Want to know what happened to Andrew Ridgeley from Wham!? In case you don’t know, he rose to fame for being a part of the 1980s musical duo – Wham! Along with him, George Michael was also there.
The pop duo, Wham! made worldwide records from 1981 to 1986. In case you are looking for its famous songs, some are listed as Club Tropicana, Careless Whisper, The Edge of Heaven, Last Christmas, and Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go. Andrew Ridgeley is undoubtedly a versatile music artist. Hailing from Windlesham, he isn’t just a singer but also a songwriter, and record producer.
After Wham!’s break up in 1986, Andrew Ridgeley had his solo music career. But, it was pretty much short-lived. Later, he switched to different fields. Here is what we know about what happened to Andrew Ridgeley after Wham!
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What Happened To Andrew Ridgeley? His Solo Career & Switching To Other Field After Wham!
After Wham!’s break up in 1986, Andrew Ridgeley started his solo music career, as mentioned above. In 1990, he released his first solo studio album- “Son of Albert.”
Meanwhile, Andrew Ridgeley shifted to Monaco and got involved in Formula Three motor racing. Not everyone knows about his passion for motorcar racing. He planned that professional racing would be his next career after leaving Wham! During that time, he got injured a lot and participated in a few events as well. Why did Andrew Ridgeley leave motor car racing? During an Albi circuit, he was involved in a six-car melee. Even though he didn’t get injured, but reportedly got hospitalized.
Well, it wasn’t the first time that he got into racing. Previously, in 1985, Andrew raced in UK’s Renault 5 series. That helped him in gaining an interest in motor car racing, and he decided to make it a profession someday. But, after that alleged injury, he came back to England in the 1990s. That was the time when he worked on his solo album.
To be more exact about “Son of Albert”, the album has songs like- Shake, Red Dress, Mexico, The Price of Love, and Hangin. It didn’t receive appreciation but turned out to be disappointing for the critics. Because of that, the record label didn’t want to release Andrew’s projects. That made him stop working on albums. Well, “Red Dress” isn’t that terrible. You may listen to it once. It’s more like a guitar-driven song and not a sort of pop.
After several years, Andrew Ridgeley made a cameo in the film, Last Christmas. The film was released in 2019, and it had a plethora of Wham! songs. On the other hand, George Michael had a highly-successful musical career. He suddenly died in December 2016. Andrew was saddened by the news and shared a heartfelt message, saying, “George has left for us in his songs, in the transcendental beauty of his voice, and poetic expression of his soul, the very best of himself.”
In the early 1990s, Andrew Ridgeley and one of his friends both tried out surfing. But, it caused illness, and he started having concerns about the environment. Not everyone knows that was one of his passions since his childhood.
Following that, Andrew started Surfers Against Sewage (SAS). In addition to that, he also worked in providing funds to a company that made surfing products. In 2018, the Wham! Star took active participation in a challenging 18-day, 1,100-mile cycling event across the French and Swiss Alps. Doing that, he successfully made $1.4 million and used it for charity.
Overall, after Wham!, Andrew Ridgeley got involved in various fields, be it’s motor car racing or acting. Best wishes to Andrew Ridgeley, and you may follow him on Instagram for more updates.
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