Wham! Played Their Iconic Final Concert at Wembley Stadium 40 Years Ago

In March 1986, the British pop duo Wham! announced they were breaking up after a successful five-year run. Before they dissolved their partnership for good though, Wham! members George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley set out to provide one last thrill for fans.

On June 28, 1986, Wham! played The Final, a farewell concert at iconic Wembley Stadium in London. More than 72,000 attended the show, which was opened by Gary Glitter and Nick Heyward and included guest performances by rock legend Elton John and Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran.

The Final: The lead up

Wham! had plenty of time to prepare for its Wembley sendoff--"weeks" in fact, per Smash Hit Magazine. Michael and Ridgeley set the mood for The Final with a pair of charity shows at the Brixton Academy in London on June 23-24.

On June 27, Wham released its third and final studio album, Music from the Edge of Heaven, in North America. All that was left was the concert itself, taking place the following day but which fans of the boy band flocked to well in advance.

"By Friday night there were already well over a hundred people camping outside Wembley Stadium, playing Wham! tapes and waiting for two o'clock the next afternoon when they'd be able to rush in and claim their positions right next to the stage," Smash Hit wrote. "By then a good chunk of the expected 72,000 crowd was there as well, trying to decide whether they should buy the cheap but ghastly unofficial merchandise – programmes, posters, drawings, t-shirts, carrier bags, mobiles – or the "nice"-but-pricey official stuff -t-shirts at £8, posters for £3 and programmes for £5!"

The Final setlist

1. "Everything She Wants"
2. "Club Tropicana"
3. "Heartbeat"
4. "Battlestations"
5. "Bad Boys"
6. "If You Were There"
7. "The Edge of Heaven"
8. "Candle in the Wind" (featuring Elton John)
9. "Credit Card Baby"
10. "Like a Baby"
11. "Love Machine"
12. "Where Did Your Heart Go?"
13. "Why"
14. "Last Christmas"
15. "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)"
16. "A Different Corner"
17. "Freedom"
18. "Careless Whisper"
19. "Young Guns (Go for It)"
20. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
21. "I'm Your Man" (featuring Elton John and Simon Le Bon)

The Final: The aftermath and Wham!'s legacy

Wham!'s first two albums went No. 1 in the United Kingdom, with the second, 1984's Make It Big, reaching the top spot in the United States as well.

Overall, the group produced seven top 10 Billboard Hot 100 singles, with three of them--"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," "Careless Whisper" and "Everything She Wants"--going No. 1. To this day, every December, you can't turn on the radio without hearing "Last Christmas," another of those top 10 hits.

While Wham! was no more, Ridgeley and Michael reunited to perform on stage on a couple of other occasions after The Final. The two remained on good terms until Michael's passing at the age of 53 in 2016.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published June 27, 2026 at 9:51 PM.