At first, they performed in a short-lived ska band called The Executive, alongside two of their former school friends Paul Atkey and Mike Murphy. Michael and Ridgeley met at Bushey Meads School in Bushey near Watford, England, UK. They were briefly known in the United States as Wham! UK because of a naming conflict with another band. Wham! (often written WHAM!) was a British duo formed in 1981 by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.
