Fantastic (Wham! album)

Fantastic is the debut studio album by English pop duo Wham!, released on 1 July 1983.[4] 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!
Released1 July 1983
Recorded1982–1983
StudioMaison Rouge (London)[1]
Genre
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 (UK)
    January 1983 (Special U.S. Re-Mix)
  2. "Young Guns (Go for It)"
    Released: September 1982
  3. "Bad Boys"
    Released: May 1983
  4. "Club Tropicana"
    Released: July 1983
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Rolling Stone[3]

According to Andrew Ridgeley in his 2019 book Wham! George and Me, it was during the early stages of writing and recording of this album that the pair agreed that George Michael should take sole responsibility for writing the group's material. Before securing their first record deal, they had written songs together, and made their first demos with these songs. When work started in the studio, Michael—according to Ridgeley—started working "at lightning speed", and it quickly became clear that he was by far the better songwriter. Ridgeley would later say that it was not something that he particularly wanted, but there was no doubt it was the way to go to achieve the success they both wanted.[6] Two new songs, "Golden Soul" and "Soul Boy", were written by Michael and Ridgeley for the album but both were shelved as "neither of them were any good".[7] They were replaced by tracks written and arranged by Michael.

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

All tracks are written by George Michael, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Bad Boys" 3:19
2."A Ray of Sunshine" 4:43
3."Love Machine"
3:19
4."Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)"
6:41
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Club Tropicana"
  • Michael
  • Ridgeley
4:28
2."Nothing Looks the Same in the Light" 5:53
3."Come On" 4:24
4."Young Guns (Go for It!)" 3:55
Total length:36:42

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
Total length:52:30

Personnel

Wham!

  • George Michael – lead vocals (1–4, 7, 8), backing vocals (1–3), arrangements (4–7), all vocals (5, 6), horn arrangements (5), instruments (6)
  • Andrew Ridgeley – guitars (1–5, 7, 8), arrangements (4)

Additional musicians

  • Jess Bailey – keyboards (1)
  • Anne Dudley – keyboards (1, 8)
  • Tommy Eyre – keyboards (2, 3, 5, 7)
  • Bob Carter – keyboards (4)
  • Robert Ahwai – guitars (1–3, 7, 8)
  • Deon Estus – bass (1–3, 5, 7), backing vocals (1)
  • John McKenzie – bass (4)
  • Brad Lang – bass (8)
  • Trevor Murrell – drums (1–3, 5, 6)
  • Andy Duncan – drums (4), percussion (4, 5)
  • Graham Broad – drums (7, 8)
  • Luís Jardim – percussion (1, 3)
  • Tony Moroni – percussion (2)
  • Jeff Daly – saxophones (1)
  • David Baptiste – saxophones (2, 3, 7)
  • Chris Hunter – saxophones (4)
  • Ian Ritchie – saxophones (5), horn arrangements (5)
  • Andy Mackintosh – saxophones (8)
  • Paul Cox – trumpet (1)
  • Martin Drover – trumpet (1)
  • Colin Graham – trumpet (2, 3, 7)
  • Raul D'Oliveria – trumpet (2, 3, 7)
  • Guy Barker – trumpet (4)
  • Roddy Lorimer – trumpet (5)
  • Bert Ezard – trumpet (8)
  • J. Healey – trumpet (8)
  • Linton Ace – string arrangements (3)
  • Dee C. Lee – backing vocals (1, 8)
  • Ruby Mason – backing vocals (1)
  • Jimmy Chambers – backing vocals (3)
  • George Chandler – backing vocals (3)
  • Tony Jackson – backing vocals (3)
  • Katie Kissoon – backing vocals (7)
  • Stevie Lange – backing vocals (7)
  • Sylvia Mason-James – backing vocals (7)
  • Lynda Hayes – backing vocals (8)
  • Shirlie Holliman – backing vocals (8)
  • Josie James – backing vocals (8)

Shouting on "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?)"

  • Bob Carter, George Michael, David Mortimer, Andrew Ridgeley and Paul Ridgeley

Handclaps on "Club Tropicana"

  • Deon Estus, Steve Evans, George Michael, Andrew Ridgeley and Phil Wilcox

Production
  • George Michael – producer (1–3, 5–8)
  • Steve Brown – producer (1–3, 5–8)
  • Bob Carter – producer (4)
  • Tony Taverner – engineer
  • Wham! – cover design
  • Shoot That Tiger! – cover design
  • Chris Craymer – front cover photography, inner sleeve photography
  • Janusz Guttner – inner sleeve photography

Charts

Certifications and sales
Certifications and sales for Fantastic
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Japan — 218,000[23]
Netherlands (NVPI)[24] Gold 50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[25] Platinum 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] 3× Platinum 900,000^
United States (RIAA)[27] 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, and ending in November at the Centre in Brighton.

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 June 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. AllMusic review
  3. Rolling Stone review
  4. "BPI certifications".
  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. 182. ISBN 9780241385807.
  7. Ridgeley, Andrew (2019). Wham! George & Me (First ed.). Penguin. p. 184. ISBN 9780241385807.
  8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. "Dutchcharts.nl – Wham! – Fantastic" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  10. Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Wham!". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 280. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  11. "Offiziellecharts.de – Wham! – Fantastic" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  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". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  14. "Norwegiancharts.com – Wham! – Fantastic". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  15. "Swedishcharts.com – Wham! – Fantastic". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  16. "Swisscharts.com – Wham! – Fantastic". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  17. "Wham! | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  18. "Wham! Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  19. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1983. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  20. "Top Selling Albums of 1983 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  21. "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  22. "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.
  23. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  24. "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. Select 1984 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  25. "New Zealand album certifications – Wham! – Fantastic". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  26. "British album certifications – Wham – Fantastic". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  27. "American album certifications – Wham – Fantastic". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
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