As the history of popular music develops, one fact shines through:
talent wins. You can't cheat and survive for any length of time.
You can't hype and fool people more than once. You can't hide
behind image makers, or alluring videos, or the cut of this
season's clothes. Or you can - but then you die. To survive you
must evolve, improve, have faith, still thrill. Longevity depends
on making the best music.
George Michael has never thought of popular music as a career: it's
far more personal - more precious - than that. But he has always
taken the long-term view, that ultimately an artist's achievement
will not be judged in terms of number one singles, or magazine
covers, or prestigious awards, but by a large body of work, a
collection of albums over time, a lifetime's development in an
artform that no longer depends on shock or rebellion or the quick
burn-out to make a mark.
In 25 years, and at 42 years of age, George Michael can already
look back on more than 80 million record sales worldwide. He's
notched up six US No.1 singles from his debut album, eleven British
No.1 singles and six No.1 albums to date. He has also played at
some of the biggest and most important concerts in history (Live
Aid, the Nelson Mandela Freedom Concert, the Freddie Mercury
Tribute), all in front of capacity audiences at Wembley Stadium and
in front of many millions watching throughout the world. But that
was the beginning, an early phase or two.
George Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou on 25 June
1963 in North London, and went on to meet his future Wham! partner
Andrew Ridgeley at a nearby comprehensive school. They formed their
first band, The Executive, in 1981, but soon realised their chosen
path lay as a duo: Wham! was born.
Within a year they had released their classic debut single, 'Wham
Rap', but it was their second single, 'Young Guns (Go For It!)'
which became the first in a string of Top 10 hits.
In the summer of 1984 George unveiled a glimpse of what was to come
by releasing the classic 'Careless Whisper'. His first solo single
while still with Wham! became one of the signatures of the Eighties
and one of the most-played radio songs of the decade. It was
written when he was still only 17.
His growing maturity was further established with the release of 'A
Different Corner', his second solo single, and another mature
ballad of lasting worth. A few months later George and Andrew
decided that Wham! should disband while still at the very peak of
their success. This announcement was followed by a unique final
concert at Wembley, an emotional farewell in front of 72,000.
Their place was assured as one of the most exuberant pop bands of
the Eighties. Equally certain was that George was set for a
remarkable solo career.
In 1987 George became the first white male vocalist ever to duet
with soul great Aretha Franklin. The resulting recording, 'I Knew
You Were Waiting', shot straight to the top of the charts
worldwide, starting off a year which saw George jetting between
London and Denmark, recording tracks for his outstanding debut
album 'Faith'.
The album, released in November 1987, showed George Michael to be
one of the finest songwriters of the decade and guaranteed him a
whole new audience. The album was a No.1 on both sides of the
Atlantic, with worldwide sales approaching 16 million.
'Faith' received a Grammy for the Best Album of 1988, and won
George two Ivor Novello Awards for 'Songwriter Of The Year' and
'International Hit Of The Year' ('Faith'). George also won American
Music Awards for 'Favourite Male Vocalist' (pop/rock), 'Favourite
Male Artist' (soul /R 'n' B) and 'Favourite Album' (soul / R 'n'
B).
In America, the outstanding success of 'Faith' was marked by six
No.1 singles: I Want Your Sex', 'Faith', 'Father Figure', 'One More
Try', 'Monkey' and 'Kissing A Fool'.
The live 'Faith' tour followed in February 1988, taking the hits
package to a momentous opening date at Tokyo's Budokan Stadium, and
then on to ecstatic audiences in Australia, Europe hand North
America. In June, George interrupted the tour to sing three songs
at Wembley Stadium's Nelson Mandela Freedom Concert.
By September 1990 George had gathered together a new body of work -
'Listen Without Prejudice: Vol.1' - and another new direction was
visible from the first single, 'Praying For Time'. Much of the
album had a raw, stripped-down feel, and drew heavily from classic
Sixties tracks, black rhythm and jazz moods. Mostly they were
personal, increasingly philosophical songs; once again they went
against the prevailing chart trends.
His videos created new waves too: it was almost unheard of for an
artist of his stature not to appear centre-stage, but for 'Freedom
90' he found other stars - Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Christy
Turlington and Linda Evangelista. This was the first time these
supermodels had been seen together away from the catwalks, and it
was an attraction no one found able to resist thereafter.
The album was another British No.1, and also spawned the hit
singles 'Waiting For That Day', 'Heal The Pain' and 'Cowboys and
Angels'. Still in his Twenties, Michael was already being classed
alongside those artists he admired most, and with whom he had the
honour of dueting: Aretha Franklin, Elton John and Stevie Wonder.
He brought out an autobiography to coincide with the new album
('Bare', co-written with Tony Parsons), and was granted a UK
television special, an ultimate cultural sign of arrival.
In November 1991 George released 'Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me',
a duet with Elton John from one of George's Wembley concerts. The
song was another No.1 worldwide, and all proceeds went to the AIDS
hospice London Lighthouse and the Rainbow Trust Children's Charity.
A few months later George was in the charts once more with 'Too
Funky', a single from the 'Red Hot and Dance' AIDS charity album,
which included a collection of remixed hits by artists such as
Madonna and Seal as well as three brand new George Michael songs -
the only new songs on the album.
'Too Funky' went on to become Europe's most played record of 1992,
helped partly by the video directed by George and styled by
designer Thierry Mugler.
Early in 1993 George spent three weeks at the top of the charts
with the 'Five Live EP', featuring duets with Queen and Lisa
Stansfield on tracks from the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert
and from his own Cover To Cover tour in 1991. All proceeds went to
the Freddie Mercury Phoenix Trust. In October of the same year, in
a bold statement, making headlines worldwide, George appeared in
court against his record company Sony Music Entertainment, as he
attempted to break free from the company he claimed no longer
accepted his musical direction. Nine months later, the judge found
in favour of the record company. An appeal was issued, and was due
to be heard in 1996.
On 1st December 1993, World AIDS Day, George played a benefit
concert in front of the late Diana, Princess Of Wales. This
'Concert Of Hope' also featured K D lang and Mick Hucknall and was
televised worldwide, doing much to raise funds and awareness of the
disease.
Towards the end of 1994 Michael performed a new song on the first
MTV European Music Awards, in the shadow of the Brandenburg Gate in
Berlin. 'Jesus To A Child' was the first new George Michael song
the huge television audience had heard for almost three years, and
the acclaim was universal.
Undeterred by the fact that he still wasn't able to release any new
material, 'Careless Whisper' was voted Londoner's 'Favourite record
of all time' in January 1995 in a competition run jointly by the
capital's leading evening newspaper and radio station. He was then
voted Best Male Singer by the same radio station, and by the
readers of a national newspaper.
By July 1995, after many months of negotiations, it was agreed that
George would leave Sony and sign two new deals, one with Virgin
Records for the World excluding the United States and the other
with Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg's newly
formed SKG Music in North America.
In April 1996, George won the Capital Radio award for 'Best Male
Singer' once more and was also honoured with an 'Outstanding
Contribution To Music' award.
George's first album for Virgin Records, 'Older', was released on
13th May 1996 and thusfar the global sales have been outstanding.
The album has already earned multi-platinum and/or gold status in
34 countries, including 5 x platinum in the UK.
Written, arranged and produced by George Michael, 'Older' was
recorded in London and features 11 brand new tracks including the
huge international hits, 'Jesus To A Child', 'Fastlove' and
'Spinning The Wheel', the double A-side 'Older' / 'I Can't Make You
Love Me' and 'Star People '97'.
On 8th September, George released a 4 track E.P. entitled 'You Have
Been Loved' which debuted at number 2 making him the first artist
in chart history to have 6 top 3 singles from one album.
The video for 'Fastlove' was also the top choice of MTV Europe
viewers in September 1996, as it picked up the 'MTV Europe
International Viewers Choice Award' at the MTV Video Music Awards
in New York.
At the beginning of October 1996, George performed his first live
shows for five years with a gig for Radio 1 FM followed by an
Unplugged Session for MTV. Although these concerts were attended by
the smallest audiences George has ever played to, he claims they
were nevertheless two of the most enjoyable, due to the intimacy of
the occasion. The Radio 1FM audience consisted of just 200 people
and the MTV Unplugged session slightly larger at 500. Both
audiences included competition winners, some of whom had flown to
London from all over the world, as well as various specially
invited guests.
At both these events, George performed a stunning set which
included the tracks 'Father Figure', 'One More Try', 'Waiting For
That Day', 'Freedom 90', 'Fastlove' and 'Older', closing with the
uptempo 'Star People' which had the audience up on their feet
begging for more.
In 1996, George was voted 'Best British Male', at the MTV Europe
Awards and the BRITs; and at The Ivor Novello Awards, he was
awarded the prestigious title of 'Songwriter of The Year' for the
third time.
On 24th November 1997, his former record label Epic released 'If
You Were There' - the long-awaited collection of Wham's Greatest
Hits and on 1st December Virgin Records released a limited edition
version of George's "Older" album which contained a bonus disc of 6
remixed tracks entitled 'Upper'. The 'Upper' CD is exclusive in
that it includes interactive elements, allowing fans access to
George's web site, videos and fan club through the internet.
In 1998 'Ladies and Gentlemen - The Best of George Michael' was
released on Epic Records as agreed in the Sony settlement in 1995.
The album soared to the top of the charts in the week of its
release, 9th November, and remained at Number 1 for eight weeks,
selling over 2 million copies, during the notoriously competitive
Christmas period.
The album features songs from every era of Michael's career from
'Careless Whisper' to the three brilliant brand new tracks.
'Outside' was released on 19th October 1998 with an accompanying
video that had George Michael's controversial stamp very clearly on
it.
The end of 1998 brought George Michael more accolades. 'Ladies and
Gentlemen' shot straight to number one (and is now eight times
platinum) in the UK. The album also reached number one on the
combined European Album Chart. Michael also topped the polls of the
95.8 Capital FM Hall of Fame for a record eighth time. On 5th
December 1998 a 1 hour Parkinson special was screened on BBC 1 to
universal critical and public acclaim.
On 8th March 1999, George Michael released 'As' a duet with R 'n' B
Diva Mary J Blige, written and originally released by Stevie Wonder
on his 'Songs in the Key Of Life' album.
Early October saw George Michael back on stage. He gave a rare live
performance at Wembley Stadium for the NetAid benefit concert. For
many this was the highlight of the evening as a full gospel choir
and 20 dancers joined Michael for songs including 'Father Figure'
and a moving rendition of 'Brother, Can You Spare a Dime'. The set
opened with the recreation of the 'Fastlove' video as Michael
appeared seated in the famous black leather chair with in-built
speakers and closed with the 70,000 strong Wembley Stadium audience
singing backing vocals for 'Freedom 90'.
As the 20th Century came to a close George Michael released his
fourth solo album which featured songs written by some of the
greatest composers of the last 100 years. This retrospective
collection released on Virgin Records includes tracks such as:
'Roxanne' written by Sting, 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face'
written by Ewan MacColl and the Frank Sinatra classic 'Where Or
When' written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. Each of the 11
tracks have been co-produced by the legendary Phil Ramone and
George Michael. This commemorative collection peaked at Number 2 in
the UK album charts. Being the only George Michael/Wham! album not
to hit the top spot.
In June of 2000, George released yet another collaboration, 'If I
Told You That' with Pop Diva Whitney Houston.
March 2003 saw the release of George's first solo single since
1998. A hard hitting up tempo number in the form of 'FREEEK!'.
'FREEEK!' was swiftly followed by the extremely controvertial
'Shoot The Dog' in May of 2004. George strongly airing his views
regarding the then current situation in the middle east. 'Shoot The
Dog' started out as an eyebrow raiser for many. However, it soon
became clear that George's passion was to become quite relevent in
the months that followed, with much of the UK and the USA standing
against the invasion of Iraq, with little effect.
In February of 2004, with much anticipation from fans, George
releases the first single to be released from his forthcoming album
'Patience'.
After 8 years in the making, in March of 2004, George releases his
fourth solo studio album in the form of 'Patience'. The much
anticipated album instantly hitting the number one spot in the UK
and various other countries in it's first week of release.
June 2004 saw the release of the up tempo dance track 'Flawless'.
Originally recorded by 'The Ones'. George decided to put his own
feel on the track. Much of 'The Ones' version being instrumental,
George reworked the track into a fully fledged song.
In November of 2004, George releases the third single to be taken
off the album, in the form of 'Round Here'. 'Round Here' depicting
his life in song. Telling the story of his early days through to
present day.
Thanks for being one of my biggest inspirations ..... Ive been a fan since The Wham days...You absolutly the best song writer that i have ever heard and singer as well....I miss real music like yours being in the lime light and topping the charts in the U.S... Music just doesnt have that anymore and i truelly miss the realness of your music...............Im hoping to return some of that realness back to the industry with my debut cd that is hitting mainstream radio asap...My first single is called FEEL ME and is a perfect introdction song written and produced and sung by me....Thank you again for inspiring me to do what i do...Much love and lots more success to you....
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