Teenage George Michael reveals the sweet way Wham! got their name

They're one of our favourite pop duos from the '80s and now vintage footage of George Michael has revealed the inspiration behind their name Wham!.

Appearing on Countdown Australia in 1983, the then 19-year-old singer spoke about how he and bandmate Andrew Ridgeley became best friends instantly when they met at school, but it was only after they'd signed their record contract that they adopted the name, Wham!.

Dressed in a brown leather jacket and striped jumper, recalling the moment brings a smile to Michael's face.

"I think it was Andrew actually, originally," he says.

"We were in a club, dancing, and we were kind of doing this like formation dance and having a laugh.

"Andy started shouting something about wham bam, and all this, you know," he smiles as he recalls.

"And we thought that would be a good name for a group."

But the 'Careless Whisper' hitmaker then goes on to reveal that the pair actually threw the name out.

"We thought no, we've got to think of something better than that," he explained.

Fortunately, after some time, the duo was drawn back to the name as it felt fitting for their music, with Michael saying "it seemed right for what we were doing."

And the rest, as they say, is '80s pop music history.