Make It Big is the second and final studio album from British pop duo Wham!, released in 1984. In comparison to their earlier work, Wham! (George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley) 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 five in the US and the UK.

Make It Big
Studio album by Wham!
Released	5 November 1984 (1984-11-05) (UK)
Recorded	1984
Studio	Studio Miraval, France; Sarm West, London;[1]
Genre	Pop new wave pop-soul
Length	38:02
Label	Epic (UK) Columbia (US)
Producer	George Michael
Wham! chronology
Fantastic (1983) Make It Big (1984) The Final (1986)
Alternative cover
Album cover in North America
Singles from Make It Big
"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" Released: May 1984 "Careless Whisper" Released: July 1984 "Freedom" Released: October 1984 "Everything She Wants" Released: December 1984

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Robert Christgau	B[3]
Rolling Stone	[4]

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. Second single "Careless Whisper" is technically a Wham! song as it appears on the Wham! album Make It Big. Later, however, when released as a single, it was credited as Wham! featuring George Michael in North America and several other countries. In the UK and some European countries, the single was credited as George Michael as it became apparent, that at some point in the near future, Michael would be embarking on a solo career. In the UK, the label decided to release this single under Michael's name (although technically a Wham! song) as that would be a step in the direction of a future solo career. The music video for third single "Freedom" featured the duo while performing a concert in China; incidentally Wham! would become the first Western popular music act to tour China. Fourth single "Everything She Wants" was released as a double A-side with "Last Christmas"; "Last Christmas" would later appear on the next album Music from the Edge of Heaven, that album being released only in North America and Japan.

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.[5]

Background and production

The album was mostly written and recorded at Studio Miraval in Southern France over a course of six weeks,[1] beginning in early July 1984.[6] This allowed Michael to escape press attention and work peacefully. According to Andrew Ridgeley, 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.[7] Plus, it was 1 and a half hour away from London, and Michael "had to keep going back to do things for Careless Whisper".[7] Like "Careless Whisper" and "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", most of the songs were recorded with a live rhythm section.[1]

The main album credits attribute it as having been mixed at Good Earth Studios in London and Marcadet Studios in Paris.[8] 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.[9]

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", 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."[4] In a retrospective review Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic 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."[2]

Track listing

Personnel

Wham!

• George Michael – lead vocals, backing vocals, keyboards (2, 3), LinnDrum (2)
• Andrew Ridgeley – electric guitars, backing vocals

Additional musicians

• Tommy Eyre – keyboards (1, 4–7)
• Andy Richards – keyboards (8)
• Anne Dudley – additional keyboards
• Tom Herries – additional keyboards
• Hugh Burns – electric guitars, acoustic guitar
• Deon Estus – bass
• 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

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Make It Big

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[36]	6× Platinum	600,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[37]	Gold	10,000
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[38]	Platinum	53,465[38]
France (SNEP)[39]	2× Gold	200,000*
Germany (BVMI)[40]	Gold	250,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[41]	Platinum	20,000*
Japan (Oricon Charts)	—	821,000[18]
Netherlands (NVPI)[42]	Platinum	100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[43]	Platinum	15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[44]	4× Platinum	1,300,000[45]
United States (RIAA)[46]	6× Platinum	6,000,000^
Summaries
Worldwide	—	10,000,000[47]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

The Big 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, Australia, United States, United Kingdom, Hong Kong and China, ending in April 1985 at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Canton.

See also

• Wham! discography

References

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