| Andrew Ridgeley | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Andrew John Ridgeley |
| Born | 26 January 1963 Windlesham, Surrey, England |
| Genres | Pop, Rock |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, musician, producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1981–1990 |
| Labels | Columbia/Epic, Innervision |
| Associated acts | Wham! |
Andrew John Ridgeley (born 26 January 1963) is an English pop singer, guitarist and environmentalist. Andrew was a member (with George Michael) of the 1980s pop music duo Wham!
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Ridgeley was born in Windlesham, Surrey to Jennipher and Albert Ridgeley. His late mother was British and his father is Egyptian-Italian. Ridgeley grew up in Bushey, Hertfordshire, and attended Bushey Meads School. His mother was a schoolteacher at Bushey Heath Primary School and his father worked for Kodak. When George Michael was enrolled at the school, Ridgeley volunteered to take him under his wing.[citation needed] After years of playing in various music groups, Michael and Ridgeley formed Wham! They then approached various record labels with a homemade tape (which took ten minutes to record in Ridgeley's living room), and signed with Innervision Records.
Wham! went on to enjoy worldwide success between 1982 and 1986. They made their U.S. debut appearance on Dick Clark's American Bandstand but broke-up in late 1986, whereupon Ridgeley moved to Monaco and tried his hand at Formula Three motor racing. Meeting with little success, Ridgeley moved to Los Angeles in pursuit of a career in acting. He returned to England permanently in 1990.
CBS Records (later Sony Music), having taken up the option on Wham!'s contract that specified solo albums from Michael and Ridgeley, released a guitar and drum driven solo recording from Ridgeley, Son of Albert, in 1990. His brother Paul--ab occasional percussionist for Bananarama--played drums on the album. Singles included "Shake" and "Red Dress". CBS passed up the option of a second album. Reportedly after retiring from active music-making, Ridgeley still remained active in music-writing under various pseudonyms.[citation needed]
Ridgeley began surfing in the early 1990s. While surfing with his brother off the coast of England, both men contracted a waterborne illness from the raw sewage being discharged from a nearby pipe. After recovering from his illness, Ridgeley gave an interview to The Times. He went on to become a prominent environmentalist in the cause of water quality at English surfing beaches and riverways, working with the UK charity, Surfers Against Sewage.[1]
Ridgeley is a partner in an English business that makes surfing equipment. He lends his name and donates money to help pass laws against the discharge of raw sewage in UK offshore waters. Ridgeley's and SAS's efforts enjoyed success in recent years, having influence upon numerous safe sewage laws that have virtually eliminated E. coli illness and deaths in the UK.[citation needed]
Ridgeley now lives in Cornwall, United Kingdom, in a restored 15th century farm property with his wife Keren Woodward[2] of the pop group Bananarama. The majority of his spare time is taken up by golf and he is a keen member of a local club where he plays off a handicap of 12; other interests include drinking real ale (he is a member of CAMRA).
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