Andrew Ridgeley

Andrew Ridgeley is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. He was part of the music duo Wham! with George Michael.

• Ridgeley was born on 26 January 1963, in Windlesham, Surrey in England.
• His father, Albert, was British and worked at Canon. His mother, Jennifer, was of Italian and Egyptian heritage and was a schoolteacher at Bushey Heath Primary School.
• Ridgeley attended Bushey Meads School in Bushey, England. It was at the school where he met George Michael.
• Ridgeley and Michael had aspirations of becoming musicians.
• At the school, he formed a short-lived music band "The Executive" with his brother Paul, George Michael, Andrew Leaver, and David Mortimer.

• Ridgeley married Keren Woodward, a member of the group Bananarama.
• The couple lives near Wadebridge, Cornwall, in the UK.

• After dismantling The Executive, and playing music in various bands, Ridgeley paired with Michael to form the duo Wham!
• They made a homemade tape in Ridgeley's living room and approached various record labels. For their first album, they were signed by Innervision Records.
• Their first singles Wham Rap (Enjoy What You Do) and Young Guns (Go For It!) in 1982 enjoyed massive success.
• Their first album 'Fantastic,' which was an overnight success and it hit the number one spot in the UK that year.
• Wham! was a highly successful collaboration that enjoyed worldwide success from 1982 to 1986. It sold more than 25 million records worldwide.
• With memorable hits like Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, Careless Whisper, and Freedom, their second studio album in 1984, "Make it Big" quickly made it big internationally.
• In April 1985, Wham! toured in China and performed for 15,000 people at the Worker's Gymnasium in Beijing. The tour gained worldwide media attention.
• The duo released their third and last album "The edge of heaven" in 1986. The album featured their classic Last Christmas.
• After leaving Wham! Ridgeley moved to Monaco to try his hand at Formula Three motor racing.
• He met with little success in racing, following which, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. His acting aspirations also didn't pan out well and he permanently returned back to Britain in 1990.
• In May 1990, he released fir first and only solo album "Son of Albert." The album was named himself as his father's name is Albert Ridgeley. Paul, his brother, played drums on the album. The album met with moderate success.
• In 1991, Ridgeley joined George Michael on stage at the encore of his performance at the Rock in Rio event in Brazil.
• In 2005, Ridgeley and Michael made plans to reunite as Wham! for Live 8, a series of benefit concerts, but Ridgeley withdrew at the last minute.