Remember When George Michael Went Solo in 1984, Two Years Before Wham! Broke Up?

George Michael outgrew the confines of Wham! in a hurry. His massive talent and his ability to handle just about every aspect of the music-making process practically demanded that a solo career quickly replace his partnership with Andrew Ridgeley.

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Most people think of Michael’s solo career starting after Wham!’s farewell concert in 1986. But a single release two years earlier acted as a kind of test run for what it might look like.

Dangerous Duo

The duo of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley made their recording debut as Wham! with the 1982 single “Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)”. Their debut album Fantastic, which contained a quartet of UK hit singles, arrived in July 1983.

But one of the songs in consideration for that record, a lush ballad, was held back for later release. George Michael had started writing it when he was still in his teens, spurred on by a melody that popped into his head while he was on a bus. That melody would eventually become the song’s iconic songwriting part.

Michael based the lyrics on his own experience of seeing two girls at the same time. The song comes from the perspective of a guy whose guilt is eating at him for his extracurricular dating activities. Andrew Ridgeley helped Michael with the song in terms of developing the chord patterns.

Getting “Careless”

The main problem with recording “Careless Whisper” came down to Michael’s unhappiness with attempts to recreate the saxophone part as it was played in the demo. A session in Alabama with legendary producer Jerry Wexler proved fruitless for this reason.

Even when Michael brought the song back to London, he still couldn’t find a sax player to give him what he wanted. After approximately ten other players had failed, Jack Gregory gave it a go. Gregory struggled at first until playing the song in a lower key. When the speed was varied to match the part up with the rest of the track, Michael finally heard what he wanted.

A Solo Tryout

In the UK, “Careless Whisper” was credited to George Michael alone. It was a bit of an odd move, considering that it’s the only song on Wham!’s 1984 album Make It Big where Ridgeley helped in the writing. The fact that the song was a big vocal showcase for Michael must have played into the decision.

Wham!’s American distributor hedged their bets a little bit. They credited the song to Wham! Featuring George Michael. “Careless Whisper” proved unstoppable no matter what it said on the 45. It topped the charts in both the US and UK, along with several other ports of call.

It’s clear, even at that relatively early stage in the duo’s career, that Michael could see the writing on the wall. Wham! would only get him so far before his solo efforts would carry the day. That “Careless Whisper” would eventually become an overwhelming shout of solo freedom by this one-of-a-kind artist.

Photo by John Rodgers/Redferns