In a move that was as inevitable as it is unnecessary, I’ve decided that it’s about time I did a “blog post” featuring my five favourite songs by the popular beat combo that was Wham! and you can read it by running your eyeline across this sentence and all subsequent ones.

The thing about Wham! right, is that aside from knocking out more chartbangers than anyone could conceivably know what do with, was that they also made excellent use of an exclamation mark.

I suppose this is unrelated but if we had to rank bands that use exclamation marks it would probably go:

1. Wham!
2. Oh My!
3. Panic! At The Disco
4. Godspeed You! Black Emperor
5. !!!

Might do a top five of those at some point. Anyway here’s some massive songs by Wham! that I’ve put in an arbitrary list, seeing as they’re all 500% excellent.

5. Bad Boys

Just wrap your ears around the slap bass on this. Somewhere, probably in the eighties, Mark King was preparing a lawsuit with a well-callused thumb.

Imagine having a boogie down your local leisure centre/working men’s club to this rad jam. Go on, imagine it.

4. I’m Your Man

“If you’re going to do it right, right, do it with me” would look good as anyone’s epitaph. (Some excellent tambourine action from George in this one, as well.)

3. Young Guns (Go For It!)

The first (but by no means least) example of a well parenthesed song title from the boys from Wham! there. Even being called a sucker in the second word of the song (and then again in the ninth word) can’t offend the listener such is the wonder that is YG(GFI!) as literally no one has ever called it.

Also, it sounds a bit like Rapture by Blondie, v. good, would listen again.

2. Freedom

There are a number of big questions one can ask oneself these days regarding entropy, how long after going out of date it’s okay to drink UHT milk and who you ring to get more recycling bags at the council. None of these come anywhere close to the question of which is better – Freedom by Wham! or Freedom ‘90 by George Michael.

Well obviously it’s Freedom but some people just won’t be told. POP TRIVIA: the video for Freedom ‘90 was directed by popular film director David Fincher, but as far as I can tell he didn’t decapitate Gwyneth Paltrow for that one.

1. Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?)

Hey everybody, take a look at me. I’ve got street credibility. And so does this song. There aren’t many chirpier songs about going on the dole, and there certainly aren’t any better. I wrote in slightly more detail about this track in that blog I did about this track a while ago, so you can go read that if, for some reason, you are in need of more reasons why it’s one of the best songs in the history of the universe.

Those were the top five songs by Wham! Please feel free to go about your business as you were.