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''Make It Big'' is the second studio album by English pop duo
Wham! Wham! were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981 consisting of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They were one of the most successful pop acts during the 1980s, selling more than 30 million certified records worldwide from 1982 to ...
, released in 1984. In comparison to their earlier work, Wham! (
George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...
and
Andrew Ridgeley Andrew John Ridgeley (born 26 January 1963) is an English musician, best known for his work in the 1980s in the musical duo Wham! consisting of Ridgeley and George Michael. Associated with the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US, th ...
) had more control over the album's production and Michael would also be credited as a producer. The album was a commercial success, hitting number one in both the US and the UK and spawning four singles, all reaching the top three in the US and the UK. ''Make It Big'' was certified 4× platinum in the US during the time of its release, and has since been certified 6× platinum in the US. In March 2024, ''Make It Big'' was reissued on vinyl for the first time in 30 years. The music video for single " Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" had the duo in shirts that read ''Choose Life''. It would be the first of several hits from the album. The second single " Careless Whisper" is technically a Wham! song as it appears on the Wham! album ''Make It Big''. However, when released as a single, it was credited either to ''Wham! featuring George Michael'' (in North America and several other countries) or solely to ''George Michael'' (in the United Kingdom and some European countries) as it became apparent, that at some point in the near future, Michael would be embarking on a solo career. The music video for third single "
Freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...
" featured the duo while performing a concert in China; incidentally Wham! would become the first Western popular music act to tour China. The fourth single " Everything She Wants" was released as a double A-side with " Last Christmas"; "Last Christmas" would later appear on '' Music from the Edge of Heaven'', an album released only in North America and Japan.


Background and production

The album was mostly written and recorded at Studio Miraval in
Southern France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...
over a course of six weeks, beginning in early July 1984. This allowed Michael to escape press attention and work peacefully. According to
Andrew Ridgeley Andrew John Ridgeley (born 26 January 1963) is an English musician, best known for his work in the 1980s in the musical duo Wham! consisting of Ridgeley and George Michael. Associated with the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US, th ...
, the decision to record in the south of France was made largely due to tax reasons, as well as it being the ideal place for them to spend the summer due to the hot weather. Plus, it was one and a half hours away from London, and Michael "had to keep going back to do things for Careless Whisper". Like "Careless Whisper" and "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", most of the songs were recorded with a live rhythm section. The main album credits attribute it as having been mixed at Good Earth Studios in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
and Marcadet Studios in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. However, it turns out to be neither, as engineer Porter revealed: most of the album was mixed at Sarm West's Studio 2 (where "Careless Whisper" and "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" were recorded), with some mixing already completed at Studio Miraval.


Critical reception

''Make It Big'', Wham's second album, would see the duo score hit singles in the United States. Their first album ''Fantastic'' was a hit in the UK but failed to make an impact in the US. ''Make It Big'' received some positive reviews. Christopher Connelly from ''Rolling Stone'' wrote that the "music is an unabashed rehash of
Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...
", adding "''Make It Big'' is an almost flawless pop record, a record that does exactly what it wants to and has a great deal of fun doing it." In a retrospective review,
Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...
from
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
writes, "They succeeded on a grander scale than they ever could have imagined, conquering the world and elsewhere with this effervescent set of giddy new wave pop-soul." '' Billboard'' magazine described the album as "a one-two punch", while ''
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'' described its sound as "less tense, more tuneful".


Track listing


Personnel

Wham! *
George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...
– lead vocals, backing vocals; Roland Juno-60 (2), LinnDrum (2), keyboards (3) *
Andrew Ridgeley Andrew John Ridgeley (born 26 January 1963) is an English musician, best known for his work in the 1980s in the musical duo Wham! consisting of Ridgeley and George Michael. Associated with the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US, th ...
– electric guitars, backing vocals; acoustic guitar (8) Additional musicians * Tommy Eyre – keyboards (1, 4–7) *
Andy Richards Andrew John Richards (born 26 October 1952) is an English pianist, Film score, composer, music producer and keyboardist. Richards has played with artists including Frankie Goes to Hollywood, George Michael, Propaganda (band), Propaganda, Grace ...
– keyboards (8) * Anne Dudley – additional keyboards * Tom Herries – additional keyboards * Hugh Burns – electric and acoustic guitars * Deon Estus – bass guitar * Trevor Murrell – drums; LinnDrum (1) * Danny Cummings – percussion * David Baptiste – alto saxophone * Steve Gregory – tenor saxophone (8) * Colin Graham – trumpet * Paul Spong – trumpet * Pepsi & Shirlie – backing vocals


Production

* George Michael – producer, arrangements * Chris Porter – engineer * Paul Gomersall – assistant engineer * P/S/A – design * Tony McGee – photography


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Decade-end charts


Certifications and sales


Tour

Wham! embarked on a world tour to promote the album in December 1984, opening at Whitley Bay's Ice Rink, before going on to dates in
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, United Kingdom,
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, ending in April 1985 at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Canton.


References

{{Authority control 1984 albums Wham! albums Columbia Records albums Epic Records albums Albums recorded at Miraval Studios