"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
Standard artwork by Peter Saville and Trevor Key
Single by Wham!
from the album Make It Big
B-side"A Ray of Sunshine"
Released14 May 1984
RecordedFebruary 1984
StudioSarm West (London)[1][2]
GenreBubblegum pop[3]
Length3:50
Label
Songwriter(s)George Michael
Producer(s)George Michael
Wham! singles chronology
"Club Fantastic Megamix"
(1983) 		"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
(1984) 		"Careless Whisper"
(1984)
Music video
"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" on YouTube
Alternative cover
Artwork of the original 1984 US vinyl single

"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" is a song by English pop duo Wham!, first released as a single in the UK on 14 May 1984.[4] It became their first UK and US number one hit. It was written and produced by George Michael. The single was certified platinum in the US, which at the time commemorated sales of over two million copies. The music video features Michael and Ridgeley wearing oversized message T-shirts ("CHOOSE LIFE") created by Katharine Hamnett, starting a craze covered in the 2002 VH1 series I Love the 80s.[5]

The song was ranked number 28 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s.[6]

History

Michael's inspiration for the song was a scribbled note that his bandmate Andrew Ridgeley had left for his parents, intended to read "wake me up before you go" but with "up" accidentally written twice, so Ridgeley wrote "go" twice on purpose.

In 1984, George Michael had this to say on the development of the song:

I just wanted to make a really energetic pop record that had all the best elements of Fifties and Sixties records, combined with our attitude and our approach, which is obviously more uptempo and a lot younger than some of those records. It's one of those tracks that gets rid of a lot of your own personal influences; it reminds me of so many different records that I couldn't actually nail them down. I'd done a demo at home that just had a bass line and a vocal on it. Usually, I write the record in my head; I know what all the parts are going to be and I sing them to all our musicians. And it was great. ... We actually did it as a rehearsal. We used a LinnDrum because the drummer was late, and it was such a good track that we kept it.[7]

It was recorded within two days at Sarm West Studio 2 in London, with a live rhythm section.[2] The song, according to Michael, had been done in one take without any drop-ins (overdubs) at all – production-wise, he noted that the two options to him were "either to be like Trevor Horn and go for stunning sounds on your own, or just get a great sound on each instrument and go for a live take".[8]

The UK sleeve was designed by Peter Saville, with photography by Trevor Key.[9]

Reception

Cash Box said that "the Motown groove and patent vocals of 'Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go' are perfect CHR material which is executed expertly by this British duo."[10]

The song entered the UK Singles Chart at number four – after much hype from the duo claiming they would go straight in at number one,[citation needed] which was a rare occurrence then – and climbed to the top spot seven days later, staying there for two weeks. The song also went to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, holding the top spot for three weeks.

Music video

The music video for the song was directed by Andy Morahan.[11] It showcases the band performing for an audience of mostly teenagers at Brixton Academy in South London. The band was wearing Katharine Hamnett t-shirt designs that said "CHOOSE LIFE".[12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by George Michael

7-inch: Epic / A 4440 (UK)
No.TitleLength
1."Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"3:51
2."Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" (instrumental)4:03

information Note:

12-inch: Epic / TA 4440 (UK)
No.TitleLength
1."Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"3:51
2."A Ray of Sunshine" (specially recorded for The Tube)4:58
3."Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" (instrumental)4:03

Chart performance

Certifications

Certifications for "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[55] 2× Platinum 140,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[56] Platinum 100,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[57] Platinum 90,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[58] Gold 250,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[59] Platinum 50,000‡
Netherlands (NVPI)[60] Gold 75,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[61]
1984 release 		Gold 500,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[62]
2006 release 		2× Platinum 1,200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[63] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. ^ Hearnton, Sam (April 1985). "The Soundmaker". Electronic Soundmaker & Computer Music (Apr 1985): 12–13.
  2. ^ a b Buskin, Richard (March 2013). "Classic Tracks: George Michael 'Faith'". Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  3. ^ Trzcinski, Matthew (14 May 2023). "An Awful Song Kept Prince's 'Purple Rain' From Hitting No. 1". Showbiz Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 14 May 2023. ...[a] bubblegum pop single stopped it from topping the Billboard Hot 100.
  4. ^ "Record News". NME. London, England: IPC Media: 36. 5 May 1984.
  5. ^ Kraszewski, Jon (2017). Reality TV. Taylor & Francis. p. 127.
  6. ^ "VH1: 100 Greatest Songs of the 80's". Rock on the Net. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  7. ^ Connelly, Christopher (25 October 1984). "Wham! A wake-up call to the U.S.". Rolling Stone. No. 433. p. 48.
  8. ^ Thomas, David (June 1985). "Making it big as they go-go!" (PDF). Modern Recording & Music. pp. 32–36. Retrieved 1 May 2021 – via worldradiohistory.com.
  9. ^ "Sleeve designed by Peter Saville: Sleeves 1982-1984". Petersaville.info. Archived from the original on 21 May 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  10. ^ "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 8 September 1984. p. 7. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  11. ^ Garcia, Alex S. "mvdbase.com - Wham! - "Wake me up before you go-go [version 1: concept]"". Music Video DataBase. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  12. ^ "YouTube – Wham! - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (Official Video)".
  13. ^ "Australia n°1 Hits – 80's". Worldcharts.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  14. ^ "Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
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  57. ^ "Danish single certifications – Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  58. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Wham!; 'Wake Me Up Before You Go')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  59. ^ "Italian single certifications – Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 2 December 2019. Select "2019" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Wake Me Up Before You Go" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  60. ^ "Dutch single certifications – Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 28 November 2019. Enter Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1984 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
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External links

Wham!
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