Every New Zealand #1 single…
6
I’m Your Man
Topped the NZ chart: from 16 February 1986 for 1 week
Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael met at Bushey Meads School. They formed a ska band with school friends, before paring down to a duo.
Their big break came in 1982. They made a last-minute appearance on Top of the Pops after another band pulled out. ‘Young Guns (Go for It)’ became a hit. They continued to enjoy a run of hits through until 1986, when Michael went solo.
Andrew Ridgeley was Michael’s creative partner in the early days of Wham! But he’d gracefully relinquished control of the band to his more talented colleague by this point.
Surprisingly, ‘I’m Your Man’ was Wham’s only number one hit in New Zealand. ‘Last Christmas’, ‘Careless Whisper’ (released as a solo George Michael single), ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’, and ‘The Edge of Heaven’ all peaked at #2 or #3, whereas they mostly topped the charts on both sides of the pond.
Michael stated that he wrote ‘I’m Your Man’ quickly. The first verse and chorus came in five minutes on a flight during the Whamamerica! tour. It has aged gracefully, dipping into a rhythm and vocal-heavy 1960s Motown sound.
‘I’m Your Man’ is solid, but it doesn’t scream hit single to me. It doesn’t have the memorable tune or ebullience of Wham’s earlier hits. It’s more like a transition into Michael’s more mature solo career. Fittingly, ‘I’m Your Man’ was the last song that Michael and Ridgeley played at their farewell concert.
George Michael’s a talented guy, but he’s written a bunch of songs that are better than ‘I’m Your Man’.
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I’ve never been a Wham fan. In fact, the blurb on the cover of my book, “Rock and Roll Children” states, “The 80s weren’t just about Wham.” On the other hand, I do admire George Michael’s singing talent a great deal.
You have a book? How cool. I should see what it’s all about.
Yes, here’s to link on Goodreads. I doubt you can buy it online anymore but you can direct from me.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14510967-rock-and-roll-children
… their albums.
I can see why that song was popular. It’s got a driving beat and a relatively catchy melody. Given the popularity of “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” and “Careless Whisper” in many other countries, I’m also surprised “I’m Your Man” remained Wham’s sole no. 1 in New Zealand.
That said (going by Wikipedia), “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” and “Careless Whisper” disn’t reach no. 1 in Germany either. Their only chart-topper there was “Last Christmas.” But I guess you could say they made up for it by topping the German charts with “Last Christmas” three times – when it was first released in 1984 and evidently again in 2021 and 2022!
Yup, it wouldn’t have been surprising if Last Christmas snuck into #1 after Michael’s death.
There’s nothing wrong with his voice or anything but he never really made a good record. Wham wasn’t even good for 80s music, and I actually like a lot of music from that period.
I think ‘Last Christmas’ and ‘Careless Whisper’ are very good pop songs.
Solid pop but weird that this was the massive hit… I mean even ‘Freedom’ would seem to be superior.
Yeah, if you asked me a week ago what Wham’s only NZ number one was, I wouldn’t have guessed this.
George Michael was such a sweet and talented human being. Rest in peace!
This was such an exhilarating, upbeat and infectious song that I couldn’t help but love it. “Careless Whisper” is one of my all-time favorite songs.
It’s almost very strong I think – just needed a better tune.
This one sounds good…I wasn’t a fan back then. I appreciate some of their songs and this one has a nice sound. I do like the Motown influence. The same I can say about the Culture Club…I didn’t like them at the time but I find a few that I like today.
It sounds quite different than early Wham! I guess George Michael had enough clout by then to get the sound he wanted.