Former Wham! star Andrew Ridgeley has told of how he fell to his knees and “cried like I’d never cried before” after hearing the news George Michael’s death.
Michael died on Christmas Day last year at the age of 53, and Ridgeley said that he was “consumed” by his grief after losing his long-time friend and colleague.
Ridgeley, who scored success with hits including Last Christmas and Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go as a part of Wham! in the 1980s, wrote in The Mail on Sunday that he had sent Michael “a message wishing him a wonderful Christmas” just five minutes before learning of his death.
He said: “That night, after I had phoned our friends to convey the dreadful news – and despite having shed an ocean of tears already that day – the sheer eviscerating sense of loss cut my legs from beneath me and, on the deck and on my knees, I cried like I’d never cried before.
“Nothing had prepared me for the depth of pain George’s death precipitated.”
Ridgeley, 54, described the “overwhelming” shock and disbelief at losing his friend, who he befriended at school in the 1970s.
He said: “I had lost my parents in recent years and yet, this was entirely different, a loss I had not contemplated, a loss that was inconceivable, one so abysmally sad that in that moment I was consumed by it.
“I had always been aware of George’s importance to me, of the bond of friendship and of the sparkle and light, effervescence and electricity that suffused the music we made.
“Yet in the intervening years between our career together as Wham! and where our different lives had subsequently led us, I had somehow lost sight of quite what my childhood best friend meant to me.”
Michael died from heart disease and a build-up of fat in his liver, which can be linked to drug and alcohol abuse.
Ridgeley is now hoping to get their beloved festive hit Last Christmas to the Christmas number one spot this year, a feat that has so far escaped the track, which peaked at number two.
He wrote that he feels it is “the most fitting tribute to my dearest friend of all”.
“For me and so many others, the bittersweet nature of the song means it will forever mark the best and the worst of times,” he said.
Ridgeley added that Michael “was passionate about getting his songs to number one, which is why it is important to me now that the anniversary of his death be marked by an accolade of this kind.”
The musician praised Michael’s ability in performing “musical alchemy” in his creation of Last Christmas, “distilling the essence” of the season into music.
“Adding a lyric which told the tale of betrayed love was a masterstroke and, as he did so often, he touched hearts,” Ridgeley added.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here