Andrew John Ridgeley (born 26 January 1963)[1] is an English musician, best known for his work in the 1980s in the musical duo Wham!

Associated with the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US,[2] they were one of the most successful pop acts during the 1980s, selling more than 30 million certified records worldwide from 1982 to 1986.

[4] Ridgeley was born in Windlesham, Surrey,[1] to Jennifer Jill (née Dunlop) (1943–2009) and Alberto Mario Zacharia (1933–2015), who later changed his surname to Ridgeley; his mother was of English and Scottish descent and his father was Jewish of Italian, Yemeni and Egyptian descent; his father's family were expelled from Egypt as a result of the Suez Crisis.

[1] His mother was a schoolteacher at Bushey Heath Primary School while his father worked for Canon.

[11] In 1984, Ridgeley underwent surgery to have his septum straightened to improve his breathing after having broken his nose at age nine.

[12] After photos were published in British newspapers showing Ridgeley's bandaged face, Wham!

's manager, Simon Napier-Bell, fabricated a story that the bandages were the result of Ridgeley having been hit in the nose in a nightclub.

Toward this end, Napier-Bell devised a publicity scheme that he believed would turn them into major international stars: In April 1985, he took Wham!

With Michael keen to move into a more adult market, the duo broke up after a farewell concert dubbed "The Final" in front of 72,000 people at Wembley Stadium on 28 June 1986.

[17] Son of Albert sold poorly, failing to make the top 75 in the UK Albums Chart.

It was also one of the worst received albums of 1990 among critics, achieving only half a star in a savage Rolling Stone magazine review.

[22] He appeared as a studio guest on the first series of the BBC 2 programme Fantasy Football League in 1994,[23] and gave an on-camera interview for the first time since the split in a 2005 documentary, A Different Story, about the life of George Michael.

[22] Upon hearing of Michael's death on 25 December 2016, Ridgeley paid his respects on Twitter, saying, "Heartbroken at the loss of my beloved friend Yog.

"[25] Ridgeley performed a cameo role in Last Christmas, a 2019 film that featured many songs by Wham!