Wham!
(Redirected from The Best of Wham!: If You Were There...)
Wham! | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Wham! in 1985: George Michael (left) and Andrew Ridgeley (right) | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Bushey, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1981–1986 |
| Labels | |
| Past member(s) | |
| Website | wham |
 | |
Wham! was an English dance-pop duo. It was formed in 1981 by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.[1] They released their first single, "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)," in 1982.[2] For a short time, they were known in the United States as Wham! UK because another band already had that name.[3] They are best known for the songs "Last Christmas" and "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go".
Artistry
[change | change source]Wham!'s music has been described as dance-pop,[4][5] blue-eyed soul[6] and pop rock.[7] Some early songs have elements of hip-hop, while "The Edge of Heaven" adds a touch of hard rock.[1]
Discography
[change | change source]Studio albums
[change | change source]| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | AUS | GER | JPN | NL | NOR | NZ | SWE | SWI | US | |||
| Fantastic |
|
1 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 25 | 83 | |
| Make It Big |
|
1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
|
| Music from the Edge of Heaven |
|
— | — | — | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | 10 |
|
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||
Compilation albums
[change | change source]| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | AUS | AUT | GER | JPN | NL | NZ | SWE | SWI | US | |||
| The Final | 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 2 | — |
| |
| The Best of Wham!: If You Were There... |
|
4 | 29 | 23 | 40 | 30 | 18 | 29 | — | 28 | — |
|
| Japanese Singles Collection: Greatest Hits |
|
— | — | — | — | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| The Singles: Echoes from the Edge of Heaven |
|
2 | 23 | 35 | 12 | — | 10 | 22 | — | 17 | 31 |
|
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||
Remix albums
[change | change source]| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| JPN | ||
| 12" Mixes |
|
72 |
| The Best Remixes |
|
— |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||
Video albums
[change | change source]| Title | Details | Certifications |
|---|---|---|
| Wham!: The Video |
|
|
| Wham!: 85 |
|
|
| Wham!: The Final |
|
|
| The Best of Wham! |
|
Singles
[change | change source]| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | AUS | AUT | BEL | GER | IRE | NL | NOR | SWI | US | ||||||||||
| "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)"[b] | 1982 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Fantastic | |||||||
| "Young Guns (Go for It)" | 3 | 4 | — | 8 | 20 | 3 | 9 | 10 | — | — |
| ||||||||
| "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)" (reissue) | 1983 | 8 | 9 | — | 12 | 17 | 13 | 9 | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Bad Boys" | 2 | 9 | — | 8 | 12 | 3 | 26 | 8 | 6 | 60 |
| ||||||||
| "Club Tropicana" | 4 | 60 | — | 23 | 13 | 4 | 14 | 10 | — | — |
| ||||||||
| "Club Fantastic Megamix" | 15 | — | — | — | 56 | 16 | 44 | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||||||||
| "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" | 1984 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
|
Make It Big | ||||||
| "Careless Whisper"[c] | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| ||||||||
| "Freedom" | 1 | 3 | 23 | 2 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| ||||||||
| "Everything She Wants"[d] | 2 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 21 | 8 | 2 | — | 1 |
| ||||||||
| "Last Christmas"[d] | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|
Music from the Edge of Heaven / The Final | ||||||||
| "I'm Your Man" | 1985 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 3 |
| |||||||
| "The Edge of Heaven"[e] | 1986 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| |||||||
| "Where Did Your Heart Go?"[e] | — | 54 | 23 | — | — | 37 | — | — | 50 | ||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||||||
"Last Christmas" re-issue and re-entry positions
[change | change source]| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | AUS | AUT | GER | IRE | NL | NOR | SWE | SWI | US | ||||||||
| "Last Christmas" (re-entry) | 1985 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 7 | 6 | — | Music from the Edge of Heaven / The Final | |||||
| 1986 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| 2007 | 14 | — | 4 | 4 | 22 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 10 | — | |||||||
| 2008 | 26 | — | 6 | 16 | 34 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 15 | — | |||||||
| 2009 | 34 | — | 9 | 14 | 36 | 19 | 10 | 16 | 12 | — | |||||||
| 2010 | 57 | — | 11 | 23 | — | 32 | — | 11 | 14 | — | |||||||
| 2011 | 26 | — | 17 | 25 | 33 | 51 | 10 | 4 | 34 | — | |||||||
| 2012 | 34 | — | 16 | 26 | 42 | 47 | 16 | 4 | 24 | — | |||||||
| 2013 | 36 | — | 25 | 30 | 35 | 22 | 10 | 3 | 31 | — | |||||||
| 2014 | 28 | 61 | 19 | 19 | 37 | 17 | 13 | 6 | 12 | — | |||||||
| 2015 | 18 | — | 15 | 15 | 18 | 11 | 14 | 8 | 19 | — | |||||||
| 2016 | 7 | 23 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 41 | |||||||
| 2017 | 2 | 37 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 88 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 43 | |||||||
| 2018 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 25 | |||||||
| 2019 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 11 | |||||||
| 2020 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9 | |||||||
| 2021 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |||||||
| 2022 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |||||||
| 2023 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |||||||
| 2024 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||
| 2025 | 50 | — | 9 | 29 | 51 | 65 | — | — | 48 | 43 | |||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||||
Notes
[change | change source]- ↑ North America and Japan
- ↑ "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)" was originally released in June 1982 in the UK but failed to chart.
- ↑ In the United States and Canada, "Careless Whisper" was credited to Wham! featuring George Michael, whereas the single was credited in most other markets to George Michael as a solo artist.
- 1 2 Everything She Wants" and "Last Christmas" were released as a double A-side in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands. This record reached number 2 in the UK charts, with the re-issue of "Last Christmas" classed as a separate hit by the Official Charts Company, reaching number 1 in 2021.
- 1 2 "The Edge of Heaven" and "Where Did Your Heart Go?" were released as a double A-side in Ireland.
References
[change | change source]- 1 2 Wham! Archived 2022-01-01 at the Wayback Machine. www.simplyeighties.com. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
- ↑ When was Whams first hit?[permanent dead link]. boardgamestips.com. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
- ↑ Wham! UK. www.discogs.com. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
- ↑ Himes, Geoffrey (12 September 1990). "WHAM! SEPARATE TRACKS". The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
- ↑ Wilson, Carl (20 March 2014). "You Come and Go, You Come and Go ..." Slate. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
- ↑ "WHAM!`S BRAND OF BLUE-EYED SOUL MAKES IT BIG WITH YOUNG CHICAGO". Chicago Tribune. August 25, 1985. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
- ↑ Hilburn, Robert (April 8, 1990). "The Hot 'Tag Team' of Rock Management : Rob Kahane's faith in George Michael and Michael Lippman's belief in record producers have made them an industry force". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
- ↑ "Award". BPI. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
