Wham! star Andrew Ridgeley reveals large change he made to his life 20 years in the past and remembering George Michael at Christmas – unique

With its acquainted chorus and heartfelt vocals, Wham’s Final Christmas is as synonymous with the vacation season as turkey and mince pies. The track has simply turned 40 years outdated, and to mark the event, band member Andrew Ridgley has taken half in a BBC documentary concerning the traditional tune and its accompanying video.

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However, as Andrew, 61, says, hey! On this unique interview, returning to the Swiss mountain resort of Saas-Price the place the clip was filmed with the band’s backing singers, Pepsi DeMacque and Shirlie Kemp, is bittersweet, as is George Michael – who he refers to by his childhood nickname ‘Yog’. – Sadly, he’s now not with us.

“We had a good time and it felt like yesterday to recreate these scenes,” he says. “But it surely wasn’t full as a result of Yug wasn’t with us. I believe sufficient time has handed since he died (on Christmas Day 2016) that we have been in a position to reminisce and look again fairly fondly. He needed us to get pleasure from being collectively.” “Some, even when they don’t seem to be there.”

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Noting that filming the video was “a number of enjoyable,” he continues, “There was so much happening that will have made the footage very thrilling. When George and I arrived, the others had been already having fun with the bar and it actually was.” We had been a gaggle of buddies having a good time collectively and there was an actual sense of camaraderie, togetherness, enjoyment and laughter – the carefree joys of youth.”

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That pleasure is a part of what made Wham! So successful, with followers determined for extra nostalgia initiatives after the documentary hit Netflix final 12 months.

“To be a part of one thing that has this type of affect on individuals’s lives could be very gratifying and humbling,” he says, earlier than revealing that there are a number of different initiatives within the pipeline. Whereas the band achieved nice success, Andrew and George didn’t succumb to the pressures of fixed touring and promotion that might plague different band stars. He says that is all the way down to his childhood friendship with George, which was shaped after they met at secondary college in Hertfordshire.

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“We had one another to maintain us on the straight and slim so far as letting issues go in our heads, and we additionally maintained our friendships with the individuals we grew up with — like Shirley. However we additionally did not do this,” he says. “We do not have the cash as a result of we had a horrible report deal.”

Because the band break up in 1986, Andrew has lived a quiet life in Cornwall and steps again into the highlight solely sporadically, to advertise initiatives akin to his 2019 autobiography. Actually, he says he would not even watch TV.

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“I have never watched it since 2020 when the information shut down as a consequence of Covid. I watch just a little little bit of sports activities, however I am not very involved in fame or notoriety. This has no affect on the best way I wish to dwell my life.” It’s my ambition to raise the legacy of Wham! However fame is a little bit of a burden. I will be representing Wham as a result of I used to be within the band.”

Andrew says George’s dying on Christmas was a “painful irony” as a result of it was a vacation he liked. However he says the intervening years have helped everybody cope with their grief. “Though it was very troublesome within the months instantly after his dying, the passage of time softens the depth and provides you a barely totally different perspective on issues. So now we will bear in mind Yug at Christmas in a constructive manner.”

Wham!: Final Christmas Unwrapped airs on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer, Saturday 14 December

To learn the total unique interview, decide up the newest difficulty of HELLO! On sale within the UK on Monday. You may Subscribe to Hello! Free supply of the journal to your door every week or buy the digital version on-line by way of our web site apple or Google apps.