Andrew Ridgeley Recalls George Michael & Wham! Days At TV Appearance [Photos]

On Saturday, the former Wham! singer Andrew Ridgeley appeared on The Ray D’Arcy Show in London.

Ridgeley talked about his recently published book, Wham! George & Me, where he writes about his lifelong friendship with the band partner, George Michael, and their split in 1986 after five years of stardom.

When Ray D’Arcy asked his guest about the Wham! farewell concert at the Wembley Stadium, Ridgeley recalled the moment, and said, “as the applause died and he (George) put his arms around me, and(George) said, Andy I couldn’t done it without you.” Ridgeley continued, “he was very aware that Wham was two of us, it was expression of our friendship, it was all about the exuberance that our friendship meant to each other, and he knew that as well as I did.”

In the book, Ridgeley, also writes about a death of his friend Michael, 53, who died of natural causes and suffered a dilated cardiomyopathy. As he revealed in the book, he had sent a text message to Michael on a Christmas Day to thank him for the present and wish him happy holidays. However, minutes later he received a devastating call from George’s sister, Melanie.

“I honestly thought she was calling to wish me a happy Christmas, or maybe she was with George and the family, and they were ringing to arrange a get-together. There was certainly nothing to hint at the awful news that followed — that George had passed away,” Ridgeley writes in his book.

“The news hit me like a punch to the gut. It was as if my world had been pulled out from underneath me,” he writes. “I put down the phone and, doubled over in grief, began to sob. … I felt crushed by sadness.”

Wham! George & Me was published on October 3, 2019.