Wham! go-goes to PRH

Penguin Random House has bought an autobiography from Andrew Ridgeley about life as one half of iconic pop band Wham!, and his life-long friendship with George Michael. 

Wham! sold close to 30 million records worldwide from their formation in 1981 to their break-up in 1986. The duo’s hits include "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", "Careless Whisper" and festive perennial, "Last Christmas."

The book will stretch back to when the Michael and Ridgeley first became friends as school children in the 1970s but mainly focus on Wham!’s five-year "rollercoaster of success" taking in "the scrapes, the laughs, the relationships, the good and the bad".

Michael Joseph m.d. Louise Moore and Dutton v.p., executive editor Jill Schwartzman acquired world English language rights to the book from Tim Bates at PFD. 

Moore called the book "a memoir of love, friendship and music. When I first heard about this, I just wanted to publish this book and bring the story to all those millions of fans".