Make It Big

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Make It Big
Studio album by Wham!
Released 23 October 1984
Recorded July–September 1984
Genre New Wave, synthpop, post-disco, blue-eyed soul
Length 38:02
Label Columbia
CK-39595
Producer George Michael
Wham! chronology
Fantastic
(1983)
Make It Big
(1984)
Music from the Edge of Heaven
(1986)
Singles from Make It Big
  1. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
    Released: May 1984
  2. "Careless Whisper"
    Released: July 1984
  3. "Freedom"
    Released: August 1984
  4. "Everything She Wants"
    Released: December 1984
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4.5/5 stars[1]
Robert Christgau B[2]
Rolling Stone 4/5 stars[3]

Make It Big is the second album from British pop duo Wham!, released in 1984. The album was a critical and commercial success, hitting #1 in both the UK and the USA and spawning four singles, all topping the charts on both sides of the Atlantic.

Outside the U.S. "Careless Whisper" was credited as a George Michael solo effort upon its release as a single, while "Everything She Wants" was released as a double A-side with "Last Christmas" which would later appear on the following album Music from the Edge of Heaven.

It was certified 6× Platinum in the U.S. within weeks of the album's tenth anniversary.[4]

Contents

Track listing [edit]

CD [edit]

All songs written and composed by George Michael except where indicated. 

No. Title Writer(s) 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
5. "Freedom"     5:20
6. "If You Were There"   The Isley Brothers 3:38
7. "Credit Card Baby"     5:08
8. "Careless Whisper"   George Michael, Andrew Ridgeley 6:30
Total length:
38:02

LP and Cassette [edit]

All songs written and composed by George Michael except where indicated. 

Certifications [edit]

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[5] 6× Platinum 600,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[6] Platinum 53,465[6]
France (SNEP)[7] 2× Gold 429,500[8]
Germany (BVMI)[9] Gold 250,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[10] Platinum 20,000*
Japan (Oricon Charts) 821,000[11]
United Kingdom (BPI)[12] 4× Platinum 1,200,000^
United States (RIAA)[13] 6× Platinum 6,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Charts [edit]

Chart positions [edit]

Chart (1984–85) Peak
position
Australian Kent Music Report[14] 1
Austrian Albums Chart[15] 4
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[16] 1
Dutch Albums Chart[17] 1
European Top 100 Albums[18] 1
French SNEP Albums Chart[19] 5
Italian Albums Chart[20] 1
Japanese Oricon LP Chart[21] 1
New Zealand Albums Chart[22] 1
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[23] 1
Swedish Albums Chart[24] 3
Swiss Albums Chart[25] 1
UK Albums Chart[26] 1
U.S. Billboard 200[27] 1
West German Media Control Albums Chart[28] 5

Year-end charts [edit]

Chart (1984) Position
Australian Albums Chart[14] 55
Canadian Albums Chart[29] 44
French Albums Chart[30] 19
UK Albums Chart[31] 4
Chart (1985) Position
Australian Albums Chart[14] 20
Austrian Albums Chart[32] 13
Canadian Albums Chart[33] 8
Italian Albums Chart[20] 9
Japanese Albums Chart[34] 2
Swiss Albums Chart[35] 14
UK Albums Chart[31] 18
U.S. Billboard 200[36] 4

Decade-end charts [edit]

Chart (1980–89) Position
Japanese Albums Chart[11] 17

Personnel [edit]

  • Lead vocals: George Michael
  • Additional vocals: George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, Pepsi & Shirley
  • Acoustic guitar: Hugh Burns and Andrew Ridgeley
  • Bass guitar: Deon Estus
  • Drums: Trevor Morrell
  • Electric guitar: Hugh Burns and Andrew Ridgeley
  • Keyboards: Tommy Eyre, George Michael and Andy Richards, Anne Dudley
  • Percussion Danny Cummings
  • Saxophone: David Baptiste and Steve Gregory
  • Trumpet: Colin Graham and Paul Spong
  • Arranger: George Michael
  • Assistant engineer: Paul Gomersall
  • Engineer: Chris Porter
  • Photography: Tony McGee
  • Producer: George Michael

References [edit]

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ Robert Christgau review
  3. ^ Rolling Stone review
  4. ^ RIAA Certification for Make It Big
  5. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Wham – Make It Big". Music Canada. Retrieved 2012-02-26. 
  6. ^ a b "Finnish album certifications – Wham – Make It Big" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 2012-02-26. 
  7. ^ "French album certifications – Wham – Make It Big" (in French). InfoDisc.  Select WHAM and click OK
  8. ^ "Les Albums Double Or". infodisc.fr (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 2012-02-24. 
  9. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Wham; 'Make It Big')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 2012-02-26. 
  10. ^ "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1985". IFPI Hong Kong. 
  11. ^ a b Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9. 
  12. ^ "British album certifications – Wham – Make It Big". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2012-02-26.  Enter Make It Big in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
  13. ^ "American album certifications – Wham – Make It Big". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2012-02-26.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  14. ^ a b c Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. 
  15. ^ "austriancharts.at Wham! – Make It Big" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Retrieved 2012-02-26. 
  16. ^ Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2012-02-26
  17. ^ "dutchcharts.nl Wham! – Make It Big" (ASP). Hung Medien. MegaCharts. Retrieved 2012-02-26. 
  18. ^ "Europarade". Hitkrant (in Dutch) (Amsterdam: Nationale Hitkrant Productions) 9 (3). 1985-01-19. ISSN 0165-4942. 
  19. ^ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2012-02-26. Note: user must select 'WHAM !' from drop-down
  20. ^ a b "Hit Parade Italia - Gli album più venduti del 1985" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 2012-02-26. 
  21. ^ a-ワム! "Yamachan Land (Japanese Chart Archives) - Albums Chart Daijiten - Wham!" (in Japanese). Original Confidence. 2007-12-30. Retrieved 2012-02-26. 
  22. ^ "charts.org.nz Wham! – Make It Big" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2012-02-26. 
  23. ^ "norwegiancharts.com Wham! – Make It Big" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved 2012-02-26. 
  24. ^ "swedishcharts.com Wham! – Make It Big" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved 2012-02-26. 
  25. ^ "Wham! – Make It Big - hitparade.ch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved 2012-02-26. 
  26. ^ "Chart Stats - Wham! – Make It Big" (PHP). UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 2012-01-11. 
  27. ^ "allmusic ((( Make It Big > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2012-02-26. 
  28. ^ "Album Search: Wham! – Make It Big" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 2012-02-26. 
  29. ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1984". RPM. Retrieved 2012-02-26. 
  30. ^ "Les Albums (CD) de 1984 par InfoDisc" (PHP) (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2012-02-26. 
  31. ^ a b "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Retrieved 2012-02-26. 
  32. ^ "Austriancharts.at - Jahreshitparade 1985" (ASP) (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-08-01. 
  33. ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1985". RPM. Retrieved 2011-11-01. 
  34. ^ 1985年アルバム年間ヒットチャート "Japanese Year-End Albums Chart 1985" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2011-08-29. 
  35. ^ "Hitparade.ch - Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1985". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
  36. ^ "Billboard.BIZ - Year-end Charts - Billboard 200 - 1985". billboard.biz. Retrieved 2011-10-24.