Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go

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"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
File:WakeMeUpBeforeYouGoGo.jpg
UK sleeve by Peter Saville and Trevor Key
Single by Wham!
from the album Make It Big
Released 14 May 1984
Format 7", 12"
Recorded 1984
Genre Dance-pop, dance-rock, pop rock
Length 3:50
Label Columbia (US/Canada)
Epic (all other countries)
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" also referred to as "Jitterbug" is a song by the English duo Wham!, first released as a single in the UK on 14 May 1984,[1] and which 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 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:

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"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.

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

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 were 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 songs written and composed 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
  • Note: The US 7" single (Columbia 04552) has identical track listing.
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

Order of precedence
Preceded by 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 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 Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary number-one single
15 December 1984 (1 week)		 Succeeded by
"All Through the Night" by Cyndi Lauper
Preceded by 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 Mega Single Top 100 number-one single
4 August 1984 (1 week)
Preceded by 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 Swedish number-one single
17 August 1984 (1 week)		 Succeeded by
"Sounds Like a Melody" by Alphaville
Preceded by 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 US Cash Box number-one single
24 November 1984 – 1 December 1984 (2 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"I Feel for You" by Chaka Khan

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  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. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  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. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  17. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  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. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go". Singles Top 60. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  27. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  28. ↑ "June 1984/ Archive Chart: 2 June 1984" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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