"Young Guns (Go for It)"
Single by Wham!
from the album Fantastic
B-side"Going for It"
Released17 September 1982
Recorded1982
StudioMaison Rouge (London)[1]
Genre
Length3:40
LabelCBS
Songwriter(s)George Michael
Producer(s)
  • Steve Brown
  • George Michael
Wham! singles chronology
"Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)"
(1982)		 "Young Guns (Go for It)"
(1982)		 "Bad Boys"
(1983)
Music video
"Young Guns (Go for It)" on YouTube

"Young Guns (Go for It)" (also listed as "Young Guns (Go for It!)" on some releases) is a song by English pop duo Wham! first released as a single in the UK by Innervision Records on 17 September 1982.[2] It was written and co-produced by George Michael, of the duo. The song was Wham!'s first hit, achieved with help from the BBC music programme Top of the Pops, which invited Wham! on to the show as a last-minute replacement for another act which had pulled out. The producer of Top of the Pops Michael Hurll, had seen them on another programme, Saturday Superstore.[3]

Composition

Michael wrote the song about a teenage boy's worry that his best friend is getting too committed to a girl when he should be enjoying his youth and the single life. It features a middle eight aside in which the girl conversely tries to get her boyfriend to ditch the best friend, prompting a vocal battle, akin to a tug of war, between the girlfriend and the best friend, which prompted the 'go for it' aspect of the song, as featured in the title.

Top of the Pops

Wham! were just outside the top 40 threshold of the UK Singles Chart at the time they were invited to perform on Top of the Pops, which meant they had not climbed high enough in normal circumstances to get on the show, but they were recruited nonetheless as the highest-placed artists still climbing the charts from outside the top 40. On Top of the Pops, Michael mimed the vocals to his Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley, who acted the part of the teenage bridegroom-in-waiting. They were flanked by backing singers Dee C Lee and Shirlie Holliman.

The original recording does not feature the voices of Lee or Holliman but that of American backing singer Lynda Hayes.[4][5]

Chart performance

The song entered the chart initially at number 73, went up to number 48, then dropped to number 52 and the week after that, it jumped to number 42.[3] Their appearance on Top of the Pops broke the record wide open and on the following Monday the distribution centre received some thirty thousand orders.[3] This sent the record to number 24 before eventually peaking at number 3 in November 1982.

Track listing

All tracks are written by George Michael

7": Innervision / IVL A2766 (UK)
No.TitleLength
1."Young Guns (Go for It)"3:40
2."Going for It"3:40
12": Innervision / IVL A13 2766 (UK)
No.TitleLength
1."Young Guns (Go for It)" (12" version)5:10
2."Going for It"3:40
12": Columbia/Innervision 44-03501 (US)
No.TitleLength
1."Young Guns (Go for It)"6:53
2."Going for It!"4:49
  • "Going for It" is an instrumental version of "Young Guns (Go for It)"

Charts and certifications

References

  1. ↑ "History". Wham! World. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  2. ↑ "BPI certifications". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Bare by George Michael and Tony Parsons, Penguin Books, 1991. Page 83 ISBN 0-14-013235-X
  4. ↑ "Have a word". Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  5. ↑ "Top of the Pops - the Story of 1982".
  6. ↑ David Kent (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. ↑ "Wham! – Young Guns (Go for It)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  8. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Wham!". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 280. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  9. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 3, 1983" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  10. ↑ "Wham! – Young Guns (Go for It)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  11. ↑ "Wham! – Young Guns (Go for It)". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  12. ↑ "Wham! – Young Guns (Go for It)". VG-lista. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  13. ↑ "Wham! – Young Guns (Go for It)". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  14. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  15. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Wham! – Young Guns (Go for It)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  16. ↑ "Kent Music Report – National Top 100 Singles for 1983". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 22 January 2023 – via Imgur.com.
  17. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 1983". Ultratop. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  18. ↑ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1983". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  19. ↑ "British single certifications – Wham! – Young Guns (Go for It)". British Phonographic Industry.
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