Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go

"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"

Standard artwork by Peter Saville and Trevor Key
Single by Wham!
from the album Make It Big
Released 14 May 1984
Format
Recorded 1984
Genre Dance-pop
Length 3:50
Label
Writer(s) George Michael
Producer(s) George Michael
Certification Platinum (RIAA)
Wham! singles chronology
"Club Fantastic Megamix"
(1983)		 "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
(1984)		 "Freedom"
(1984)
Make It Big track listing
"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
(1)		 "Everything She Wants"
(2)
Twenty Five track listing
"Everything She Wants"
(1)		 "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
(2)		 "Freedom"
(3)

"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" is a song by the British duo Wham!, first released as a single in the UK on 14 May 1984.[1] It became their first American and UK number-one hit. It was written and produced by George Michael, one half of the duo. In 2015, the song was voted by the British public as the nation's 13th favourite 1980s number one in a 2015 poll for ITV.[2]

History

Michael's inspiration for the song was a scribbled note left by his Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley for Andrew's parents,[3] originally intended to read "wake me up before you go" but with "up" accidentally written twice, so Ridgeley wrote "go" twice on purpose. Released in May 1984, it heralded the beginning of a softer, sunnier image for Wham!, who had spent the previous year as a moodier, more politically themed duo, with songs about unemployment, young marriage, and battles of will between parents and their children. With the release of "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", they re-emerged with wider smiles, more colourful clothing, and a more positive disposition in interviews.

In 1984, George Michael had this to say on the development of the song:

"I just wanted to make a really energetic pop record that had all the best elements of Fifties and Sixties records, combined with our attitude and our approach, which is obviously more uptempo and a lot younger than some of those records. It's one of those tracks that gets rid of a lot of your own personal influences; it reminds me of so many different records that I couldn't actually nail them down. I'd done a demo at home that just had a bass line and a vocal on it. Usually, I write the record in my head; I know what all the parts are going to be and I sing them to all our musicians. And it was great. ... We actually did it as a rehearsal. We used a Linn drum because the drummer was late, and it was such a good track that we kept it."[4]

The song entered the UK Singles Chart at number four — after much hype from the duo claiming they would go straight in at number one, which was a rare occurrence then — and climbed to the top spot seven days later, staying there for two weeks. The song also went to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, holding the top spot for three weeks.

The UK sleeve was designed by Peter Saville, with photography by Trevor Key.[5]

The song is featured in the films Rock Odyssey, The Big Picture, Charlie's Angels, Zoolander, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Tween Academy: Class of 2012, Happy Feet Two, Kath & Kimderella, Walking on Sunshine, Zoolander 2, and Sausage Party.

Music video

The official music video for the song was directed by Andy Morahan.[6] It showcases the band performing for an audience of mostly teenagers at Brixton Academy in South London. The band was wearing Katharine Hamnett T-shirt designs that said "CHOOSE LIFE". Michael was also seen in luminous gloves, which he later bemoaned as the clip of him always picked out by advertisers whenever "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" went on to a compilation album. An advertisement is tacked onto the end of the video with the text "GO-GO BUY IT! thank you" appearing on a black screen.

Track listing

All tracks written by George Michael. 

7": Epic / A 4440 (UK)
No. Title Length
1. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"   3:51
2. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" (Instrumental) 4:03
12": Epic / TA 4440 (UK)
No. Title Length
1. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"   3:51
2. "A Ray of Sunshine" (Specially recorded for The Tube) 4:58
3. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" (Instrumental) 4:03

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1984–85) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] 1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] 6
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[9] 1
Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[10] 1
Canada (CHUM)[11] 1
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[12] 1
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[13] 1
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[14] 1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[15] 3
France (SNEP)[16] 17
Germany (Official German Charts)[17] 2
Ireland (IRMA)[18] 1
Italy (FIMI)[19] 23
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[20] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[21] 1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[22] 2
Norway (VG-lista)[23] 1
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[24] 9
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[25] 1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] 2
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[27] 1
US Billboard Adult Contemporary[28] 4
US Billboard Hot 100[28] 1
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[28] 27
US Cash Box[29] 1
Chart (2016) Peak
position
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[30] 69

Year-end charts

Chart (1984) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[31] 5
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[32] 4
Canada (RPM Top 100 Singles)[33] 6
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[34] 9
Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)[35] 17
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[36] 8
US Cash Box[37] 19
Chart (1985) Position
US Billboard Hot 100[38] 3

Order of precedence
Preceded by
"It's Just Not Cricket" by The Twelfth Man
"When Doves Cry" by Prince		 Australian Kent Music Report number-one single
16 July 1984 – 13 August 1984 (5 weeks)
27 August 1984 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
"When Doves Cry" by Prince
"What's Love Got to Do with It" by Tina Turner
Preceded by
"I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder		 Canadian CHUM number-one single
17 November 1984 – 1 December 1984 (3 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"The Wild Boys" by Duran Duran
Canadian RPM Top Singles number-one single
10 November 1984 – 1 December 1984 (4 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Caribbean Queen" by Billy Ocean
Preceded by
"Penny Lover" by Lionel Richie		 Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary number-one single
15 December 1984 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
"All Through the Night" by Cyndi Lauper
Preceded by
"The Reflex" by Duran Duran		 Eurochart Hot 100 number-one single
14 July 1984 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
"Self Control" by Laura Branigan
Belgian Ultratop 50 Flanders number-one single
21 July 1984 – 11 August 1984 (4 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Two Tribes" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Irish Singles Chart number-one single
3 June 1984 – 10 June 1984 (2 weeks)
Dutch Top 40 number-one single
21 July 1984 – 28 July 1984 (2 weeks)
UK Singles Chart number-one single
2 June 1984 – 9 June 1984 (2 weeks)
Preceded by
"Two Tribes" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood		 Mega Single Top 100 number-one single
4 August 1984 (1 week)
Preceded by
"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" by Phil Collins		 Norwegian number-one single
28/1984 – 36/1984 (9 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder
Preceded by
"Self Control" by Laura Branigan		 Swedish number-one single
17 August 1984 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
"Sounds Like a Melody" by Alphaville
Preceded by
"Caribbean Queen" by Billy Ocean		 US Billboard Hot 100 number-one single
17 November 1984 – 1 December 1984 (3 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Out of Touch" by Hall & Oates
Preceded by
"Purple Rain" by Prince & The Revolution		 US Cash Box number-one single
24 November 1984 – 1 December 1984 (2 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"I Feel for You" by Chaka Khan

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[39] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[40] Gold 500,000^
United States (RIAA)[41] Platinum 1,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone


See also

References

  1. ↑ "Record News". NME. London, England: IPC Media: 36. 5 May 1984.
  2. ↑ Westbrook, Caroline (25 July 2015). "The Nation's Favourite 80s Number One: 12 more classic 80s chart-toppers which didn't make the cut". Metro. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go by Wham!". Songfacts. ToneMedia. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  4. ↑ Connelly, Christopher (25 October 1984). "Wham! A wake-up call to the U.S.". Rolling Stone (433): 48.
  5. ↑ "Sleeve designed by Peter Saville: Sleeves 1982-1984". Petersaville.info. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  6. ↑ Garcia, Alex S. "mvdbase.com - Wham! - "Wake me up before you go-go [version 1: concept]"". Music Video DataBase. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Australia n°1 Hits – 80's". Worldcharts.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  8. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  9. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  10. ↑ "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go – WHAM". VRT (in Dutch). Top30-2.radio2.be. Retrieved 1 August 2013. Hoogste notering in de top 30 : 1
  11. ↑ "CHART NUMBER 1455 – Saturday, November 17, 1984". CHUM. Archived from the original on 29 July 2007. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  12. ↑ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 9612." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  13. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9520." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  14. ↑ "Song title 977 – Wake Me Up Before You Go Go". Tsort.info. Steve Hawtin et al. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  15. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  16. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  17. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  18. ↑ "The Irish Charts – All there is to know". IRMA. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  19. ↑ "Indice per Interprete: W". HitParadeItalia (in Italian). Creative Commons. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  20. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Wham - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  21. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  22. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  23. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go". VG-lista. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  24. ↑ "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (W)". Rock.co.za. John Samson. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  25. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  26. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  27. ↑ "June 1984/ Archive Chart: 2 June 1984" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  28. 1 2 3 "Make It Big – Awards". Allmusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  29. ↑ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending NOVEMBER 24, 1984". Cash Box magazine. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  30. ↑ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
  31. ↑ BigKev. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  32. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 1984" (in Dutch). ULTRATOP & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  33. ↑ "Top Singles – Volume 41, No. 17, January 05 1985". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  34. ↑ "Single Top 100 over 1984" (PDF) (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  35. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1984" (in Dutch). Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  36. ↑ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1984". Hitparade.ch (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  37. ↑ "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1984". Cash Box magazine. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  38. ↑ "Top 100 Hits for 1985". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  39. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go". Music Canada.
  40. ↑ "British single certifications – Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  41. ↑ "American single certifications – Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH

External links

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