New Wham! documentary reveals first trailer

Virgin Radio

16 Jun 2023, 08:15

Netflix has shared the first trailer for its upcoming documentary about Wham!.

The movie will focus on the four-year journey that George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley took from being school friends to international superstars, and will feature footage from the duo’s personal archives, including some never-before-seen stuff and previously unheard interviews with Ridgeley and Michael.

The documentary - directed by Fyre’s Chris Smith - will also touch on the latter’s solo career and his emergence as a gay icon, after he came out in 1998.

The synopsis for the feature-length documentary explains that, in 1982, the teenagers “set out to conquer the world” and how, “by June of 1986 they played their very last gig at Wembley Stadium having done exactly that.”

With hits such as Club Tropicana, Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, Freedom, I’m Your Man and Last Christmas, the pop group’s “time in the spotlight was white-hot,” says the synopsis. “It was a time that both encapsulated and epitomised not just their youth, but also those of the many millions of fans that adored them”.

The trailer gives us a taste of what we can expect from the upcoming release. We hear snippets of Andrew Ridgeley talking about his late bandmate, who died in 2016. "For George, chart position was the ultimate form of validation," he says. 

We also hear Michael, who went on to have a massively successful solo career , describe finding success “with your best mate” as being “absolutely magical.”

Andrew Ridgeley and Wham! backing vocalist Shirlie Kemp joined The Graham Norton Radio Show with Waitrose at the weekend to talk about the new Netflix documentary.

The former told Graham: “The defining feature of the early years was just how amateur the whole thing was."

He added: “On one occasion, George was babysitting for people across the road and we rehearsed while he was babysitting."

Wham! lands on Netflix on 5th July.