Released 14 May 1984 Recorded 1984 Length 3:50 | Format 7"
12"
CD
3" CD Genre Dance-pop Label Columbia
Epic | |
"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" is a song by the British duo Wham!, first released as a single in the UK on 14 May 1984. 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.
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In 2015, the song was voted by the British public as the nation's 13th favourite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV. It was also ranked number 28 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s.
History
Michael's inspiration for the song was a scribbled note left by his Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley for Ridgeley's parents, originally intended to read "wake me up before you go" but with "up" accidentally written twice, so Ridgeley wrote "go" twice on purpose. Released in May 1984, it heralded the beginning of a softer, sunnier image for Wham!, who had spent the previous year as a moodier, more politically themed duo, with songs about unemployment, young marriage, and battles of will between parents and their children. With the release of "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", they re-emerged with wider smiles, more colourful clothing, and a more positive disposition in interviews.
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 Linn drum because the drummer was late, and it was such a good track that we kept it."
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, 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.
The UK sleeve was designed by Peter Saville, with photography by Trevor Key.
The song was featured in the films Rock Odyssey, The Big Picture, Charlie's Angels, Zoolander, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Tween Academy: Class of 2012, Happy Feet Two, Kath & Kimderella, Walking on Sunshine, Zoolander 2, Sausage Party, Sing and The LEGO Batman Movie.
Music video
The official music video for the song was directed by Andy Morahan. 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". Michael was also seen in luminous gloves, which he later bemoaned as the clip of him always picked out by advertisers whenever "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" went on to a compilation album. An advertisement is tacked onto the end of the video with the text "GO-GO BUY IT! thank you" appearing on a black screen.
Track listing
All tracks written by George Michael.
It was also released as a CD single in 1999