Monday, April 12, 2021

Musical Monday - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go by Wham!


#1 on the Billboard Hot 100: November 17, 1984 through December 1, 1984.
#1 on the Cash Box Top 100: November 24, 1984 through December 1, 1984.
#1 on the U.K. Chart: June 2, 1984 through June 9, 1984.

Peppy dance beat? Check.

Mostly meaningless lyrics? Check.

Goofy dance moves? Check.

Big, brightly colored clothes? Check.
.
Ridiculously short shorts? Check.

Black light sequence? Check.

I am starting to think that between Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Duran Duran, Prince, and so on, 1984 may have been peak 1980s. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go is pretty much a prime example of the music and music videos of the era. Peppy, poppy, with performers in shirts shouting slogans in big letters who are also wearing brightly colored fingerless gloves, and just generally over the top, the song and video are more or less symbolic of the era. As Deadpool says in the movie Deadpool, Wham! earned their exclamation point.

Previous Musical Monday: Let's Hear it for the Boy by Denice Williams
Subsequent Musical Monday: Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper

Previous #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Caribbean Queen (No More Love On the Run) by Billy Ocean
Subsequent #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Out of Touch by Hall and Oates

Previous #1 on the Cash Box Top 100: Purple Rain by Prince
Subsequent #1 on the Cash Box Top 100: I Feel for You by Chaka Khan

Previous #1 on the U.K. Chart: The Reflex by Duran Duran
Subsequent #1 on the U.K. Chart: Two Tribes by Frankie Goes to Hollywood

List of #1 Singles from the Billboard Hot 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles from the Cash Box Top 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles on the U.K. Chart for 1980-1989

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