The Story Behind Wham!’s No. 1 Hit “Wake Me up Before You Go-Go” Isn’t as Romantic as You Might Think

At face value, Wham!’s No. 1 hit “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” is a straightforward love song. You put the boom-boom into my heart. You send my soul sky-high when your lovin’ starts. But according to songwriter George Michael, the inspiration for the song’s earworm hook was much more familial than romantic.

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More specifically, the inspiration came from a passing interaction between Andrew Ridgely, the other half of the 1980s pop duo, and his parents that Michael just happened to find hilarious.

How “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go” Came To Be

Few songs define bubblegum pop of the 1980s quite like Wham!’s “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.” The song’s infectious melody, ear-catching arrangements, and perfectly repeatable refrain made it an instant hit, racing to the top of the charts in the pop duo’s native U.K. and across the pond in the U.S. Wham!’s first No. 1 hit had similar success in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Paraguay, and Iceland. After all, who hasn’t experienced the feelings they sing about in the song: intense infatuation, attraction, and the wayward feelings of loneliness when the object of our affection leaves?

As poetic as that interpretation of this bouncy 1980s pop hit might be, the inspiration was far less romantic. According to Michael, he got the idea for “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” after hearing about a note that his bandmate, Andrew Ridgley, had left for his parents overnight. Sleepy after a night of clubbing and not quite paying attention to what he was writing, Ridgley wrote “up” twice when writing the sentence, “Don’t forget to wake me up before you go.” He off-handedly wrote “go” twice to jokingly make up for his first mistake, writing, “Don’t forget to wake me up up before you go go.”

Michael took this idea and ran with it, turning it into the iconic chorus that’s playing in our heads and yours right now: Wake me up before you go-go. Don’t leave me hanging on like a yo-yo.

George Michael Had Mixed Feelings About The Hit Song

Of all the songs in Wham!’s discography, their 1984 single “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” is by far the most recognizable. From its finger-snapping jitterbug introduction to the teasing rise and fall of the pre-chorus into the actual hook, the song has all the makings of a pop hit. “I wanted to make a really energetic pop record that had all the best elements of Fifties and Sixties records combined with our attitude and approach,” Michael said, “which is obviously more uptempo and a lot younger than some of those records. It’s one of those tracks that gets rid of a lot of your own personal influences.”

In hindsight, that formulaic approach to pop music lost some of its sheen for Michael as he matured artistically. “I think “Go-Go” is undoubtedly the most remembered Wham! song because it is that much more stupid than anything else,” Michael once said, per Rolling Stone. Just like Ridgley making a passing joke at his own flub, we think “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” is one of those songs that refuses to let you take it too seriously.

It’s just plain fun, and sometimes, that’s all pop music needs to be.

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