The 1980s was an era defined by big shoulder pads, even bigger hairdos and Wham!mania. Obviously.

For four years, Wham! were everywhere. In 1982, teen BFFs George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley embarked on a meteoric fame ride which saw them release hit after hit after hit: Club Tropicana, Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, Freedom, I’m Your Man, and Last Christmas, to name just five. 

They sang at the 1985 Live Aid concert. They became the very first Western pop act to play in China. And yet, by 1986, they had played their very last gig at Wembley Stadium.

Watch the trailer for Wham! below

So, what happened? Well, that’s what this Netflix documentary aims to find out.

What is Wham! about?

This documentary offers up a tale as old as time: two bright young things with a shared dream of becoming musical superstars come together and pen a song or two in the back of their maths books. Only, rather than eventually psych themselves up to play at the school disco, George and Andrew became one of the biggest, brightest and most commercially successful pop sensations of their generation.

“With unprecedented access to both George and Andrew’s personal archive – including remarkable and never-before-seen footage, alongside rare, candid and previously unheard interviews – this new Netflix documentary charts their incredible journey from school friends to superstars,” promises the official synopsis.

Which means, yes, this is the story of Wham! in their own words. 

Honestly, we can’t wait.

What are people saying about the Wham! documentary?

In the film, you only really hear from George and Andrew: there are no talking heads or people talking about them now. And, while this wasn’t the initial vision of director Chris Smith (of Tiger King and Fyre fame), he quickly realised that he had a truly unique opportunity on his hands.

“I didn’t know if we would do on-camera interviews,” he tells Smooth Radio. “I know that Andrew was really excited about interviewing a ton of different people that were there at that time.

“It was only through the editing process that it became clear that there was an opportunity. The heart of the story was about this friendship between these two kids that resulted in them becoming one of the biggest bands in the world and why that had to end when it did.

“And there was something to me that I felt so connected to that experience that I felt the strongest way to sort of for the audience to experience that was through the retelling by the two of them. Because I think that you understand their friendship more that way.”

Smith adds: “I think, to me, there’s a beautiful takeaway from this movie about a story about friendship. And to me, I think that more stories like that that are I don’t know, there’s something very beautiful and life-affirming about what happened in those four years.”

When can we watch Wham! on Netflix?

The documentary film debuts Wednesday 5 July.

Will you be watching?

Images: Getty; Netflix