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Wham! – ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go Go’

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‘Wake Me Up Before You Go Go’ was a huge hit for UK pop band Wham! when it was released in May 1984. Like many eighties pop songs, it has a great bassline, in this case supplied by Detroit-born low-ender Deon Estus.

Be sure to hit the Download Resources button above in order to download the PDF transcription for this piece (available to subscribers only). The transcription is available WITH TAB and WITHOUT.

1. ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’ Play-Through

This video is a play-through of the song, performed on a 1966 Fender Jazz bass. The instrument was strung with Rotosound roundwound strings and the bass was set with a low action.

2. Course Overview

In this brief video I’ll be giving an overview of the course and offering some advice on finding a good tone for the piece.

3. Intro Section

In this video we’ll be working through the simple Intro section for the song. This lesson covers bars 1 – 8.

4. 1st Verse

In this lesson we’ll be learning the bassline from the first Verse section of the track. This is a simple four-bar progression, which is played through twice. This lesson covers bars 9 – 16.

5. Bridge #1

In this video I’ll be showing you how to play the first Bridge section of the song. This part contains more chord changes and some tasty bass fills that are great fun to play. This lesson covers bars 17 – 25.

6. Chorus #1

In this lesson I’ll be covering the first Chorus and the post-Chorus section, which features some very inventive bass work from Deon. This lesson covers bars 26 – 48.

7. Verse #2 & Bridge #2

In this video I’ll be talking through the second Verse and Bridge sections, which are similar to the earlier parts. This lesson covers bars 49 – 65.

8. Chorus #2

In this lesson I’ll be covering the second Chorus section. The main Chorus line is essentially the same as the earlier part, but the post-Chorus section features some more creative bass work to get your teeth into. This lesson covers bars 66 – 88.

9. Middle 8

In this video we’ll be working through the Middle 8 of the song, which is bars 89 – 96 in the transcription.

10. Bridge #3

This lesson covers the third Bridge section. The bassline during this part of the song feels very improvisational and contains some tasteful decorations such as shakes and vibrato. This lesson covers bars 97 – 104.

11. Final Chorus

This final video of the course covers the Re-Intro and final Chorus sections. As these parts are largely repeats of earlier lines, I’ll just be highlighting the fills that are worth studying. This lesson covers bars 105 – 148.