George Michael was twenty-one when he wrote a song that would basically fund his estate for the next several centuries. Think about that. Most twenty-one-year-olds are struggling to find matching socks, but George was busy crafting the saxophone hook in "Careless Whisper." It’s iconic. It’s haunting. It’s also technically a Wham song, though the history there is a little messy depending on which country's vinyl pressing you’re holding.
Wham wasn’t just hairspray and short shorts. People forget that. Underneath the neon aesthetic of the 1980s, there was this incredible, soulful engine of pop craftsmanship. When you look at a wham list of songs, you aren't just looking at a tracklist; you're looking at the evolution of a kid from Bushey who figured out how to out-Motown Motown. George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley didn't just stumble into the charts. They kicked the door down with a level of confidence that felt almost illegal for two guys who were barely old enough to drink in the States.
The early stuff was grit. Pure grit. "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)" was a weirdly political debut. It was about being unemployed in Thatcher’s Britain but making it a lifestyle choice. "Wham! Bam! I am! A man!" It’s clunky. It’s dated. Honestly, it’s a bit cringe-worthy if you listen to it today without the context of 1982. But it set the stage. They were rappers. Well, sort of. White kids from the suburbs rapping about the dole wasn't exactly what the industry expected, but it worked because the beat was undeniable.
The Chart Toppers That Defined the Decade
You can't talk about these guys without "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go." It’s the elephant in the room. The story goes that Andrew left a note for his parents that said "wake me up-up before you go-go" because he accidentally wrote "up" twice. George saw it and thought, that’s a hit. He was right. It became their first number one in both the UK and the US. It’s the ultimate sunshine song. If you hate this song, you probably hate puppies and rainbows too.
Then you have the "Big Three" from the Make It Big era.
First, "Everything She Wants." This is arguably the best thing George Michael ever wrote during the Wham years. It’s dark. It’s synthesized funk. It’s about a man realizing his marriage is a financial trap. "Somebody tell me... why do I work so hard for you?" It showed a level of maturity that "Bad Boys" never had. Most fans don't realize that George did almost everything on this track. He was a perfectionist. He was obsessive. He was basically a one-man army by 1984.
Second, "Freedom." Not the 1990 solo version with the supermodels, but the 1984 version with the horns. It’s upbeat but desperate. That was the Wham secret sauce: sad lyrics disguised as a party.
Third, "Careless Whisper." In the UK, it was a solo George Michael single. In the US, it was credited to "Wham! featuring George Michael." This song changed everything. That sax line? It took ten different saxophonists before George found someone who could play it exactly how he heard it in his head. Steve Gregory was the guy who finally nailed it. It’s a song about cheating that somehow became the most popular slow-dance song at every high school prom for a decade. Irony is a funny thing.
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The Deep Cuts and B-Sides
Most people only know the hits, which is a shame. If you dig into a wham list of songs, you find gems like "Blue (Armed With Love)." It’s got this cool, loungey vibe that hints at where George would go with his Older album years later. It’s sophisticated.
And then there's "Battlestations."
This was a B-side to "The Edge of Heaven." It’s heavy on the Fairlight CMI synthesizer. It’s crunchy and aggressive. It’s about a relationship turning into a war zone. If you want to hear the bridge between Wham and the Faith album, this is where you look. It’s less "pop" and more "R&B experimentation."
Don't overlook "Ray of Sunshine" from the Fantastic album. It’s pure disco worship. It sounds like they were trying to be Chic, and while they didn't quite hit the Nile Rodgers level of sophistication, they got pretty close for a couple of teenagers.
The Christmas Juggernaut
We have to talk about "Last Christmas." It is the most successful song to never hit number one on its initial release, mostly because Band Aid’s "Do They Know It’s Christmas?" was a literal charity wall of sound that no one could climb over. George Michael actually performed on both tracks. He was competing against himself.
"Last Christmas" is a masterpiece of production. Every single sound on that record—the bells, the synths, the vocals—was done by George. Andrew wasn't even in the studio for most of it. It’s a lonely, isolated song about heartbreak, but we play it while wrapping presents. It finally hit number one in the UK in 2021, decades after it was released. That’s staying power.
The China Connection
In 1985, Wham did something insane. They went to China. They were the first major Western pop group to play there. It was a cultural earthquake. They played the Workers' Gymnasium in Beijing to 12,000 people who had no idea how to react to "Bad Boys." People were sitting in silence because they didn't know they were allowed to dance.
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The songs they played there—"Freedom," "Careless Whisper," "A Ray of Sunshine"—became the first taste of Western pop for an entire generation of Chinese youth. There's a documentary called Foreign Skies that captures this. It’s fascinating. It shows the sheer scale of Wham-mania. They weren't just a band; they were diplomats in tight jeans.
The Final Curtain: The Edge of Heaven
By 1986, it was over. George was outgrowing the "Wham!" brand. He wanted to be taken seriously as a songwriter, and you can't really do that when your band name has an exclamation point in it. Their final show at Wembley Stadium, "The Final," was a massive wake.
They released "The Edge of Heaven" as their farewell. It’s a frantic, high-energy rocker. It’s got a great horn section. It felt like a victory lap. The B-side was a cover of "Where Did Your Heart Go?" by Was (Not Was). It’s a moody, atmospheric track that proved George was ready for the solo spotlight.
Andrew Ridgeley, for his part, handled the breakup with incredible grace. He knew George was a once-in-a-generation talent. He didn't try to hold him back. That’s why their legacy is so clean. There was no messy lawsuit, no public feuding. They remained best friends until the day George passed away on Christmas Day in 2016.
Why the Songs Still Work
If you look at the wham list of songs today, they don't feel like museum pieces. They feel alive. Part of that is the production. George Michael was a student of the Motown "Wall of Sound," but he updated it with 80s technology. He understood hooks. He understood that a great pop song needs a "moment"—a breath, a finger snap, a specific drum fill.
- Hook Density: Every four bars, something new happens.
- Vocal Layering: George would layer his own backing vocals dozens of times to create a lush, choir-like effect.
- The Andrew Factor: Andrew provided the "cool." He was the visual anchor. Without Andrew, George might have stayed a shy studio rat. Andrew made him a star.
Actionable Insights for the Modern Listener
If you’re just getting into Wham or building a definitive playlist, don’t just stick to the Greatest Hits.
Start with the Make It Big album in its entirety. It’s only eight songs long. It’s the perfect pop album. There is zero filler. From there, go back to Fantastic to hear the raw, punk-adjacent energy of their early days.
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If you're a musician, study "Everything She Wants." Pay attention to the bassline. It’s a masterclass in how to use a synthesizer to create groove without it sounding "robotic."
Finally, watch the 2023 Netflix documentary WHAM!. It uses archival footage to show the actual friendship behind the music. It humanizes the posters on the wall. It reminds us that behind the multi-platinum records were just two guys named Georgios and Andrew who really, really liked pop music.
To truly appreciate the wham list of songs, you have to listen to them on a good pair of headphones. George Michael’s production is surprisingly intricate. You’ll hear little percussion flourishes in "I'm Your Man" that you never noticed on the radio. You'll hear the soul in his voice during "A Different Corner" (which was technically on the final Wham album, Music from the Edge of Heaven).
The legacy of Wham isn't just nostalgia. It's a blueprint for how to do pop music right. It’s about joy, heartbreak, and the audacity of youth. It’s about two friends who took over the world and then had the sense to walk away while they were still at the top.
Get a copy of The Final on vinyl or high-res digital. Turn it up. Ignore the critics who dismissed them as "bubblegum" back in the day. History has proven them wrong. These songs aren't just 80s relics; they are part of the permanent DNA of popular music.
If you want to understand the transition from the boy band era to the solo superstar era, the Wham discography is your textbook. Study the shift from the energetic "Young Guns (Go For It!)" to the sophisticated "Where Did Your Heart Go?" and you’ll see the metamorphosis of one of the greatest artists of the 20th century.