“Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” – Single by Wham! from the album Make It Big
B-side “A Ray of Sunshine”
Released 14 May 1984
Recorded February 1984
Label Columbia / Epic
Songwriter George Michael
Producer George Michael
Charted No.1 in US; No.1 in UK; No.2 in West Germany; No.1 in Sweden; No.1 in Norway; No.1 Netherlands; No.1 in Canada; No.1 in Australia; No.1 in Belgium; No.17 in France; No.24 in Italy
Despite Wham! having already made a success of themselves with their 1983 debut album Fantastic, Andrew Ridgeley still lived at home with his parents as it was easier to stay there when he was off tour.
One morning Andrew asked his mum to wake him up, so let a note on his bedroom door stating: “Wake me up up, before you go go.”
He and George used to record all of the Wham! demos in that bedroom, and after George saw the note he got a kick out of it and almost immediately wrote their mega hit ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’.
A “go-go” is a dancing club which the song’s theme is centred around – it’s about a guy who’s head over heels for a girl who leaves to go dancing before he’s woken up. The song is a plea for her not to go dancing without him again.
The music video for the song was directed by Andy Morahan. It showcases the band performing for an audience of mostly teenagers at Brixton Academy in South London.[ The band wore Katharine Hamnett T-shirt designs that said “CHOOSE LIFE”.
The T-shirts George and Andrew wore in the music video to ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’ became one of the most iconic trends of the decade.
The song entered the UK Singles Chart at number four and climbed to the top spot seven days later, staying there for two weeks. The song also went to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, holding the top spot for three weeks.
Musicians:
Wham!
George Michael – lead and backing vocals
Andrew Ridgeley – electric guitar, backing vocals
Additional musicians
Tommy Eyre – keyboards
Deon Estus – bass guitar
Trevor Murrell – drums; LinnDrum
David Baptiste – alto saxophone
Colin Graham, Paul Spong – trumpet
Pepsi & Shirlie – backing vocals
