Wham Club Fantastic Tour

Club Fantastic Tour (also advertised as Club Fantastic ‘83 Tour) was the debut concert tour by English musical duo Wham!, launched in support of their first studio album Fantastic (1983). It was sponsored by Fila sportswear and spanned two months from October to late November, comprising 30 sold out shows across England, Scotland and Wales.

Wham! announced a tour in August. Their co-manager Simon Napier-Bell had a plan to raise some revenue; if little money was to be made from records, then it was time for the duo to get on the road, with a 30-date tour of the UK. He managed to get a £50,000 sponsorship deal with the sportswear manufacturer Fila, with George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley wearing the company's clothing on stage throughout the tour.

Halfway through the tour Michael lost his voice and had to cancel ten consecutive shows with concerts pushed back and rescheduled.

The show started with Michael entering the stage right-side in yellow Fila sports gear, and Ridgeley entering the stage left-side in red Fila sports gear while the band played "Bad Boys". Pepsi and Shirlie, backing singers and dancers, ran on stage for "Club Tropicana".

Ridgeley then announced the next song, "Blue", a slow love ballad. He held a plectrum in his mouth and shook hands. They then sang "Wham Rap!", dancing as a foursome. They continued with "A Ray Of Sunshine", which ended the first part of the set.

During the break a screen appeared and the crowd were shown family photos such as Ridgeley in pyjamas, and a young Michael in glasses. A mixed compilation of the group's music videos was played.

Then Michael sang "Careless Whisper" to a backing track on his own. He and Ridgeley changed into white Wham! singlet T-shirts and sang "Bad Boys". "Love Machine" followed, then "Nothing Looks The Same In The Light". "Come On" ended the set, with the two playing a mock game of badminton, occasionally whacking a shuttlecock out to the crowd.

The encore was "Young Guns" with the duo wearing camp cowboy outfits, "Wham Rap!" with them wearing white, and finally Chic's 1979 disco hit "Good Times".

Opening acts:

The group decided to go back to their clubbing roots and had Gary Crowley (of Capital Radio) as the opening DJ act. Also included were some body poppers called Eklypse who did dance routines for over an hour before the show.

The average set list was as follows:

"Young Guns (Go for It)" "Club Tropicana" "Blue" "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)" "A Ray of Sunshine"

Break

"Careless Whisper" "Bad Boys" "Love Machine" (The Miracles cover) "Nothing Looks the Same in the Light" "Come On!" "Young Guns (Go for It!)" "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)" "Good Times"

Personnel:

Andrew Ridgeley George Michael Shirlie Holliman Pepsi DeMacque

Musicians:

Tommy Eyre — keyboards Deon Estus — bass guitar Trevor Morrell — drums Robert Ahwaii — guitar David "Babs" Baptiste — saxophone Paul Spong — trumpet Colin Graham — trumpet Janey Hallet — backing vocals Gee — backing vocals Jenny — backing vocals

Danny Cummings — percussion Barry Mead — tour manager Ken — production manager Glenn — chaperone Wendy — wardrobe Lesley — wardrobe assistant Mel — hair & makeup Promoter — Harvey Goldsmith Entertainments Management — 'Simon Napier Bell & Jazz Summers Personal security — Dave Moulder Concert Publishing Co. — programme & merchandising

Sponsor: FILA — sportswear

Wham's notes in the booklet: "HELLO AND THANK YOU... Welcome to the Club Fantastic Tour of 1983. The next thirty days mean, to us, the climax of the last year and a half's work. This is the first real opportunity that we’ve had to say thanks and meet the people who have given us such a good year.

We’ve spent the last few months preparing, and we’ve done everything possible to make sure that the show is really entertaining. Gary Crowley's along for the ride, mainly because, like us, he's a born show-off, and also because he backed us up right from the beginning, with the release of ‘Wham Rap’ in May last year. Remember, if you are lucky enough to see us at a venue with special licensing laws, you’ll be able to catch him at the end of the show as well as before it. Anyway, that's about it for now. Just for those of you who haven’t read our entire life histories in the weeklies, we’ve included brief ones for you to browse through whilst savaging those steaming Hot Dogs. etc. Bye for now, and hope you enjoy the show. Lots of love, George and Andrew"