Wham!’s Andrew Ridgeley on losing George Michael: ‘There’s a sadness now to Christmas’

In the first of Big Issue’s bumper seasonal special editions, out today (25 November), Andrew Ridgeley of Wham! reflects on 40 years of iconic Christmas hit Last Christmas and how it became “difficult to listen to” after the passing of bandmate George Michael.

“It changed how I saw Christmas for a few years,” Ridgeley reflects. “There is a sadness now to Christmas that previously didn’t exist.

“It was difficult to listen to Last Christmas the following year. But it was a time of year that Yog [Ridgeley’s pet name for Michael] really enjoyed. And his music lives on, and in that, he lives on.”

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George Michael’s passing at just 53 in 2016 put a sad, definitive end to hopes of Wham! reuniting for a comeback tour. With Oasis set to make their huge return to stadiums across the globe next summer, Ridgeley insists the same was never on the cards for them.

“When we brought Wham! to an end, we agreed we wouldn’t rekindle it in our middle age,” he tells the Big Issue. “It was tempting, because it was something we enjoyed doing together and I did perform with Yog on tours he did as a solo artist.

“But we both understood Wham! was a representation of our youth. If we ever tried to relive it, it would go against the whole essence.”

Recounting filming the Last Christmas music video in a snow-covered Saas-Fee in Switzerland, Ridgeley remembers: “The video shoot was too much fun for some – for me!

“We were in an Alpine resort with our good friends. There were loose guidelines but a lot of latitude to have the sense of a Christmas house party. So it’s authentic, which is part of its attraction.

“It is not artifice. I don’t know which bright spark thought it was a good idea to use real wine for the dinner scene. But we were there for hours, and it descended into a riotous party. Great fun, but it did have its casualty. Which was me!

“I missed the last scene because of over-excitement at the dinner table.”

Ridgeley is speaking to the first of four Christmas special editions of the Big Issue, which is on sale now on high streets across the UK. The interview marks 28 years to the week since George Michael broke a long media silence with a Big Issue exclusive in 1996.

“Yog [Michael] would have been making a point,” says Ridgeley. “He could have had his pick of any publication in the world – everyone wanted that interview.

“It speaks to his values. I’ve spoken to Big Issue before, I’ve supported it, as most people do. And George’s philanthropy is now well known, although he chose not to promote it when he was alive.”

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