Bidding for this lot will end on Friday, November 10th. The auction will begin at 3:00PM BST and lots are sold sequentially via live auctioneer; tune in to the live streaming broadcast on auction day to follow the pace. Note other lots in the auction may close on Thursday, November 9th, Saturday, November 11th or Sunday, November 12th.
A CD of the original Wham! demo recorded in 1982 by producer Paul Mex. The four-track master demo was recorded on a TEAC 144 4-track recorder in the lounge of Andrew Ridgeley's family home. It was the very first recording the pop duo ever made as Wham!, and it helped them secure a record contract with Innervision Records. Parts of the demo can be heard in Chris Smith's Netflix documentary Wham!.
Mex discovered the multi-track master demo cassette in his collection and gave it to George Michael in 1998, but not before archiving it digitally on a hard drive, which he kept private for many years, before transferring it to this one-off CD for safe-keeping. The demo has never been fully released to the public.
The CD includes the tracks "Careless Whisper" and "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)", and Mex added acapella versions of both songs for his own enjoyment. The lyrics in these early versions differ slightly from the released versions. The lot comes in a white card sleeve, with details of the recording printed on the front, and the tracklist and credits on the back. Dimensions: 12.5 cm x 12.5 cm x 0.5 cm (5" x 5" x 1/4")
Sold without copyright; see notice in the Buyer's Guide.
Additional Information:
George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley sent around 25 cassette copies of the demo to record companies at the beginning of 1982, hoping to secure a deal. This initially yielded no results until Mark Dean at Innervision Records finally took them on. None of those cassettes are known to have survived. Production company Ventureland searched extensively for a copy of the demo for the Netflix documentary, spending months scouring George's homes for the four-track master that Mex gave him in 1998, but to no avail. Ridgeley provided the solution when he suggested that Mex may have kept a copy.
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California
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This item is located in Los Angeles.
All prices displayed are exclusive of sales taxes, although the US States below may be required to pay sales tax on their order following the Wayfair ruling; these will be calculated at checkout.
Arizona
California
Illinois
Kansas
Michigan
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Utah
Washington
Wisconsin
All conversions presented are approximate. You will be charged in US Dollars (USD$).
Prices do not include shipping and handling or any local taxes and duties that may be applied by your local government.
This item lives in our UK office.
All £ prices include sales tax (VAT) of 20.00% for clients within the UK or NI. An “M” indicates the item is sold under the margin scheme for collector’s items so no VAT is due, except to clients within NI. All € and $ prices are exclusive of VAT.
Due to the Wayfair Ruling, some US States may be required to pay sales tax. Conversions are approximate and you’ll be charged in UK Sterling (GBP£). Prices do not include shipping, handling or any local taxes. Duties may also be applied by your local government.
This item lives in our US office.
All prices are exclusive of sales taxes. Due to the Wayfair Ruling, some US States may be required to pay sales tax. If that’s the case, we’ll calculate the total at checkout. Conversions are approximate and you’ll be charged in US Dollars (USD$). Prices do not include shipping, handling or any local taxes. Duties may also be applied by your local government.
Incl. Buyer’s Premium
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