The Queen is a huge Wham! fan and even ‘requested to meet them in private’, according to the band’s former manager
THE Queen is a secret fan of 1980s pop band Wham! and even asked to meet them in private, according to their manager.
Her Majesty, 93, was said to be such a supporter of the music group that she wanted a private audience with George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.
The revelation was revealed in the memoirs of Wham!’s manager Bryan Morrison, who were published recently after he passed away in 2008.
Bryan said that the Queen arranged to meet Wham! at a polo match in June 1985.
He said: “Through an emissary, I learnt that the Queen had heard that I was managing and publishing Wham! and that she would like to meet them.”
George and Andrew went along to the Guards Polo Club in Windsor and were lucky enough to meet the monarch herself.
Bryan added: “To my amazement, on greeting them, the Queen knew all of their hits and spent a great deal of time listening to their exploits.”
The meeting was not only exciting for the Queen, but also had a lasting impression on Wake Me Up (Before You Go-Go) singer George too.
George, who was a pal of Princess Diana’s, said: “It was at a drinks thing in a marquee after some polo match. There were lots of other people there, but she did speak to me.
“She asked me about China, and said that she hadn’t been there but that she might be going there next year.
“She was really very sweet. And small.”
To my amazement, on greeting them [Wham!], the Queen knew all of their hits and spent a great deal of time listening to their exploits.
Wham! manager Bryan Morrison
According to a BBC documentary in 2016, the Queen’s taste in music is “mainstream, no airs and graces”.
And Dame Vera Lynn, Fred Astaire and Gary Barlow are said to be among her favourite artists.
Bryan worked alongside music legends such as Pink Floyd, The Jam and T Rex, and his autobiography Have a Cigar! was named after the Pink Floyd song.
It was completed in 1991, but remained unpublished until over a decade after he passed away.
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