Before George Michael was the leather-jacketed solo superstar behind Faith, he was a shy kid in Hertfordshire who got taken under the wing of a classmate named Andrew Ridgeley. On this episode of 50 for 50, hosts Garrett Gonzales and Mike Joseph trace the whole arc — from a teenage ska band called The Executive, through Wham!'s run to the top of the charts, and into the album that turned George Michael into one of the biggest solo artists on the planet.
In this episode:
- The real Wham! backstory: Bushey Meads School, The Executive, and how "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" and "Careless Whisper" turned two kids from Hertfordshire into global pop stars
- Wham!'s historic 1985 tour of China and the amicable split that led to "The Final" at Wembley Stadium
- A full track-by-track deep dive on Faith — the making of the album at Puk Studios in Denmark, the censorship battles over "I Want Your Sex," and how four different singles hit #1
- Studio stories straight from the musicians who were in the room, including the Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis remix that turned "Monkey" into a hit
- Grammy wins, Grammy snubs, and where Faith ranks against the rest of George Michael's catalog
- The dream collaborator debate — plus a rundown of the real duets George Michael actually pulled off with Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Queen, and more
New episodes of 50 for 50 drop weekly — subscribe for deep-dive album breakdowns on the artists who shaped music history.
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