Far from the fantasy resort we know from Wham!’s video, the history of Soho clubland tells a more convincing – and intriguing – origin story of the 40-year-old hit
Lilos, Speedos and piña coladas: in the public imagination, Wham!’s Club Tropicana is Ibiza’s Pikes Hotel, the setting for its radiant video. The hotel’s website describes the resort and bar as “an iconic institution, steeped in rock’n’roll history”, beloved by the likes of Freddie Mercury, Grace Jones and Bon Jovi. In the new Netflix documentary about the 80s pop duo, songwriter George Michael says the song was in fact inspired by his visits to Le Beat Route, the Soho nightclub where he and Andrew Ridgeley would spend their pre-celebrity Friday nights honing their dance moves.
But as the song reaches its 40th anniversary, I think I’ve discovered the real Club Tropicana in the annals of pop culture history – an iconic institution all of its own.
