George Michael

George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musicians of all time, with sales of over 120 million records worldwide. Michael was known as a leading creative force in music production, songwriting, vocal performance, and visual presentation. He achieved seven number-one songs on the UK Singles Chart and eight number-one songs on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Michael won numerous music awards, including two Grammy Awards, three Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, twelve ''Billboard'' Music Awards, and four MTV Video Music Awards. In 2015, he was ranked 45th in '' Billboard''s list of the "Greatest Hot 100 Artists of All Time". The Radio Academy named him the most played artist on British radio during the period 1984–2004."George Michael dominates airwaves"
BBC. Retrieved 17 February 2018

Born in East Finchley, Middlesex, Michael rose to fame as a member of the music duo Wham! and later embarked on a solo career. Forming the duo Wham! with Andrew Ridgeley in 1981, the band's first two albums, ''Fantastic'' (1983) and ''Make It Big'' (1984), reached number one on the UK Albums Chart and the US ''Billboard'' 200. Their hit singles included "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" and "Last Christmas". Establishing themselves as a global act, Wham! toured China in April 1985; the tour was the first visit to China by a Western popular music act, and it generated worldwide media coverage.

Michael's first solo single, "Careless Whisper", reached number one in over 20 countries, including the UK and US.George Michael
The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 April 2011 George Michael Album & Song Chart History''Billboard''. Retrieved 21 April 2011 Before embarking on the production of his first solo album, Michael went on to release two more number-one singles, "A Different Corner" and the Aretha Franklin duet "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)". Michael's debut solo album, ''Faith'', was released in 1987, topping the UK Albums Chart and staying at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 for 12 weeks. Globally it sold 25 million copies, and four singles from the album—"Faith", "Father Figure", " One More Try", and "Monkey"—reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Michael became the best-selling music artist of 1988, and ''Faith'' was awarded Album of the Year at the 1989 Grammy Awards. His second solo album, ''Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1'' (1990), sold approximately eight million copies and was a UK number-one. It included the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number-one "Praying for Time" and the worldwide hit "Freedom! '90". A 1991 live duet with Elton John, "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", was also a transatlantic number one. Michael went on to release two more multimillion-selling albums, ''Older'' (1996) and ''Patience'' (2004).

Outside music, Michael was an active LGBT rights campaigner and HIV/AIDS charity fundraiser. His personal life, drug use, and legal troubles made headlines during the late 1990s and 2000s, as he was arrested for public lewdness in 1998 and was arrested for multiple drug-related offences after that time. Michael came out as gay in 1998. The 2005 documentary '' A Different Story'' covered his career and personal life. Michael's 25 Live tour spanned three tours from 2006 to 2008. Michael fell into a coma in 2011 during a bout with pneumonia, but later recovered. He performed his final concert at London's Earls Court in 2012. Michael died of heart disease on Christmas Day in 2016, at his home in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.

Early life

George Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou () on 25 June 1963, in East Finchley. His father, Kyriacos "Jack" Panayiotou,''A Different Story''; George Michael Biographical DVD was a Greek-Cypriot restaurateur who emigrated from Patriki, Cyprus to England in the 1950s. His mother, Lesley Angold (''born'' Harrison, died 1997), was an English dancer. In June 2008, Michael told the ''Los Angeles Times'' that his maternal grandmother was Jewish, but she married a non-Jewish man and raised her children with no knowledge of their Jewish background due to her fear during World War II. Michael spent most of his childhood in Kingsbury, London, in the home his parents bought soon after his birth; he attended Roe Green Junior School and Kingsbury High School. Michael had two sisters: Yioda (born 1958) and Melanie (1960–2019). On the BBC's ''Desert Island Discs'', he disclosed that his interest in music followed an injury to his head around the age of eight.

While Michael was in his early teens, the family moved to Radlett. There, Michael attended Bushey Meads School in Bushey, where he befriended his future Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley. The two had the same career ambition of being musicians. Michael busked on the London Underground, performing songs such as "'39" by Queen. His involvement in the music business began with his working as a DJ, playing at clubs and local schools around Bushey, Stanmore, and Watford. This was followed by the formation of a short-lived ska band called The Executive, with Ridgeley, Ridgeley's brother Paul, Andrew Leaver, Jamie Gould, and David Mortimer (later known as David Austin).

Wham!

Michael formed the duo Wham! with Andrew Ridgeley in 1981. On the cusp of fame, he decided to legally change his name to the more accessible George Michael. The band's first album ''Fantastic'' reached No. 1 in the UK in 1983 and produced a series of top 10 singles including " Young Guns", " Wham Rap!", and "Club Tropicana". Their second album, ''Make It Big'', reached No. 1 on the charts in the US. Singles from that album included "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" (No. 1 in the UK and US), "Freedom", "Everything She Wants", and "Careless Whisper" which reached No. 1 in nearly 25 countries, including the UK and US, and was Michael's first solo effort as a single. In December 1984, the single "Last Christmas" was released. In 1985 Michael received the first of his three Ivor Novello Awards for Songwriter of the Year from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.

Michael performed on the original 1984 Band Aid recording of "Do They Know It's Christmas?"—he appears third on the song after Paul Young and Boy George sing their lines. The song became the UK Christmas number one and Michael also donated the profits from "Last Christmas" and "Everything She Wants" to charity. Michael sang "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" with Elton John at Live Aid at Wembley Stadium in London on 13 July 1985. He also contributed background vocals to David Cassidy's 1985 hit "The Last Kiss", as well as Elton John's 1985 successes "Nikita" and " Wrap Her Up". Michael cited Cassidy as a major career influence and interviewed Cassidy for David Litchfield's ''Ritz Newspaper''.

Wham!'s tour of China in April 1985, the first visit to China by a Western popular music act, generated worldwide media coverage, much of it centred on Michael. The headline in the ''Chicago Tribune'' read: "East meets Wham!, and another great wall comes down". Before Wham!'s appearance in China, many kinds of music in the country were forbidden. The band's manager, Simon Napier-Bell, had spent 18 months trying to convince Chinese officials to let the duo play. The audience included members of the Chinese government. Chinese television presenter Kan Lijun, who was the on-stage host, spoke of Wham!'s historic performance: Wham! performed their hits with scantily clad dancers and strobing disco lights. According to Napier-Bell, Michael tried to get the crowd to clap along to "Club Tropicana", but "they hadn't a clue – they thought he wanted applause and politely gave it", before adding that some Chinese did eventually "get the hang of clapping on the beat." A UK embassy official in China stated "there was some lively dancing but this was almost entirely confined to younger western members of the audience." The tour was documented by film director Lindsay Anderson and producer Martin Lewis in their film '' Wham! in China: Foreign Skies''.

With the success of Michael's solo singles, "Careless Whisper" (1984) and "A Different Corner" (1986), rumours of an impending break up of Wham! intensified. The duo officially separated in 1986, after releasing a farewell single, "The Edge of Heaven" and a farewell compilation, ''The Final'' (their third album ''Music from the Edge of Heaven'' was released in North America and Japan), plus a sell-out concert at Wembley Stadium that included the world premiere of the China film. The Wham! partnership ended officially with the commercially successful single "The Edge of Heaven", which reached No. 1 on the UK chart in June 1986.

Solo career

1987–1989

During early 1987, at the beginning of his solo career, Michael released "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)", a duet with Aretha Franklin. "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" was a one-off project that helped Michael achieve an ambition by singing with one of his favourite artists. It scored number one on both the UK Singles Chart and the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 upon its release. For Michael, it became his third consecutive solo number one in the UK from three releases, after 1984's "Careless Whisper" (though the single was actually from the Wham! album ''Make It Big'') and 1986's "A Different Corner". The single was also the first Michael had recorded as a solo artist which he had not written himself. The co-writer, Simon Climie, was unknown at the time; he later had success as a performer with the band Climie Fisher in 1988. Michael and Aretha Franklin won a Grammy Award in 1988 for Best R&B Performance – Duo or Group with Vocal for the song.

In late 1987, Michael released his debut solo album, ''Faith''. The first single released from the album was "I Want Your Sex", in mid-1987. The song was banned by many radio stations in the UK and US, due to its sexually suggestive lyrics.George Michael: I Want Your Sex – Banned Songs – Music
Virgin Media, 27 January 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2011 MTV broadcast the video, featuring celebrity make-up artist Kathy Jeung in a basque and suspenders, only during the late night hours. Michael argued that the act was beautiful if the sex was monogamous, and he recorded a brief prologue for the video in which he said: "This song is not about casual sex."Sexy Song of the Week: "I Want Your Sex"
ANT 2301: Human Sexuality & Culture, Gravlee.org; University of Florida. Retrieved 21 April 2011 One of the racier scenes involved Michael writing the words "explore monogamy" on his partner's back in lipstick. Some radio stations played a toned-down version of the song, "I Want Your Love", with the word "love" replacing "sex".80s Singers: George Michael
Total 80s Remix, 22 February 1999. Retrieved 21 April 2011.

When "I Want Your Sex" reached the US charts, '' American Top 40'' host Casey Kasem refused to say the song's title, referring to it only as "the new single by George Michael." In the US, the song was also sometimes listed as "I Want Your Sex (from ''Beverly Hills Cop II'')", since the song was featured on the soundtrack of the movie.George Michael – Gay Icons
AstaBGay.com. Retrieved 21 April 2011 Despite censorship and radio play problems, "I Want Your Sex" reached No. 2 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 3 in the UK. The second single, "Faith", was released in October 1987, a few weeks before the album. "Faith" became one of his most popular songs. The song was No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for four consecutive weeks, becoming the best-selling single of 1988 in the US. It also reached No. 1 in Australia, and No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The video provided some definitive images of the 1980s music industry in the process—Michael in shades, leather jacket, cowboy boots, and Levi's jeans, playing a guitar near a classic-design jukebox.McCormick, Nei
"George Michael's image will outlast the scandal"
''The Daily Telegraph'' (London), 15 September 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2011

On 30 October, ''Faith'' was released in the UK and in several markets worldwide. ''Faith'' topped the UK Albums Chart, and in the US, the album had 51 non-consecutive weeks in the top 10 of ''Billboard'' 200, including 12 weeks at No. 1. ''Faith'' had many successes, with four singles ("Faith", "Father Figure", " One More Try", and "Monkey") reaching No. 1 in the US. ''Faith'' was certified Diamond by the RIAA for sales of 10 million copies in the US. To date, global sales of ''Faith'' are more than 25 million units. The album was highly acclaimed by music critics, with AllMusic journalist Steve Huey describing it as a "superbly crafted mainstream pop/rock masterpiece" and "one of the finest pop albums of the '80s". In a review by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, journalist Mark Coleman commended most of the songs on the album, which he said "displays Michael's intuitive understanding of pop music and his increasingly intelligent use of his power to communicate to an ever-growing audience."

In 1988, Michael embarked on a world tour. In Los Angeles, Michael was joined on stage by Aretha Franklin for "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)". It was the second highest grossing event of 1988, earning $17.7 million. At the 1988 Brit Awards held at the Royal Albert Hall on 8 February, Michael received the first of his two awards for Best British Male Solo Artist. Later that month, ''Faith'' won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year at the 31st Grammy Awards. At the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards on 6 September in Los Angeles, Michael received the Video Vanguard Award. According to Michael in his film, ''A Different Story'', success did not make him happy and he started to think there was something wrong in being an idol for millions of teenage girls. The whole ''Faith'' process (promotion, videos, tour, awards) left him exhausted, lonely and frustrated, and far from his friends and family. In 1990, he told his record company Sony that, for his second album, he did not want to do promotions like the one for ''Faith''.George Michael
NewMagic949.com. Retrieved 21 April 2011

1990s

''Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1'' was released in September 1990. The title is an indication of his desire to be taken more seriously as a songwriter.Listen Without Prejudice
Teen Ink. Retrieved 21 April 2011 It reached No. 23 in the UK and No. 27 in the US in October 1990. The album was released in Europe on 3 September 1990, and one week later in the US. It reached No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart and peaked at No. 2 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. It spent a total of 88 weeks on the UK Albums Chart and was certified four-times Platinum by the BPI. The album produced five UK singles, all of which were released within an eight-month period: "Praying for Time", "Waiting for That Day", "Freedom! '90", " Heal the Pain", and " Cowboys and Angels" (the latter being his only single not to chart in the UK top 40). Michael refused to do any promotion for the album. At the 1991 Brit Awards, ''Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1'' won the award for Best British Album.

The album's first single, "Praying for Time", with lyrics concerning social ills and injustice, was released in August 1990. James Hunter of ''Rolling Stone'' magazine described the song as "a distraught look at the world's astounding woundedness. Michael offers the healing passage of time as the only balm for physical and emotional hunger, poverty, hypocrisy, and hatred." The song was an instant success, reaching No. 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 6 in the UK. A video was released shortly thereafter, consisting of the lyrics on a dark background. Michael did not appear in this video or any subsequent videos for the album. The second single from ''Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1'', "Waiting for That Day", was an acoustic-heavy single, released as an immediate follow-up to "Praying for Time".

"Freedom '90" was the second of only two singles from ''Listen Without Prejudice'' to be supported by a music video (the other being the Michael-less "Praying for Time"). The song alludes to his struggles with his artistic identity, and prophesied his efforts shortly thereafter to end his recording contract with Sony Music. As if to prove the song's sentiment, Michael refused to appear in the video (directed by David Fincher), and instead recruited supermodels Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Tatjana Patitz, and Cindy Crawford to appear in and lip sync in his stead.SoulBounce's Class Of 1990: George Michael 'Listen Without Prejudice Vol. I'
Soulbounce.com, 29 November 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2011 It also featured lyrics critical of his sex symbol status. It reached No. 8 success on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the US, and No. 28 on the UK Singles Chart. "Mother's Pride" gained significant radio play in the US during the first Persian Gulf War during 1991, often with radio stations mixing in callers' tributes to soldiers with the music.Gay History, Gay Celebrities, Gay Icons – George Michael
Circa-club.com. Retrieved 21 April 2011

Later in 1991, Michael embarked on the Cover to Cover tour in Japan, England, the US, and Brazil, where he performed at Rock in Rio.Reviews/Pop; George Michael's Tour, From Motown to Disco
''The New York Times'', 28 October 1991. Retrieved 21 April 2011 The tour was not a proper promotion for ''Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1''. Rather, it featured Michael singing his favourite cover songs. Among his favourites was "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", a 1974 song by Elton John; Michael and John had performed the song together at the Live Aid concert in 1985, and again for Michael's concert at London's Wembley Arena on 25 March 1991, where the duet was recorded. "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" was released as a single at the end of 1991 and reached No. 1 in both the UK and US. In 1991, Michael released an autobiography through Penguin Books

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases