling:
I assume you didn’t listen to Wham! in the ’80s? Where I was living in Michigan, kids were turning their noses up at Wham! I was a snide teenager, listening to the Cure, Depeche Mode, that sort of new wave thing.
The Story of ‘Wham!’ Comes From an Unlikely Source
Hey, there were plenty of us who didn’t turn up our noses at Wham in the 1980s! Two of us started a fan club in the mid-1980s and eventually started this website in the 1990s!
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.
Netflix has added a new video on YouTube with an inside look of the Wham! documentary.
Producers John Battsek and Simon Halfon provide some background information on the making of the documentary WHAM! with Andrew Ridgeley.
You couldn’t have a better best friend than Andrew Ridgeley. He not only encouraged George Michael to start a band, but he also stepped back to let George shine.
The Wham! documentary has been nominated as best documentary at the BAFTA awards which will be on Sunday, February 18, 2024.
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.
Nothing Looks The Same in the Light (Instrumental Remix)
Bonus tracks in Dolby Atmos & Stereo
Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?) – single version 3.32
Young Guns (Go For It) – single version 3.43
Young Guns (Go For It) UK 12” mix 5.11
Blue (Armed With Love) 3.56
Bonus tracks in Stereo-only
Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?) [Club Mix] 4.20
Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?) [Social Mix] 6.45
Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?) [Unsocial Mix] 6.38
Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?) [Special Club Remix] 3.05
Young Guns (For For It) – Special US 12” Remix 6.53
Going For It 4.39
Bad Boys (12” Extended Club Mix) 4.58
Bad Boys (instrumental) 3.21
Club Tropicana (instrumental) 3.31
Club Fantastic Megamix 3.57
Make It Big BluRay Audio includes:
Dolby Atmos & 96/24 Stereo
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go 3.51
Everything She Wants 5.03
Heartbeat 4.44
Like A Baby 4.15
Freedom 5.02
If You Were There 3.39
Credit Card Baby 5.10
Careless Whisper 6.32
Bonus tracks in Dolby Atmos & Stereo
Careless Whisper (Single Version) 5.03
Freedom (version from The Final) 5.20
Last Christmas 4.26
Everything She Wants (Remix edit) 5.30
Freedom (Long Version) 7.09
Last Christmas (Pudding Mix) 6.45
Everything She Wants (Remix) 6.30
I’m Your Man 4.07
The Edge of Heaven 4.37
Battlestations 5.31
Where Did Your Heart Go? 5.50
Bonus tracks in stereo (only)
A Ray of Sunshine (specially recorded for ‘The Tube’)
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (instrumental) 4.02
Freedom (instrumental) 5.10
Last Christmas (Pudding Mix Edit) 4.47
I’m Your Man (Extended Stimulation)
Do It Right (Instrumental)
I’m Your Man (Acappella)
Blue (Recorded Live in China)
I’m Your Man (version from Music From The Edge Of Heaven version)
Wham! Rap ’86
These versions are currently only available through SDE Shop.
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.
Will you be watching on Sunday, February 18, to find out if Wham! won best documentary? Let us know in the comments!
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.
Fantastic (sponsored link) and Make It Big (sponsored link) will be released on vinyl on March 22, 2024. It’s the first time in more than 30 years that they have been released on vinyl.
According to Amazon, the track listing for Wham!’s Fantastic (sponsored link) is:
Bad Boys
A Ray of Sunshine
Love Machine
Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?)
Club Tropicana
Nothing Looks the Same In the Light
Come On!
Young Guns (Go for It!)
Wham!’s first album, Fantastic debuted at #1 in the UK in 1983 and sold millions of copies worldwide. Fantastic is available on standard weight black vinyl.
Amazon Ad
According to Amazon, the track listing for Wham!’s Make it Big (sponsored link) is:
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
Everything She Wants
Heartbeat
Like a Baby
Freedom
If You Were There
Credit Card Baby
Careless Whisper
Wham!’s second album, Make It Big was released in 1984. It is available with the US cover on standard weight black vinyl.
Andrew Ridgeley said: “It’s a wonderful testament to the enduring nature of Wham!’s music that our legions of loyal fans and the younger cohorts of music fans desire to own the music in their original formats.”
George Michael Entertainment added: “We are delighted that these two classic albums are once again available on vinyl for a whole new generation to enjoy.”
Will you be buying Fantastic or Make It Big on vinyl? Let us know in the comments!
Yours Only George is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
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.
