George Michael

George Michael
Birth name	Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou
Also known as	George Michael
Born	June 25, 1963 (1963-06-25)
Origin	London, England
Genres	Pop Pop rock Dance pop R&B Jazz Blue Eyed Soul
Occupations	Singer, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals Piano Keyboards Guitar Bass guitar Drums Percussion
Years active	1982 - present
Labels	Columbia Records, DreamWorks, Virgin, Epic, Sony Music
Associated acts	Wham!
Website	www.georgemichael.com

George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, 25 June 1963) is a two-time Grammy Award winning English singer-songwriter.

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 hit 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, Micheal's first solo single, was released in 1984 while he was still performing with Wham!. 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, 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. In 2004, Radio Academy has named Michael the most played artist on British radio between the period of 1984-2004.

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).

Personal life

Michael was initially private about being homosexual. During his Wham! career, he was in relationships with well-known women such as actress Brooke Shields, and model Pat Fernandes. Between 1986-1988, he was romantically involved with Kathy Yueng, an American makeup artist who was featured in "I Want Your Sex" Music Video. Nonetheless, his sexual orientation was well known among London music business people.

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". Since 1996, Michael has been in a long-term relationship with businessman Kenny Goss. They have homes in London and Dallas.

Discography

Faith (1987)

1. Faith
2. Father Figure
3. I Want Your Sex
4. One More Try
5. Hard Day
6. Hand To Mouth
7. Look At Your Hands
8. Monkey
9. Kissing A Fool
10. A Last Request (I Want Your Sex Part 3)

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. I Want Your Sex
25. Monkey
26. Spinning The Wheel
27. Waiting For That Day
28. Fantasy
29. I Knew You Were Waiting For Me
30. Hard Day
31. Faith
32. 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

Other websites

• George Michael | The Official Website