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GEORGE MICHAEL BIOGRAPHY |
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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. 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 19 years, and at 38 years of age, George Michael can already
look back on more than 67 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. 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 15 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&B) and 'Favourite Album' (soul/R&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 Michael 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'.
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 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. 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&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 comes to a close George Michael
releases his fourth solo album which features 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 beenco-produced by the
legendary Phil Ramone and George Michael. |
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