Exclusive: Wham! star Andrew Ridgeley reveals big change he made to his life 20 years ago and remembering George Michael at Christmas

With its familiar refrain and heartfelt vocals, Wham’s Last Christmas is as synonymous with the festive season as turkey and mince pies. The song has just turned 40 and to mark the occasion the band’s Andrew Ridgeley stars in a BBC documentary about the classic tune and its accompanying video. 

But, as Andrew, 61, tells HELLO! in this exclusive interview, returning to the Swiss mountain resort of Saas-Fee where the clip was filmed with the band’s backing singers, Pepsi DeMacque and Shirlie Kemp, was bittersweet,  as George Michael – who he refers to by his childhood nickname ‘Yog’ – is sadly no longer with us. 

“We had a wonderful time and recreating those scenes felt like yesterday,” he says. “But it was incomplete because Yog wasn’t with us. I think enough time has passed from his death [on Christmas Day, 2016] that we’re able to reminisce and look back largely with fondness. He would have wanted us to enjoy being with each other, even if he weren’t there.”

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Recalling that filming the video was ‘so much fun’ he continues: “There was a lot that would have made for quite hair-raising out-takes. When George and I arrived, the others had already been enjoying the bar and it was already quite raucous. We were a group of friends having a wonderful time together and there was a real sense of camaraderie, togetherness, enjoyment and laughter – the carefree joys of youth.”

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That joy is part of what made Wham! such a success, with fans desperate for more nostalgia projects after last year’s hit Netflix documentary. 

“To be a part of something which has that kind of impact on people’s lives is extremely flattering and humbling,” he says before revealing there are several more projects in the pipeline. And while the band achieved huge success, Andrew and George didn’t succumb to the pressures of constant touring and promotion that can afflict other boyband stars. That was, he says, because of his and George’s childhood friendship, formed after meeting at secondary school in Hertfordshire.

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“We had each other to keep us on the straight and narrow as far as letting things go to one’s head,” he says “And we also kept our friendships with people whom we’d grown up with – like Shirlie. But we also didn’t have money because we had a legendarily terrible record deal.”

Since the band split in 1986, Andrew has led quiet life in Cornwall and only steps back in the spotlight sporadically, to promote projects like his 2019 autobiography. In fact, he says that he doesn’t even watch television. 

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“I haven’t watched it since 2020 when I switched off the news over Covid. I do watch a bit of sport, but I am so disinterested in fame or celebrity. It’s really of no consequence to the way I want to live my life. It’s an ambition of mine to elevate the Wham! legacy for the fans but fame is a bit of a burden. It’s not the worst hardship in the world by any means and I understand it would be irresponsible not to step up and be the representative for Wham! because I was in the band.”

It was a ‘painful irony’ that George died at Christmas, says Andrew, as it was a holiday he loved. But, he says, the intervening years have helped everyone deal with their grief. “While it was very difficult in the immediate months after his death, the passage of time does dull the sharpness and gives you a slightly different perspective on things. So now we can remember Yog at Christmas positively.”

Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped airs on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer, Saturday 14th December

To read the full exclusive interview, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale in the UK on Monday. You can subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.