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George Michael asks fans for rare Wham! photos and footage

By Paul Sinclair

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42

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George Michael is reaching out to “fans and friends” to supply rare footage and photos from his Wham! days and his early solo career…

In a message posted on his website yesterday, he said he was looking for footage “in all media forms, from 1988 through 1994.” Specifically GM is after video (with or without sound) and photos featuring:

  • • Mass Wham! hysteria;
  • • Concert crowds;
  • • George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley backstage, leaving venues, at hotels or in limos;
  • • Paparazzi shots;
  • • Or more, not listed above!

What can all this mean? Although artists often ask for this kind of thing as part of a reissue campaign (Peter Gabriel did it for So – see this post – only to subsequently not use anything in the book that came with the box set!) our money is on George being involved in some kind of official documentary charting his rise to fame through Wham!, Faith and into the early 1990s.

If you wish to submit anything then you can do so via social media using the hashtag #whampics or by email at [email protected], subject line: “Wham! Pics”. Only those with “successful submissions” will be contacted for further details.

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42 Comments

42 thoughts on “George Michael asks fans for rare Wham! photos and footage”

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  2. Maybe someone will send George the Wham! singing arses sketch from Spitting Image…

    George has always been snotty about Wham! So it probably is a record company idea…

  4. What I understand when read the official website GM’s news is :
    They’re searching for everything rare from Wham! and everything rare from George Michael from 88 to 96. Thats all.

  6. There was news earlier this year about a LWP special edition, so perhaps the idea is to produce a documentary that would cover his growth from the “frivolous” music (seems to be his opinion, but certainly isn’t mine) of Wham! to his more socially conscious and “serious” music on LWP.

    Though to be honest, my disappointment with George has been how he increasingly becomes more and more obsessed with being “serious” while simultaneously becoming boring as hell. Faith was a great album with a ton of energy to it. LWP was a good album that was moving a bit toward some self-seriousness. Older felt like it bordered on parody. Songs of the Last Century crossed the line into maudlin navel-gazing. Patience at least had something of the old spark in it, but then he went to releasing an occasional single every few years and that’s it.

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  8. This is phenomenal news! It was great to see that email come through last night.

    It was sad Wham!’s 30th anniversary on 28th June wasn’t marked in any way so I hope this is an indication of something big coming.

    I’ll certainly have loads of items to dig through as it will be cool to be involved.

    As a coincidence I was recently watching the un-cut version of the interview GM did with Kurt Loder at the time of the court case with Sony.

    I hope we don’t have to wait too long for this next GM project.

    :-)

  9. A lot of cruel and unkind comments about George which is a real shame.
    We all know that George has never been a prolific artist, he claims to write only two songs a year, and like many people he has been fighting his demons and some of us are better at this than others. Yes it would be great to have another studio album, but maybe he just doesn’t have one in him.
    Also, George is worth over £100 million, he has been extremely wealthy since his early 20’s. It might be trite to say it, but would most of us work at 50 if we didn’t have to?

    1. Hi Bob

      I would say by far the majority of comments here are quite positive, most would love to see this “early George” re-visited comprehensively, Wham! were a massive part of many of our childhoods here in the UK and around the world. I would also take some of the comments in the spirit they were hopefully intended. Over the last 20 years George has been quite humorous about his escapades, from Parkinson to Comic Relief he has been the first to join in with the jokes and then of course the biggest joke of all the “Outside” video. The video with Smithy (James Corden) from Comic relief 2011 was brilliant and showed George can take it, he has a brilliant sense of humour.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlrNDOctO1s if you haven’t seen this before, do yourself a favour and laugh-a-longa-George.

  12. Well, it could be more specific to his heaviest touring period. 84 would be MAKE IT BIG/WHAM!AMERICA tour – through 94 would include LWP and Cover to Cover…
    (OMG a live box set?!!!!) ha!
    REISSUE THE WHAM ALBUMS GM. WE WANT IT – YOU CAN HAVE THE LAST WORD.
    INSTRUMENTALS HAVE NEVER BEEN ON CD. ALL THE VERSIONS OF WHAM RAP! THE ALTERNATE “Careless Whisper”… an unreleased WAKE ME UP extended mix…. COME ON (everybody!)…!!!!!!!

    1. It’s time George got off his fat arse and produced some music. Three studio albums in twenty six years is utterly pathetic. Maybe the fans could record his new album for him.

  16. I’m starting to see it now. Sloppy writing from writers is always disappointing. What they should really be asking for is “rare footage…of Wham!, and for George Michael from 1988 through 1996.”

  17. I don’t think he’ll get much footage. We didn’t routinely carry video recorders to gigs in the 80s, they were so huge you wouldn’t get them into a venue without security noticing, and barring you. Even regular still cameras weren’t allowed in most venues.

  18. When i read this on the site and sent you the message etc, my first reaction is please let it be some kind of single box set featuring all of his career singles, from Wham to his last stuff, i am desperate for something like this.

    Cd Singles along with a fantage (like a montage but from the fans view)

    1. I Agree, a nice Singles box set with photo book with discographies, lyrics and maybe some outtakes music & pics. Now that I would buy for sure. I’ve sent in my picture collection, I’m just hoping they have better HQ pics of most of them already…..Please release it already

  24. Problem is Wham! were (officially) no more after 1986. Why specifically ask for Wham media during the 88 – 94 years when it was George who was the prominent one…? It all seems a bit suspect to me, to be honest. Bring on the LWP reissue, please and stop mucking about! Enough, already!

  30. This is quite a confusing request… Wham! split in 1988 so there won’t be any footage of George and Andrew together professionally during this time period.

  31. But then if he is after Wham! stuff, 1988 is a little late isn’t it. 1982 (don’t mention Innervision!) through to 1986 wouldn’t you say is more accurate?

    It’s about time this era is revisited and I hope they don’t skip / skimp on the Wham! era as this was when George was most fun…Maybe Andrew was a good influence….

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