Here’s how George Michael: A Different Story reunited pop band Wham! on screen for the first time in 20 years. Directed by Southan Morris, this 2005 documentary is a deep dive into the life of late, great British singer George Michael, who sadly passed away in 2016. Back in the 1980s, Michael was one half of uber-successful music duo Wham! who released pop anthems like “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” “Last Christmas” and “Club Tropicana,” and he later went on to have a successful solo career with songs like “Faith,” “Father Figure” and “Fastlove.”
The documentary covers major turning points in George Michael’s life, from forming Wham! while he was still in his teens and the worldwide success they experienced in the early 1980s to why he chose to embark on a solo career in the late 1980s. The documentary doesn’t shy away from the more controversial moments in Michael’s career either, like being publicly outed as gay following his famous “restroom incident” in 1998 and his satirical single “Shoot The Dog,” which criticized George W. Bush and Tony Blair’s involvement in the so-called War on Terror and caused quite the stir after its 2002 release.
Alongside the man himself, George Michael: A Different Story features lots of fellow celebrities. There are contributions from his 1980s contemporaries Boy George of Culture Club fame and Spandau Ballet bassist Martin Kemp, plus Elton John who Michael duetted with on the 1991 cover of John’s song “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me.” The biggest surprise guest in the documentary, however, was Michael’s former Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley in what was then their first on-camera interview together in two decades.
In fact, George Michael stated that the documentary only came about because Andrew Ridgeley – who largely shunned the limelight after Wham! disbanded – agreed to speak on camera. Anyone expecting a dramatic showdown between the two former bandmates will be sorely disappointed, however: their Wham! split was amicable and their on-screen reunion in George Michael: A Different Story is just as warm and friendly.
A highlight of George Michael: A Different Story are the great anecdotes offered whenever Ridgeley and Michael are on screen together. The documentary is a veritable feast for fans of Wham! with the former bandmates discussing how they first met at school, their failed attempt to start a pre-Wham! ska band and the moment that Michael came out to Ridgeley back during the “Club Tropicana” era.
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