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Before Fame

Presented by Front Room

“Funny stories from the man who (almost) managed Wham!. A surprisingly poignant celebration.” **** The Times

What would you do if you discovered George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley rehearsing in a village hall before they were famous? Michael Burdett knows because that’s what happened to him when he was a 19-year-old talent scout.

Michael tried to get the music company he worked for to sign the duo as part of a ska band called The Executive. And when his bosses told him he was wasting his time, Michael decided he would take The Executive into the studio himself. If he’d succeeded in getting them a deal, music history might be very different.

BEFORE FAME tells the untold story of the early years before George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley stormed the UK charts as Wham! It follows Burdett as, 40 years later, he took the recording they made together round the UK, photographing strangers listening to it. And it seeks to find the answer to something that had always puzzled him: did he accidentally give The Beat the idea for one of their greatest hits?

The result is a quirky, funny and uplifting solo show that will make you scratch your head at how coincidence shapes destiny. In Michael’s words, it’s a show about two musical geniuses and an idiot. Spoiler: Michael is the idiot.

BEFORE FAME supports Nordoff and Robbins, the UK’s national music therapy charity.

https://www.nordoff-robbins.org.uk/

Michael Burdett is a composer who has written music for television, radio and theatre. He has written everything from the theme tunes to Masterchef and Homes Under The Hammer to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s posing music for the bodybuilding documentary Total Rebuild. He occasionally releases recordings under the name Little Death Orchestra and latterly The Amber Quills.

Michael’s award-winning one-man show Strange Face – Adventures with a Lost Nick Drake Recording went to Edinburgh three years running.

In 2024 he premiered Before Fame at The Pleasance during The Edinburgh Fringe where the Times called it one of the funniest shows of the year.

“I loved Michael Burdett, Before Fame. Reminiscing about the time before Wham, and a window on a vanished late 70s early 80s world.”

The Telegraph

“He totally engages the audience.” Broadway Baby

“Funny stories from the man who (almost) managed Wham.” The Times

“Funny, surprising, heart-warming and a right riveting story. Burdett is a compelling raconteur.” The Scotsman