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George Michael

Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, (25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016), known professionally as George Michael, was an English singer-songwriter, and record producer.

George Michael
George Michael.jpeg
Michael performing on stage during the Faith World Tour in 1988
Born
Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou

(1963-06-25)25 June 1963
East Finchley, London, England
Died25 December 2016(2016-12-25) (aged 53)
Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England
Cause of deathSuspected Heart failure
Resting placeHighgate cemetery
OccupationSinger, songwriter, Record producer
Years active1981–2016
Musical career
GenresPop
Pop rock
Dance pop
R&B
Jazz
Blue Eyed Soul
InstrumentsVocals
Piano
Keyboards
Guitar
Bass guitar
Drums
Percussion
LabelsColumbia Records, DreamWorks, Virgin, Epic, Sony Music
Associated actsWham!
Websitewww.georgemichael.com

Career

George Michael who rose to fame in the 1980s, when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend Andrew Ridgeley. The duo released a string of massive singles in 1982 like Young Guns (Go For It) and Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do), both written by Michael. In 1983, Wham’s debut album, "Fantastic" was released. It reached #1 in the UK charts and had the hit single Club Tropicana with a music video, shot in Ibiza. After a year, Wham changed its image with the release of their second album Make it Big, which was a critical and commercial success, hitting #1 in both the UK and the USA. It produced four singles, all topping the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. One of the most popular songs in the album, Careless Whisper, Michael's first solo single, was released in 1984 while he was still performing with Wham!.[1] In 1986, Wham! disbanded after release of a third studio album, single and concert at Wembley Stadium.

Following his split with Wham!, George Michael began a successful solo career, releasing four studio albums, "Faith" (1987), "Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1" (1991), "Older" (1996), and "Patience" (2004). Michael has sold over 100 million records worldwide as of 2010,[2] encompassing 11 British #1 singles, 9 British #1 albums, 10 US #1 singles, and 2 US #1 album. His 1987 debut solo album, Faith has sold over 20 million copies worldwide alone and its considered by some music critics to be one of the greatest albums in pop music history.[3] In 2004, Radio Academy has named Michael the most played artist on British radio between the period of 1984-2004.[4]

In 2006, George Michael announced his first tour in 15 years. 25 Live tour was a massive, worldwide undertaking by Michael that spanned forth individual tours over the course of five years (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010).[5]

Charity

In November 1984, Michael joined other popular British and Irish pop stars to form Band Aid, singing on the charity song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for relief of famine in Ethiopia. This single became the UK Christmas number one on the UK Singles Chart in December 1984. Michael's own song, "Last Christmas" by Wham!, was held at number two.[6] "Do They Know It's Christmas?" sold 3.75 million copies in the UK. It became the biggest selling single in UK Chart history. It held this position until 1997 when it was overtaken by Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997", released in tribute to Princess Diana following her death Michael also attended Diana's funeral with Elton John.[6] 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.[7]

Personal life

Michael was born in London to an English mother and Greek father. Michael was raised there and in Hertfordshire. During his Wham! career, he was in relationships with well-known women such as actress Brooke Shields, and model Pat Fernandes.[8][9][10] Between 1986-1988, he was involved with Kathy Yueng, an American makeup artist who was featured in one of his Music Videos. Nonetheless, his orientation was well known among London music business people as being gay.[11]

These persisted into his solo career, but Michael had already established a relationship with Anselmo Feleppa, whom he had met at the 1991 concert "Rock in Rio". Feleppa died of an AIDS-related brain hemorrhage in 1993. Michael's single Jesus to a Child is a tribute to Feleppa: (he consistently dedicates it to him before performing it live), as is his 1996 album "Older".[12] Since 1996, Michael has been in a long-term relationship with businessman Kenny Goss. They have homes in London and Dallas.[13]

Death

On 25 December 2016 before 17:24 GMT, Michael died at his property in Goring, Oxfordshire, England from heart failure and a fatty liver. Before 22:59 GMT his publicist stated that he had "passed away peacefully" and Thames Valley Police said they were treating the death as unexplained and there were no suspicious circumstances. South Central Ambulance Service had attended his property at 13:42 GMT on Christmas Day.[14]

Discography

Faith (1987)

  1. Faith
  2. Father Figure
  3. One More Try
  4. Hard Day
  5. Hand To Mouth
  6. Look At Your Hands
  7. Monkey
  8. Kissing A Fool

Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1 (1990)

  1. Praying For Time
  2. Freedom '90
  3. They Won't Go When I Go
  4. Something To Save
  5. Cowboys And Angels
  6. Waiting For That Day
  7. Mothers Pride
  8. Heal The Pain
  9. Soul Free
  10. Waiting (Reprise)

Older (1996)

  1. Jesus To A Child
  2. Fastlove
  3. Older
  4. Spinning The Wheel
  5. It Doesn't Really Matter
  6. The Strangest Thing
  7. To Be Forgiven
  8. Move On
  9. Star People
  10. You Have Been Loved

Ladies And Gentlemen: The Best Of George Michael (1998)

  1. Jesus To A Child
  2. Father Figure
  3. Careless Whisper
  4. Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
  5. You Have Been Loved
  6. Kissing A Fool
  7. I Can't Make You Love Me
  8. Heal The Pain
  9. A Moment With You
  10. Desafinado
  11. Cowboys And Angels
  12. Praying For Time
  13. One More Try
  14. A Different Corner
  15. Waltz Away Dreaming
  16. Outside
  17. Fastlove
  18. As
  19. Too Funky
  20. Freedom '90
  21. Star People '97
  22. Killer
  23. Papa Was A Rollin' Stone
  24. Monkey
  25. Spinning The Wheel
  26. Waiting For That Day
  27. Fantasy
  28. I Knew You Were Waiting For Me
  29. Hard Day
  30. Faith
  31. Somebody To Love

Songs From The Last Century (1999)

  1. Brother Can You Spare A Dime
  2. Roxanne
  3. You've Changed
  4. My Baby Just Cares For Me
  5. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
  6. Miss Sarajevo
  7. I Remember You
  8. Secret Love
  9. Wild Is The Wind
  10. Where Or When

Patience (2004)

  1. Patience
  2. Amazing
  3. John & Elvis Are Dead
  4. Cars & Trains
  5. Round Here
  6. Shoot The Dog
  7. My Mother Had A Brother
  8. Flawless (Go To The City)
  9. American Angel
  10. Precious Box
  11. Please Send Me Someone (Anselmo's Song)
  12. Freeek!
  13. Through

Twenty Five (2006)

Disc 1

  1. Everything She Wants - Wham!
  2. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go - Wham!
  3. Freedom - Wham!
  4. Faith
  5. Too Funky
  6. Fastlove
  7. Freedom '90
  8. Spinning the Wheel
  9. Outside
  10. As (with Mary J. Blige)
  11. Freeek! (Not '04)
  12. Shoot The Dog
  13. Amazing
  14. Flawless (Radio Edition)
  15. An Easier Affair

Disc 2

  1. Careless Whisper
  2. Last Christmas - Wham!
  3. A Different Corner
  4. Father Figure
  5. One More Try
  6. Praying For Time
  7. Heal The Pain (with Sir Paul McCartney)
  8. Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me (with Sir Elton John)
  9. Jesus To A Child
  10. Older
  11. Round Here
  12. You Have Been Loved
  13. John and Elvis Are Dead
  14. This Is Not Real Love (with Mutya)

Disc 3

  1. Understand
  2. Precious Box
  3. Roxanne
  4. Fantasy
  5. Cars and Trains
  6. Patience
  7. You Know That I Want To
  8. My Mother Had A Brother
  9. If You Were There - Wham!
  10. Safe
  11. American Angel
  12. My Baby Just Cares For Me
  13. Brother Can You Spare A Dime? (performed at Pavarotti & Friends)
  14. Please Send Me Someone (Anselmo's Song)
  15. Through

References

  1. ↑ "George Michael's highs and lows". 21 September 2008 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  2. ↑ BBC.com Michael seeking 'a quieter life' Archived 1 February 2010 at WebCite
  3. ↑ "George Micahel at HP Pavilion at San Jose". Yahoo Inc. 24 March 2008. Archived from the original on 2010-02-01. Retrieved 3 May 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ↑ "George Michael dominates airwaves". 28 April 2004 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  5. ↑ "Latest Entertainment News & Celebrity News". www.mtv.com.au.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Sedghi, Ami (4 November 2012). UK's million-selling singles: the full list. London, England. https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/nov/04/uk-million-selling-singles-full-list. Retrieved 26 December 2016. 
  7. ↑ Butcher, Asa (20 November 2014). "30 years later... the original Band Aid performers". gbtimes.com. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  8. ↑ Mirror.co.uk (7 June 2007). "GEORGE CONFESSES". mirror.
  9. ↑ Abdulatief, Soraya (27 November 2009). "24 Facts: George Michael". Channel.
  10. ↑ "Brooke Shields and George Michael".
  11. ↑ Fiona Russell Powell (1998). "My High Times with Gay George". Punch. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
  12. ↑ Hellomagazine.com. "The life of celebrities & royals, biographies, news, photos". hellomagazine.com.
  13. ↑ "Goss Gallery to Open in Dallas Featuring International Contemporary Art". Prnewswire.co.uk. Retrieved April 27, 2009.
  14. ↑ "Ex-Wham singer George Michael dies". BBC. 25 December 2016. Retrieved 25 December 2016.

Other websites

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