Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)

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"Wham Rap!"
Song

"Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)" is the debut single by British pop duo Wham! on Innervision Records, released in 1982. It was written by Wham! members George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.

Although rap was still an underground and almost exclusively American phenomenon in the early-1980s, as the title implies, Michael rapped a number of verses about the joys of living every day to the fullest, reveling in unemployment and celebrating government assistance from the Department of Health and Social Security (the initials "DHSS" are repeatedly chanted during the song). The explicitly political song flew in the face of the conventional British left-wing who were talking about the 'Right to work' at the time. The chorus asked the question "Do you enjoy what you do?", which brought about the bracketed section of the title. The video depicted Michael and Ridgeley in their leather jackets, combining their moody image with a bright, effervescent choreography.[1]

The song, which had been tentatively released in June 1982 when Wham! were unknown, and failed to make any impact, was re-issued in January 1983 after the duo had achieved their breakthrough with "Young Guns (Go for It!)". It subsequently reached #8 on the UK Singles Chart, the second of four hits from Wham!'s debut album Fantastic.

Uncharacteristically for Wham!, the Unsocial Mix of the song contains multiple repetitions of the swear words damn, bullshit, shit and crap. All versions include "don't need this crap". These lines were included to illustrate the band's then rebellious image, and future songs by Wham! would mostly refrain from using this type of language (although "Battlestations" does include an instance of 'bullshit'). Both the Social Mix and the Fantastic album version have different verses to the Unsocial Mix, thus there are three different sets of verse lyrics altogether. However, only the album version has appeared on CD.

A new remix of the song was made in 1986, combining some of the Unsocial Mix with the album version. This version, entitled "Wham! Rap '86", was released on their American and Japanese album Music from the Edge of Heaven, and as the B-side to "The Edge of Heaven" in the UK and Europe.

The original version of the song was used for the 1985 film drama Perfect from James Bridges, with John Travolta and Jamie Lee Curtis.

In September 2017, the '86 version of the song was used for H&M commercial starring Naomi Campbell.

Track listing

1982 release

All tracks are written by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley

7": Innervision (UK)
No.TitleLength
1."Wham Rap!"3:30
2."Wham Rap! (Club Mix)" (a.k.a Special Club Re-Mix, edited version of the 12" 'Social Mix')4:02
12": Innervision (UK)
No.TitleLength
1."Wham Rap! (Unsocial Mix)"6:36
2."Wham Rap! (Social Mix)"6:46
  • Note: Due to an error in labelling, the "Unsocial Mix" is listed as the single's A-side[2] despite Michael specifically referring to it as the B-side in the song's lyrics: "Hey, everybody, now listen to me/Cut the radio bullshit, this is side B."

1983 reissue

All tracks are written by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley

7": Innervision (UK)
No.TitleLength
1."Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do) (Special U.S. Remix Part 1)" (a.k.a. 'Special US Re-Mix')3:28
2."Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do) (Special U.S. Re-Mix Part 2)" (a.k.a. 'Special Club Re-Mix')3:10
12": Innervision (UK)
No.TitleLength
1."Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do) (Special US Re-Mix)" (a.k.a. 'Parts 1 and 2', identical to the Fantastic album version)6:43
2."Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do) (Special Club Re-Mix)" (a.k.a. 'Radio Version', same as the 7" version from the 1982 release)3:34

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1983) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[3] 9
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[4] 12
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[5] 9
Invalid chart entered Germany2 17
Ireland (IRMA)[6] 13
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[7] 18
UK Singles (OCC)[8] 8

References

  1. ^ Steele, Robert Careless Whispers: The Life & Career of George Michael Omnibus Press, 2011 Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  2. ^ "Wham Rap!". Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  3. ^ David Kent (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  4. ^ "Wham! – Wham Rap!" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  5. ^ "Wham! – Wham Rap!" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  6. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Wham Rap!". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  7. ^ "Wham! – Wham Rap!". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  8. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
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