Victoria Derbyshire described being interviewed by Wham! member Andrew Ridgeley as “a wonderful pinch-me moment”, recalling seeing the ’80s pop sensation in concert aged 15.
Ridgeley, who formed the band with George Michael in 1981 and went on to release number one singles Last Christmas and I’m Your Man, was interviewed on BBC’s Newsnight about a new Netflix film documenting the rise of Wham! to glory.
The Derbyshire broadcaster, 54, shared a photo on Instagram of her taking a selfie with Ridgeley, as well as her ticket for the October 2, 1983 gig at the Apollo Theater Manchester and her lengthy post-show diary entry.
She said: “If you had told me this 40 years after I went to see Wham! live at Manchester Apollo, I was going to sit down with @andrewjohnridgeley to interview him – there is literally NO WAY I would believe you.
“I wrote about it in my diary, October 1983. No detail was too small – as you can see if you swipe right.
“Also, there was SO MUCH to say about the concert, the set, the outfits – everything – I had to add reams of extra sheets of paper.
“So interviewing Andrew Ridgeley was a surreal, wonderful pinch-me moment.”
Derbyshire shared a video of the stacks of pages she wrote in her diary as a teenager after watching the show.
One insert read: “The set was a black and white photo of Andrew on the left, George on the right and Wham! with massive silver letters on the back. Then there were steps that went up to the back.
“It was all dark and suddenly the intro to Young Guns came on and the lights came on, all the musicians and backing.
“Singers were brought on and then George and Andrew ran out. Everyone really screamed and looked lovely, especially Andrew!”
Derbyshire said she and Ridgely spoke about the new 90-minute documentary, titled Wham! which she describes as “touching, beautiful and joyful”.
She said: “He really is such a lovely person and you will be able to see that from the dock.
“In our interview, he talks about his love for George Michael, the stratospheric success they achieved as teenagers, the challenges that come with it, and whether he could imagine an ABBA-style avatar show for Wham (the answer is YES).”
Michael, whose real name is Georgios Kyriakos Panayiotou, died in 2016 at the age of 53.