Fantastic (Wham! album)

Fantastic is the debut studio album by British pop duo Wham! released on 9 July 1983. It reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. It included the previously released singles "Young Guns", "Wham! Rap" and "Bad Boys". "Club Tropicana" was released as a single to coincide with the album's release. Although not on the album "Club Fantastic Megamix" (a medley of songs from the album) was released against the band's wishes by Innervision soon after Fantastic, and whilst they were in proceedings to leave the label.[5]

Fantastic
Studio album by
Wham!
ReleasedJuly 9, 1983[1]
Recorded1981–1983
StudioMaison Rouge Studios, London[2]
GenrePop, dance-pop, post-disco
Length36:42
Label
Producer
  • Steve Brown
  • George Michael
  • Bob Carter
Wham! chronology
Fantastic
(1983)		 Make It Big
(1984)
Singles from Fantastic
  1. "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)"
    Released: June 1982
  2. "Young Guns (Go for It)"
    Released: September 1982
  3. "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do) (US Re-Mix)"
    Released: January 1983
  4. "Bad Boys"
    Released: May 1983
  5. "Club Tropicana" b/w "Blue (Armed with Love)"
    Released: July 1983
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Rolling Stone[4]

Two songs, Golden Soul and Soul Boy, were written by George and Andrew for the album but both were shelved as 'neither of them were any good'.[6] According to Andrew Ridgeley in his 2019 book Wham! George and me it was during the writing and recording of this album that the pair realised how much stronger a songwriter George was, and they resolved amicably to let George take over all future Wham! songwriting duties in order to achieve the success they both wanted for the band.[7]

The album features a hidden track (played on a honky-tonk-style piano), after the final 20 seconds of "Young Guns (Go for It!)".

In the U.S., the album was originally released as the group "WHAM! U.K.", due to a conflict with a U.S. group with the same name (Columbia BFC-38911).

Track listing

Original
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Bad Boys"George Michael3:19
2."A Ray of Sunshine"Michael4:43
3."Love Machine"
3:19
4."Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)"
6:41
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."Club Tropicana"
  • Michael
  • Ridgeley
4:28
6."Nothing Looks the Same in the Light"Michael5:53
7."Come On"Michael4:24
8."Young Guns (Go for It!)"Michael3:55

Reissue

The track listing of the first edition of the CD and the original cassette tape feature three bonus tracks interspersed within the original track listing, consisting of instrumental remixes. This track listing was again used for the 1998 reissue of the CD.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Bad Boys"George Michael3:19
2."A Ray of Sunshine"Michael4:43
3."Love Machine"
3:19
4."Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)"
6:41
5."A Ray of Sunshine" (Instrumental Remix) 5:40
6."Love Machine" (Instrumental Remix) 3:28
7."Club Tropicana"
  • Michael
  • Ridgeley
4:28
8."Nothing Looks the Same in the Light"Michael5:53
9."Come On"Michael4:24
10."Young Guns (Go for It!)"Michael3:55
11."Nothing Looks the Same in the Light" (Instrumental Remix) 6:40

Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic.[8]

  • Raoul – horn
  • Robert Ahwai – guitar
  • Jess Bailey – keyboards
  • Baps – horn
  • Guy Barker – horn
  • Graham Broad – drums
  • Steve Brown – producer
  • Bob Carter – keyboards, producer
  • Jimmy Chambers – background vocals
  • George Chandler – background vocals
  • Paul Cox – horn
  • Chris Craymer – photography
  • Geoff Daley – horn
  • Martin Drover – horn
  • Anne Dudley – keyboards
  • Andy Duncan – drums, percussion
  • Deon Estus – bass
  • Tommy Eyre – keyboards
  • Colin Graham – horn
  • Janusz Guttner – photography
  • Linda Hayes – background vocals
  • Shirlie Holliman – background vocals
  • Chris Hunter – horn
  • Tony Jackson – background vocals
  • Josie James – background vocals
  • Luis Jardim – percussion
  • Katie Kissoon – background vocals
  • Brad Lang – bass
  • Stevie Lange – background vocals
  • D.C. Lee – background vocals
  • Roddy Lorimer – horn
  • John McKenzie – bass
  • Iain MacKintosh – horn
  • Sylvia Mason – background vocals
  • George Michael – producer, vocals, background vocals, keyboards on "Nothing Looks the Same in the Light"
  • Tony Moroni – percussion
  • Dave Mortimer – shouts
  • Trevor Murrell – drums
  • Andrew Ridgeley – guitar, vocals, backing vocals
  • Paul Ridgeley – guitar, shouts
  • Ian Ritchie – horn
  • Tony Taverner – engineer[9]
  • George Michael, Andrew Ridgeley, Deon Estus, Phil Wilcox, Steve Evans - background claps on "Club Tropicana"

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Japan — 218,000[22]
Netherlands (NVPI)[23] Gold 50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[24] Platinum 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[25] 3× Platinum 900,000^
United States (RIAA)[26] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Club Fantastic Tour
Main article: Club Fantastic Tour

Michael and Ridgeley embarked on a UK tour to promote the album in October 1983, opening at Aberdeen's Capitol Theatre, before going on to dates in Scotland, England and Wales ending in November at the Centre in Brighton.

See also

References
  1. https://www.wham-collection.dk/kopi-af-freedom-japan-promo
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 June 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. Allmusic review
  4. Rolling Stone review
  5. Davis, S. (2012). 80s Chart-Toppers: Every Chart-Topper Tells a Story. Mainstream Publishing. p. 264. ISBN 978-1-78057-411-0. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  6. Ridgeley, Andrew (2019). Wham! George & Me (First ed.). Penguin. p. 184. ISBN 9780241385807.
  7. Ridgeley, Andrew (2019). Wham! George & Me (First ed.). Penguin. p. 182. ISBN 9780241385807.
  8. "Fantastic – Wham! | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  9. "Tony Taverner: Sensible Studios". Sound On Sound. April 1998. Archived from the original on 8 June 2015.
  10. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. "dutchcharts.nl Wham! – Fantastic". dutchcharts.nl. MegaCharts. Archived from the original on 30 April 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  12. "Yamachan Land (Japanese Chart Archives) – Albums Chart Daijiten – Wham!" (in Japanese). Original Confidence. 30 December 2007. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  13. "charts.nz Wham! – Fantastic" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  14. "norwegiancharts.com Wham! – Fantastic". Hung Medien. VG-lista. Archived from the original (ASP) on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  15. "swedishcharts.com Wham! – Fantastic" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  16. "Wham! – Fantastic – hitparade.ch". Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Archived from the original (ASP) on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  17. "The Official Charts Company – Wham! – Fantastic" (PHP). Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  18. "allmusic ((( Fantastic > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  19. "Album Search: Wham! – Fantastic" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  20. "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  21. "日本で売れた洋楽アルバムトップ10 (Top-ten international albums on the Japanese Oricon Year-End Charts 1984". Archived from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved 21 October 2007.
  22. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  23. "Dutch album certifications – Wham – Fantastic" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 14 October 2018. Enter Fantastic in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  24. "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  25. "British album certifications – Wham – Fantastic". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 26 February 2012. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Fantastic in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  26. "American album certifications – Wham – Fantastic". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 26 February 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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