Born in
Windlesham, Surrey, Ridgeley grew up in
Bushey, Hertfordshire, and attended
Bushey Meads School, where his mother worked and where he met
George Michael. Their common musical interests led them to form Wham!. After approaching various
record labels with a homemade
tape (which took ten minutes to
record in Ridgeley's living room), they found a record label willing to sign them, Innervision.
Wham! went on to enjoy huge worldwide success between 1982 and 1986, making their
U.S. debut appearance on
Dick Clark's American Bandstand.
Following Wham!'s break-up in late-
1986, Ridgeley moved to
Monaco and tried his hand at
Formula Three motor racing. Meeting with little success, Ridgeley moved to
Los Angeles, (for the hopeful
singer/actor crossover), but returned to England permanently in 1990.
CBS Records (later
Sony Music), having taken up the option on Wham!'s contract that specified
solo albums from Michael and Ridgeley, released a
guitar and
drum driven solo effort from Ridgeley,
Son of Albert, in
1990. (His brother Paul played drums).
Singles included "Shake" and "Red Dress". CBS Records passed up the option of a second album.
After retiring from active music-making, he still remained active in music-writing under various pseudonyms.
Ridgeley began surfing in the early 1990s. While surfing with his brother off the coast of England, both men contracted a waterborne illness from the raw
sewage being discharged from a nearby pipe. After recovering from his illness, Ridgeley gave an interview to
The Times. He went on to become a prominent environmentalist in the cause of water quality at
English surfing beaches and riverways, working with the
UK charity, Surfers Against Sewage (SAS).
Ridgeley is a
partner in an English business that makes surfing equipment. He frequently lends both his name and donates money to help pass laws against the discharge of raw sewage in UK offshore waters. Ridgeley's and SAS's efforts enjoyed success in recent years, having influence upon numerous safe sewage laws that have virtually eliminated
E. coli illness and deaths in the UK.
He now lives in
Cornwall, United Kingdom, in a restored 15th-century property with his partner
Keren Woodward (of the pop group
Bananarama).