Make It Big

This article is about the album by Wham!. For the song sung by the Beach Boys, see Make It Big (song). For the film, see Make It Big (film).

Make It Big is the second studio album by English pop duo Wham!, released in 1984. In comparison to their earlier work, Wham! (George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley) had more control over the album's production and Michael would also be credited as a producer. The album was a commercial success, hitting number one in both the US and the UK and spawning four singles, all reaching the top three in the US and the UK. Make It Big was certified 4× platinum in the US during the time of its release, and has since been certified 6× platinum in the US.^[5] In March 2024, Make It Big was reissued on vinyl for the first time in 30 years.^[6]

Make It Big
Studio album by Wham!
Released	22 October 1984 (1984-10-22) (US)[1] 5 November 1984 (1984-11-05) (UK)[2]
Recorded	1984
Studio	Studio Miraval (France) Sarm West (London)[3]
Genre	Pop new wave[4] pop-soul
Length	38:02
Label	Epic (UK) Columbia (US)
Producer	George Michael
Wham! chronology
Fantastic (1983) Make It Big (1984) Music from the Edge of Heaven (1986)
Alternative cover
Album cover in North America
Singles from Make It Big
"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" Released: 14 May 1984 "Careless Whisper" Released: 23 July 1984 "Freedom" Released: 1 October 1984 "Everything She Wants" Released: 3 December 1984

The music video for single "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" had the duo in shirts that read Choose Life. It would be the first of several hits from the album. The second single "Careless Whisper" is technically a Wham! song as it appears on the Wham! album Make It Big. However, when released as a single, it was credited either to Wham! featuring George Michael (in North America and several other countries) or solely to George Michael (in the United Kingdom and some European countries) as it became apparent, that at some point in the near future, Michael would be embarking on a solo career. The music video for third single "Freedom" featured the duo while performing a concert in China; incidentally Wham! would become the first Western popular music act to tour China. The fourth single "Everything She Wants" was released as a double A-side with "Last Christmas"; "Last Christmas" would later appear on Music from the Edge of Heaven, an album released only in North America and Japan.

Background and production

The album was mostly written and recorded at Studio Miraval in Southern France over a course of six weeks,^[3] beginning in early July 1984.^[7] This allowed Michael to escape press attention and work peacefully. According to Andrew Ridgeley, the decision to record in the south of France was made largely due to tax reasons, as well as it being the ideal place for them to spend the summer due to the hot weather.^[8] Plus, it was one and a half hours away from London, and Michael "had to keep going back to do things for Careless Whisper".^[8] Like "Careless Whisper" and "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", most of the songs were recorded with a live rhythm section.^[3]

The main album credits attribute it as having been mixed at Good Earth Studios in London and Marcadet Studios in Paris.^[9] However, it turns out to be neither, as engineer Porter revealed: most of the album was mixed at Sarm West's Studio 2 (where "Careless Whisper" and "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" were recorded), with some mixing already completed at Studio Miraval.^[10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
Robert Christgau	B[12]
Rolling Stone	[13]
Record Mirror	[14]

Make It Big, Wham's second album, would see the duo score hit singles in the United States. Their first album Fantastic was a hit in the UK but failed to make an impact in the US. Make It Big received some positive reviews. Christopher Connelly from Rolling Stone wrote that the "music is an unabashed rehash of Motown", adding "Make It Big is an almost flawless pop record, a record that does exactly what it wants to and has a great deal of fun doing it."^[13] In a retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic writes, "They succeeded on a grander scale than they ever could have imagined, conquering the world and elsewhere with this effervescent set of giddy new wave pop-soul."^[11] Billboard magazine described as "a one-two punch.,^[15] Cashbox gave a positive review and described as "less tense, more tuneful, & Dance rhythms"^[16]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"	3:50
2.	"Everything She Wants"	5:01
3.	"Heartbeat"	4:42
4.	"Like a Baby"	4:12

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

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
5.	"Freedom"		5:01
6.	"If You Were There"	Ernie Isley Marvin Isley Chris Jasper	3:38
7.	"Credit Card Baby"		5:08
8.	"Careless Whisper"	George Michael Andrew Ridgeley	6:30
Total length:			38:02

Personnel

Wham!

• George Michael – lead vocals, backing vocals; Roland Juno-60 (2), LinnDrum (2), keyboards (3)
• Andrew Ridgeley – electric guitars, backing vocals; acoustic guitar (8)

Additional musicians

• Tommy Eyre – keyboards (1, 4–7)
• Andy Richards – keyboards (8)
• Anne Dudley – additional keyboards
• Tom Herries – additional keyboards
• Hugh Burns – electric and acoustic guitars
• Deon Estus – bass guitar
• Trevor Murrell – drums; LinnDrum (1)
• Danny Cummings – percussion
• David Baptiste – alto saxophone
• Steve Gregory – tenor saxophone (8)
• Colin Graham – trumpet
• Paul Spong – trumpet
• Pepsi & Shirlie – backing vocals

Production

• George Michael – producer, arrangements
• Chris Porter – engineer
• Paul Gomersall – assistant engineer
• P/S/A – design
• Tony McGee – photography

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Make It Big Chart (1984–85) Peak position Australian Kent Music Report[17] 1 Austrian Albums Chart[18] 4 Canadian RPM Albums Chart[19] 1 Dutch Albums Chart[20] 1 European Top 100 Albums[21] 1 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[22] 1 Italian M&D Albums Chart[23] 1 Japanese LPs Charts (Oricon[24] and Music Labo)[25] 1 New Zealand Albums Chart[26] 1 Norwegian Albums Chart[27] 1 Swedish Albums Chart[28] 3 Swiss Albums Chart[29] 1 UK Albums Chart[30] 1 US Billboard 200[31] 1 US Billboard Top R&B Albums[31] 20 West German Albums Chart[32] 5 Chart (2024) Peak position Greek Albums (IFPI)[33] 73 Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ)[34] 21

Year-end charts 1984 year-end chart performance for "Make It Big" Chart (1984) Position Australian Albums Chart 55 Canadian Albums Chart[35] 44 French Albums Chart[36] 19 UK Albums Chart[37] 4 1985 year-end chart performance for "Make It Big" Chart (1985) Position Australian Albums Chart[17] 20 Austrian Albums Chart[38] 13 Canadian Albums Chart[39] 8 Japanese Albums Chart[40] 2 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[41] 19 Swiss Albums Chart[42] 14 UK Albums Chart[37] 18 US Billboard 200[43] 4 Decade-end charts 1980s end chart performance for "Make It Big" Chart (1980s) Position Japanese Albums Chart[24] 21 UK Albums Chart[44] 18

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Make It Big

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[45]	Platinum	70,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[46]	6× Platinum	600,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[47]	Gold	10,000‡
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[48]	Platinum	53,465[48]
France (SNEP)[49]	2× Gold	200,000*
Germany (BVMI)[50]	Gold	250,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[51]	Platinum	20,000*
Japan (Oricon Charts)	—	821,000[24]
Netherlands (NVPI)[52]	Platinum	100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[53]	Platinum	15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[54]	4× Platinum	1,300,000[55]
United States (RIAA)[56]	6× Platinum	6,000,000^
Summaries
Worldwide	—	10,000,000[57]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

The Big Tour

Main article: The Big Tour

Wham! embarked on a world tour to promote the album in December 1984, opening at Whitley Bay's Ice Rink, before going on to dates in Japan, Australia, United States, United Kingdom, Hong Kong and China, ending in April 1985 at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Canton.