Andrew Ridgeley Wiki – Andrew Ridgeley Biography
In the mid-1980s, Andrew Ridgeley was a member of the world’s biggest pop group. As a member of Wham!, Andrew scored numerous iconic hits alongside his childhood friend George Michael.
While Andrew primarily chose to avoid the limelight and did not pursue a music career, Michael became a beloved music legend in his own right.
Where is Andrew Ridgeley now?
Ridgeley was born in 1953 to Jennifer and Albert Ridgeley in Windlesham, Surrey, and raised in Bushey, Hertfordshire. When he enrolled at Bushey Meads High School, he met and became close with future bandmate George Michael.
When Michael was in his teens, his family moved to Hertfordshire. Before forming Wham!, the pair performed together for many years. Before forming Wham! In 1981, Ridgeley and George first played together in a short-lived ska band called The Executive. They signed with Innervision Records after submitting a home demo that Ridgeley claimed only took 10 minutes to record.
The duo sold a staggering 25 million records across three studio albums, and songs like “Ake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” “I’m Your Man” and the cherished Christmas classic, Last Christmas, were major singles. . both in the UK and the US. On their massive 1985 world tour, Wham! they played a landmark 10 concerts in China, making them the first Western pop group to do so.
That was part of a public relations campaign conceived by their manager Simon Napier-Bell, who acknowledged fabricating an account of Ridgeley being punched in the face to raise the duo’s profile in 1984.
The bandage on Ridgeley’s face, which generated rumors in the tabloids, was the result of a cosmetic nose job. While George and Andrew sang with Elton John at the renowned Live Aid benefit in 1985, Ridgeley was listed as one of Kiki Dee’s backing vocalists.
Pam! however, they announced their split in 1986 as George’s solo career was beginning to take off after the release of the hit song Careless Whisper and the singer was aiming to enter a more adult market.
The breakup was dubbed “the friendliest split in pop history”, according to George, and they said goodbye to their fans with a huge farewell performance at Wembley Stadium.
After the victorious farewell concert for him, Ridgeley briefly left the music business and moved to Monaco to pursue a career as a Formula Three racing driver.
He made another job change and moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career after experiencing little success. Son of Albert, Ridgeley’s only solo album, was released in 1990, the same year he moved to the UK for good.
While “Shake”, one of the album’s singles, had modest success in Australia, Son of Albert was a critical and commercial failure. Ridgeley later told the media, “It was depressing and disappointing to take such a beating for that album.” However, he has generally shyed away from the spotlight even then.
In Brazil in 1991, Ridgeley shared the stage with his old Wham! bandmate, but their 2005 performance on Live8 didn’t happen, and they never reunited.
Since his time with Wham!, he’s reportedly earned more than £10 million in royalties, with much of it coming from a co-writing credit on George Michael’s well-known solo song Careless Whisper.
Ridgeley is believed to continue to write songs under a pseudonym. He has received multiple invitations to participate in Strictly Come Dancing, but he always turns them down.
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