Wham documentary on Netflix reveals endearing tale of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley
George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley of Wham are the subjects of a new documentary on Netflix.
There were lots of surprises when documentarian Chris Smith set about making a film about Eighties pop sensations Wham. He hadn’t appreciated the degree to which the duo of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley truly were a musical partnership rather than just Michael plus a random hanger-on. And he was struck by archive interviews in which Michael, composer of mega-hits such as 'Wake Me Up Before You Go Go' and 'Careless Whisper', was revealed to be humble and unsure of himself – and also slightly frightened of his growing pop star ego.
“One of the things that works really well in documentary is when you think it’s a story you know, but then you realise you don’t,” says Smith over Zoom. “This was a really good case. of, ‘I remember the band, but I didn’t really know the story’. I felt that if it was the case for me it might be the case for others.”
Wham! is a rockumentary – or rather pop-momentary – that tracks Michael and Ridgeley’s extraordinary journey from the London suburbs to the top of the musical world. It’s also a platonic love story about two pals who took on the world – but whose friendship was then eclipsed by Michael’s remarkable talent.
“There’s something definitely bittersweet about it,” says Smith of Michael’s gradual separation from Ridgley, as it became obvious he was a supremely blessed artist where his old pal was not. “I don’t think Andrew begrudged George for moving on to having a solo career. At the same time… it still has a bittersweet quality.”
For years, viewers have been trained to watch a certain kind of music documentary – the sort you might still stumble upon on Sky Arts on a random Friday night on BBC Four. You know the formula: pithy narrator, talking head interviews with the musician, archive footage from Top of the Pops or The Tube on Channel 4.
Wham! is different. There are, for the most part, just two voices. Andrew and George – referred to as “Yog”, the schoolyard nickname derived from his Greek-Cypriot real name of Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou.
Ridgeley’s interviews are new, while those with Michael, who passed away in 2016, are from the archives. But this framing was arrived at only during the film’s editing: one initial plan had been for Ridgley and others who were part of the Wham story to be interviewed against a mock-up of the Top of the Pops set where, in December 1982, they delivered a breakthrough performance of Young Guns (Go For It!).
“I don’t go into a film with like a preconceived notion. I just have some ideas,” says Smith. “At one point, I know Andrew wanted to interview anyone and everyone that was connected to the story. Which, at first, I was open to. It was only through the editing process that it became clear that there was a another story that can be told, which was one really about these two kids. That seemed like it had the most opportunity for an emotional connection with the audience. It definitely affected me that way. So I ended up sort of pushing for that.”
Smith is an experienced documentarian and has seen the genre travel from niche interest to streaming blockbuster. Much of the credit goes to Netflix, which, in March 2020, released one of the biggest hits in its history in the form of the documentary Tiger King.
Smith worked on Tiger King and knew this tale of madness and revenge in the American big cat keeper community had the potential to be a smash. But even he was surprised that it became such a phenomenon.
“One of the things that happened was that we entered the pandemic. But when we were working on it you could definitely feel that there was something that might click with an audience. It was one of those projects where you would show it to somebody and they would ask if they could show it to their friend. That happens once in a while. But the Tiger King was definitely the most infectious in that way.”
He’s also directed true crime - including the 2019 Netflix documentary The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
One possible surprise about the Wham documentary is Michael’s honesty about his flaws. We hear him discuss his timeless seasonal classic 'Last Christmas' and how conflicted he was that it was kept off Xmas number one by Band-Aid’s 'Do They Know It’s Christmas?' in 1984. Obviously, a song raising funds for a famine in Ethiopia deserved to go to number one – and Michael, of course, sang on it. But he explains that his ego was silently willing 'Last Christmas' to beat it to the top.
“His interviews were enjoyable to listen to because they felt so real and honest,” says Smith. “His use of language, especially around that section that’s so impressive to me. Because he communicates really complicated ideas in such an open way that you feel sympathetic to what he’s doing. It made me like and respect him more.”
- Wham! is released on Netflix on Wednesday, July 5
