Rock Docs Podcast: WHAM!, with guest Candice Eley

Rock Docs returns this week with a discussion about one of the biggest if short-lived bands of the 1980s: Wham! Chris Smith’s WHAM!, documenting the story of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley’s massively successful pop project, was recently released on Netflix, covering everything from the duo’s short-lived teenage ska band up to their final performance at Wembley Stadium in 1986 to an audience of 70,000 people.

A sweet film about two best friends as much as it is about a band, WHAM! features the voices of both Ridgeley and Michael to tell the story of how they met, began making music together, and in a relatively short period became huge stars. It follows them from their earliest homemade demos through early hits with “Wham! Rap” and eventually into George Michael emerging as a star in his own right, eventually eclipsing the group itself. It’s full of great, candid insights and great music as well as some pretty wild fashion choices.

The guest on Rock Docs this week is Treble’s own marketing and business manager Candice Eley, who previously joined the crew for a discussion on Hype! in 2021. (She only does docs with exclamation points.) Among those topics of discussion: Was George Michael the Steely Dan of ’80s pop? Find out more on this week’s episode. Listen below, and check out the trailer for the doc as well.

Plus read our recent Treble 100 essay on George Michael’s Listen Without Prejudice: Vol. 1.