Editing George Michael (section)

== Wham! ==

{{Main|Wham!}}
[[File:Wham! circa 1984-1985 (editing).jpg|thumb|Michael (left) and [[Andrew Ridgeley]] as Wham!, c. 1984–1985]]
Michael formed the duo [[Wham!]] with [[Andrew Ridgeley]] in 1981. On the cusp of fame, he decided to legally [[Name change#United Kingdom|change his name]] to the more accessible George Michael.<ref name="Rubiner">{{cite book |last=Rubiner |first=Julia |title=Contemporary Musicians: Profiles of the People in Music, Volume 9 |date=1993 |publisher=Gale Research, Incorporated |page=169|quote=As a solo artist George Michael has been hailed as a leading creative force in popular songwriting. With fame approaching, Michael decided to change his name from the intimidating Georgios Panayiotou to the more accessible George Michael.}}</ref> The band's first album ''[[Fantastic (Wham! album)|Fantastic]]'' reached No. 1 in the UK in 1983 and produced a series of top 10 singles including "[[Young Guns (Go For It!)|Young Guns]]", "[[Wham Rap!]]", and "[[Club Tropicana]]". Their second album, ''[[Make It Big]]'', reached No. 1 on the charts in the US. Singles from that album included "[[Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go]]" (No. 1 in the UK and US), "[[Freedom (Wham! song)|Freedom]]", "[[Everything She Wants]]", and "[[Careless Whisper]]" which reached No. 1 in nearly 25 countries, including the UK and US, and was Michael's first solo effort as a single.<ref name="UKCharts2">[http://www.theofficialcharts.com/artist/_/george%20michael/ "George Michael"]. The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 April 2011. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102053946/https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/george%20michael/|date=2 November 2014}}</ref><ref name="USCharts2">[{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=george michael|chart=all}} George Michael Album & Song Chart History] ''Billboard''. Retrieved 21 April 2011</ref> In December 1984, the single "[[Last Christmas]]" was released.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rachel |first1=Aroesti |title=Still saving us from tears: the inside story of Wham!'s Last Christmas |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/dec/14/still-saving-us-from-tears-story-george-michael-last-christmas |access-date=1 December 2020 |newspaper=The Guardian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222002453/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/dec/14/still-saving-us-from-tears-story-george-michael-last-christmas |archive-date=22 December 2017 |date=14 December 2017}}</ref> In 1985 Michael received the first of his three [[Ivor Novello Awards]] for Songwriter of the Year from the [[British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors]].<ref>[http://theivors.com/archive/1980-1989/the-ivors-1985/ "The Ivors 1985"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170309075103/http://theivors.com/archive/1980-1989/the-ivors-1985/ |date=9 March 2017 }}. The Ivors. Retrieved 8 January 2018</ref>

Michael performed on the original 1984 [[Band Aid (band)|Band Aid]] recording of "[[Do They Know It's Christmas?]]"—he appears third on the song after [[Paul Young]] and [[Boy George]] sing their lines.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Flashback: Band Aid Raises Millions With 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/do-they-know-its-christmas-band-aid-1984-geldof-761428/ |access-date=27 November 2021 |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-date=27 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127041125/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/do-they-know-its-christmas-band-aid-1984-geldof-761428/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The song became the [[List of UK Singles Chart Christmas number ones|UK Christmas number one]] and Michael also donated the profits from "Last Christmas" and "Everything She Wants" to charity.<ref>{{cite news|title=The philanthropic acts of George Michael: from £5k tips to nurses' gigs|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/dec/26/the-philanthropic-acts-of-george-michael-from-5k-tips-to-nurses-gigs|work=The Guardian|date=7 January 2018|access-date=7 January 2018|archive-date=18 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018113550/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/dec/26/the-philanthropic-acts-of-george-michael-from-5k-tips-to-nurses-gigs|url-status=live}}</ref> Michael sang "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" with [[Elton John]] at [[Live Aid]] at Wembley Stadium in London on 13 July 1985.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=George Michael: 20 Essential Songs|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/george-michael-20-essential-songs-w457756/elton-john-feat-george-michael-dont-let-the-sun-go-down-on-me-1991-w457773|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=7 January 2018|access-date=7 January 2018|archive-date=8 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108062744/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/george-michael-20-essential-songs-w457756/elton-john-feat-george-michael-dont-let-the-sun-go-down-on-me-1991-w457773|url-status=dead}}</ref> He also contributed background vocals to [[David Cassidy]]'s 1985 hit "The Last Kiss", as well as Elton John's 1985 successes "[[Nikita (song)|Nikita]]" and "[[Wrap Her Up]]". Michael cited Cassidy as a major career influence and interviewed Cassidy for David Litchfield's ''[[Ritz Newspaper]]''.<ref>{{cite news|first=David|last=Litchfield|work=[[Ritz Newspaper]] No. 100|title=David Cassidy by George Michael|publisher=Bailey & Litchfield|pages=16–19|year=1985}}</ref>

[[File:Wembley Stadium Twin Towers.jpg|thumb|left|Michael performed at Live Aid at the old [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]] (''exterior pictured'') on 13 July 1985, and Wham! played their last concert, ''The Final'', at the same venue on 28 June 1986.]]
Wham!'s tour of China in April 1985, the first visit to China by a Western popular music act, generated worldwide media coverage, much of it centred on Michael.<ref name="China"/><ref name="Tribune">{{Cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1985-04-28-8501250765-story.html |title=East meets Wham!, and another great wall comes down |last=Patrick|first=Al|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=28 April 1985 |accessdate=12 April 2020 |archive-date=12 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412151104/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1985-04-28-8501250765-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The headline in the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' read: "East meets Wham!, and another great wall comes down".<ref name="Tribune"/> Before Wham!'s appearance in China, many kinds of music in the country were forbidden.<ref name="China"/> The band's manager, [[Simon Napier-Bell]], had spent 18 months trying to convince Chinese officials to let the duo play.<ref name="China"/> The audience included members of the Chinese government. Chinese television presenter Kan Lijun, who was the on-stage host, spoke of Wham!'s historic performance: {{blockquote|No-one had ever seen anything like that before. All the young people were amazed and everybody was tapping their feet. Of course the police weren't happy and they were scared there would be riots.<ref name="China">{{cite news|last1=Hatton|first1=Celia|title=When China woke up to Wham!|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-china-blog-32229596|date=9 April 2015|publisher=BBC|access-date=10 April 2015|archive-date=19 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819202017/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-china-blog-32229596|url-status=live}}</ref>}} Wham! performed their hits with scantily clad dancers and strobing disco lights. According to Napier-Bell, Michael tried to get the crowd to clap along to "Club Tropicana", but "they hadn't a clue – they thought he wanted applause and politely gave it", before adding that some Chinese did eventually "get the hang of clapping on the beat."<ref name="Evans"/> A [[List of ambassadors of the United Kingdom to China|UK embassy official in China]] stated "there was some lively dancing but this was almost entirely confined to younger western members of the audience."<ref name="Evans">{{cite news |title=How Wham! baffled Chinese youth in first pop concert |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/may/09/arts.world |access-date=25 October 2019 |work=The Guardian |archive-date=25 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025162400/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/may/09/arts.world |url-status=live }}</ref> The tour was documented by film director [[Lindsay Anderson]] and producer [[Martin Lewis (humorist)|Martin Lewis]] in their film ''[[Wham! in China: Foreign Skies]]''.<ref>[https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wham_in_china_foreign_skies/ Wham! in China – Foreign Skies Movie Reviews] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806224302/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wham_in_china_foreign_skies |date=6 August 2020 }} Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 21 April 2011</ref>

With the success of Michael's solo singles, "[[Careless Whisper]]" (1984) and "[[A Different Corner]]" (1986), rumours of an impending break up of Wham! intensified. The duo officially separated in 1986, after releasing a farewell single, "[[The Edge of Heaven]]" and a farewell compilation, ''[[The Final (album)|The Final]]'' (their third album ''[[Music from the Edge of Heaven]]'' was released in North America and Japan), plus a sell-out concert at [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]] that included the world premiere of the China film.<ref>{{cite news |title=How Wham! made Lindsay Anderson see red in China |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/how-wham-made-lindsay-anderson-see-red-in-china-358347.html|access-date=5 August 2021 |work=The Independent |archive-date=5 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210805081739/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/how-wham-made-lindsay-anderson-see-red-in-china-358347.html?amp |url-status=live }}</ref> The Wham! partnership ended officially with the commercially successful single "The Edge of Heaven", which reached No. 1 on the UK chart in June 1986.<ref>[http://www.number-ones.co.uk/singles/Wham!-number-ones.html Wham! Number Ones] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110418023432/http://www.number-ones.co.uk/singles/Wham!-number-ones.html |date=18 April 2011 }} Number-ones.co.uk. Retrieved 21 April 2011</ref>