George Michael

George Michael (born 25 June 1963) is a gay English born singer/songwriter of Greek Cypriot descent who performs Blue-eyed soul-influenced pop, and who (as a solo artist and half of the duo WHAM)has enjoyed phenomenal global succes since 1982.His biggest commercial success so far was in 1987 with his debut solo album "Faith" which sold 14 million copies then and to date it has reached the 22 million mark worldwide.

Biography

Early life

George Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in East Finchley, north London, to a Greek Cypriot father and a British mother. He spent the majority of his childhood in London living in the home his parents bought shortly after his birth. He began his career by forming a short-lived band called The Executive together with his best friend Andrew Ridgeley, a fellow pupil at Bushey Meads School.He held everyday jobs,one was as a waiter.

WHAM!

It wasn't until he formed the duo Wham! together with Ridgeley in 1981 that success came for Michael. The band's first album, Fantastic!, was an instant success, and within a year they had released their classic debut single, "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)". Their second single, "Young Guns (Go For It)", became the first in a string of Top 10 hits in the UK singles chart. They were rapidly followed by titles such as "Bad Boys", "Club Tropicana", "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go", "Freedom", "Last Christmas/Everything She Wants", "I'm Your Man" and a second album, Make It Big. George also sang on the original Band Aid recording of "Do They Know It's Christmas" and donated the profits from "Last Christmas/Everything She Wants" to the charity. He also added background vocals to David Cassidy's 1985 hit "The Last Kiss."

Wham!'s tour of China in April 1985 (the first visit to China by a Western pop act) generated enormous worldwide media coverage - much of it centered on George Michael. The tour was documented by celebrated film director Lindsay Anderson and producer Martin Lewis in their film Foreign Skies: Wham! In China and contributed to an ever-widening awareness of Michael as a personality.

With the success of his solo releases "Careless Whisper" (1984) and "A Different Corner" (1986) stories of an impending Wham! split intensified, and Wham! separated in the summer of 1986 after a farewell single, "The Edge of Heaven", an album, plus a sell-out concert at Wembley Stadium that included the world premiere of the China film.

Solo career

His biggest hit singles as a solo artist include the single "Faith," taken from his debut album of the same name. The album not only became number one on both sides of the Atlantic, but also resulted in four number one singles in the United States. In 1989 he again sang backing vocals on a record called "Heaven Help Me" with longtime friend Deon Estus. The song was written by both of them, and just missed out on the British the top 40, reaching #5 in the U.S. "Careless Whisper" (written when he was seventeen) became one of the most played songs of the decade and voted favourite record of all time by Londoners in January 1995, in a competition run jointly by the capital's leading evening newspaper and radio station. He was then also voted Best Male Singer by the same radio station and by the readers of a national newspaper. Some of his other hits include "Father Figure", "Kissing a Fool", "One More Try", "Freedom 90", "Fastlove", "Jesus to a Child", "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (a duet with Elton John), 2002's "Freeek" and the controversial song and video "Shoot the Dog" which is a commentary on Tony Blair's partnership with George Bush in Bush's 'War on Terror'.

His work covers a variety of pop styles, from ballads to funky dance tracks. In a career spanning more than twenty years, George Michael has been responsible for more than 80 million record sales according to his official website.

Michael was involved in a 1993 court case concerning his record contract after his record company CBS was taken over by Sony. Amongst Michael's complaints was that Sony had not fully supported the release of his second solo album resulting in its poor performance in the U.S. compared to Faith. Sony responded that Michael had refused to appear in promotional videos and it was this that had caused the poor response to the album. The case was heard in London and was found against Michael. As a consequence, Michael declared he would not release any new material until he had completed the minimum of his contractual obligations to Sony.

Having decided to release his new material through a number of labels on a single-by-single basis, Michael found a home at Sony for his new, highly anticipated album Patience. It was released in March 2004 after two popular singles released through Polydor Records. Patience debuted at number one in the UK album charts and number two in Australia.It has sold moderately globally with 2.5 million.

Michael was also engaged in more controversy when he shut down his online Official Forum/Message Board because he did not like the petty bickering about his cousin. Also, the moderating/webmaster team were not doing their job properly. This alienated and polarised his fanbase and many fans dispersed to new online fan communities.

During the 2005 event Live 8, George Michael joined Paul McCartney on stage, harmonizing on the Beatles' classic "Drive My Car". He couldn't perform a separate set himself because of a head cold. At the event, Michael told BBC Radio 1 that he was writing and recording music at home and hinted that was considering a tour in 2006.

It was announced on 21 April 2006 that he would embark on a 50-date tour in 2006 called "25 Live" to commemorate 25 years of being in the music business. The tour is set to kick off 23 September 2006 in Barcelona, Spain. A new greatest hits package will be released to coincide with the tour. The new album will feature four new tracks.

This will be the fourth "best of" package of George Michael material after 1986's "The Final", 1997's "If You Were There" (both Wham! collections), and 1998's solo collection "Ladies & Gentlemen;",a double disc which went double platinum in the US.

Michael has also stated that he's recording a new version of "Heal the Pain" with Paul McCartney. "We're doing some recording later this week actually. We're gonna do another version of one of my old songs called "Heal the Pain" – which I wrote as a tribute to him and so I'm incredibly honoured that he's gonna sing it for me," Michael said.

Future career

In a recent interview with Michael Parkinson on Britain's ITV television channel, Michael announced his intention to tour for the first time in 15 years.

He announced that he would embark on a 50-date European tour entitled 25 Live, beginning in Barcelona on 23 September 2006, and ending up at Wembley Arena in London in December.

He also confirmed his intention to form a civil partnership with long-time partner Kenny Goss. He told Parkinson "they will do the legal formal thing, then a party". He also quipped that "none of them would be donning a dress".

To coincide with the tour, a new greatest hits collection, "25", will be released on 9 November 2006, including four new songs. The lead single, "An Easier Affair", debuted on radio on 24 May 2006, and was released by Sony BMG as a download on 19 June and as a CD release a week later. This new single hit #1 in the U.K. dance charts and reached #13 in the U.K. singles chart upon physical release (download entered the charts at #74).

Due to an overwhelming response by fans to his recently announced tour celebrating 25 years in the music industry, George Michael, as stated by his publicist, is considering a North American tour as well.

George is set to release a new single with ex-Sugababe Mutya, "This Is Not Real Love", sometime in November 2006.

The Sunday Mirror reported in October 2006 that Wham! would reunite at Wembley Stadium in December 2006, at the conclusion of George's Live 25 tour. Wham! back-up singers Pepsi and Shirlie will also be part of the reunion performance.

Personal life

Sexual orientation

Michael was initially private about his sexual orientation, with rumours of relationships with high-profile women and backing dancers common tabloid fodder during his Wham! career.

These persisted into his solo career, but Michael had already established a relationship with a male Brazilian dress designer, Anselmo Feleppa, whom Michael met at the 1991 concert "Rock in Rio". Michael and Feleppa enjoyed a loving relationship, but after two years Feleppa died of an AIDS-related brain haemorrhage in 1993. Michael's single "Jesus To A Child" is a direct tribute to Feleppa (he consistently dedicates it to him before performing it live), as is his 1996 album "Older."

Questions of his sexual orientation persisted in public, until 7 April 1998, when he was arrested for "engaging in a lewd act" in a public toilet in a park in Beverly Hills, California. He was arrested by an undercover policeman named Marcelo Rodriguez.

George Michael: "Well, I was followed into the restroom, and then, this cop – well, I didn't know he was a cop at the time, obviously – he started playing this game. I think it's called ‘I'll show you mine, you show me yours, and then when you show me yours, I'm gonna nick you!'" http://gaytoday.badpuppy.com/garchive/people/110998pe.htm

After pleading "no contest" to the charge, Michael was fined $810 and sentenced to 80 hours of community service. Soon afterwards, Michael made a video for his single "Outside" which was clearly based on the public toilet incident and which featured men dressed up as policemen kissing. Rodriguez, the police officer, claimed that this video "mocked" him, and also that Michael had slandered him in interviews, and in 1999 brought a $10 million court case in California against the singer who has amassed an estimated personal fortune of 70 million pounds($120 million).The court dismissed the case on the grounds related to the officer's status as a public official, but an appeals court reinstated the case on 3 December 2002.

After that incident he became open about his homosexuality. He also became public about his relationship with Kenny Goss; a former cheerleader coach http://www.unt.edu/northtexan/archives/f03/cheerextrafb.htm and later Adidas sports clothing executive, originally from Dallas, Texas; http://www.home.no/cheznobby/id50.htm his partner since that time. Goss and Michael opened the Goss Gallery in 2005 in Dallas, which shows contemporary works of art such as those collected by the couple. The couple have homes in London, Hollywood, and Dallas http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=146309. In late November 2005 it was reported http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4483552.stm that Michael and Goss would, in the following year, register their relationship as a civil partnership in the U.K. - but various tabloid recorded public spats and Michael's various drugs incidents in 2006 may delay that, as Michael has commented that he wants all the publicity to die down first http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2004210623,00.html.

In July 2006, Michael was photographed by U.K. tabloid newspaper News of the World reporters, emerging from the bushes on Hampstead Heath, a park in London, apparently following a sexual tryst with Norman Kirtland, who they called a "pot-bellied, 58-year-old, jobless van driver" http://launch.yahoo.com/read/news/34638663. Michael then hit back at the newspaper, by announcing that he was suing the photographers for harassment and possibly libel, and suing Kirtland himself. However, in a later interview on BBC News 24, he stated that he would not sue the newspaper, and said that cruising was defacto private because it was taking place at 2am http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5222652.stm. In a later interview with the Daily Mirror, he claimed that he had been cruising regularly for gay sex since his early teens, and that Goss had no problem with him having casual sex with other people http://www.myvillage.com/pages/celebs-georgemichael.htm. In a telephone interview with Richard and Judy, he said: "We (Kenny Goss and Michael) had a lovely tenth anniversary party. My present to him was a million quid so I think I should get away with so-called fooling around with 'Bernard Manning'. I've no idea who that guy was but thank-you very much, whoever he was." http://www.myvillage.com/pages/celebs-georgemichael.htm.

Drugs

Michael has admitted to problems and depression, which he has tried to cope with by taking Prozac, smoking cannabis, and at one time buying a Labrador Retriever, which died in the Thames.

During 2006, a series of incidents occurred which suggested he was still in turmoil. On 26 February 2006, Michael was arrested for possession of Class C drugs, an incident that he described as "my own stupid fault, as usual." He was cautioned by the police and let go http://articles.news.aol.com/music/article.adp?id=20060227023809990006 http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Music/02/27/george.slumped.ap/.

On 15 May 2006, Michael was found slumped over the wheel of his Range Rover, photographed apparently snoozing at traffic lights in London. He awoke after a member of the public knocked on his window for five minutes "sweating heavily and had his iPod on". He drove off weaving up the road, and then hit a traffic bollard. Later the same month, he was questioned by police after shunting three cars in the street in which he lives http://www.myvillage.com/pages/celebs-georgemichael.htm.

In the early hours of 1 October 2006, Michael was found unconscious in his Mercedes-Benz S-Class car, causing an obstruction at the junction of Cricklewood Lane with Hendon Way, in northwest London. Police found Michael slumped in his seat in a semi-conscious state. He was taken to the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead for checks, and was then booked in at Colindale police station. He was later cautioned by the police for possession of cannabis, and was released on bail pending further inquiries on his fitness to drive http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-10-02T054737Z_01_L02866398_RTRUKOC_0_UK-MICHAEL.xml http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2006450634,00.html

Michael's long term partner Kenny Goss has also been treated for alcohol abuse, checking into an Arizona-based clinic for two months in June 2004 after encouragement from Michael http://www.rainbownetwork.com/Music/detail.asp?iData=21366&iCat=111&iChannel=17&nChannel=Music.

Relationship with fellow artists

During the early '80s, singer Boy George was rather vocal in his dislike of Michael, some of which is caught on video during the filming of the Band Aid collaboration. While recording harmonies, Boy George openly confused Michael's recorded vocals with the voice of "Alf" (British singer-songwriter Alison Moyet, who did not participate in the charity single). When the engineer correctly identified the voice as that of Michael, Boy George replied, "God, he sounded camp. But then he is." The singer Morrissey has also been critical of Michael, stating that he is "not impressed".

In December 2004, Elton John stated in an interview that he believed Michael should "get out more". As both John and Michael were openly gay and seemingly friends, many were surprised at the public spat. In an open letter response in "Heat" magazine, Michael claimed he and John were not good friends and that John had little knowledge of his personal life other than what he might glean from gossip, or the "gay grapevine", as Michael termed it.

In July 2005, it was reported that the two had ended their nine-month feud over a dinner at Michael's north London home (apparently prepared by "celebrity chef" Gordon Ramsay). The two singers further agreed that John will re-release their 1991 duet "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" on a forthcoming album.

Politics

Michael has often taken a public, socially conscious, and sometimes political stance. In 1984, he sang as part of Band Aid on the charity song "Do They Know It's Christmas" for famine relief in Ethiopia. This single held the #1 position in the U.K. music charts over Christmas 1984, holding Michael's own song, "Last Christmas" by Wham!, at #2. Michael donated the royalties from "Last Christmas" to Band Aid and subsequently sang with Elton John at Live Aid (the Band Aid charity concert) in 1985.

In the 1980s, George Michael was very critical of Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government and its cruise missile alliance with the U.S. George said that he felt bad, since through his taxes he was paying for these weapons, yet was obliged to never dodge his tax obligations to his home country.

Michael also wrote "Shoot the Dog", a critical song about the friendly relationship between the governments of the U.S. and the U.K. towards the Iraqi War. In the animated music video for the song, Tony Blair is depicted as the "dog" that follows his "owner" (George W. Bush) everywhere.

Trivia

George Michael was one of several remixers commissioned to work on dance mixes for Bananarama's "Tripping on Your Love". Bananarama later covered "Careless Whisper" in 2000 and released it as a single (Keren Woodward of Bananarama is Andrew Ridgeley's partner).

Discography

For a detailed account of album and single releases, please see the George Michael discography.

Press articles

Revealing interview with George Michael from London Independent, in which he discusses his childhood, depression, sexuality and friendship with Diana
"George Michael faces $10m lawsuit" - BBC News article, dated Tuesday, September 14, 1999
"George Michael video case dismissed" - BBC News article, by Peter Bowes, dated Thursday, February 17, 2000
"Officer allowed to sue Michael" - BBC News article, dated Wednesday, December 4, 2002
There was so much death, December 9, 2005 Interview with The Guardian
Singer Michael says cannabis keeps him sane, October 21, 2006, Reuters