Photograph of Andrew Ridgeley.
Andrew Ridgeley

Overview

Andrew John Ridgeley (born 26 January 1963) is an English pop singer, guitarist and environmentalist. He came to public attention as a member (with George Michael) of the 1980s pop music duo Wham!

Life and career

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).

Miscellanea

*Indie pop group Black Box Recorder wrote a song in tribute, entitled "Andrew Ridgeley" on their 2003 album Passionoia. *Ridgeley is a supporter of Queens Park Rangers F.C. and can be seen wearing their kit in the music video for the Wham! single "Freedom". *Ridgeley is the alleged inspiration for Hugh Grant's character in the film Music & Lyrics. * He was given the nickname "Osama bin Laden" by his golfing friends. * Frequently referenced as "The other guy from Wham!"

Notes

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This biography says:

Andrew John Ridgeley (born 26 January 1963) is an English pop singer, guitarist and environmentalist. He came to public attention as a member (with George Michael) of the 1980s pop music duo Wham!

That biography says:

...He began his career by forming a short-lived ska band called The Executive with his best friends Andrew Ridgeley, Paul Ridgeley, Andrew Leaver and David Mortimer (aka David Austin). George attended Kingsbury High School briefly in 1974, as did his sisters.

This biography says:

...He now lives in Cornwall, United Kingdom, in a restored 15th-century property with his partner Keren Woodward (of the pop group Bananarama).

That biography says:

...Only two promotional singles would be released from the album: one of those was a cover of George Michael's ballad "Careless Whisper" (which was cowritten by Woodward's partner — and Michael's ex-Wham!-bandmate — Andrew Ridgeley....

This biography says:

...Wham! went on to enjoy huge worldwide success between 1982 and 1986, making their U.S. debut appearance on Dick Clark's American Bandstand....

This biography says:

...and can be seen wearing their kit in the music video for the Wham! single "Freedom". *Ridgeley is the alleged inspiration for Hugh Grant's character in the film Music & Lyrics. * He was given the nickname "Osama bin Laden" by his golfing friends...

That biography says:

...The Associated Press described it as "a weird little hybrid of a romantic comedy that's simultaneously too fluffy and not whimsical enough." Even though he neither listens to music nor owns any CDs, Grant learned to sing, play the piano, dance (a few mannered steps) and studied the mannerisms of prominent musicians in preparation of his role as a has-been pop singer that is loosely based on Andrew Ridgeley. The Star-Ledger dismissed the performance, writing that "paper dolls have more depth." The movie, with its revenues totalling $145 million, allowed Grant to mock disposable pop stardom and fleeting celebrity through its washed-up lead character...

That biography says:

* Adam LaVorgna * Andrew Ridgeley * Ashton Kutcher * Brad Pitt * Carson Kressley * Chris Robinson * Chuck Woolery * Damien Fahey * Daniel Smith * Eminem * Gerhard Schröder * James Getzlaff * JC Chasez * Jeffrey Dahmer * Jim Turner * John Tesh * Johnny Depp (as his "Pirates of the Caribbean" character, Captain Jack Sparrow) * Jon Heder * Jude Law * Justin Timberlake * Kiefer Sutherland * Kevin Coleman * Kid Rock * Matt Lauer * Matthew McConaughey * Owen Wilson * Pat Sajak * Ray Bolger * Samuel Adams * Seann William Scott * Stephen Dillane

That biography says:

...Wham! (often written WHAM!) was a pop band formed in 1981 by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They were briefly known in the United States as Wham! UK due to a naming conflict with another band.

That biography says:

...She had a small acting role in the film Where the Boys Are and was also a sportscaster for ESPN. While living with Andrew Ridgeley of Wham! for two years, she moved to Los Angeles, California where she appeared in many television commercials including those for Budweiser, Noxzema, Maybelline, and Pepsi...