Young Guns (Go for It)

"Young Guns (Go for It)" (also as "Young Guns (Go for It!)") is a song by English pop duo Wham! first released as a single in the UK by Innervision Records in October 1982. It was written and co-produced by George Michael, one half of the duo. The song was Wham!'s first hit, although it came with some 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. It helped that the producer of Top of the Pops had seen them previously on another programme: Saturday Superstore.[1]

"Young Guns (Go for It!)"
Single by Wham!
from the album Fantastic
B-side"Going for It"
Released4 October 1982
Recorded1982
GenreDance-pop, post-disco, pop rap
Length3:40
LabelCBS
Songwriter(s)George Michael
Producer(s)
Wham! singles chronology
"Wham! Rap"
(1982)		 "Young Guns (Go for It!)"
(1982)		 "Bad Boys"
(1983)
Music video
"Young Guns (Go for It)" on YouTube

Composition

George Michael wrote the song about a teenage boy's worry that his best friend was getting too committed to a girl when he should have been enjoying his youth and the single life. It featured a middle eight aside in which the girl conversely tried 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, 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, George 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.[2][3]

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.[1] 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.[1] 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. Bare by George Michael and Tony Parsons, Penguin Books, 1991. Page 83 ISBN 0-14-013235-X
  2. "Have a word". Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  3. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b07g9rc2/top-of-the-pops-the-story-of-1982
  4. David Kent (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. "Ultratop.be – Wham! – Young Guns (Go for It)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  6. "Offiziellecharts.de – Wham! – Young Guns (Go for It)". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  7. "Dutchcharts.nl – Wham! – Young Guns (Go for It)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  8. "Charts.nz – Wham! – Young Guns (Go for It)". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  9. "Norwegiancharts.com – Wham! – Young Guns (Go for It)". VG-lista. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  10. "Swedishcharts.com – Wham! – Young Guns (Go for It)". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  11. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  12. "British single certifications – Wham! – Young Guns (Go for It)". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Young Guns (Go for It) in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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