wham! were an english pop duo consisting of george michael and andrew ridgeley, formed in london in 1981. they became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling more than 30 million certified records worldwide from 1982 to 1986. influenced by funk and soul music and presenting themselves as disaffected youth, wham!'s 1983 debut album "fantastic" addressed the united kingdom's unemployment problem and teen angst over adulthood.