On November 17, 1984, a new song went to Number One, and it was one of my favourites of the year. This week 40 years ago, ”Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” (video above) by English pop duo Wham! went to Number One. The song—the duo’s first Number One in the USA—was the lead single from their second album, Make It Big, and it would stay at the top of the Billboard “Hot 100” for three weeks.
I don’t know when, precisely, I first became aware of Wham!, but it was probably through a video. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, in the mid-1980s, “video bars”, that is, bars that played music videos, were quite popular, and there were several gay bars in Chicago that featured them. It could be that the reason I saw the video for their single ”Club Tropicana” was because of the success of “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”, since that song the album it was on marked the beginning of their success in the USA.
Regardless of what the timeline actually was, I distinctly remember going to a long gone video bar called “Take One” with one of my childhood friends, and that video was played. I loved that video, not the least because the band’s lead singer, George Michael, was definitely my type at the time, and I thought he was hot (for the record, I was around four years older than him, though I didn’t know that at the time). That bar played several videos that have stuck in my mind for decades, also including We Close Our Eyes by another English pop duo, Go West, mainly because at the time I thought their video was visually interesting. There were plenty of others that seared themselves into my brain, too, but it was those two songs most of all.
The music video for “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” was directed by Andy Morahan, and was a very energetic performance video. What I remember most about it to this day are clothes. First, the “Choose Life” t-shirts (designed by English fashion designer Katharine Hamnett). By the mid-1980s, that slogan was being adopted by US anti-abortion activists, and even in 1984 it was kind of confronting—in fact, I briefly wondered if the Wham! were righwingers, which is hilarious to me now, of course, especially because of the US-centric assumptions about what the shirt's words meant. The second memorable clothing was at a little more than a minute into the video when their outfits suddenly changed, and George’s shorts! I’m pretty sure I swooned.
When I was a teenager, I didn’t have the chance to have crushes on pop stars, because they would’ve been male. Even so, I remember that in the 1960s, when I was probably too young to realise the significance (or danger…) of it, I thought that Davy Jones of The Monkees was really cute—when he was in his early 20s, actually—though my age wasn't even in double digits yet. He was probably my first celebrity crush.
I think that George Michael was among my first celebrity crushes after I came out, and since then I’ve certainly appreciated the beauty of famous men (singers, actors, etc), but it was all innocent. In the 1980s, I formed my first relationships, none of which lasted very long until 1984 (though even that one only lasted around four years). So, for me, crushing on George Michael and others was all just part of me figuring out who I was was. I had no idea back then that figuring out would be a lifelong process—nor that pop music would always be the backing track to my story. George Michael and Wham! were definitely part of that soundtrack. Skimpy shorts were always optional, though.
“Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” reached Number One in Australia (2x Platinum), 2 in Canada (Platinum), 2 in New Zealand, Number One in the UK (Gold), as well as Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100”, and was also Number One on Cash Box, and on the “Contemporary Hit Radio” chart from Radio & Records. It was certified Platinum in the USA.
The album Make It Big reached Number One in Australia (Platinum), Canada (6x Platinum), New Zealand (Platinum), in the UK (4x Platinum), and on the USA’s “Billboard 200”. It was Certified 6x Platinum in the USA.
Back on December 8 with the next Number One song of 1984.
Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1984” series:
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 1 – January 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 2 – February 4, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 3 – February 25, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 4 – March 31, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 5 – April 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 6 – May 12, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 7 – May 26, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 8 – June 9, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 9 – June 23, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 10 – July 7, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 11 – August 11, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 12 – September 1, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 13 – September 22, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 14 – September 29, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 15 – October 13, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 16 – November 3, 2024
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