Andrew Ridgeley

3 1/2 stars: Good

Andrew Ridgeley, the lesser known member of "Wham!" wrote a memoir of his early childhood, meeting Georgios (George Michael) and ultimately spinning Michael off to his solo career. This is more a bio of Wham than of Ridgeley. In every word, Ridgeley's true affection for George comes out and as one reviewer said, its apparent that while people think that Ridgeley was the "lucky one" to ride George's coattails, it was actually George ("Yog") who was lucky to have a true friend in life, and even in death, of Ridgeley. Never once does he throw George under the bus, even when describing the solo career that he claims he pushed George towards, knowing that his future was beyond the fun of Wham and destined for something greater. Who knows the full truth but Andy chose to keep it to himself, always positive about his dear friend.Even the dedication: "This memoir is dedicated to the memory of my dearst friend, with whom I did the only thing I ever really wanted to do and was the only person I ever imagined doing it with." I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

Some quotes i liked:

"He knew I saw the world in much the same way he did, and most importantly, that my view would always be informed by our friendship rather than any outside influence. Neither of us expected anything less of the other.

Against an all white set, the pair of us wore white tshirts with CHOOSE LIFE emblazoned across the front ...created at a time of heightened Cold War tension when concerns about possible nuclear apocalypse seemed frighteningly real, the slogan was designed as an all encompassing rallying cry against the world's ills. The Buddhism inspired design had originally been spotted by a friend of George's who thought it would make for a striking visual image. Political sloganeering certainly wasn't at the forefront of our minds when we decided on them for the "Wake me up" video, but its irresistable incitement to live a full life made it the perfect choice. It went on to be one of the decade's defining looks.

[Discussing a solo performance George did with Smokey Robinson shortly befor they split] "His rendition of 'Careless Whisper' with Smokey Robinson sounded incredible. Suddenly it felt as if I wasn't the only one who truly understood the scale of George's talent. Everybody could see it, and once again I was reminded that George's ultimate destiny lay beyond Wham! He was finally touching the heights he had always been capable of. Outside of Wham!, the only constraints on George would be the ones set by himself. [how telling that last sentence is].

Describing Live Aid, where Elton and George (with Andy and Kiki Dee in back) did a duet to "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me": I joined Kiki Dee at the back of the stage as Elton began to play the opening bars of the song. It required a swooping vocal performance, but George was cruising through it in a thrilling display of power. As far as I was concerned, George was, alongside Freddie Mercury, one of the two greatest ever British vocalists. At Live Aid a billion people got to see that for themselves. George owned the stage. [I also like how from videos, the two walk onstage arm in arm. George leans over and clearly hugs/thanks Andy, who then walks to the back of the stage to take his place, where George goes to front with Elton. Its a moving testament to their friendship.]

George still didn't feel he could publicly acknowledge his sexuality, but following the path he'd chosen [solo artist] meant he would only become more and more famous. Facing everything that further success would entail seemed daunting -it was set to be so much more than anything he had experienced in Wham!. I was honest with him. I told him what he almost certainly already knew: that if he were to stand any chance of finding happiness he would have to fulfill his talent; and that writing music was really the only thing that gave him any satisfaction and contentment. He really didn't have a choice. I knew there was only one thing for George to do next, and that was to claim his place as the greatest singer-songwriter of his generation.

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Description from amazon:

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 lifelong 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 Bushy Meads School built a bond that was never broken. The duo found themselves riding an astonishing roller coaster 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.… (altro)

Admittedly I am a Wham fan, so this book was a must read for me to get to know more about the back story of the group that I admired as a fan from afar. Wham rose from two kids who were best friends in Bushy, London to international stardom in 4 years which is just phenomenal. Andrew's memoir is a straightforward tale of how this came about. Both from partially immigrant families, Andrew from Egyptian and George from Greek, was interesting to see how these backgrounds affected both these guys differently where George experienced a strong, tight command and control climate particularly from his father who did not support his musical ambitions versus Andrew who grew up in a very laissez-faire family environment. Andrew's mom kept a scrap book which helped with the compiling of the memoirs and while I listened to the audiobook read by Andrew himself, the book contains pictures some of which come from that scrapbook. All in all, was an awesome read that took me back to my childhood days!… (altro)

One of my regrets is that I never had the opportunity to see Wham! or George Michael live in concert.
George died on Christmas Day, 2016, and as far as deaths of famous entertainers go, his has probably been the one that was most difficult for me to accept. Most people that know me know that 80's music is the genre that I love most, and pop music of the 80's even more so. Wham! was only officially a band for approximately 3-4 years, but they did make a fairly quick rise to to the top of the charts once they started making music as a twosome. I can distinctly remember the first time I saw the video for Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, and though that song and video were a little hokey at the time, it didn't matter. It was catchy, and they were fun to look at, and I was a fan. I was sad to see them break up, but I continued to enjoy George Michael as his solo career took off as well.

George Michael has always been the one to receive the most attention. As the front man, lead singer and songwriter, that makes sense. A lot of people, especially those younger than me, may not even know who Andrew Ridgeley is. Though Andrew seemed to be the one to initiate and be more serious about breaking out as a band initially, he had a much more laissez-faire attitude overall, whereas George started out insecure but evolved into someone obsessed with being the best and was a perfectionist. I'll admit that George is always the one I tended to follow, and I really didn't know much about Andrew as the other half, so reading things from his point of view in this book was refreshing.

This memoir goes into a little bit of Andrew's growing up years, but the emphasis is from the time the two met at school as pre-teens (Andrew volunteered to be a mentor to George, the new kid in class) up through the point where the band performed its last performance in 1986. Above all else, the recurring theme is that the two were best friends, both with a love for music. There were times, while reading, where I thought Andrew was trying a little too hard to convince readers that he wasn't just in the background, but he also repeatedly was quick to admit that George had the true gift of songwriting, with a voice to match, and that the band evolved to showcase George's talents, eventually setting him up to go solo.

This was not the best memoir I've read -- at times it felt clunky -- but I raced through and enjoyed the nostalgia of it. There are also a lot of great photos included, both of Andrew's childhood and of candid shots during the band's rise to fame. I had such mixed feelings while reading this: I loved going back to the 80's time period, but it also made me very sad that here we are, 35 years later already. How is that possible?… (altro)