Andrew Ridgeley

About

Andrew John Ridgeley (born 26 January 1963) is an English musician. He is best known for his work in the 1980s in the musical duo Wham!, which consisted of him and George Michael. Wham! were one of the most successful pop acts during the 1980s, selling more than 30 million certified records worldwide from 1982 to 1986. They scored five number one hits in the UK, and two of their singles, “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”, “Everything She Wants” also topped the US Billboard Hot 100. In 2019, Penguin Random House published Ridgeley’s memoir Wham! George & Me.

Ridgeley was born in 1963 in Windlesham, Surrey, to Jennifer Jill (née Dunlop; 1943–2009) and Alberto Mario Zacharia (1933–2015), who later changed his surname to Ridgeley. His mother was of English and Scottish descent, while his Jewish father was also of Italian, Yemeni and Egyptian origin. Ridgeley’s father’s family were expelled from Egypt as a result of the Suez Crisis. He has one sibling, Paul, born February 1964. Ridgeley was raised in Bushey, Hertfordshire, and attended Bushey Meads School. His mother was a schoolteacher at Bushey Heath Primary School, and his father worked for Canon. When George Michael started…