I'm Coming To Take You To Lunch: A Fantastic Tale of Boys, Booze and how Wham! Were sold to China
by Simon Napier-bell
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Book Summary Information
Author: Simon Napier-bellEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-01-18
ISBN: 1932958568
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Wenner
Book Reviews of I'm Coming To Take You To Lunch: A Fantastic Tale of Boys, Booze and how Wham! Were sold to China
Book Review: Wham! Behind the Scenes
Summary: 5 Stars
If you would have killed to be a fly on the wall during the inner workings of "Whamania," you absolutely must read "I'm Coming To Take You to Lunch A Fantastic Tale of Boys, Booze, And How Wham Were Sold To China." Simon Napier-Bell managed the group in their early days. They had signed a pretty bad record deal with Innervision for their debut album "Fantastic." "Fantastic" was a big hit in the UK spawning the hits, "Bad Boys," "Young Guns," "Wham Rap," and "Club Tropicana." Despite the hits, according to Napier-Bell the group were pretty broke. Despite not having hit the proverbial jackpot yet, Napier-Bell describes George Michael as being very business minded and suspicious at all times when it came to business. Although George was serious when it came to business, in the book George and Andrew are described as childhood friends who were so close it seemed they communicated in their own language with snickers and giggles tossed in. Napier-Bell assisted the group in their legal case which brought them into a deal straight with CBS. CBS signed them directly but it did not guarantee U.S. success as the label felt they were a UK act and Napier-Bell had to do a lot of convincing to sell them to the U.S., and he had to convince people that the poppy "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" was the right song.
Despite this closeness, as Napier-Bell was making business moves trying to make Wham a success in the United States, George Michael was already planning for his solo career and the waters would be tested with a single titled "Careless Whisper."
It's a really great book for the Wham! fan wanting to learn little details about the group that only a person on the inside would know. There is not much information about the groups personal life as far as relationships. There is a brief mention of Andrew dating one of the groups early backup singers and maybe a few other tidbits. What's amazing is that at the start of their international success George Michael wanted to end it all, according to the book.
As for the group conquering China and becoming the first group to play in the communist nation, Simon Napier-Bell was planning the China trip for the group before they were international stars and it finally happened after years of business meetings and trips to China.
It's a really great book and if you are a Wham! fan or someone interested in the music business you should check this book out.
Summary of I'm Coming To Take You To Lunch: A Fantastic Tale of Boys, Booze and how Wham! Were sold to China
Simon Napier-Bell, manager extraordinaire and world-class raconteur, brings readers along on a Far Eastern pop adventure as he tries to take Wham! behind the bamboo curtainWham! were among the world?s biggest pop music sensations of the ?80s. Simon Napier-Bell began managing the British group in 1983 and, over the next three years, turned them into superstars. This was due in no small part to his ability to get them to perform in China -- the first-ever Western pop band to do so. I?m Coming to Take You to Lunch is the never-before-told story that recounts Bell?s dealings with an extraordinary cast of characters. From heads of state to seedy CIA operatives, I?m Coming to Take You to Lunch is a behind-the-scenes look at the management of a major international pop-act and the diplomatic machinations involved in breaking the walls around Communist China.
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