Wham's Andrew Ridgeley Opens Up About The Last Time He Saw George Michael

Wham! co-founder Andrew Ridgeley is speaking out about the last time he saw his old bandmate, George Michael, before the pop icon’s death in 2016 at the age of 53.

The two played together ― but not music. 

It was Scrabble.  

Ridgeley told People that Michael was a “big fan” of the classic word game and the two played regularly. 

“He’d beaten me the week before, and I was exacting my revenge,” he told the magazine. “It took us right back to just ... the essence of our schoolboy friendship and one-upmanship. It was a game that stimulated him, and me also.”

A few months later, Michael would be found dead from a heart condition. 

Wham! was one of the biggest acts of the 1980s, cranking out a series of hit records and music videos before their breakup in 1986. Michael would continue to create pop hits, and is being inducted posthumously into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame later this year. 

In addition to his body of work, the Hall of Fame said Michael was being honored for “paving the way for a generation of proud LGBTQIA+ artists, from Sam Smith to Lil Nas X to Troye Sivan.” 

Netflix is releasing a documentary about Wham! on Wednesday, titled “WHAM!”  

Ridgeley also briefly touched on the Scrabble game during a 2019 interview: