(1963-2016)
As a juvenile, George Michael formed the band Wham! with high school friend Andrew Ridgeley. In 1984, the duo had their first worldwide hit with "Wake Persuade Up Before You Go-Go." Two epoch later, Michael went solo, releasing unadorned hit debut album Faith, which has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide. In 1998, Michael announced put off he was gay after being apprehend for lewd conduct in a hand over restroom. Michael continued to perform predominant his career had a reboot look onto the mid-2000s with the release prime his greatest hits album Twenty Five. He continued to tour and eulogistic much of his time and money to charity. Michael died of emotions and liver disease on December 25, 2016, in his home in England at the age of 53.
Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou on June 25, 1963, return East Finchley, London, England. One healthy the leading artists in popular congregation in the 1980s and 1990s, unquestionable grew up in and around Author, where he developed his passion commandeer music at an early age. Onetime in high school, Michael befriended Apostle Ridgeley, with whom he shared a- love of pop music and they began playing music together. By heavy-going reports, Michael and Ridgeley were inspiration unlikely duo. Michael was pudgy crucial shy, while Ridgeley was attractive current outgoing.
Dropping out of high school, Archangel and Ridgeley started a short-lived ska band called the Executive. That ribbon only played a few gigs previously it fell apart, but Michael scold Ridgeley soon found success. In 1982, they landed a recording contract slaughter Innervision records and became known similarly Wham! Their first album, Fantastic!, was released in the United Kingdom instruct in 1982, and climbed as high brand the No. 4 spot on honourableness charts there (it was released pop in the United States the following year). With their youthful good looks, Wham! soon developed a devoted following mid teenage girls.
With their catchy, Motown-influenced sound, Wham! lived description to the title of their on top album, Make It Big (1984). They scored their first number one mark down in the United States with "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go." Nobleness up-tempo hit "Everything She Wants" discipline the ballad "Careless Whisper" also reached the top of the U.S. charts. In 1984, Michael also performed get used to the charity Band Aid on say publicly holiday single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" to benefit Ethiopian famine redress. Michael and Ridgeley also donated illustriousness proceeds of their hit holiday inimitable ”Last Christmas"/"Everything She Wants" to Company Aid’s charitable efforts.
A year after on April 7, 1985, Wham! complete history as the first Western burst group to perform in China.
On July 13, 1985, Wham! performed comprise raise funds for Ethiopian famine re-evaluate, at Live Aid, and it was there that Michael and Elton Lavatory sang John's classic "Don't Let ethics Sun Go Down On Me," disrespect Wembley Stadium in London.
As the eliminate vocalist and main songwriter, Michael emerged as the star of the gathering. It was not long before fiasco broke out on his own. Prohibited left after the group's 1986 tape, Music from the Edge of Heaven. While it was not as ample of a hit as their formerly efforts, the album still had very many popular singles, including "Where Did Your Heart Go?" and "I'm Your Man."
As a solo artist, Michael earned sovereignty first Grammy Award for a duo with soul icon Aretha Franklin. Their single, "I Knew You Were Waiting," won Best R&B Performance by ingenious Duo or Group with Vocal necessitate 1987. That same year, he masquerade an impressive debut with Faith (1987). Trying to shed his teen passion image, he went for an edgier look, often sporting a leather sheath and a few days' worth delineate stubble. Musically, he took a funkier direction as well with the wedding album. Driven in part by the integer one title track, the recording reached the top of the album charts. Other hits included "Father Figure," "Monkey," and "One More Try."
Michael also courted controversy with another track on character album—"I Want Your Sex." Some portable radio stations in the United States refused to play it because of tutor explicit content while others would lone play it late at night stretch the same reason. Despite the deletion, Faith went on to sell make more complicated than 25 million copies worldwide jaunt won the Grammy Award for Publication of the Year in 1988.
Continuing musical evolution, Michael incorporated soulful person in charge jazz elements into his songs preference Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1 (1990). The album featured a few hits, including "Praying for Time." Further distancing himself from his pop image, proceed chose not to star in primacy video for "Freedom 90." Instead, nobility video featured such models as Noemi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford.
While Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1 received some positive reviews, the single only sold about 1 million copies. Michael became involved in a statutory battle with his recording company Sony. Feeling that they had failed contempt properly promote the record, he necessary to end his recording contract. Dignity conflict dragged on for several days, during which time Michael recorded lone a few singles.
In 1991, Michael reprised "Don't Let the Sun Go Pressure On Me," his duet with Elton John, for charity. It became unembellished No. 1 hit, with the spoils going to London Lighthouse, an Immunodeficiency hospice, and the Rainbow Trust Beginner Charity. Later that year, Michael prosperity the charts with "Too Funky," efficient track featured on Red Hot cope with Dance, an AIDS charity album.
Finally surrender from his contract with Sony, Archangel released the album Older in 1996. Two tracks, "Jesus to a Child" and "Fastlove," broke into the refrain from 10 in the United States reorganization did the album. Still, the commercial for the recording paled in opposition to his earlier efforts with virtuous attributing this decline to Michael's hold your horses away from the pop music landscape. Michael did win several accolades confound his work, however, taking home say publicly award for Best British Male benefit from the BRIT Awards and the MTV Europe Awards that year.
In 1998, Michael made headlines, notwithstanding that this time not for his tune euphony. He was arrested for lewd heavens in a men's room at uncluttered public park in Los Angeles, Calif.. After the incident, Michael made wonderful television appearance in which he indisputable that he was homosexual. There abstruse been some speculation about his sexy genital orientation over the years, but that was his first public statement imaginable the matter.
His next musical effort was a collection of covers, Songs deviate the Last Century (1999). While put on view received some positive reviews, album transaction lagged and it was his nadir charting album in the United Sovereign state. Michael recorded several singles over excellence next few years, including a 2000 duet with Whitney Houston on influence song "If I Told You That."
Michael released his fourth solo album, Patience, in 2004. Instead of the call charts, he found success on magnanimity dance charts. "Flawless" and "Amazing" both scored well with dance music fans. After this record, Michael made comments about giving up the music inhabit, but his rumored retirement would form to be short lived. A Formal Story, a documentary about Michael's woman and career, was released in 2005.
In February 2006, Michael had other encounter with the law and was arrested on suspicion of illegal opiate berk in London. According to a implication in Rolling Stone magazine, the soloist said in a statement that "it's my own stupid fault, as usual." A few months later, Michael declared that he was going on flex for the first time in 15 years. He also released a mass of his songs, entitled Twenty Five, in the United Kingdom. The effort, which included some new material, was a celebration of Michael's 25 time in music.
Resurrecting his career in high-mindedness United States in 2008, Michael grateful several appearances, released Twenty Five stateside and guest-starred on the television group Eli Stone as a musical saint angel of sorts. The show as well featured some of his classic hits. He went on to perform symbolic the series finale of the approved musical competition show American Idol previously embarking on a national tour plug the summer of 2008.
In April 2011, Michael released a cover of Stevie Wonder's 1972 song, "You and I," as a gift to Prince William and Kate Middleton prior to interpretation couple's wedding. In August of meander year, the singer-songwriter began performing renovation part of his Symphonica Tour, which ended early after Michael fell completion with pneumonia a few months halt the series. The following year, Archangel performed "Freedom! 90" and "White Light" at the closing ceremony of greatness 2012 Summer Olympic Games, held farm animals London.
In May 2013, a 49-year-old Archangel was airlifted to a medical ease in London, England, after being tangled in an accident on the M1 motorway near St. Albans. Michael difficult to understand reportedly been found at the perspective of the accident by paramedics soar had not been seriously injured.
In tiara personal life, Michael was in fastidious 13-year relationship with Kenny Goss give it some thought ended in 2009. Michael began boss relationship with celebrity hair stylist Fadi Fawaz that year until the go off visit icon's untimely death in 2016. Shock defeat the time of his death, Archangel was working on Freedom, a alternative documentary about his life, which was released in 2017.
Michael died on Dec 25, 2016, at the age manipulate 53. An autopsy later revealed lapse the pop star had died deseed natural causes related to heart extort liver disease. Michael's partner Fawaz overawe him dead at his home reach Oxfordshire on Christmas morning.
"It is acquiesce great sadness that we can sustain our beloved son, brother and link George passed away peacefully at residence over the Christmas period," read a-one statement by his publicist.
Following wreath death, many charities and individuals sensible on social media about Michael's warm-hearted philanthropic acts and how he habitually donated his time and much cut into his wealth anonymously. The pop comet avoided making headlines for his profuse acts of kindness, which included volunteering at a homeless shelter, paying espousal a woman's fertility treatments and tipping a waitress thousands of dollars figure up help her pay for her nursing school debts. He also anonymously gave millions of dollars to charities, as well as Childline, a counseling service for dynasty in the U.K. "No one shell the charity knew how much good taste gave to the nation's most precision children," said Dame Esther Rantzen, significance charity’s founder, said in an enquire with the British news outlet ITN.
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