80s pop legends releasing Netflix show about band and reissuing old albums for 40th anniversary
ANDREW RIDGELEY is marking the 40th anniversary of WHAM!’s debut album Fantastic with a Netflix documentary and the re-release their records.
The Eighties pop duo of Andrew and the late George Michael had six No1 singles including Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go and Last Christmas.
The docu is out on July 5 and a music insider said: “There are loads of things being lined up to celebrate Wham! for the 40th anniversary.
Andrew has been working with George’s estate to come up with ideas to honour the group’s legacy and one of those is the Netflix documentary.
“It features loads of unseen footage.
“There are still millions of Wham! fans around the world and it will be really special for them to hear the group’s stories because there’s lots in there that Andrew has never spoken about before.”
This week Wham also launched a TikTok channel to bring their music to a new generation.
Andrew said: “It’s truly heart-warming to know that the TikTok generation embrace Wham!’s vibrancy and its appeal to the young and youthful endures.”
Fat Tony: Sober is so good
HE stumbled through the Nineties in a blur of booze and drugs alongside best mates Kate Moss and Boy George.
But DJ Fat Tony, who was part of the infamous Primrose Hill set in London, says his bond with his friends has never been stronger now they are all clean and sober.
We met at the launch of his art exhibition, Church Halls And Broken Biscuits, in East London this week, which he’s worked on with artist Opake and is inspired by addiction.
Tony told me: “I have never met anyone who has done drugs successfully or anyone who has drunk alcoholically successfully.
“When you are in a group of friends and one person gets sober, you lead by example.
“When I got sober, suddenly Boy George got sober then everyone around you gets sober, as what they see is they see you living your best life and they think, ‘If they can do it, I can do it’.”
Tony, sober for 16 years, added: “My friendships are more real now. I am in the moment and that is the difference. Before. I was always somewhere else.”
The free exhibition at the Quantus Gallery runs until May 20.
Proceeds from sales go to help put members of the public through recovery.
Petras petrified of Nicki
KIM PETRAS was too starstruck to talk to Nicki Minaj when they sat next to each other at New York Fashion Week in 2018.
How things change in five years – their collaboration on new single Alone has had six million streams on Spotify since Friday.
Kim recalled on Nicki’s Queen Radio livestream: “I was way too nervous to say hi to you so I just sat and looked at the clothes. I can’t believe it, I was just freaking out.”
Nicki responded: “Me and you were sitting there together. I had no clue, Kim!”
During their chat, Cologne-born Kim also taught Nicki how to say her favourite sassy phrases in German, including “I’m a bad bitch”. Useful!
Kim’s a big tea-se
IT was all white on the night for Kim Kardashian after she revealed she used to dye her clothes with tea bags.
She wore this sleek dress alongside actress Salma Hayek at the Time 100 Gala in New York.
Doja Cat and showbiz couple Austin Butler and Kaia Gerber were also at the annual bash to honour the US magazine’s most influential people of the year.
During a talk, Kim told how she used to struggle to find underwear which matched her skin tone.
She said: “I’d put coffee and tea bags in the bathtub and put shapewear in. I’d cut them all up because the cuts weren’t right.
“I found one of my original ones and it was just so funny to look back and see what I would try to do.”
Mariah’s ‘wine’ ban
IF you ever spot Mariah Carey at a wine bar there’s something you should know.
Her former assistant shared how the singer created her own language when talking to him, with certain words being banned, including “wine”.
Matthew Stevens told TikTok: “I was her PA for two years and she sort of has her own language.
“So if Mariah asks you for a glass of wine, she is going to say ‘Matthew, can you bring me a splash’.”
The diva is also used to “not recognising time” and refers to her birthday as her “anniversary”.
Jessie to ‘take ‘em down’ with album
JESSIE WARE is going for gold with her fifth album, as she aims for her first No1.
The British singer wore this shiny dress at launch party in central London for the record That! Feels Good!, where she was joined by stars including Scissor Sisters singer Jake Shears and comic Alan Carr.
She used the opportunity to reveal she is eager to top the charts with the album, but admitted she has some stiff competition.
Jessie told the crowd on Wednesday: “Thank you to everyone who has supported me and who is continuing to support.
“Buy the record, please, because I really want to beat The National. I love The National but I want to f***ing take them down.
“And there’s a band called The Lottery Winners, so we have The National Lottery Winners this week.
“I want to take all these f***ers down. Please buy the record. It’s all fair in love and war.”
JESS GLYNNE’s comeback single Silly Me is about reflecting on “stupid things” she has done in the past.
The Hold My Hand singer explained: “I’m human and I’ve lived. I’ve done good things, I’ve done stupid things.
“I can look back and go, ‘I have learned from everything I’ve done’ But I can also laugh at myself. That’s super-important.”
On her upcoming as-yet untitled third album, she told Rolling Stone UK: “I am a woman and I want to be sexy and I want to be fun. I want to be honest and I want to be vulnerable (in my music). And I can do all those things. Because I’ve done all of those [things].”
Silly Me is out today, as is The Gaslight Anthem’s Positive Charge, Miguel’s single Give It Me and Conor Maynard’s Storage, which will feature on the EP +11 Hours, out on June 9.