Guilty Feet Have Got No Rhythm (The Final - Wham)

Member Name: blackjane

Product:	The Final - Wham
Date:	12/12/01 (1380 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: All the hits - and more, An interesting retrospective

Disadvantages: Slightly dated, Slightly tacky too!

It could be said that it was the end of an era - I mean you just don't hear of them nowadays. Those sickly sweet pink chew bars just never appear in your local confectioners any more do they? Hold on...what's that?...you wanted a review about Wham! the group and their album 'The Final'?...oh well, if I must.....

So, what came first - the chicken or the egg? I have a sneaking feeling that McCowans jumped on the bandwagon and named their sickly sweet chew bar after the hit pop combo that consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgely, although I can't be sure. However, although it doesn't feel like it, it is now fifteen years since Wham! last graced our music charts. Knowing that acts that quit at the top of their game are given far more respect than those that are still trying to repeat past successes ten years later, Wham! decided to call it a day in 1986, just four short years after their first hit single. As a thank you to their fans, as well as a handy way to make themselves a bit of extra cash, they released 'The Final' - a greatest hits compilation featuring fourteen of their biggest and best known songs.

All the classics can be found on this compilation from the early singles such as 'Wham Rap!', complete with handclaps and the classic line 'Wham Bam - I Am A Man', and 'Young Guns (Go For It!)' Wham! soon became one of the most popular groups in the UK in the mid 1980s and always had more of a pop edge than a lot of the new romantic bands that were riding high in the charts around that time. The rap genre was relatively untried at the time, especially for a couple of white guys from the UK, and although it has become more widespread since, Wham! were one of the early purveyors of rap to the mainstream.

'Bad Boys' continued in a similar vein to 'Wham Rap' and 'Young Guns', but with 'Club Tropicana' the group branched out a little more of a pop/jazz
feel, which once again continued their rise in the popularity stakes.

It wasn't until the release of 'Wake Me Up Before You Go Go' that Wham!' really began to take a stranglehold on the UK singles chart, and their status really began to rocket with this classic song. 'Careless Whisper' showed a different side to the group altogether with a more mature feel. As well as hinting at the promise of George as a solo artist for the future, it is interesting to note this track is one of the few songs for which Andrew Ridgely obtains a co-writing credit.

'Freedom' continued the upbeat pop sound that had become synonymous with the group and was also their second successive number one hit. Next up was 'Last Christmas', which had the misfortune to chart at the same time as Band Aid's 'Do They Know It's Christmas', although Wham! were also featured as part of the hit charity ensemble. The single was a top three hit in 1984 behind Band Aid, returning to the top ten again twelve months later. 'Everything She Wants' was the lesser known AA side to the single, although most people tend to forget about this song as 'Last Christmas' has become such a festive classic.

In between the two top ten visits of 'Last Christmas', Wham! managed to achieve thier third number one single with 'I'm Your Man', before their farewell single 'Edge Of Heaven' also hit the top spot in 1986.

Also included on this album are the songs 'A Different Corner' which was one of George Michael's early solo hits, as well as the lesser known 'Battlestations' and 'Where Did Your Heart Go' that were included as part of the 'Edge Of Heaven (EP)'

This EP signalled the end of Wham! and was also a turning point in the careers of George and Andrew. George went on to a highly successful solo career, came out of the closet and made the news headl
ines for the wrong reasons after being involved in 'lewd acts' in public toilets in Los Angeles. Andrew on the other hand slipped quietly in obscurity, although this didn't really surprise anyone.

A further Wham! greatest hits set 'If You Were There' was released in 1997, although (criminally) they left off the classic Careless Whisper, so 'The Final' to my mind still remains the better of the two collections.

{Another original Dooyoo opinion © Blackjane 2001
'STOP THE OP' CAMPAIGN: IT'S AN OPINION - OK?}


[Incidentally Wham Bars are still produced by McCowan's Ltd. May I suggest a visit to:

http://www.products-online.co.uk

if you don't believe me! (just search for McCowans.)]

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