Can you believe it’s 40 years since George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley – Wham! – achieved their first chart hit with “Young Guns (Go For It)”? The duo, who had released “”Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)” in 1982, began their short but successful period in the global charts with the aforementioned in 1983 when the song peaked at No.3 in the UK.

After that, it was plain sailing for the ‘young guns’ themselves as they racked up a string of top ten hits on both sides of the Atlantic and around the world achieving two multi-Platinum selling albums along the way and shifting over thirty million records in a period of just four years (1982-86). It wouldn’t last as George went it alone in the mid-late 80’s, the pair released their last single and long player in 1986.

Five decades on, their songs still stand up to the rest and in one instance, a perennial, festive favourite to multiple generations. But which are their best and most memorable songs, the ones that define a decade and still get people up and boogieing even now? Here are our fav five:

“Young Guns (Go For It)” – 1983 – UK No.3

“Club Tropicana” – 1983 – UK No.4

“Wake Me Up Before You Go Go” – 1984 – UK No.1, US No.1

“Last Christmas” – 1984 – UK No.1, US No.4

“The Edge Of Heaven” – 1986 – UK No.1, US No.10

“The Singles: Echoes From The Edge Of Heaven” is out now as a vinyl box set