Wham! - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go

What this video is

Released 14 May 1984, 'Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go' marked Wham!'s pivot from moodier, politically-inflected early work toward a brighter, sunnier pop identity. Written and produced by George Michael, it became the duo's first UK and US number one, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and charting the arrival of the British New Pop wave on American radio and MTV. The 'CHOOSE LIFE' Katharine Hamnett…

Why it matters

A canonical document of British bubblegum-soul pop at its commercial zenith. The track synthesised Motown rhythmic vocabulary with New Pop production gloss, helping establish the template for mid-1980s transatlantic pop crossover. Its music video codified the high-energy live-performance clip…

The director

Andrew Douglas Morahan (born 11 August 1958) is a British commercial, film and music video director. Son of director Christopher Morahan, he graduated from St Martin's College. He won MTV Awards for Best Director (George Michael's 'Father Figure') and Best…