Official Charts Flashback 1984: Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go

Jitterbug! It’s three decades since George and Andrew had their very first chart-topper with the ultimate get-up-and-go-go song!

The word ‘iconic’ is an overused term pretty much everywhere, but when it comes to pop moments, Wham! scoring their very first Number 1 with joyous Sixties pastiche Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.

The Choose Life T-shirts! George’s luminous gloves! The tight shorts! The bit where it goes all UV light! Most of pop’s most stellar moments appear in those four short minutes.

Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go marked a departure for childhood pals George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They’d signed to a new record label and had been out of the public eye since their last Top 10 hit Club Tropicana hit Number 4 the previous July (although a megamix of songs from first album Fantastic was a Top 20 hit over Christmas 1983).

Having racked up four Top 10s already, they were hungry for their first chart-topper. And thanks to that unforgettable video, not to mention a song with hooks a go-go (if you'll pardon the awful pun), they got it. After going straight in at Number 4, the track climbed to the top spot the following week and stayed there a fortnight. It's sold over 790,000 copies and ended up being the 11th bestselling single of 1984!

The band’s next single would be another departure. Despite appearing on the band’s second album Make It Big and being penned by both members of Wham!, Careless Whisper was released as a George Michael solo track, and was another Number 1. Careless Whisper is now one of the bestselling singles of all time – shifting over 1.4 million copies. Check out George's Official Top 20 most downloasded tracks for more stats.

There’d be two more Number 1s for George and Andrew as a twosome – 1985’s I’m Your Man and their farewell single from 1986, The Edge Of Heaven – before the band called it a day and George went on to launch that pretty successful solo career of his.

Wham!’s biggest selling hit is Last Christmas, which also gets a seat in the million sellers’ club with an impressive 1.7 million copies sold, despite never reaching Number 1. Since its first chart entry in 1984, peaking at Number 2, it has re-entered the Top 40 seven times – it even went Top 10 again in 1985!

But today in 1984, that future was barely a glint in George’s expertly blow-dried highlights – it was all about the denim shorts, gleaming white smiles and screaming, adoring fans.

Watch the video for Careless Whisper before we count down the rest of the Top 5 from today in 1984…

2: Deniece Williams – Let’s Hear It For The Boy

Up one place to runner-up position this week was Deniece Williams with Let’s Hear It For The Boy, from the movie Footloose, which starred a young Kevin Bacon. Deniece had already scored a Number 1 seven years earlier with the empowering, dreamy rack Free, which spent two weeks at the top. Oscar-nominated Let’s Hear It For The Boy was her fourth Top 10, but would go further than Number 2. Sadly, Deniece hasn’t had a Top 40 hit since.

3: Duran Duran – The Reflex

From one massive ‘80s boyband to another. Kind of. After a month at the top, Simon Le Bon and his band of merry men had to give the top spot up to the Wham! boys. The Reflex was the band’s second and final Number 1 – first was Is There Something I Should Know in 1983 – and despite line-up changes, and fall-outs over the years, the band still managed to score 14 Top 10 hits, their most recent being 2004’s (Reach Up For The) Sunrise.

4: Pointer Sisters – Automatic

Down two places this week for June, Ruth and Anita – three sisters who’d managed two Top 10s before bit never got so close to Number 1. They’d have another go later in 1984, when Jump (For My Love) reached Number 6. It was famously covered by Girls Aloud in 2003, giving them their second Number 2 hit. For the Pointer ladies, there’d be five more Top 40 hits after Automatic, with the last being 1985’s (amazing) Dare Me.

5: Style Council – Groovin’ EP (You’re The Best Thing)

Moving up six was modfather Paul Weller’s post-Jam pop outfit Style Council (ask your uncle for a translation). The Groovin’ EP, featuring one of the band’s most famous songs You’re The Best Thing and, erm, another one, Big Boss Groove, was Style Council’s fourth Top 10 hit – they’d go on to have three more. Paul went solo in the early ‘90s and has notched up an impressive 32 Top 40 hits, with five going Top 10.

See the full Top 40 from this week in 1984, including new entries from Smiths, Sister Sledge, Ozzy Osbourne and Madness.