One of the biggest bands to come out of Britain in the 1980s, and now the world's largest streaming service, Netflix, will give fans an inside look at the band in a brand-new feature documentary, Wham!. The documentary was released on July 5 and is available to stream from 8:01am on the morning of the release. To watch the documentary, you must have a Netflix UK subscription, which is available here with prices starting at £4.99 per month.
The feature documentary will have a run time of 1 hour and 32 minutes.
In their own words. The new documentary film WHAM! comes to Netflix 5 July. pic.twitter.com/rY2iysKWUs
— George Michael Official (@GeorgeMOfficial) June 19, 2023
When George Michael’s realized about his sexuality:
George Michael came out to the public in 1998 after an undercover police officer detained him for performing a sexual conduct in a public lavatory. But long before that controversial encounter at Beverly Hills' Will Rogers Memorial Park, the late-'80s pop idol came out to Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley. It was July 1983 and they had recently finished shooting the music video for their post-disco track "Club Tropicana" in Ibiza, Spain.
“About six months before … I’d actually had something go on that made my attraction to men fairly clear,” the late Michael reveals via rare footage featured in “Wham! The Documentary”. “Once I realized that this was a part of my sexuality that I couldn’t ignore, I went to come out to Andrew,” adds Michael. He passed away from heart and liver disease at the age of 53 in 2016.
Why did he hide it for so long?
While Ridgeley claims that his childhood friend's revelation "had absolutely no bearing" on their relationship, he and Wham! background singer Shirlie Holliman both advised Michael not to tell his family. “I said I was gonna talk to my mom and dad and was persuaded in no uncertain terms that it really wasn’t the best idea,” Michael says in the doc. “I don’t think they were trying to protect my career or their careers. I think they were literally just thinking … ‘My God, your dad will hit the roof!’ ” That was the moment that led him to not reveal his sexuality and remain in a closet.
The Wham! documentary will trace the rise of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley as members of the 1980s musical group using archival material. The pair's childhood friendship will be extensively discussed as they ascend to international fame. It will examine the pair's background in the southern English town of Hertfordshire, as well as an intimate look at the pop duo, including Michael's personal struggle with his sexuality prior to officially declaring his homosexuality in 1998. Wham!' will feature never-before-seen interviews with Michael's friend and bandmate Ridgeley, as well as archival interviews from the duo's time in the band.
Fun and sunshine, there’s enough for everyone.
— George Michael Official (@GeorgeMOfficial) June 15, 2023
WHAM!, the new documentary film charting the global rise of pop sensations George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, told in their own words. Coming to Netflix 5 July.pic.twitter.com/XloVfKNGnT