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Wham! (George Michael; Andrew Ridgeley)

3 of 3 portraits of Andrew Ridgeley

© John Swannell / Camera Press

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Wham! (George Michael; Andrew Ridgeley)

by John Swannell
bromide print, 1985
11 5/8 in. x 14 3/4 in. (295 mm x 375 mm)
Given by John Swannell, 1986
Photographs Collection
NPG x25284

Sittersback to top

Artistback to top

  • John Swannell (1946-), Photographer. Artist or producer of 128 portraits, Sitter in 2 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Teen sensation duo, Wham! released a number of hit singles and albums between 1983 and their breakup in 1986, none bigger than Wake Me Up Before you Go Go (1984), written by George Michael. This image of the band appeared on the Single release of Last Christmas/All She Wants.

Events of 1985back to top

Current affairs

55 people die in the Manchester air disaster when a British Airtours Boeing 737 bursts into flames after an aborted takeoff at Manchester International Airport.

Art and science

Bob Geldof and Midge Ure organise Live Aid, a rock concert in London and Philadelphia, to raise funds for famine relief. The biggest names in popular music, including Paul McCartney, Queen, Status Quo, The Police, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, U2, The Who, and Led Zeppelin, performed to a TV audience of 1.5 billion.
The British Antarctic Survey discovers a hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica.

International

Reformer Mikhail Gorbachev comes to power as first secretary of the Soviet Communist party. He calls for 'glasnost' (openness) in Soviet life, and pursues a policy of 'perestroika' (reconstruction).
French intelligence operatives sabotage Rainbow Warrior, the Greenpeace vessel. The ship was leading a protest against French nuclear testing in New Zealand when it was bombed and sunk, killing one of the twelve on board.

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