Andrew Ridgeley; George Michael.Photo:Jeff Spicer/BAFTA/Getty Images for BAFTA; Brian Rasic/Getty
Jeff Spicer/BAFTA/Getty Images for BAFTA; Brian Rasic/Getty
Andrew Ridgeleyis recalling the last time he saw hisWham!bandmateGeorge Michaelbefore his death.
While chatting exclusively with PEOPLE aboutWHAM!,theupcoming Netflix documentary that debuts on July 5, the singer-songwriter, 60, also recounts how he and Michael spent time together shortlybefore he died at age 53 on Dec. 25, 2016.
Detailing that they often met “over theScrabbleboard,” Ridgeley says Michael “was a big fan [of the board game] and we’d have regular games of Scrabble.”
“He’d beaten me the week before, and I was exacting my revenge,” he continues. “It took us right back to just … the essence of our schoolboy friendship and one-upmanship. It was a game that stimulated him, and me also.”
“That was a few months prior to his passing,” Ridgeley adds, also noting that he wasn’t Michael’s “only Scrabble partner.”
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Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael of Wham performing on stage in 1985.Michael Putland/Getty
Michael Putland/Getty
In the days following Michael’s death, an autopsy was conducted thatled to “inconclusive” results. At the time, the Thames Valley police released a statement saying that Michael’s death was “unexplained but not suspicious.”
Over the course of the next few months, extensive additional testing was done, which ultimately determinedMichael’s death to be from natural causes.
According to the coroner investigating the singer’s death, Michael had been suffered dilated cardiomyopathy with myocarditis and fatty liver.
Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty
Later this year, Michael will be inducted into theRock & Roll Hall of Fameduring a ceremony that will take place on Friday, Nov. 3 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The feat, Ridgeley says, is “obviously a great privilege, and I’m sure that he would recognize it as such. He was aware of the meaning of accolades from his peers.”
“He would be very rightly proud, and he deserves his place there. You know, he is a genuine legend and an icon of contemporary music,” he continues. “I said so in my tribute to him at the BRITs, that he was a supernova in a firmament of shining lights and stars, and he was probably the finest singing voice and songwriter of his generation. There ain’t too many that held a candle to him.”
When asked what he would say to the late icon if he were still alive today, Ridgeley laughs and states, “What would I say to him? Oh, let’s go and have a drink.”
WHAM!debuts on Netflix July 5.
source: people.com
