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Wham! / Fantastic & Make It Big deluxe editions issued on SDE-exclusive blu-ray

Atmos Mixes, hi-res stereo and bonus tracks

By Paul Sinclair

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437

Only via the SDE shop: Quick Pre-order link!

Deluxe editions of Wham!’s two studio albums – 1983’s Fantastic and 1984’s Make It Big – will be issued for the very first time via two SDE-exclusive blu-ray audio releases which feature 96/24 hi-res stereo mixes of the original recordings and Dolby Atmos spatial audio, along with a generous selection of bonus tracks in both Atmos and stereo. Both albums will also be reissued on limited edition coloured vinyl (and black vinyl) at the same time.

These albums need no introduction; Wham!’s 1983 debut Fantastic is of course home to four UK top 10 hit singles in ‘Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?)’, ‘Young Guns (Go For It)’, ‘Bad Boys’ and ‘Club Tropicana’. A youthful George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley were the cool funk/soul boys who, for a time, sang about life on the dole, teenage rebellion, having fun and hitting the clubs. The album went to number one in the UK album charts and made stars of the duo.

Just ten months after the release of ‘Club Tropicana’ – and one legal dispute later – Wham! released ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’ on Epic Records. This effervescent pop song is the lead track from Make It Big – an album that is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year – and is one of the most iconic singles released by any band during the 1980s. It reached number one in the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK singles charts (and virtually everywhere else). The next single ‘Careless Whisper’ (credited as a George Michael solo single in the UK, but co-written with Ridgeley) repeated this feat and even on release felt like it had reserved a spot in the history books as an all-time classic single. Wham! had a third consecutive number one in the UK with ‘Freedom’ and a trio of chart-topping singles from Make It Big in America when ‘Everything She Wants’ reached the summit in the USA. As is well documented, the non-album ‘Last Christmas’ should have been the group’s fourth number one in the UK in 1984 but they had to make do with the song peaking at number two (due to ‘Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas’). In the streaming era, ‘Last Christmas’ now tops the UK single chart apparently with ease, on an almost annual basis.

Fantastic highlights the drive and energy of Ridgeley and the fast emerging songwriting talent of Michael, which was all too apparent when the quality and sophistication of Make It Big was plain for all to see, in 1984. Wham! went stratospheric and the spark was only extinguished by choice when, in 1986, George called time on the band that, in the words of Andrew Ridgeley, “was never going to grow up”.

Together, the SDE-exclusive blu-rays of Fantastic and Make It Big tell virtually the entire story of Wham! via the two albums, A-sides, B-sides and rarities. The records have never sounded better and are presented in high resolution and immersive audio; here’s your one opportunity to own the Atmos Mixes – created by original engineer Chris Porter – of the albums and associated bonus tracks as a limited edition physical product!

The blu-ray of Fantastic features the longer version of the album originally issued on CD and cassette with three extra instrumental remixes: ‘A Ray of Sunshine’, ‘Love Machine’ and ‘Nothing Looks the Same in the Light’. Additionally, there are four extra tracks in Dolby Atmos including classic B-side ‘Blue (Armed with Love)’, the UK 12-inch of ‘Young Guns (Go For It)’ and a handful of single versions. On top of that, there are ten further bonus tracks in stereo, including instrumentals, and more remixes. In total, there’s 25 different songs/versions, 16 of which are available in both Atmos and stereo.

Make It Big on blu-ray audio is exclusive to SDE and features a Dolby Atmos Mix, hi-res stereo and 21 bonus tracks

Make It Big features the 8-track album in both Atmos and 96/24 stereo and then a further 11 tracks in Dolby Atmos (and stereo) including the 12-inch remixes of ‘Freedom’, ‘Everything She Wants’ and ‘Last Christmas’. There are also Atmos Mixes of the single version of ‘Careless Whisper’ and the alternate single version of ‘Freedom’.

Encouraged by Andrew Ridgeley, George Michael Entertainment and Sony to ‘finish’ the Wham! story with this SDE-exclusive Make It Big blu-ray, we have included the two singles that were released afterwards. This means that the UK chart-toppers from 1985 and 1986 respectively – ‘I’m Your Man’ and ‘The Edge of Heaven’ – both feature in Dolby Atmos (and stereo), as do both ‘Battlestations’ and ‘Where Did Your Heart Go?’

As if that wasn’t enough, there are 10 further bonus tracks in stereo, including the rare 4.45 ‘Pudding Mix Edit’ of ‘Last Christmas’ which has never been officially issued on CD and, from the 12-inch of ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’, ‘A Ray of Sunshine (specially recorded for ‘The Tube’)’ – another track that has never been issued on CD, outside of Japan. All the remixes of ‘I’m Your Man’ feature on this disc, including the alternate 12-inch mix from the US-only mini-album Music From The Edge of Heaven (this version has never been released in the UK) and ‘Blue (Recorded Live in China)’ which was first issued on the 1985 reissue of ‘Last Christmas’. ‘Wham! Rap ’86’ from ‘The Edge of Heaven’ single closes the circle and brings to an end this celebration of Wham! 1983-1986.

Fantastic and Make It Big are numbers 19 and 20 in the ongoing SDE Surround Series of blu-ray audios with Atmos Mixes and both will ship with the free, collectible SDE slipcase. This acclaimed series has delivered some classic 80s albums over the last two years including ABC’s The Lexicon of Love and Tears For Fears The Hurting (both are now out-of-print).

Here’s the now traditional reminder as to why this product is highly recommended:

  • It’s the only way to enjoy the Dolby Atmos mix of the albums via a physical product
  • You don’t need to sign-up to a streaming service such as Tidal or Apple Music to hear the spatial audio mixes
  • The Atmos Mix on the Blu-ray is not compressed due to streaming bandwidth restrictions. The Dolby Atmos version on a Blu-ray is encoded in Dolby TrueHD Atmos and has a bit rate 10 times higher (up to 8000 kbits/s) compared to streaming’s Dolby Digital Plus (768 kbits/s)
  • You own the product, you are not renting it from a digital service provider
  • The Blu-ray audio is an excellent format for music and you don’t want to see it die off
  • Supporting SDE with these initiatives leads to similar collaborations with labels/artists and we are keen to bring your more in the near future!

If you don’t have an Atmos set-up just yet, the Atmos Mixes will ‘fold down’ and still sound great in a 5.1 system. If/when you upgrade, you’ll get the full Atmos experience!

The SDE-exclusive Blu-ray Audios of Fantastic and Make It Big will be available to pre-order for 14 days only and will close on Thursday 22 February 2024. Availability after that cannot be guaranteed, so secure your copy today by pre-ordering at the SDE shop, either directly via this link or using the special SDE shop buy button below. We ship worldwide, no longer have any extra charges to the EU (for orders under €150).

Limited edition one-time pressings of Fantastic and Make It Big on red and white vinyl respectively are also available and can be ordered with the blu-rays via the SDE shop. There’s plenty of cost-saving bundles available depending on which products you want to buy.

The Fantastic and Make It Big blu-rays initiative is a collaboration between SDE and Sony Music and will be released on 26 April 2024 (was 22 March).

TECHNICAL NOTES: This blu-ray audio requires a blu-ray player. Decoding the Dolby Atmos mix requires a Dolby Atmos-certified soundbar or a Dolby Atmos-compatible AV Receiver/Amp. The Dolby Atmos mix will ‘fold down’ to 5.1 or stereo if a Dolby Atmos decoder is not detected.

A blu-ray audio is a blu-ray disc with no video content. It is region-free and compatible with ALL blu-ray players. Any stereo content can be played via two speakers or a soundbar, in the normal way, but to enjoy the surround sound/spatial audio element such as 5.1 mixes and Dolby Atmos Mixes you will need to connect to an appropriate amplifier/receiver with speaker set-up or a Atmos/5.1 certified soundbar

Tracklisting

Fantastic Wham! / SDE-exclusive blu-ray audio

    • Dolby Atmos & 96/24 Stereo
      1. Bad Boys
      2. A Ray of Sunshine
      3. Love Machine
      4. Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?)
      5. A Ray of Sunshine (Instrumental Remix)
      6. Love Machine (Instrumental Remix)
      7. Club Tropicana
      8. Nothing Looks The Same in the Light
      9. Come On
      10. Young Guns (Go For It!)
      11. Nothing Looks The Same in the Light (Instrumental Remix)
      Bonus tracks in Dolby Atmos & Stereo
      1. Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?) – single version 3.32
      2. Young Guns (Go For It) – single version 3.43
      3. Young Guns (Go For It) UK 12” mix 5.11
      4. Blue (Armed With Love) 3.56
       Bonus tracks in Stereo-only
      1. Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?) [Club Mix] 4.20
      2. Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?) [Social Mix] 6.45
      3. Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?) [Unsocial Mix] 6.38
      4. Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?) [Special Club Remix] 3.05
      5. Young Guns (For For It) – Special US 12” Remix 6.53
      6. Going For It 4.39
      7. Bad Boys (12” Extended Club Mix) 4.58
      8. Bad Boys (instrumental) 3.21
      9. Club Tropicana (instrumental) 3.31
      10. Club Fantastic Megamix 3.57

Tracklisting

Make It Big Wham! / SDE-exclusive blu-ray audio

    • Dolby Atmos & 96/24 Stereo
      1. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go 3.51
      2. Everything She Wants 5.03
      3. Heartbeat 4.44
      4. Like A Baby 4.15
      5. Freedom 5.02
      6. If You Were There 3.39
      7. Credit Card Baby 5.10
      8. Careless Whisper 6.32
      Bonus tracks in Dolby Atmos & Stereo
      1. Careless Whisper (Single Version) 5.03
      2. Freedom (version from The Final) 5.20
      3. Last Christmas 4.26
      4. Everything She Wants (Remix edit) 5.30
      5. Freedom (Long Version) 7.09
      6. Last Christmas (Pudding Mix) 6.45
      7. Everything She Wants (Remix) 6.30
      8. I’m Your Man 4.07
      9. The Edge of Heaven 4.37
      10. Battlestations 5.31
      11. Where Did Your Heart Go? 5.50
       Bonus tracks in Stereo-only
      1. A Ray of Sunshine (specially recorded for ‘The Tube’)
      2. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (instrumental) 4.02
      3. Freedom (instrumental) 5.10
      4. Last Christmas (Pudding Mix Edit) 4.47
      5. I’m Your Man (Extended Stimulation)
      6. Do It Right (Instrumental)
      7. I’m Your Man (Acappella)
      8. Blue (Recorded Live in China)
      9. I’m Your Man (version from Music From The Edge Of Heaven version)
      10. Wham! Rap ’86

The SDE Surround Series so far is:

#1 Tears For Fears: The Tipping Point

#2 xPropaganda: The Heart Is Strange

#3 Gilbert O’Sullivan: Driven

#4 Shakespears Sister: Hormonally Yours

#5 Brian Eno: FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE

#6 Orbital: Optical Delusion

#6.5 Various Arists: Concert For George

#7 Ten Years After: A Space In Time

#8 Bob Dylan: Time Out Of Mind (2022 Remix)

#9 Tears For Fears: The Hurting

#10 Mike Oldfield: Tubular Bells

#11 Suede

#12 ABC: The Lexicon of Love

#13 Duran Duran: Danse Macabre

#14 Trevor Horn: Echoes – Ancient and Modern

#15 Soft Cell: Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret

#16 Def Leppard: Diamond Star Halos

#17 Paul Young: No Parlez

#18 Mark Knopfler: One Deep River

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437 Comments

437 thoughts on “Wham! / Fantastic & Make It Big deluxe editions issued on SDE-exclusive blu-ray”

  1. Hi Paul, yesterday & this morning I was listening to Fantastic & Make It Big. I have Sony MDR-1000X (2017 model). I didn’t expect it to play Atmos. I just bought a new Blu Ray player from Sony BDP-S6700 with Bluetooth. I didn’t want to spend a fortune on an Atmos-system. But surprisingly I worked out fine for me. I switched between the Atmos & Stereo contents I did notice some differences. I doubt I would get the full Atmos surround experience on my headphones. But I’m glad. Nice work on the Wham Blu Ray audio discs. Perhaps one day: The music from the edge of heaven OR The Final OR combined on 1 Blu Ray Audio with all the “missing” tracks/mixes from the Wham period: Careless Whisper Instrumental (I have it on CD), Jerry Wexler Mix, A Different Corner Video Mix, Instrumental, Last Christmas original Single Mix or the original Full Length Mix, etc etc fingers crossed. I’m listening to the Paul Young Instrumental (it’s actually backing tracks as many featuring backing vocals ) while typing this comment. Great job on that one as well. Now I’m “equipped” I’m ready for more of your future Blu Ray audio releases. Of course from the artists/bands I like from the 80’s/90’s with many mixes/instrumentals

  2. I don’t have a Dolby Atmos set-up, and even my second-hand BOSE is just stereo (subwoofer and five speakers, but no 5.1), but even with all said disadvantages, the PCM 2.0 audio stream on these Blu-rays is INSANE. Heck, I even sampled them via normal television speakers and on a portable Blu-ray player, and I still noticed percussion and bass elements I never heard before. This might be in the running for physical product of the year. Highly highly recommended!!

      1. So I listened to nearly all, except some songs, cause I overlooked them, I only listened to the bonus songs in stereo and thought the bonus songs in stereo & dolby atmos were the same. Oh my god, I got to listen to the complete set ! And I will do that right now ! It is Wham! time on a friday night !

  4. Thank you Paul. I received my Paul Young & 2 Wham Blu Ray Audio discs safely. I didn’t read someone else has mentioned it. The Make It Big BACKS (sleeve & insert) are upside-down. It’s not a big deal. The music is more important. Am I the only one who’s got a misprint? Or are the others also care less about that? Thank you in advance for a reply.

      1. Okay, I’ve never owned the vinyl album. Only cassette tape & CD, those weren’t like that (upside down), if I remember it right.

    2. I wondered about that also, as the first CD copy I got with the original cover (the US edition used a completely different cover, with horrible lettering and a photo that covered the entire front cover—it also used a flawed master for the songs from the LP’s B-side, but that’s another matter) had the back cover right side up.

  5. My SDE bundle arrived today in the U.S.! Packaging is superb (thank you Paul for putting the slipcases on these!). Listened to Make It Big in its entirety with all bonus material, and everything sounds great (though the opening chords to The Edge of Heaven sound oddly out of tune on my 5.1 fold-down – anyone else notice that?). Saving Fantastic for tomorrow!

  6. Thanks Paul, got my Wham! + Paul Young bundle today. Slight delay due to the Royal Mail but all arrived safe and sound.
    I already know how good the Wham! releases sound from streaming them on Tidal.

    The first album to listen to today is No Parlez and it’s a really enjoyable immersive mix. I was misled with the mention that there’s no vocals on the centre speaker thinking that the centre speaker wasn’t being used at all but it is being used for other instruments.

  7. Hi Paul
    Just want to say much thanks for the awesome wham blurays which arrived very quickly and were nicely packed. They look fantastic ha ha. My first sde purchases. Just need to find some quiet time now to immerse myself in all this great music.

    Best wishes
    Lee

  8. Mine arrived in Ireland yesterday. Perfect timing for the bank holiday weekend.
    Listened to Fantastic in its entirety. Wow! Really well done. Great package Paul.

    Make It Big is on now and has never sounded better. I’d urge everybody to pick these up before they sell out.

  9. Anyone else having problems getting surround sound on a 5.1 system? There doesn’t appear to be anything coming from the two rear channels – and all of my other SDE surround series releases seem to play OK in 5.1 so is there a problem with the way the sound folds down from Atmos to 5.1 on these two?

    1. Don’t think there are any issues with the discs. Others have reported of enjoying 5.1 from these, without issues. You may need to fiddle around with settings etc.

    2. Mine both worked fine on my 5.1, no changes needed, Im guessing you did choose Dolby atmos under the original album and audio options? There is Dolby atmos and pcm stereo to choose from

    3. Same issue here, with no Atmos surround from the rear channels on either ‘Fantastic’ or ‘Make It Big.’ The player settings are all as should be and I’m definitely selecting Atmos from the original album and audio options on each disc. All my other SDE blu-rays play Atmos just fine.

  10. Both my Wham!’s turned up mint condition and great packaging as always.
    fantastic first, I don’t have an atmos set up just 5.1, but the Blu-ray folded down no problems.
    track 1 bad boys, hmm didn’t think this folded down very well the Tom Tom or cow bell was to prominent in the centre sounded odd (might be my set up) but it got to the rap near the end and that was very good, so far not bad.
    track 2 ray of sunshine wow come on this is more like it sounded brilliant, now I’m liking this.
    track 3 love machine wow wow ohh yes this is really really good.
    track 4 wham rap! Unbelievable I’m now just sat here with a huge smile on my face, loving it.
    an album I bought as a teenager upon release never sounded so so so good.
    thank you Paul for all your efforts on these releases, more 80’s please.
    Spandau ballet would be great or any Adam and the ants, UB40, would also really love Graceland in atoms.

  11. Both my Wham! Blu-rays arrived today and they sound great. Deep respect to SDE for getting me playing Christmas songs very loudly in May!

  12. Hi Paul, the Wham! Blu-rays arrived safely on Monday and I’m listening as I type. They sound great but do you know why the Club Fantastic Megamix 12″ wasn’t included on this or, indeed, the CD singles boxset?

  13. My Wham! Blu-rays arrived yesterday. Just had a chance for my first listen and all I can say is WOW!!! These are truly fantastic releases, having so many bonus tracks in both Atmos and stereo is unbelievable, it’s about time a more ‘pop music’ oriented release got so many extras. Keep up the good work Paul, I for one appreciate it greatly and I can’t wait to find out what the next ‘exclusive’ is.

  14. This Wham! order is weird though. No update since last Friday at 4.10. While Royal Mail have provided a tracking number, it’s still saying they’ll scan it in when they receive it! Has it been sent? Is it lost? Other people have received theirs so I’m worried about this one. I know it’s only been 2 working days, but, still, I thought I might have heard something by now.

    1. It’s definitely on the way. Sometimes the tracking goes wrong. What normally happens is when the item turns up, suddenly you can retrospectively ‘see’ the tracking. P

    1. It is literally just one working day after the release date, so does that really justify a “what’s going on?” or “still waiting”?

      Question to everyone – I understand people are excited to get these products – because they are ace! – but am I being unreasonable to not expect “where’s my order” type messages on both the day of release and the day after release? When did ‘release date’ turn into ‘date I expect to be in possession of this item”? We have never guaranteed that.

      As it turns out Dardis, your item has shipped this afternoon. Your other order is on hold because we assumed you made a mistake because no one person needs that many Tipping Point slipcases.

          1. Thanks for the information, Mr., sounds like positive news and I am happy to get them as soon as possible.

          2. Is the approximate date of shipment of orders to customers in the European Union already known? It’s a bit annoying that UK customers can already enjoy these blu-ray :(:(

          3. Should be this week. It looks like it has been sorted… It would be more annoying to be asked to pay import duty and then have all that hassle..

  17. It’s indeed unfortunate that the instrumental version of “Careless Whisper” (the B-side of the maxi single) isn’t included in this project. It would have been more coherent than some other tracks that have nothing to do with the album “Make It Big.” Music choices can be quite intriguing, don’t you think?

      1. I understand, it happens, and we never really know why. It’s a shame not to reissue all the available audio material. After all, we waited decades for a reissue of ‘BLUE’! Have a great day :-)

      3. So sad. Just because of the ingenious saxophone solo and the irresistible melody of the song, I think it’s a pity.

  18. I ordered the “Make It Big” album because my sister gave me the original CD & I really enjoyed it. I’m really looking forward to it’s arrival.
    MY SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE TITLES:
    ABBA – The Visitors
    The Beach Boys – Endless Summer
    Electric Light Orchestra – Time
    Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On
    Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Reissue)
    Kansas – Leftoverture
    Meatloaf – Bat Out Of Hell
    Olivia Newton-John – If You Love Me, Let Me Know
    Gilbert O’Sullivan – Back To Front
    Tomita – The Bermuda Triangle
    Various Artists – Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version Of The War Of The Worlds

    HOW ABOUT CLASSIC COUNTRY MUSIC?:
    Suzy Bogguss & Chet Atkins – Sympatico
    Glen Campbell – By The Time I Get To Phoenix
    John Denver – Poems, Prayers & Promises
    Jim Reeves – Compilation
    Various Artists – Will The Circle Be Unbroken

    ONE MORE BIG REQUEST:
    Classic Motown Albums (Supremes, Four Tops, Miracles, Temptations, etc.)

    1. For me the ultimate ABBA surround title would be Voulez Vous [including the extended dance mix] and other titles on my list would be Dead or Alive – Youthquacke, Grace Jones – Slave to the rhythm (Hurricane / dub would be almost as good) and a blu-ray surround re-issue of Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Hard on (I have the surround SACD but would love a blu-ray upgrade). Oh, and a surround mix of Mel & Kim’s F.L.M album would be a dream come true as well.

      But with all the possibilities I’m very happy with the choices Paul made so far :-)

  19. Looking forward to the two Wham! releases, these have been available for a year or so on streaming sites and the Atmos mix sounds great and I know a physical copy will sound even better on my system from past experience.

    Something intriguing with the streaming version of ‘Fantastic’, Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?) (Special US Remix) 6.44 has been used for the Dolby Atmos version. Is this the version on the original album?

    For those asking about ‘A Different Corner’, it is also available in Dolby Atmos on streaming sites on ‘The Final’. Maybe, if all goes well with these releases, ‘The Final’ will get a blu-ray release in the future.

      1. ‘A Different Corner’ will be that single that doesn’t fit on any album unless it’s a compilation. I’m just thinking as a completist that if Sony decide to do George Michael’s solo albums on blu-ray, and there’s no reason not to since all the Dolby Atmos mixes have been created, the single will be left behind.
        There is an audience that just prefers the singles and not the albums (Abba, Queen, Beatles) but I take your point that it may not be the ones who are buying surround music.

          1. I’m thrilled the idea of an SDE Blu-ray of Faith is already in your mind.

    1. The rear sleeve being upside down is correct. It’s consistent with the original UK vinyl. The blu-ray is the same, for what its worth.

      1. Really? In the images of the original rear sleeve I’ve looked at, the track listing and the Make It Big wording are in the same orientation, whereas the sleeve of the new release, the track listing and the Make it Big wording are in the opposite orientation.

          1. The discogs image is just upside down for the reverse of the sleeve. On my UK original that is the same sleeve detail with the wording all correctly inverted with the song details at the bottom of the sleeve. Discogs just show the sleeve the wrong way round.

          2. You’re right. The point is thefishdidit was claiming that Sony should have “got the rear sleeve of Make It Big the correct way up”. I was just pointing out is *is* the correct way up.

          3. The new release is not consistent with the original. The whole rear sleeve was upside down on the original, whereas on the new release only the words “Make It Big” are upside down, the rest is the correct way up.

          4. First it’s wrong, then it’s not right enough. Please make your mind up…

  21. Just received my coloured vinyl editions. Good to see FANTASTIC does appear on the front cover unlike the mock up images. Sad to not hear the little fun bit on the end of Young Guns that was in my original vinyl and cd. (Crazy little piano ditty)

    Though was also surprised to see the reverse of Make it Big having the title upside down on the reverse side. I have the original U.K. pressing of this and it’s not like that. The title is right way up and the track details are at the bottom rather than the top.

    Not sure if this is a pick up from USA or something, though that cover was totally different on the front too.

    Anyone any ideas to this change?

      1. Ok we will have to agree to disagree on that one as mine is upright and the same way round (see pic), with the songs listed at the bottom. I’m sure I had a pretty early release on that album too, as I’m sure I bought it straight away when it was released.

        Anyway, my bigger question is the single mix of Young Guns being on FANTASTIC red vinyl rather than the original album version with the little piano outro. Do you have any isight on how that happened. Were you involved with that? Which mix will appear on the Blu-ray? Thanks

        1. It’s not a case of agreeing or disagreeing (!), my original copy is like that and Sony told me they were deliberately echoing the original design with this reissue. The blu-ray is also like this, for that reason. No, I wasn’t involved with the vinyl but YES the correct album version of Young Guns is on the blu-ray in stereo and Atmos!

  22. I see the blu-ray editions release day has been delayed by a month which is certainly not a problem. I do wonder why though, a change of content? added content? production delay?

    1. Nothing has changed. It’s just been a slow process with approvals from the relevant parties (George Michael Entertainment, Andrew, Chris Porter etc.). The slipcases are done though, ready and waiting!! :)

      1. The slipcases are a big plus. Really makes the product look premium. Which of course it is anyway.

        I have the Make It Big SACD. Am looking forward to comparing it to the Blu-ray.

  23. I hadn’t looked at the tracklist for a while. Crikey, what bargains, amazing work!

    Bar any ZTT please, I’d fancy Simple Minds’ Once Upon A Time again. I remember quite clearly that I baulked at £45 for the SDE as it was a) much more expensive than the earlier SDEs, b) didn’t add anything to the 2CD, that wasn’t on Themes and c) added Live in the City of Light rather than something new. So I bought the 2CD….

    One of the worst sde buying decisions ever made!

  24. As people are jumping in here with wish lists, I’d like to add Dream Academy. Especially as the box set is coming out and Life in a Northern was a worldwide hit.

  25. You have to consider it ironic that Wham! could have had four No.1 singles in 1984 if only Careless Whisper (CW) had been credited as a Wham! release rather than a George solo single. Especially ironic given that CW was in fact a co-write between George and Andrew.

  26. Passed on the Paul Young when it was first announced, glad to see its available again with this. Really like the option of combining releases, particularly for ones im on the fence, hopefully more 80s titles will be available at same time in the future. everyone’s doing it so i’ll list my top 80s pics (and a Steve Wilson Atmos mix for any would be a plus as his blu rays usually sound better than standard HD remasterings)

    Eurythmics Sweet Dreams (with b-sides and alternate versions for all of these)
    Thomas Dolby The Golden Age Of Wireless
    Kate Bush Hounds Of Love
    Yazoo 1st 2 studio albums
    OMD 1st 4 studio albums
    Pet Shop Boys 1st 4 studio albums
    FGTH Welcome To The Pleasuredome
    Haircut 100 Pelican West
    Ministry With Sympathy
    The Stranglers Feline
    The The Soul Mining (& Pornography Of Despair tracks from UK cassette) & Infected
    Love & Rockets Express (with option for the original CD mix which is more album like than the rerelease cds)
    The Chameleons 1st 3 albums
    Propaganda A Secret Wish
    Art Of Noise Into Battle + Who’s Afraid
    Grace Jones Living My Life (3rd of her Compass Point Studio albums never got released on blu ray, rerelase of 1st 2 with corrected/missing tracks plus Atmos mixes would be nice too)
    Sade 1st 3 studio albums
    Simply Red Picture Book
    UB40 Signing Off & Labour Of Love
    Simple Minds New Gold Dream
    The Psychedelic Furs 1st 4 Studio albums

    2. Yazoo’s Upstairs At Eric’s and You And Me Both would be instant purchase too. Both albums had a 5.1 treatment in 2008 but the boxset is now a hard to find item and I missed it at the time.
      New Gold Dream (and Once Upon A Time) were issued in 5.1 too (in 2016 and 2015 respectively in the High Fidelity Pure Audio series). I had the chance to buy the blu-ray of the lattest in 2015 and I don’t regret that buying!
      It would be great to get the opportunity to get those wonders again and don’t see some ridiculous prices around anymore.

      So I think we should ask Paul if these albums could be part of the sde series :-)

      1. I almost picked up the Yazoo box but the price never dropped below $100 (a bit much for 2 albums) & the reviews said the sound quality was poor.

  27. Finally ordered the Wham bundle and this is my first for the SDE series and delighted to have these in my collection. I love that your store is so easy to navigate and purchase was completed in less than a minute.
    I regret now not purchasing the Tears For Fears and Shakespeare’s Sister etc etc.
    Suggestions for future releases
    Pet Shop Boys – Behaviour
    Erasure – Any album
    Kate Bush ( but you may have to sell your soul)
    Thanks again Paul for your website.

  28. Hey Paul, just bought the bundle on SDE Shop! I’m just blown away that you have been able to further extend the 40th anniversary of “Wham-O-Rama” with these 2 Blu-Ray + Atmos releases so soon after the Echos From The Edge Of Heaven 10-CD release!
    I saw some great suggestions below for future exclusives…my candidate is a proper Eurythmics Blu-ray since their catalog has famously been mishandled by BMG for decades, except for those 2005 reissues that each had 4 bonus tracks as a “carrot” to encourage fans to add to their collection. 5.1 would be nice, but just getting all of their output from the masters mixed to surround may be asking for too much unless they can convince Dave Stewart to be involved and possibly enlist Steven Wilson too.

  29. I’ve just ordered the Wham! Blu-ray bundle. I am looking forward to listen to these two Blu-ray’s.

    I hope that Tina Turner “Private Dancer” is going to be one of the next releases. Other titles on my “wishlist” are:

    Sade – “Diamond Life”
    Frankie Goes To Hollywood – “Welcome To The Pleasuredome”
    Mike Oldfield – “Discovery”
    Fleetwood Mac – “Tango In The Night”
    Sting – “The Dream Of The Blue Turtles”

    I didn’t put Paul Young “The Secret Of Association”, because I think that this is one of the next releases.

  30. Just preordered the 2 BluRay bundle…had to do it cuz it will be closed before next Friday…and this thing will be long gone with no cancellations…as for the coloured vinyls, sold out here BUT likely will be able to get from US retailers, no multi-CD reissues though?? I have the CD singles box & wonder why Sony never fixed their glaring error, hmmm…and yes, hoping for George solo BluRay Audios…I even dig Andrew’s solo album “Son of Albert”, got the Cherry Red expanded reissue…I do wonder, when are the Def Leppard & Paul Young No Parlez being shipped??

  31. Ordered Make It Big today. Been waiting till now for it’s my birthday today ;-).
    I’ve started buying records in early 1985 (was 13 then), and Wham’s singles were among the firsts and were a landmark in my musical soundscape. Within two years I bought all the singles that are on the blu ray and I’m really thrilled to hear them in 5.1! I have The Final too so the long version of Freedom will be new to me.
    This will be my 2nd SDE blu ray (with Tubular Bells), and I’d really like to thank you, Paul, for this amazing job!
    On my wishlist: both FGTH albums (plus remixes), Alphaville’s Forever Young would be great too :-)!
    Greetings from France,
    Yves

  33. I am truly grateful that these were released simultaneously and as an affordable bundle. I saved a significant amount of money on shipping. At the same time, I also ordered the two previous releases from the SDE series, which I might have skipped otherwise. These Wham! releases contain an excellent amount of material. Thank you! This is a great cultural effort and a wonderful way for me to delve deeper into this music.

    I love the SDE exclusive Blu-ray series and this website.

  34. First of all, huge congratulations! Finally someone who knows his stuff and knows what the fans expected. A great proposition not only for fans. Of course, blu ray bundled has been ordered :). It’s a pity that the song Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?) (Special U.S. Remix) was missed on that blue ray disc. You won’t please everyone :).

  35. Been debating with self all week. Finally made up my mind. Only got a blu-ray player with normal speakers at the moment but would hate to miss out on these beauties. I can upgrade later.

    1. In truth I have listened more to the SDE discs via 2 channel stereo than in surround sound. I have much better speakers on the stereo set up and the extra clarity on the blu-ray disc is a noticeable upgrade.

    2. I don’t have an Atmos set up either. Doesn’t matter as I’m getting both titles for the hi res stereo versions. And the extras, of course.

  36. I’d love to know which of the Blu-ray Audio titles released so far has been the biggest seller.

    Meanwhile, I’m really looking forward to No Parlez and the Wham! titles next month!

  37. Tina Turner’s Private Dancer would be a nice choice being as it’s 40 this year.

    Others?

    Sade – Diamond Life
    Culture Club – Colour By Numbers
    Thompson Twins – Into The Gap
    Barbra Streisand – Guilty
    Nick Heyward – North Of A Miracle.

      1. Good luck with that! Though you got Danse Macabre so lets cross fingers. When you get to have tea with Mr Rhodes at Fortnum & Masons, remind him of the missing 10th track which was apparently an instrumental by legend. I always wonder if the demos sounded like a mutated cross between Siouxsie and the Banshees and Japan, I doubt we’ll ever know!

  41. Here you go then, Paul – you did say welcomed suggestions for future blu-ray titles…. these are in the region of ’80-’85, so as to keep the list to a manageable size. I’ve also kept it broadly to UK-centric titles. So no Madonna, Michael Jackson etc. Yes, I KNOW Abba aren’t from the UK…..

    Before anyone asks why no Culture Club or Haircut 100 or whatever – well, people can make their own suggestions ;)

    Abba – The First 10 Years
    Aztec Camera – High Land, Hard Rain
    Big Country – The Crossing
    Big Country – Steeltown
    Chess OST
    Phil Collins – Face Value
    Chris de Burgh – The Getaway
    Dexy’s Midnight Runners – Too-Rye-Aye
    Dio – Holy Diver
    Dire Straits – Making Movies
    Eurythmics – Be Yourself Tonight
    FGTH – Welcome to the Pleasuredome
    Peter Gabriel – III/Melt
    Go West – S/T
    Heaven 17 – The Luxury Gap
    Human League – Dare
    Jam – Snap!
    Judas Priest – British Steel
    Judas Priest – Screaming for Vengeance
    Nik Kershaw – Human Racing
    Nik Kershaw – The Riddle
    Mike Oldfield – Crises
    Queen – Greatest Hits
    The Smiths – Best of
    Sting – Dream of the Blue Turtles
    Yes – 90125

    1. If I may 1 would addd

      Duran Duran – Duran Duran
      Duran Duran – Rio
      Duran Duran – Seven & The Ragged T

      For DD I would love all the non-album singles and B sides plus 12” mixes just like the 2009 Rio collectors edition

      ABC – Beauty Stab
      ABC – Zillionaire
      Visage – Visage
      Visage – The Anvil
      Eurythmics – In The Garden
      Eurythmics- Revenge
      Terrence Trent Darby – Intro Hardline

    2. Iv never heard Chris de burghs name mentioned on this website! So you might be waiting a while for that one Steven! The man in me is a great song takes me back to when I was 15! Pity he threw it all away a couple of years later!

      1. I lost interest a bit after Lady in Red, but The Getaway was a good album. Big hit for him in Europe (and something of a breakthrough for him in the UK).

    4. I’d suggest some Saga. I know Stephen W. Tayler would like to do surround versions of the albums he was involved with (Worlds Apart and Heads Or Tales). Unfortunately their reissues so far have been a bit underwhelming, even missing key bonus tracks…

      1. I’ve corresponded with Stephen W Tayler on occasion and suggested he remix some Brand X. Probably a bit too niche for SDE (70s fusion, Phil Collins side-project) and he would have to be asked by the label, but fingers crossed. Stranger things have happened….

  42. Hello Edward from Toronto I’ve been thinking about picking this up at my local record store whenever it comes is it going to be going to be coming to Toronto when it’s released in March

  44. Not a huge Wham fan but the missus would love these as they seem to gather almost everything together. So they will play ok on a Blu-ray player with regular stereo speakers? I don’t the have the fancy Atmos setup.

  45. Amazing!! AND there is a window too…so I will order the 2 BluRay bundle on Friday, just got back from my cruise, which was both amazing & sad, with the loss of icon Mojo Nixon, who died on the ship…so these BluRays will offer a ray of sunshine after such a shocking turn of events…RIP Mojo Nixon…

  46. … and these editions are a hit, it’s good that finally all the versions are in one place, the Atmos mix is ​​the icing on the cake, go ahead Paul

  47. Paul, is there any chance the packaging for Make It Big will include the completely different, very 80s artwork used in the Americas? It was great when you included the alternate cover art in TFF’s The Hurting blu-ray!

  48. First of all, thank you Paul for the hard job done, once again!

    I have two questions :
    First, where does the “Pudding Mix EDIT” of “Last Christmas” comes from?
    Second, is the “Single Version” of “Young Guns” the very same than the album version, albeit minus the “Honky Tonk Piano” snippet at the end?

  49. Wow! Congratulations Paul!
    Although shipping to the U.S. is steep, it’s my birthday and “Make It Big” was a landmark album that formed a significant part of the soundtrack of my life. Ordered!!
    Grateful for this and all you do for us Paul!

  52. I am not a Wham fan, but I respect and appreciate that these two blu-rays are great for fans of the band. Another winning reissue from Paul and SDE!

  53. Since finding reissues on streaming sites mostly comes from word of mouth, here’s some albums from the 80’s that have been mixed to Dolby Atmos which I’ve found on Tidal and yet to be released on blu-ray:

    Diana Ross – Diana
    Paul McCartney – McCartney II
    George Harrison – Somewhere In England
    John Mellencamp – American Fool
    Def Leppard – Pyromania
    Huey Lewis & The News – Sports
    John Mellencamp – Uh-Huh
    R. E. M. – Murmur
    Alphaville – Forever Young
    Sting – Dream Of The Blue Turtles
    The Replacements – Tim
    Grace Jones – Inside Story
    Sting – …Nothing Like The Sun
    Fleetwood Mac – Tango In The Night
    George Harrison – Cloud Nine
    George Michael – Faith
    John Mellencamp – The Lonesome Jubilee
    Bobby Brown – Don’t Be Cruel
    Dire Straits – Money For Nothing
    Madonna – Immaculate Collection

    Lastly, since Paul has been dealing with Sony, there’s always trying to get the surround version of Michael Jackson’s Thriller released on blu-ray!

    1. I would love to have Sting’s “The Dream Of The Blue Turtles”, “… Nothing Like The Sun” and Fleetwood Mac “Tango In The Night” on Blu-ray Audio. But I am afraid that this is not going to happen …

      1. ‘Tango In The Night’ is a really frustrating affair since other Fleetwood Mac albums during their reissue campaign included a surround mix except for this one.

          2. Yes, it is available separately at a high price (which is why I haven’t picked it up), and it wasn’t released as part of the expanded album reissue campaign. Because I purchased all of the Super Deluxe sets, it would have been consistent if both Rumours and Tango in the Night had a surround mix included.

          3. Though there is a dvd audio stand alone of Rumours with hi-rez 5.1 and stereo. Very good it is too.

        2. It was said at the time the box set was released (2017) that a 5.1 mix was impossible because the multitracks couldn’t be fully recovered, or something to that effect. I’m not convinced the Atmos mix is completely genuine – some songs like “Seven Wonders” and “Tango In The Night” sound like real remixes, whereas others like “Caroline” and “Family Man” are more like all-channel stereo.

  54. Thank you Paul, this is my second purchase on SDE Shop with Blu Ray-audio discs. First Paul Young and now these 2 Wham ones. When I saw this post, I was afraid that it is another joke like the April fools joke with Make It Bigger. I pinched myself and kept reading this post. Too bad there’s no CD release as Paul Young’s. I don’t mind you ship them all 3 together. Just keep the 2nd shipping, as compensation for the tax you have to pay for me (UK > NL). Or my support/contribution for your site or the future physical releases.

  55. Hi Paul,

    Any information on the 24/96 stereo mastering?

    I am so hoping that only sympathetic limiting has been applied here.

    The mastering of the stereo 24/48 mastering on the Prince D & P Blu Ray was fantastically dynamic with no obvious sign of any aggressive limiting.

  56. Dolby Atmos does not ‘fold down’ to 5.1 on non-Atmos systems. It simply plays the 5.1 elements without the extensions. That is not the same thing, and it’s why releases such as Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ offer both Atmos and 5.1 mixes. If you don’t have an Atmos setup, the Atmos mix won’t sound quite right compared to the 5.1 mix.

    1. Please explain the difference. No one is saying they sound the same, the only pertinent point is that you WILL get 5.1 from an atmos-only disc if you have an amp that is 5.1 compatible but doesn’t cater for Atmos. That is what people want to know.

      1. The difference is this. The Atmos mix will have been mixed in such a way that certain sounds will have been directed to the height channels using file extensions. To compensate for this, those sounds will have been attenuated to some degree in the main 5.1 mix. On an Atmos system, this will sound like the same recording you’re familiar with, but with elements of the sound coming from above. Play the same recording on a non-Atmos setup, and those file extensions are missing. Your non-Atmos receiver simply doesn’t see them. So you get to hear the underlying Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio with those specific attenuations. Suggesting that Atmos ‘folds down’ on a non-Atmos system implies that the audio from those file extensions is distributed somehow to your 5.1 channels. That is not possible, because, as mentioned above, the extensions are not seen. The differences are subtle, but if you’re very familiar with a particular album (as I am with Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’), you’ll notice. I think that (at least some) people will want to know this.

        1. If what you say is true then Atmos is stereo would just play what’s in the main L + R channels but that isn’t what happens, sounds from other channels get ‘reassigned’ to the front, which is why ‘folding down’ is a good term.

          1. No. That’s incorrect. As I point out above, a non-Atmos receiver will see the underlying Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio. If you only have a stereo setup, then the Blu-Ray player will also see that, and will fold THAT down to stereo. What it won’t do (because it can’t) is fold down the extensions. They are something that only the Atmos receiver can see.

          2. So in summary, Atmos-only Blu-rays will play in 5.1 and stereo. Stereo folds down but 5.1 plays as a normal 5.1, in effect. The core issue is that 5.1 fans who don’t have an Atmos setup will enjoy 5.1.

          3. Yes, but with varying degrees of compromise (depending on how sympathetic the mixing engineer is towards those without an Atmos setup). The two points I’m trying to get across are: 1. Dolby Atmos does not ‘fold down’ to 5.1 on non-Atmos setups, and 2. the underlying Dolby TrueHD 5.1 of an Atmos mix (as heard on a non-Atmos setup) will not sound as ‘correct’ as a dedicated 5.1 mix.

          4. Dedicated 5.1 mixes are now few and far between. Most 5.1 mixes these days are renders from the Atmos and they will sound very similar/identical to how 5.1 sounds on an Atmos disc when no 5.1 mix is separately listed.

          5. It does make sense what@theredpen is saying since someone like Steven Wilson wouldn’t create both a dedicated 5.1 mix as well as a Dolby Atmos mix without reason.
            Anyway, it’s been interesting to read the conversation.

        2. When I play the Atmos mix of DSOTM on my 5.0 system some parts are a bit louder or more buried than the 5.1 mix but I don’t miss anything. I don’t have a subwoofer either but the bass is loud and clear.

    2. Are you sure about that? My receiver does 5.1 but is not Atmos-compatible, and I ran the speaker test on the DSOTM Blu-ray, and I was able to hear the non-5.1 elements just fine – they just mapped to existing speakers. I can’t say how “intelligent” it was, and I know it’s not a true Atmos experience, but it’s still pretty good. The only Atmos BR I have that sounds “wrong” in my environment is the Brian Eno one, but the vast majority of the time, it’s an good-to-excellent audio experience. Looking to upgrade soon, but this is fine for now.

      1. Yes, I’m sure. Your system can’t map the non-5.1 elements to existing speakers, because it doesn’t even know they’re there. The way albums are mixed for Atmos doesn’t involve simply directing certain sound elements to the height speakers only. Let’s say they did that with the sound of coins in ‘Money’. If they did that, then yes, you’d instantly notice its absence on your setup. It would probably sound pretty weird on an Atmos setup too. Mixing is a little more subtle than that. But some of those sounds which are directed to height channels, are attenuated slightly in the 5.1 mix to compensate. That’s the mix you’ll hear. Not terrible. But not as good as the dedicated 5.1 mix they also included. The thing that really stood out to me on the Atmos mix of ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ was the answers to Roger’s cue card questions. They are noticeably lower in the mix. I’m pretty sure that, when I eventually upgrade to Atmos, that those spoken spoken word snippets will come from overhead.

        1. Fascinating. Would like to see this in action if anyone has identified’missing’ elements in The Hurting or Lexicon of Love when Atmos plays on 5.1.
          To date I’ve concluded not much is missing.

        2. So are we saying that there is data/sound that will be ‘missing’ when Atmos is played on non-Atmos equipment ?
          Or just that it is still there, but isn’t as effective as it could be. And this is when the mixer might step-in and add a dedicated 5.1 mix.
          I’m seeing this debate on other forums and interpreting the conclusion as ‘all the data is still there – it just won’t sound as good as Atmos’.

    3. I’d prefer a 5.1 option but suggest trying an earlier disc with both options and flip between the Atmos / DTS.
      I concluded it was still worth having even though DTS was slightly better on my system.

  58. Just have to comment and say congrats Paul, you’ve finally done it, recalling your April fools day joke for “Make it Bigger” and here we have this fantastic package and exclusive no less. Great to see this being handled by a true fan of the music. All we could really hope for with the no unreleased restrictions Michael’s estate has imposed. Instant buy. I don’t believe this release would exist in this form if it were not for your ongoing enthusiasm and love of the music. Thank you.

  59. Hi Paul

    I think you’ve really hit your groove here with your early 80s titles – ABC, Tears for Fears, Paul Young, Wham – pretty much a golden age for chart music. Here hoping for a few more :)

    Happy to provide a wish list, btw – just say the word ;)

      2. Visage-The Anvil
        Gary Numan – Replicas, Pleasure Principle, Telekon & Dance
        Mike Oldfield – Discovery
        Fields of the Nephilim – Elizium
        Sisters of Mercy – Floodland
        Iron Maiden – Iron Maiden & Killers
        please :)

  62. I have the original fantastic vinyl on innvervision and the lettering is at the bottom. Had a Quick Look on discogs and can’t see any version without the lettering?

      1. Yes that’s why I understand the new “make it big” not having the typography. Doesn’t make sense to me that the new “fantastic” doesn’t have it when it always did previously? Not that it’s the end of the world. Just an observation

  63. Excited about these blu-ray releases. Ordered the bundle before reading the description.

    Would also love to see CD box sets. Sad to hear from Paul below that this is unlikely. Seemed like a logical follow-up to the recent Echoes From The Edge of Heaven releases. My blu-ray players are not connected to my stereo.

    @Paul, does the Fantastic blu-ray include the Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?) (Special U.S. Remix) that was intended for but missed on that CD box set?

    1. Has there ever been one of them though for any blu film, music or TV show but an interesting idea. Despite not being a huge Wham fan the artwork for these releases is top drawer Make It Big in particular without titles and minimal almost makes me want to purchase.

  66. Could I ask a sincere query if any of the future releases are going to be possibly bundled together , thus saving multiple post costs and a little discount / could you possibly give us a heads up !!. It all adds up over time.

    1. I’m guessing this is referring to the addition of the Paul Young one? Maybe poor old PY wasn’t quite so popular. Although I have bought that one myself and not really fussed about these Wham ones, I might be a tad annoyed that I couldn’t now get it included in the bundle. But that would probably be a bit of a nightmare to sort out.
      Having said that, I must admit these 2 do look nice and was giving it some serious thought, but ultimately decided against it. Maybe 2 at once is just too much and would rather put that £50 towards something I really want!

      1. Yes I ordered Paul Young last month and now have ordered the wham bundle of two discs, which works out at twice the postage costs. when they all could be shipped together and save £5!. Not a lot I know but better than wasting two lots of packaging and postage when one would suffice. It would be great if people like myself who did this could be sent one package and refunded the £5 less waste and kinder to the planet and our pockets in a small way.

        1. It would be great but virtually impossible to do. We’ve looked into it. Even the mighty Amazon don’t have a facility to allow customers to consolidate pre-orders after purchase.

          1. Thanks anyways Paul, you do great work and I’m over the Moon with these coming my way. Would be great if the first two Seal albums would get this treatment I bet they would sound amazing, also China Crisis “ Flaunt The Imperfection” now there is a brilliant album much overlooked.

  68. I’ve not jumped for any of these SDE releases yet, predominantly because I don’t have an Atmos set up. Based on the comment somewhere below that neither of these releases would get a physical release, as a cd boxset, I have a question. If I have a blu-ray player, linked to my i-Tunes can I import these into my library and play via my laptop, or my phone? Has anyone done this with one of the previous releases? Thanks in advance. M

    1. If you have a blu-ray computer drive, you can rip the audio to files, but the process isn’t quite as straightforward as ripping a CD. Look around on the web, there are various guides how to do it.

    2. You can but it’s not easy. You need to rip the blu audio to mp3 or wav via PC software and from trying myself most of them aren’t free. I gave up and play music blu’s through the same set of speakers I use for iTunes and CDs via a blu-ray player which isn’t Atmos and as Paul says you do notice the difference regardless. My speakers aren’t exactly high end either so with a very modest setup you can reap the rewards.

    4. As Jules and Trap have mentioned its not straight forward on several levels, but the end results can be great though. A few pointers
      1) iTunes is limited in it’s playback formats. MP3 can only handle 2 channel, WAV would be best, but you loose the encoding/metadata info. Also it takes WAY more storage i.e. the 5 tracks from 6 channel Pink Floyd’s Animals, for comparison 320 fixed MP3 = 96MB, in WAV/FLAC = 4.04GB, exponentially larger.
      2) Depending on your current Amp, it might not play back certain formats too – if you can’t play Atmos, it will similarly restrict playback.
      3) You’d need to rip from the Blu, which with the right software is possible but not all SDE blu’s are the same, my setup does not like the George Harrison disc – others are ok. But to confirm for me, it takes 3 pieces of software to define/clean up metadata, rip and then encode in format of choice and fix metadata again (I intake in WAV and FLAC is my end source). This takes time and disk space.
      4) For longer term, it might be prudent to look at a NAS storage, and software that facilitates playing it to your future Amp.
      Note – Having a back up of your ripped music is very important too, drives (spinning or SSD) can have issues over time, so always better to be safe than sorry.

  70. Ordered both blu-rays within seconds. One of the easier decisions I’ve ever made. Thank you for your dedication and hard work Paul Sinclair.

    I’m surprised to see the vinyl cover of Fantastic without title lettering. Has it ever been issued like this before or is it a revisionist design? Just curious.

          1. So the fantastic vinyl imagery is wrong. Interesting. Wonder how it will appear for real when released.

          2. I think that vinyl pack-shot is a mistake. I’m 99% sure it will have the ‘Fantastic’ text on it. The blu-ray does and they wouldn’t make them inconsistent..

  71. Im not a big enough fan of Wham for these, but just to say congrats and well done for a stunning piece of work putting this together. Wham fans are clearly deliriously happy to see this!
    Here’s a thought, can I suggest you might consider branching out into curating long obsolete but cherished VHS music videos onto Blu-ray too? There are so many unique gems wasting away, yet never released on anything that’s playable today.
    With your impressive connections and genuine love for the music, maybe you could even deliver an updated Kate Bush Video Singles!

    1. Unfortunately, it seems that upgraded videos from SD to HD are to be found on youtube and alike. I know bands like Madness, Coldplay, U2 and even Wham’s Last Christmas have videos upgraded and on youtube.

      1. I think it was/is the same with Kate Bush (I haven’t looked recently), and I guess like with streaming of Atmos releases, that’s where the money is.
        But as we all know – “there’s nothing like holding the physical product in your hands”, and a limited release of an exclusive SDE video compilation or two wouldn’t harm their bank balances too much ;)

    2. Tom petty and the heartbreakers pack up the plantation would be a good example! And when your at it how about hawks and one summer ( ray Winston) you could be a multi media mogul Paul and I could get a job driven the forklift in your headquarters!

  72. This is a no brainer but didn’t see this post until just now. Gutted i’ve missed the vinyl bundle/coloured vinyls.

    Will these be coming back into stock?

      1. And apparently overseas on mainland Europe they will also be available in indie record stores. I’ve noticed several ones in my area who have already listed them for pre-order on their website.

  73. Went to pre order and noticed that I could also order Paul Youngs release with Wham!!! I missed the window for No Parlez in December. 
    Thank You Paul for all the hurdles you jumped through securing these releases and offering this bundle!!!!!!

    1. I can’t see that 3 blu ray bundle is it available please? As they seem to be all available separately and the 2 wham blu rays as a bundle.
      But would like the bku ray bundle…saw it yesterday night, as itvbeen took down ?
      If is still available please send link

  74. Not the top of my list but it’s just the kind of content (Surround + stereo + extras) I like to support. There are some unarguable classics there though. One thing I’d love to see is a copy of all tracks as flac files which I could then copy onto my car stereo.

  75. EXCELLENT. Thank you, Paul!

    Btw, Nik Kershaw’s Human Racing and The Riddle both commemorate 40th anniversaries this year. As does Big Country’s Steeltown**.

    Just sayin’ ;)

    **The Crossing (1983) would also be VERY welcome in Atmos :)

    2. I’m also seconding (thirding?) the Big Country comment. “The Crossing”, “Steeltown”, and “The Seer” SDEs would be very, VERY welcome.

  76. Definitely was no delay in ordering all the formats including the blu-ray editions. Very exciting news.

    To cap off the Wham! reissues campaign perfectly, I would love to see individual CD super deluxe editions of Fantastic Make It Big and The Final with all the missing versions, mixes and promo edits along with Foreign Skies as part of the DVD selection for Make It Big.

  77. I’m probably only person who’s not excited with this. Only know four of the tracks and they have never impress me at all. Special mention goes to that saxophone on Careless Whisper. Almost having a nervous breakdown if i heard it somewhere!

      1. Do you know what yin and yang means? In this contest it means to me that there’s also nice to have some negative comments and not only positive. It keeps up the balance!

        1. Not something you *have* to do. Do you apply this philosophy at funerals? It’s “nice” to mix it up and say something negative about the deceased?

          1. We’re talking about music here. And with yin and yang i mean rain or shine, good or bad, light or heavy, sun or moon, wet or dry etc. Your reply is just plain stupid to me. You probably cencor this but do as you please and go ahead!

          2. I was exaggerating to make a point. It’s not always appropriate (or relevant) to basically say “I hate x”. If you want to say something constructive or interesting go ahead. Your comment was neither. Probably my fault for even allowing it to be published.

  78. Wow, I didn’t hesitate to order these. Great work Paul. 
    Personally, I don’t think CD versions are necessary. The Blu Ray Audio format allows for plenty of high-quality content on a single disk and it’s a grossly under-utilized audio medium. 
    I believe George was a big advocate of Pure Audio as his Blu Ray Release of Symphonica in 2014 demonstrates. 
    I’m looking forward to playing them next month and eagerly await any future releases. 
    (I have feeling something special is planned for the Careless Whisper 40th anniversary later this year) 

  79. I am not a buyer of Blurays but I really want to congratulate you Paul for this achievement.
    While I was reading I thought that it was a real lesson for the big labels and / or estates on how things should be done and then got to the point citing the endorsement you have received from the official administrators of the George Michael legacy (Andrew’ s personal support of fans wishes is much appreciated), which only confirmed my idea.

    It is surprising but also (extended) stimulating to see that someone animated by a fan / completist / collector “spirit and approach” can have an influence on the “industry” and produce releases that honour and do justice to the involved artists.

  81. Hi all. Can someone answer a simple question, please? I’ve got a Blu-ray player, but I don’t have any kind of speaker set up. I’m assuming it will sound a bit rubbish if I play it through my telly, but what will I hear if I listen through headphones? Will it be like listening to a remastered CD, or will it sound “special” in some way?

    Thanks in advance, and great work again, Paul. I’ll be ordering both soon.

    1. A decent TV these days has decent sound. Obviously it will only be stereo but remember the blu-ray has 96/24 stereo version whereas a CD is only 44.1/16 so already you’re listening to a better version. So, to answer your question, you’ll be listening to something better than a remastered CD.

    2. Also don’t forget that some TV’s come with Atmos soundbars so if you’ve one of those then take the headphones out and play it loud through that on the telly (and no doubt annoy the neighbours lol)

      1. Thank you both. My telly is a bit rubbish and doesn’t have Atmos, but I will enjoy the sound for now and then later on when I can upgrade to nice speakers, I’ll enjoy it even more. :)

    3. As they’re new mixes, they will probably sound a bit different than the original CDs even in stereo. Since the original stereo is included as well, you could switch back and forth to spot the differences.

    1. Just make sure she is out when it’s delivered. Then it’s always been there and they are none the wiser. Although that notion totally failed when I bought a Fender acoustic guitar didn’t get away with that one but blu’s can be easily hidden guitars not so much…

  83. While my heart would have preferred these tracks to be spread over three blu-ray discs – Fantastic, Make It Big, Music from the Edge of Heaven – my wallet is happy with a set of only two ;-)

  84. Not a huge fan but the 42 quid bundle for both is a bargain. Wish Sony and DM would take note, they are still charging 30 sovs for the Strange/Strange Too blu…

    2. I sincerely hope it is, and I hope that Sony and GM’s estate take notice and eventually cater to a broader release.
      I bought both SDEs and vinyl releases. Do I need the latter? Not frankly, as I still have my old CDs. But if it helps to put Wham on the agenda again, it’s well-spent money!

  86. Congratulations on getting this done, I can imagine there are lots of happy campers out there.
    But, kind of sad that there is nothing for us plebs that don’t have blu-ray playable audio. I would love to have the audio content on CD, but don’t want to fork out for a whole new audio system, just for Wham!
    Hoping for CD releases in the future.

    1. Agreed, this is a laudable achievement and for everyone with the technology to take advantage of it, it’s a huge win, though I too wish that CDs were also offered in addition to the blu rays and vinyl.

  88. Vinyl bundles went Out of Stock fast.. but thats ok.. in this case.. I was all about the 2 SDE Blu-ray bundle. I am watching my funds these days..but this was an instant buy for me.

  90. Hi Paul now that your mates with Andrew ridgley it would be a great feather in your cap if you release son of Albert as the next SDE surround bluray!

  91. Paul, you’ve only gone and done it!
    You probably won’t remember as you communicate with so many people on here but this is something I’ve been calling for over many years now. Amazing you’ve now got enough clout to make this happen.
    I obviously bought the blu rays in a heartbeat. But much kudos for pulling this off.
    The job you are doing is amazing!

  92. Paul,
    Awesome! I couldn’t get to the checkout fast enough.

    Will ‘Young guns’ have the piano piece at the end?

    The only other really iconic album now missing is Human League ‘Dare’.

    But I wouldn’t mind a couple Eurythmics SDE versions…

      2. I think that all of DD’s albums could use that treatment for Atmos but I’d pay for remasters of Red Carpet Massacre onwards.
        Imagine listening to Girl Panic! In Atmos!!!!

  93. Paul, is there any way to get the powers that be to include the Jerry Wexler Special Version of Careless Whisper as a bonus track? Or is that recording forever forgotten?
    This (and A Different Corner obviously, but I see how that’s seen as a solo track) is the only significant miss of the Blu Rays.

  94. Two small nits to pick (correctile dysfunction is a real thing): Music from the Edge of Heaven was not a mini-album, but a full-length album. It was also released in several other countries; Japan got both The Final and Music from the Edge of Heaven.

    1. Well it was a mini-album compared to The Final in the UK which had 14/15 tracks compared to MFTEOH’s eight. And while The Final is basically a greatest hits, MFTEOH does have a more ‘cobbled together’ feel to it…

  95. After seeing Depeche Mode live earlier tonight, this is the perfect ‘encore’ for my 80’s revival night. Wham! are a signature band for my childhood/early teens. Will definitely order this! Great stuff.

    1. I don’t know if Paul Sinclair is reading every comment, but Depeche Mode’s “Some Great Reward” would be a perfect album for one of the next releases on Blu-ray Audio.

  96. What? No teeth whitening kit?

    Seriously, this is wonderful. Ordered both instantly.

    Nice to see that George’s estate, Andrew and Sony are open to this sort of thing. I’m sure that you’re aware that all of George’s solo albums are streaming in Atmos. Would be wonderful if those could someday be a part of the SDE Surround Series as well.

    Thank you for continuing this amazing series of blu-rays.

  97. Didn’t even pause for a moment of reflection–just hit the buy button. The original CDs sound so terrible by today’s standards, and having pretty much everything in two disc? Yes, please!

  98. Instant order – and I still don’t have a surround setup! The near-complete Wham! in the best possible sound? I’m there.

    For the commenters who didn’t see my obsessive list of what was not in the CD Singles box set, here’s what these SDE Blu-rays do not include:

    Enjoy What You Do (Wham Rap) (Vocal) – U.S. 12″ remix by Francois Kevorkian (never released on CD)
    Enjoy What You Do (Wham Rap) (Instrumental) – U.S. 12″ remix by Francois Kevorkian (never released on CD)
    Going for It (3:40 7″ edit) – from some Young Guns 7″ releases (never released on CD)
    Club Tropicana (Edited Version) – from Japan CD single
    Club Fantastic Megamix (12″ 8:35 version) (never released on CD)
    Club Fantastic Megamix (7″ 3:54 version) – from The Singles box set
    Wham! U.K. Mega Mix (8:50) – from 12″ promo (never released on CD)
    Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (Extended Version) – from a rare Philippines 12″/cassette single
    Careless Whisper (Instrumental a.k.a. Condensed Instrumental Version) – from 7″ & 12″ singles
    Careless Whisper (Jerry Wexler Special Version) – from 7″ & 12″ singles (never released on CD)
    Freedom (Long Mix) – The U.S. 6:16 12″ version, as opposed to the U.K. Long Version
    Last Christmas (Original mix) – available on The Essential Now That’s What I Call Christmas
    Last Christmas (Instrumental) – available on The Japanese Singles Collection
    Where Did Your Heart Go? (Edit Version) – available on The Japanese Singles Collection
    A Different Corner (original version) – available on The Final
    A Different Corner (extended version) – available on Music from the Edge of Heaven
    A Different Corner (instrumental)- from 7″ & 12″ singles (never released on CD)
    A Different Corner (1998 remix) – available on Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael

    *Least likely to be re-released:
    Careless Whisper (Sound Shower Mix) – a rare Japanese radio station-only promo (probably unauthorized)
    Blue (Armed with Love) (1983 live TV version) – a rare performance found on YouTube
    Battlestations (Extended Edit) – released by Hot Tracks (probably unauthorized)
    Everything She Wants ’97/’98 – 8 mixes/edits
    Message from Wham! – from Everything She Wants Japanese 7″ single
    Wham! Fan Club Christmas ’84 interviews
    3 Maxell commercials from 1984-1985 – available on The Japanese Singles Collection DVD

    I’m incredibly grateful for these SDE Blu-rays and all of the obvious care that went into assembling them. I can only hope that they are as massively successful as I expect they’ll be, and encourage the decision-makers to allow the release of the rest of these someday.

    (If I’ve missed anything or made any errors, I welcome corrections. Thanks!)

    1. Personally, I’d love to see a Wham! compilation without “Where Did Your Heart Go?”. It’s okay, but not very Wham!-like; I always skip it when I listen to The Final. Meanwhile, I’ll have to revisit Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael; I hadn’t noticed that the mix of “A Different Corner” was any different.

    2. Good shout, these 2 really should have been on Echoes from the Egde of Heaven.
      Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (Extended Version) – from a rare Philippines 12″/cassette single
      Blue (Armed with Love) (1983 live TV version) – a rare performance found on YouTube

      They could also remaster /remix the Wham! Demo of Soul Boy.

      1. Given their lack of representation on these reissues, I’m guessing the non-UK versions were either not approved by the band (like the megamixes, one of which was still included in the CD singles box) and/or have missing masters. Either way, they are a part of the band’s history and definitely deserve to be heard (especially the terrific Francois K. remixes!).

        But I’m not complaining: these SDE Blu-rays are already a gift for Wham! fans. It’s a miracle that we’re getting as much as we are, thanks to Paul’s amazing efforts.

    3. Good work with your discography list hope we some day will see some re- releases of them. There are also 3 x CDs from Disco Mix Club (DMC) for DJ only with a lot of mixes by WHAM and GM.

      1. Thank you!

        I’ve enjoyed some DMC mixes, but (like Hot Tracks) they’re rarely re-released: the quality is usually quite hit-or-miss. Given Wham’s reluctance to include certain unapproved versions (like the Jerry Wexler mix), it’s unlikely the DMC tracks will be on any official releases – but they’re pretty easy to find elsewhere, for those who want them.

    4. I just discovered one more –
      Club Tropicana (Instrumental) has two versions:

      original B-side version (includes the “party overdubs” in the first 40 seconds or so, similar to the single/album version)

      Singles box set version (a “clean” version without the overdubs)

      I’m curious which version will be in the SDE Blu-rays.

  101. These sound like they’ll be great! But will “Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?) – single version 3.32” be the 1982 non-hit mix or will it be the 1983 7-inch “U.S. Remix,” which was the hit version in the UK (and was used in the video)? That was not on the big “Singles” box set last year — they used the first mix — and it has still never been issued on CD or in any other digital format.

    And the Pudding Mix Edit of “Last Christmas” would be interesting to have, but the first-issue UK 7-inch mix of “Last Christmas,” released in 1984, is another one that’s missing in action. It’s a different mix than the standard version we hear today. That was another thing that was left off the “Singles” box and it also has never been issued on CD.

  102. Very annoyed here. So I recently ordered the Paul Young Blu-ray

    Now it’s featured along with Wham’s Fantastic & Make it Big Blu-Ray as a 3 deal bundle.

    Can I not get a refund for Paul young blu-ray and then re-order the 3 deal bundle ( there is a cost of living crises) and every pound I can save helps me so much?

      2. Oh please don’t take the ‘annoyed’ as anything bad Pail.

        I love this site, hence why I joined,I had NO idea I could cancel a pre-order so I retract the ‘annoyed’ comment

        I’m glad you commented though Paul and @ least now I know o cam can cancel, simply had no idea

        Thanks for commenting Paul.. I’ll cancel now and re-order the 3 blu-rays I want

  103. Wow. I did not see this happening! Ever. After all my bitching about the lack of decent special edition releases of Wham!’s material I could hardly say no to this! Ordered and so excited to receive these. You’ve really pulled it out of the bag Paul. It’s Big and it’s Fantastic and I can’t thank you enough!

  105. Have ordered all so far ,not my most wanted band but have ordered to keep the collection going as its a sony release may we be getting TTD soon i hope so

  106. Paul, congrats on this release!

    May I ask a general question about Dolby Atmos and 3D sound?
    I finally have the means to set one up for myself.

    When the audio engineers are mastering for 3D sound, how many tracks do they use and where do they go??
    For example a traditional 5.1 sound system has five ear height speakers and a bass booster.
    So six individual audio tracks for each.

    But Atmos can be 5.1.2 or 7.1.4. So do they master for a total of 12 audio tracks or just 8?
    If it is 12 then in a 5.1.2 setup where do the extra audio tracks go?
    Is the Atmos processor smart enough to divide them between front and rear speakers and send all the height tracks to just two height speakers?
    Or are those extra tracks just dropped entirely?

    1. Thanks! Atmos is ‘intelligent’ so it adapts to however many speakers in your set-up, whereas 5.1 is obviously targeting those specific channels.

      1. Thanks Paul,

        So how many audio tracks created then, just 3??
        “Here is the ear height audio, here is the bass and here is the height audio.
        Disperse that intelligently using the maximum speakers available.” ?

  108. I’m not a Wham! fan but I only imagine the logistics of getting this over the line was a massive effort. More power to you.

    It’s a pity that some of the comments on here don’t reflect this. I’m pretty sure some wouldn’t be satisfied unless all the musicians themselves surrounded them in the listening chair and played live for them.

    Stems!! Give us a break.

  109. Club SDE blurays are (twenty-)three,
    Fun and sunshine, there’s enough for everyone (if you order by the 22nd),
    All that’s missing is the CD,
    But don’t worry, you can buy the coloured vinyl instead.

    Anyone?

    1. No one then… :-D

      80s BLU-RAY BUNDLE ordered.

      Paul, thank you for weaving your SDE magic for the WHAM! blu-rays.

      Highly unlikely, but I’d love to see The Smile’s new album ‘Wall of Eyes’ as part of the series. Or their debut ‘A Light For Attracting Attention’.

      1. “Wall of Eyes” is very cinematic. I’d expect a great surround mix could be made. “Everything In Its Right Place” is very effectively used in “The Creator.” Any radiohead album anniversaries coming up? 24th anniversary of “Kid A” anyone?

  110. Normally I’d be on the fence on this one. Not sure I need these albums in surround, but the versions released in America definitely needed a remaster, so it was interesting – & then I saw the bonus material extending all the way to Battlestations and I’m Your Man and it was an easy sell! Very cool indeed! Nice set whether you “need” it in surround or not these blu-rays are not likely to disappoint!

  112. Can anything negative possibly even be said about these releases lol?? There’s no arguing the importance of these albums whether you like them or not….and I for the record do enjoy them. The plethora of bonus tracks is just fantastic work by all involved….I’m sure Paul had quite a hand in recommending them himself since he is very knowledgeable about which tracks fans have desperately wanted reissued. These releases just keep getting more and more complete and are essential for surround music lovers.

    Thanks for all the hard work in making these packages fan friendly, both in price as well as content. This is the model all record companies should follow. Bravo!!

  113. Bought the bundle , really wonderful series that keeps on getting more astonishing and exciting with every release!, you can’t say that about much in the physical audio product market at the moment. But I can honestly say these Blu Rays and SDE have restored my faith in buying again!.
    Hopefully “Welcome To The Pleasuredome” will now be in reach !!!.

    1. The potential of a Welcome to the Pleasuredome blu-ray edition would be intriguing, indeed. It would be a great opportunity to include:

      • the different versions of the album (LP, cassette, and the somewhat belated CD, which didn’t appear until well into the following year—I think it was August or September 1985 before it finally hit stores in the US, though the store I frequented most often had a listening copy as early as March).

      • all of the singles and remixes circa 1984–85 in one place (rather than scattering them about different reissues and compilations, as ZTT, Salvo, and Universal have done to date)

      • all of the “singlettes”

  115. Paul.
    Another Amazing release for Superdeluxedition.
    But I’d love to make a request..
    “”Is there anyway you could talk to Pet Shop Boys.
    And do a blue ray audio edition of any of their albums???””

    And is there anything coming out of the Grace Jones camp??
    My favourite album is “Slave To The Rhythm”..
    Any chance of that coming out in any new format??
    Don From Australia

      1. Well, yes, but there’s no surround of any kind (5.1 or Atmos) on those. They’re both excellent releases in their own right with tons of bonus tracks, and honestly, I’m a bigger fan of those albums than Slave To The Rhythm, but I feel like that one would be the best suited for a surround rework.

        Also, for completeness, there’s also this stereo-only Blu-ray encompassing her first three albums:
        https://www.discogs.com/release/6965220-Grace-Jones-Disco

    2. I would second a PSB blu-ray edition—provided they remaster from scratch. The nice thing about the 2001 and 2018 remasters is that all the albums received consistent treatment—but I still prefer the original editions of the earlier albums (through Behaviour) to the compressed remasters.

      I think Actually or Behaviour would be the obvious candidates for a blu-ray, though I’d be happy with anything through Bilingual, or Elysium. Either way, it would be nice to have the albums and the related singles and remixes all together in one place—particularly since the Further Listening components of the aforementioned reissues necessarily left out quite a lot (some of the 2-disc sets could easily have stretched to four).

      1. Glad someone else has me mentioned how the early PSB CDs sound better than the remasters, especially Introspective which was squashed to death on the remaster.

    3. If I had to pick two PSB albums for the SDE Surround Series they would be Actually and Very.
      And a hearty 2nd on Grace Jones Slave To The Rhythm

    4. To my knowledge, the only Grace Jones Dolby Atmos release so far has been ‘Inside Story’ which is on streaming sites. Like other’s I’m hoping ‘Slave To The Rhythm’ will be available to hear soon.

  116. Paul, you outdone yourself, this is special and defo GM estate/Andrew/Sony & you on the right track and know what the doctor orders. Ordered and can’t wait for this

  117. Wow!! Almost injured myself in the rush to order!! Unbelievable that you’ve managed to get the exclusive on these, I think congratulations are in order. I hope these absolutely fly off the shelves for you – maybe then the rest of the record companies might take notice that there’s a market for these types of release on an actual physical format.

  119. Paul congratulations on scoring these 2 releases!! Here’s hoping the buying public forces many represses of these for you, along with showing other companies within the music business how physical media can (and should still) be done!!

  120. Great job on securing those 2 as the next the series. This is undoubtedly the best music site on the internet for true ‘physical’ music fans I visit it more than my banking app, or Amazon!

  121. This is an amazing coup, Paul!! What a generous helping of bonus tracks! Plus, my absolute fave, ‘Battlestations’ in Atmos!! What a time to be alive!

  122. I was just thinking it was about time for the next release. Never crossed my mind it’d be a twofer! Nicely done Paul and thank you!

    The Manics Lifeblood also had me thinking about where this series could go. I imagine they’re at the scrape the barrel point for any future deluxe (let alone super deluxe) releases for the first 7 albums. Wouldn’t it be great if for the 35th anniversary releases they partnered with Paul for Atmos Blu-rays? All previous mixes also included of course. One can dream…

  124. Hard pass on Make It Big from me, as I’ve never found that record that endearing. But if ever I had a guilty pleasure, it’s Fantastic.

  125. I’m not terribly tech savvy, so perhaps someone more enlightened can tell me – would these tracks be able to be ripped to mp3 by an optical drive, or can they only be played on a blu-ray player? I listen to everything in my rather gigantic mp3 library, so if that’s not possible, it doesn’t work for me.

    1. You’ll need a Blu Ray compatible drive, but yes the technology exists to extract the audio from the discs.

      Opinions on the technical legality of doing so varies, but if it’s strictly for personal use…

    2. With a blu ray optical drive in your pc or connected with USB blu ray optical drive you can rip the tracks. I am not sure if more details are allowed here. Still, rip it to flac instead of mp3 for better quality. Storage is cheap these days.

    3. You can rip them to lossy MP3, though the very thought makes me shudder! If you have a blu-ray drive on your laptop or PC there are many programmes out there that will decrypt the Blu-ray and allow you to rip it to virtually any format. Google will show you the way!

    4. Yes you need a blu ray disc drive to be added to your computer.
      And then you have to get software to rip the audio off the Bluray.
      …..
      It’s very easy to do.
      And with the way things are going. It is worth wild investing in a paid version of the ripping software.
      You can also choose what file type you want to rip your music into. Like me.. I have ripped my blue ray audio desk to WAV file version.
      So I have the highest quality to listen to…
      In some circumstances.
      You may have to invest in I editing software so you can make track markers.
      I know it’s sounds complicated..
      But once you have done it once You will get the hang of it.

      1. The software to do this is all free. From ripping the disc to editing and splitting the tracks. I do it myself so I can rip the LPCM 24/96 audio on the disc so I can listen on either my phone (I down sample to 24/48 to save space) and keep the untouched 24/96 for my music streamer.

        I also rip the disc so I am able to play the audio and my Nvidia Shield. Then I can store the disc so it doesn’t get damaged.

  127. This is an absolutely amazing coup, Paul. Thanks, as always, for all your hard work in bringing us these wonderful releases. Another instant pre-order!

  128. Amazing work Paul.
    Very excited by this release along with everyone else.
    I already bought the Paul Young as my first SDE BR so don’t need an 80s bundle (when will that ship btw).
    Is it likely that The Hurting will ever be re released. That’s a big regret of mine.
    Perhaps when you announce Songs from the Big Chair later this year there will be a Tears for Fears bundle. One can but hope

  129. Fantastic, Paul . Thank you very much for your work on this, ordered immediately . Did you personally choose the bonus material? Any reason why the Freedom U.S. 12“ mix, the Megamix 12“ version and the Wexler mix have been left out? Were the masters possibly not accessible? Just curious

  133. Instant buy – went with the Mega Bundle as I want the vinyls too. Brilliant coup Paul and team – bravo!

    Alas I don’t have the proper surround sound set-up for the blu rays, so I’d made a rule with myself to only buy the SDE Blu Rays going forwards when they include visual content (ie music videos, like the Suede and Soft Cell ones), so that I can “feel the benefit”… However, I really appreciate all the bonus tracks contained here that I don’t think are collected on CD in this way elsewhere.

    I’m sure you must ask about video content when you’re pulling these together – interested on what some of the issues are that swing it for artists/record companies as to whether they say yes.

    Congratulations again!

    1. Thanks Rob! A long journey to get to today and grateful for the the team at Sony, George Michael Entertainment and Andrew Ridgeley in particular, who was a keen supporter of the idea of Wham! on blu-ray audio. These projects are almost always a case of ‘you can’t always get what you want’ but nevertheless I think these are very close to perfect from an audio point of view.

  134. Put this down as one of those not what I would normally buy but SDE Blu Ray Atmos all key word. Looking forward to receiving these in due course.

  135. Well this is a nice surprise! Couldn’t have made it bigger if you tried… bloody fantastic!

    Ordered my first blu ray releases along with the coloured vinyl. To say I’m more than a little pleased is an understatement.

    Just one question… Where does this leave ‘A Different Corner’ now, if it’s re-issued at some point how do we reckon it will be packaged and where will it feature now?

    A missed opportunity as it would have been nice to have included both solo singles in either the CD single or 7″ box sets when released last year… not Wham! per sé but still of that era and would’ve been nice to see ‘A Different Corner’ featured.

    Only minor grumbles. I can’t wait to get my hands on these beauties. Bravo!

    1. Great question re: “A Different Corner.” For us U.S. fans, that was introduced in the “third” Wham! album “Music from the Edge of Heaven,” but subsequently has always been treated as a GM solo track. Hopefully when the George Michael team sees the success of these Wham! releases, it will encourage them to release a super deluxe Blu-ray of George’s many non-album singles, presumably leading off with A Different Corner. Would love to see that as a future SDE exclusive!

  138. This is incredible! Well done, Paul! Your surround series is just success building on success. These 2 (two!) releases are the biggest yet — so much bonus content! Transferred to a CD format, these sets would be 2 or 3 discs each. Taken together, these sets form a fairly thorough compilation of Wham!’s discography. Definitely a huge leap for the SDESS!
    Now I just have to decide between the 2-pack bundle, or make it bigger with the 80s Selection Box bundle. I’d passed on Paul’s SSS due to cost considerations (these pesky shipping charges, mostly). Thank you for complicating my day! :)
    Note to any other US-ers on the fence: I checked in the shop. Shipping is the same for either bundle: $16. So a nice shipping discount on the second blu-ray, and the third blu-ray is shipping for freeeeee!

  139. What a coup for Paul and all at SDE. Well done on securing one of the most wanted reissues among pop fans. If not already, with this release SDE are without doubt a force to be reckoned with in the audio retail world.

  140. Ordered, and what a great addition to the SDE series, personally I would love to see Toy Matinee on Blu-ray. I have the DTS version – thinking a Toy Matinee Blu-ray with the 2001 Special Edition additional tracks… I can dream.

  141. Wait. It’s not April 1st? No shuttlecocks? :D

    Seriously, while I’m not a Wham! fan, I obviously recognize how important the band are to you. Congrats, I didn’t expect that.

  145. Great news indeed, Shame bside Blue not included on Make it Big along other Edge of Heaven tracks, but I see why. I only want make it big, so my selfish self. No Blue studio vocal?
    This obviously gives us hope for further George blu rays.

    1. I was ready to buy the CD Single set last year, but issues around pressing errors and ‘missing’ versions put me off. Glad I held off now. This duo doesn’t claim to be the complete works, but if you listed all the commercially available Wham tracks (and I think people did on these forums last year) then I don’t think there would be much missing from the content on these discs ?

  147. Fantastic Work, thanks a lot Paul.
    Hope that this will open doors for you to work with the George Michael Estate in the future.
    It‘ s such a good thing to know, that fans and enthusiastics like you can have an impact to the music industry.
    Thank you for your work, Paul

  148. Pre ordered the Blu Ray bundle the moment I saw your email come thru.. No hesitation. Thank you Paul can’t wait to hear these :-) to the disappointment of my father I loved Wham when I was younger. Lol.

  149. You are now officially forgiven for April fools joke!
    ….but I still had to stare at the screen for several seconds to make sure it was real.
    Thank you Paul!

  151. Ordered the blu-ray bundle, of course. Paul, I am running out of superlatives here: you have outdone yourself! Thank you! And the anticipated runaway success this dual release will have should hopefully pave the way for future George Michael release. Fingers crossed.
    Thank you again!

  152. After The Lexicon Of Love, Soft Cell and the Paul Young blu rays, I didn’t think I could order something faster. That record has now been broken by this Wham release. I saw “Wham” and “only Exclusive” and wham bam ordered it all. This band was a big part of my youth and 80’s soundtrack. Absolute incredible job to get us this Paul, well done and THANK YOU!!

  153. For everyone asking about the mixes, every George Michael album is available to hear in Dolby Atmos on streaming sites. I use Tidal and though the search facility isn’t the best, you may have to scroll through a few albums before you get to the Atmos version.
    As for the Wham releases, as well as these two albums being released on blu-ray, there’s also a couple of compilations in Dolby Atmos which is where some of the bonus tracks can be found.

    Unless there’s a way to isolate instrumentation without using the multi-tracks, I will say original multi-tracks have been used to create to Dolby Atmos mixes and they sound great, as you would expect a surround album to be that uses brass, strings, backing vocals etc. For instance, with Young Guns the end vocals – Get back! (left rear) Hands off! (right rear) Go for it! (Centre speaker).

    If anyone is unsure about this one, I promise you, these have been mixed really well and worth listening to in surround. Even if you haven’t got the facility to listen to them now, you probably will in a few years time so don’t miss out.

    1. Thanks for this – great to hear. Right after ordering it did occur that they might be mixed like the Soft Cell disc (which I’ve resolved not to judge until I’ve heard it in proper Atmos).

  154. AMAZING. When I saw the vinyl only editions for sale, was a little disappointed and wasn’t going to buy. Yet, here we are, with these fantastic (excuse the pun) releases. Makes my first SDE Blu ray purchases, so i am thrilled.

  155. Interesting that they decided to NOT use the original 6:32 min version of Careless Whisper for the surround mixes. That’s unfortunate but not a deal breaker. Ordered!

  156. Congratulations. Has to be your biggest coup yet Paul. Ordered both blurays and threw in the Paul Young one for good measure having passed on it first time (got me in the end). Can I put in first request for same treatment for Faith for which I’d snap up both bluray and vinyl as the latter seems hard to get hold of at reasonable price and condition.

  157. While I’ve never been a Wham! “fan”, these are pretty important releases for those that are fans. The extras alone are worth the price. And the Atmos surround should be interesting

  160. Wow what a superb achievement to be able to do this, and it sounds like you have a great endorsement by George’s estate, Andrew and Sony. Well done!

  161. well, I had decided to go cold turkey on releases this year to catch up with the shelves full of still-sealed stuff from the last few years, then this comes along. Curse you, Paul Sinclair!!!

  166. Phenomenal work, sir! Order will be duly placed.

    Shame that the “Bunn-Approved RipX Fan-Made 16/44.1 Demixes” aren’t included but you can’t have everything, I guess…

    …FFS

  168. This is so totally incredible ! Wow !!! Just when you think it can’t get any better…. just WOW !!!

    Keep releasing these and I’ll keep buying them !!! THANK YOU PAUL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  169. Without hesitation I purchased the BD-A bundle! What a coup, Paul! Congrats! And thank you!!! :):):)

    B-t-w, is there any chance of a UK album function for ‘Fantastic’? I guess you could always skip over the instrumentals, but it would be nice to have the option of setting playback to the version of one’s choosing… :)

    (I would have liked that for the Richard Wright album, in fact…)

    1. I own no Wham, and was never a fan. I may check the spatial mixes on Apple Music, but so far I am a no on this. I try not to buy music I’ve never liked in the past no matter that its in 5.1 or Atmos. I don’t think an Atmos mix will make me like it. :-)

      1. I completely agree with you – I also have the same first rule. Nothing will ever change my view of Wham! Literally the bottom of the pile for me. However, I feel duty bound to support Paul. SDE has done so much for physical music collectors and buying from SDE allows me to give something back. So I have ordered these (please don’t tell any of my friends) and I guarantee they will remain sealed and in a dark corner at home.

  171. Marvellous stuff, ordered straight away, I took the cassette of Fantastic on my first lads holiday to Ibiza in 1986, still got it, very well priced bundle, good darts Paul .

  172. Wow. my wallet told me to tell you to get stuffed, but I don’t listen to my wallet. Funnily enough I got the email from Sony about the vinyl reissues and came to hear to see what you had to say about them and was UTTERLY blown away by this exclusive.

    Thank you very much.

  173. I just bought myself a wonderful birthday present – happy birthday to me!

    It’s brilliant to have these two classic pop albums in the SDE atmos series, choc full of extra content.

    I’d be surprised if the Wham Blu-ray discs don’t outsell the likes of Tears For Fears and ABC. I hope they do – you deserve to sell stacks of them.

    In these times where it’s hard to find new releases that appeal, and vinyl records cost a fortune; the SDE surround series is filling a physical music void at affordable, value for money, prices. Well done Paul.

  174. Fantastic release, almost perfect with the exception of not having ‘A Different Corner’ on it. This is unforgivable since it was released on a Wham! Album.
    Another track which I would have liked to have seen but for obvious reasons I understand would have been the Wexler version of ‘Careless Whisper’ which to this day has not been released on a digital format.

  175. Well done Paul on getting these released on Blu-ray. I have previously commented on this website how good all the George Michael surrounds have been streaming on Tidal. Main vocals have been isolated to the centre speaker which I prefer but not every Atmos mix takes this approach.
    I wonder if this was already in the pipeline when I left my last comment on the subject.

  183. Is this just a fan made 24/96 demix? Just saying.
    The SPARS code would be beneficial. Claiming 24/96 could be a 16/44.1 recode with no further benefits whatsoever.

    Please let us know about the A/D D/A process etc etc.

    Club Tropicana in 11.1 Atmos would be the holy grail – but you dont volunteer the legacy of the 24/96

    1. Why on earth would it be a ‘fan made’ demix, when it’s approved by Sony, George Micheal Entertainment and Andrew Ridgeley and was done by the original engineer who has access to all the original tapes?!!

  184. I do not have the equipment to enjoy these fabulous looking releases, maybe one day. I know there is no mention in the article but is a cd release with this content likely or not?

    2. They were as they got the original engineer to do it from the masters and both albums sound so good on Apple Music (with AirPod pro headphone’s)

  188. I’ve only bought (to my regret) 2 or 3 of the SDE series. This is because although I’d want the spatial audio I just don’t know where to start to buy a player to add to my (yes am old school) separates stack. Paul it’d be great if you could do an article on what players are good. Maybe you don’t want to recommend, but basically (and lazily) that’s what I want. Then I’ll buy them all!! :0(

    1. I have a Samsung bluray player and recently bought a Samsung Atmos sound bar during last year’s Black Friday sales. It’s considered a “starter” sound bar (just a sound bar, no other speaker additions) but those can be added later if I want. The room is small and this sound bar is perfect (for me). I put in the SDE Duran Duran bluray release and it sounds amazing! Same for the Atmos disc in the new Peter Gabriel i/o set. Still have some more SDE bluray releases to try but so excited about the Wham! ones!

    2. I’m sure someone will correct me but any decent blu ray player will do for a player it’s the speaker setup that will be important to think about. But even if you don’t go surround these sound great over stereo.

      1. Just be sure the blu-ray player is able to decode atmos, if you are intending to have an atmos setup. Some new blu-ray players will be (my local JBHifi has 2 new players for sale, but only one is able to decode atmos). If purchasing a player from the second hand market it would likely not be able to decode atmos (as the people upgrading to an atmos-enabled player are flogging off their old player). I would check the specs for the model before purchasing.

    3. Get an Atmos-capable receiver, then most any blu-ray player will do the job. My setup is modest – for my main music system, I use an Onkyo TX-NR595 receiver configured for 7.1 playback with a Sony BDP-S6700 blu-ray player (along with various other components). For $450 (not including speakers), I’m pretty happy with the results.

    4. I’ve been using a 10+ yr old Pioneer BDP140 blu-ray (you will find later versions on Ebay for modest money) for BluRay & SACD and moved it to my old school separates to try out the stereo mixes. Liked it so bought a Pioneer BDP LX55 (similar vintage but adds DVD-Audio) to permanently use with the old school system. Great stereo sound, enjoying the instrumentals in particular – all good. Will add Atmos later.
      (Note you need to connect a screen to see the disc menu – I used HDMI to an old PC Monitor.)

  189. Please can you update the country/currency combination to show GBP for Jersey? It’s fixed at USD, and this loses me a couple of pounds in FX every time I buy from you.

        1. I’m aware… apologies. But it’s not an easy setting tweak. I will raise with Shopify and try and get it sorted. I agree it’s stupid!

  190. Blimey! Wham! Blu-ray bundle ordered!

    Fantastic (no pun intended) tracklistings but I am curious as to why A Different Corner wasn’t included on Make It Big?

    1. Thanks. A Different Corner really is a proper solo track whereas Careless Whisper was at least co-written with Andrew and on an actual Wham! studio album. Don’t forget Careless Whisper wasn’t even included on Echoes From The Edge of Heaven!

  194. I’m in!

    Bundle for me please Mr S.

    Now if you could do a similar job with Duran Duran’s first three albums including non-album singles and B-sides up to AVTAK then that would be something!

  197. Pardon my French, but… HO. LEE. SHIT. This is my biggest musical surprise since I woke up one Saturday morning and discovered that My Bloody Valentine quietly released a new album 22 years after their last one. The Fantastic/Big bundle has been pre-ordered.

    Thank you Paul! This is a very, very good thing you’re doing!

    1. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing with this announcement. BOTH of the Wham! albums, in Blu-ray Audio. Avaialble as a bundle.

      Beyond fantastic…

  199. Oh. My. God. I couldn’t even get to the end of it, I ordered automatically.
    Thank you Paul, this is how it’s done.
    I’m going to cry of happiness now.

  209. Ordered the bundle before even reading the description. OVERJOYED after going back and reading it. This is freaking incredible!!!! All the kudos, Paul.

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