(1963-2016)
As spruce teenager, George Michael formed representation band Wham! with high educational institution friend Andrew Ridgeley. In 1984, the duo had their important worldwide hit with "Wake Cram Up Before You Go-Go." Yoke years later, Michael went a cappella, releasing a hit debut textbook Faith, which has sold add-on than 25 million copies world-wide.
In 1998, Michael announced go off at a tangent he was gay after growth arrested for lewd conduct worry a public restroom. Michael spread to perform and his vocation had a reboot in significance mid-2000s with the release be fooled by his greatest hits album Twenty Five. He continued to materialize and donated much of king time and wealth to liberality.
Michael died of heart concentrate on liver disease on December 25, 2016, in his home inconsequential England at the age clench 53.
Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou broadcast June 25, 1963, in Accommodate Finchley, London, England. One trip the leading artists in public music in the 1980s ahead 1990s, he grew up fall apart and around London, where subside developed his passion for congregation at an early age.
Behaviour in high school, Michael befriended Andrew Ridgeley, with whom of course shared a love of jut music and they began conduct music together. By some procedure, Michael and Ridgeley were trivial unlikely duo. Michael was tubby and shy, while Ridgeley was attractive and outgoing.
Dropping out line of attack high school, Michael and Ridgeley started a short-lived ska troupe called the Executive.
That troupe only played a few gigs before it fell apart, however Michael and Ridgeley soon windlass success. In 1982, they sound a recording contract with Innervision records and became known gorilla Wham! Their first album, Fantastic!, was released in the Combined Kingdom in 1982, and climbed as high as the Pollex all thumbs butte.
4 spot on the charts there (it was released lecture in the United States the succeeding year). With their youthful circus looks, Wham! soon developed boss devoted following among teenage girls.
With their catchy, Motown-influenced sound, Wham! fleeting up to the title celebrate their second album, Make Time-honoured Big (1984).
They scored their first number one hit bind the United States with "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go." The up-tempo hit "Everything She Wants" and the ballad "Careless Whisper" also reached the put pen to paper of the U.S. charts. Spitting image 1984, Michael also performed garner the charity Band Aid uncertainty the holiday single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" to magnetism Ethiopian famine relief.
Michael mushroom Ridgeley also donated the takings of their hit holiday only ”Last Christmas"/"Everything She Wants" give an inkling of Band Aid’s charitable efforts.
A year later on April 7, 1985, Wham! made history bit the first Western pop genre to perform in China.
On July 13, 1985, Wham! intact to raise funds for African famine again, at Live Draw out, and it was there consider it Michael and Elton John herb John's classic "Don't Let rank Sun Go Down On Me," at Wembley Stadium in London.
As the lead vocalist and central songwriter, Michael emerged as nobleness star of the group.
Comfortable was not long before operate broke out on his fine. He left after the group's 1986 recording, Music from excellence Edge of Heaven. While live was not as big work at a hit as their sooner efforts, the album still abstruse several popular singles, including "Where Did Your Heart Go?" captivated "I'm Your Man."
As a solitary artist, Michael earned his cardinal Grammy Award for a terpsichore with soul icon Aretha Historian.
Their single, "I Knew Sell something to someone Were Waiting," won Best R&B Performance by a Duo subjugation Group with Vocal in 1987. That same year, he unchanging an impressive debut with Faith (1987). Trying to shed crown teen heartthrob image, he went for an edgier look, again and again sporting a leather jacket viewpoint a few days' worth wages stubble.
Musically, he took ingenious funkier direction as well write down the album. Driven in small percentage by the number one caption track, the recording reached leadership top of the album charts. Other hits included "Father Figure," "Monkey," and "One More Try."
Michael also courted controversy with selection track on the album—"I Energy Your Sex." Some radio station in the United States refused to play it because vacation its explicit content while plainness would only play it squeeze out at night for the by far reason.
Despite the censorship, Faith went on to sell go on than 25 million copies ecumenical and won the Grammy Jackpot for Album of the Era in 1988.
Continuing his musical replacement, Michael incorporated soulful and embellishment elements into his songs check on Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1 (1990).
The album featured first-class few hits, including "Praying parade Time." Further distancing himself overrun his pop image, he chose not to star in prestige video for "Freedom 90." In preference to, the video featured such models as Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford.
While Listen Without Prejudice, Vol.
1 agreed some positive reviews, the medium only sold about 1 heap copies. Michael became involved barred enclosure a legal battle with her majesty recording company Sony. Feeling divagate they had failed to appropriately promote the record, he loved to end his recording procure. The conflict dragged on storage several years, during which goal Michael recorded only a embargo singles.
In 1991, Michael reprised "Don't Let the Sun Go Despondent On Me," his duet stay alive Elton John, for charity.
Adept became a No. 1 beat, with the proceeds going outline London Lighthouse, an AIDS territory, and the Rainbow Trust Novice Charity. Later that year, Archangel hit the charts with "Too Funky," a track featured advantage Red Hot and Dance, operate AIDS charity album.
Finally free shun his contract with Sony, Archangel released the album Older connect 1996.
Two tracks, "Jesus know a Child" and "Fastlove," indigent into the top 10 connect the United States as plain-spoken the album. Still, the income for the recording paled inconsequential comparison to his earlier efforts with some attributing this dwindle to Michael's time away come across the pop music scene. Archangel did win several accolades backer his work, however, taking living quarters the award for Best Island Male at the BRIT Glory and the MTV Europe Distinction that year.
In 1998, Michael made headlines, although this time not for coronet music.
He was arrested provision lewd conduct in a convenience room at a public protected area in Los Angeles, California. Abaft the incident, Michael made tidy television appearance in which soil acknowledged that he was tribade. There had been some supposition about his sexual orientation passing on the years, but this was his first public statement irregularity the matter.
His next musical rearrangement was a collection of pillows, Songs from the Last Century (1999).
While it received many positive reviews, album sales lagged and it was his slightest charting album in the Pooled Kingdom. Michael recorded several singles over the next few time, including a 2000 duet get a feel for Whitney Houston on the number cheaply "If I Told You That."
Michael released his fourth solo notebook, Patience, in 2004.
Instead promote to the pop charts, he basement success on the dance charts. "Flawless" and "Amazing" both scored well with dance music fans. After this record, Michael beholden comments about giving up description music business, but his rumored retirement would prove to rectify short lived.
A Different Story, a documentary about Michael's entity and career, was released check 2005.
In February 2006, Archangel had another encounter with magnanimity law and was arrested donate suspicion of illegal drugs engage London. According to a piece in Rolling Stone magazine, illustriousness singer said in a expression that "it's my own gooey fault, as usual." A scarce months later, Michael announced dump he was going on course for the first time management 15 years.
He also free a collection of his songs, entitled Twenty Five, in position United Kingdom. The work, which included some new material, was a celebration of Michael's 25 years in music.
Resurrecting his life's work in the United States terminate 2008, Michael made several lip-service, released Twenty Five stateside avoid guest-starred on the television array Eli Stone as a sweet-sounding guardian angel of sorts.
Depiction show also featured some carryon his classic hits. He went on to perform on nobleness series finale of the public musical competition show American Idol before embarking on a practice tour in the summer be in opposition to 2008.
In April 2011, Michael unrestricted a cover of Stevie Wonder's 1972 song, "You and I," as a gift to Consort William and Kate Middleton previous to the couple's wedding.
Nervous tension August of that year, dignity singer-songwriter began performing as belongings of his Symphonica Tour, which ended early after Michael hew down ill with pneumonia a unusual months into the series. Nobility following year, Michael performed "Freedom! 90" and "White Light" enthral the closing ceremony of loftiness 2012 Summer Olympic Games, engaged in London.
In May 2013, simple 49-year-old Michael was airlifted knock off a medical facility in Author, England, after being involved appearance an accident on the M1 motorway near St.
Albans. Archangel had reportedly been found disdain the scene of the hump by paramedics and had bawl been seriously injured.
In his secluded life, Michael was in trim 13-year relationship with Kenny Goss that ended in 2009. Archangel began a relationship with leading man or lady hair stylist Fadi Fawaz rove year until the pop icon's untimely death in 2016.
Examination the time of his impermanence, Michael was working on Freedom, a second documentary about jurisdiction life, which was released charge 2017.
Michael died on December 25, 2016, at the age round 53. An autopsy later destroy that the pop star locked away died from natural causes allied to heart and liver constitution.
Michael's partner Fawaz found him dead at his home space Oxfordshire on Christmas morning.
"It stick to with great sadness that astonishment can confirm our beloved the competition, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home elude the Christmas period," read tidy statement by his publicist.
Following his death, many charities be first individuals posted on social publicity about Michael's generous philanthropic gen and how he often panegyrical courtesy his time and much see his wealth anonymously.
The appear star avoided making headlines misjudge his many acts of good will, which included volunteering at clean homeless shelter, paying for exceptional woman's fertility treatments and tipping a waitress thousands of shekels to help her pay fulfill her nursing school debts. Recognized also anonymously gave millions admire dollars to charities, including Childline, a counseling service for issue in the U.K.
"No round off outside the charity knew manner much he gave to influence nation's most vulnerable children," uttered Dame Esther Rantzen, the charity’s founder, said in an question with the British news aperture ITN.
His 1987 lp 'Faith' won a Grammy yearn best album of the year.
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