On the subject of Wham!, I have a CD of Andrew Ridgeley's only solo album, Son of Albert. It's a little "of its time," but still quite good.
I've become a big Doris Day fan. It's a little ironic that she outlived two pop superstars (George Michael and John Lennon) who name-checked her on #1 albums. N.B. With Vera Lynn's recent passing, Roger Waters has escaped a similar fate.
It's ironic to me that the Sports Machine George Michael and the Wham! George Michael would pass away within seven years and one day of each other.
My longtime gay friend had plenty of stories about straight guys with whom he had dalliances! I just thought it was funny that the guy at the Aerosmith show was so incredulous that I'd never dabbled - maybe because I seemed non-homophobic!
It's similar to Janet Jackson's decline after the Super Bowl. Sure, she got snubbed by a lot of radio, but the material just wasn't very good, too. In 2004, I'd been a fan of hers since "Control" and the Super Bowl shenanigans didn't impact my opinion of her one iota. I still only played "Damita Jo" like 5 times - because it just wasn't good!
In fall 1984, I was 17 and a senior in HS. I liked some pop back then - Michael Jackson, Culture Club, Hall and Oates - but not much, and most of my friends were much more into punk/New Wave, so they disapproved. I fully dove into the era's pop the next summer. I took a girl to see Madonna to impress her. I hated Madonna, but the girl was pretty cute! Never saw the girl again, but Madonna won me over - she put on a really good show. That opened the dam for me, and I leapt into that era's pop. That meant I embraced Duran, Wham!, you name it. This bugged my friends, but in retrospect, I don't really see why. If they were okay with the fact I liked MJ, H&O and CC, why get bent out of shape by these others?
I don't know y'all's opinion on this, but I liked Shirlie Holliman and Dee C. Lee in the group. They just added a little something, IMO
Oh, I think it's very common. I lost my virginity to my best friend's brother, and then ended up doing the flowers for his wedding! LOL But, I never saw him as gay, even at the time, it was just recreational sex. It's a very individual thing, that's why that Kinsey scale is touted as being a really true thing. There's people like you, who never dabbled, and I'm platinum card gay myself.
And her record producer son (and owner of the infamous Manson Murder home) Terry Melcher, by quite a few years
Poor Terry. I think skin cancer did him in. I stayed at her hotel in Carmel about a decade ago because I thought, "why not"? And also because it was fairly inexpensive and seemed nice, which it was. My grandmother was a big Doris Day fan, she'd have been so excited. It has a restaurant I think named Terry's Lounge. Ate there because it wasn't terribly expensive, and the food was really good. I wonder what'll happen to her hotel, the Cypress Inn, now that she's passed?
Yeah, the quality of her material was already declining, but she did get blacklisted, and that didn't help matters.
Yeah, they wouldn't have really worked with the band's style circa '84, but they were pretty crucial to the early success of Wham! I think.
Wake Me Up Before You Go Go is definitely catchy and likeable, so I like it -- but I'm certainly not a big, big fan. I don't have anything by Wham or George Michael, apart from one 45 by the latter that came out a few years later. I didn't figure out that George Michael was gay, maybe not until the bust, but I'm not particularly interested in such matters. I'm the kind of person who sometimes hears and retains gossip but I don't pass it on. I never spent time watching music videos to figure out who danced like what. In 1984 I was listening to CFNY which had the "alternative" playlist, although if I'm not mistaken it played Wake Me Up ... too. But 1984 was the year I discovered the Smiths via Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now, and other great songs like Hollow Horse by the Icicle Works, which I think is the best song of the decade. Anyway, I'll see your George Michael and raise you Morrissey ...
.. Back then, my father obviously thought the same after seeing the video. He ssid\to the effect of " I don't think artists should say political things ".
...Perhaps he meant more " in their video/product/promo for a non-political song ", he'd probably essentially anyway agree with you there, as far as expressing their opinion went. Just quoting (as best I could) HSL (1924-1999).
Regarding the "Wham Rap" song, that rap goes against everything rap was about in 1984. They're celebrating not having a job when the real rappers were rapping that they couldn't get a job.