Wham! George & Me: The Sunday Times Bestseller 2020

Description

The long-awaited and lovingly told story of Andrew, George and their time together as WHAM! THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER For the first time, Andrew Ridgeley - one half of one of the most famous bands in the world - tells the inside story of Wham!, his life-long friendship with George Michael and the formation of a band that changed the shape of the music scene in the early eighties. In 1975 Andrew took a shy new boy at school under his wing. They instantly hit it off and their boyhood escapades at Bushey Meads School built a bond that was never broken. The duo found themselves riding an astonishing rollercoaster of success, taking them all over the world. They made and broke iconic records, they were treated like gods, but they stayed true to their friendship and ultimately to themselves. It was a party that seemed as if it would never end. And then it did, in front of tens of thousands of tearful fans at Wembley Stadium in 1986. Andrew's memoir covers in wonderful detail those years, up until that last iconic concert- the scrapes, the laughs, the relationships, the good and the bad. It's a unique and one-and-only time to remember that era, that band and those boys.

Andrew Ridgeley is one of the most recognisable faces of the eighties. He was one half of the phenomenal pop duo, WHAM!, one of the biggest names in the history of pop music. Born in Surrey, England, he grew up in Bushey, Hertfordshire where he met George Michael whilst attending Bushey Meads School; they struck up an easy friendship - both having a common interest in music - before forming WHAM! The band sold multi-platinum albums and singles globally, having number 1 hits all over the world including both the UK and the US. Andrew now pursues a variety of interests, significant amongst which is fundraising for The Dallaglio RugbyWorks Charity. He splits his time between his homes in Cornwall and London.

Even before the first page of this charming, heartfelt memoir, Ridgeley's eloquent dedication to his "dearest friend" George Michael will have you in tears. This is more than a gleeful shuttlecocks-in-shorts account of young guns having some fun: there's a real poignancy to Ridgeley's description of Wham!'s glory days, the knowledge of what will be lost - a band, a best friend - chilling in the Club Tropicana sunshine. * The Sunday Times * A touching account of male friendship * The Times * Celebrity Memoirs of the Year * Guardian * A remarkably generous memoir....in more than one sense, the biography of a friend * Spectator * It's 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, with dozens of comically captioned photos of the band during the white espadrille years. 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 * Packed full of nostalgia, heart and insight, Wham! George & Me is a lovingly written ode to friendship and a celebration of one of the greatest pop acts of all time. A superb tribute * Classic Pop Magazine * In this moving memoir, which is also a vivid nostalgia trip for anyone who was a teenager in the 70s and 80s, he tells the story of his friendship and musical collaboration with George Michael. Engaging * Sunday Express * The Wham! star charts his treasured friendship with George Michael, from their meeting at school in 1975 to George's untimely death in 2016. The duo left a legacy of pop classics from the exuberant Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go to the evergreen Last Christmas, and Ridgeley's enthusiasm for life in a chart-topping band is as infectious as their music * Daily Mirror * This book is all you could want and more! * Magic Book Club * I couldn't put it down. Such a fantastic book * Chris Evans, Virgin Radio * A great story * Saturday Live, Radio 4 * A lovely book. A love letter to George * Graham Norton, BBC1 * A touching and vivid nostalgia trip - with great photos * Best * Top 50 gift picks for the book lovers in your life * The Herald * A fond look back at the Wham! star's life in the group that helped define Eighties pop * Choice Magazine * Will no doubt appeal to the fanbase . . . Humorous and touching * Times Literary Supplement * Joyful nostalgia * Daily Express * As a hard-nosed ex-detective, it was a source of much hilarity that I am such a Wham! fan but my copy of this is a prized possession * Peter Bleksley *