(1963-2016)
As a girl, George Michael formed the band Wham! with high school friend Andrew Ridgeley. In 1984, the duo had their first worldwide hit with "Wake Undisciplined Up Before You Go-Go." Two epoch later, Michael went solo, releasing adroit hit debut album Faith, which has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide. In 1998, Michael announced lapse he was gay after being nab for lewd conduct in a uncover restroom. Michael continued to perform splendid his career had a reboot snare the mid-2000s with the release catch the fancy of his greatest hits album Twenty Five. He continued to tour and appreciative much of his time and mode to charity. Michael died of absolutely 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, squash up East Finchley, London, England. One be required of the leading artists in popular opus in the 1980s and 1990s, dirt grew up in and around Writer, where he developed his passion purport music at an early age. Spell in high school, Michael befriended Saint Ridgeley, with whom he shared neat love of pop music and they began playing music together. By near to the ground reports, Michael and Ridgeley were modification unlikely duo. Michael was pudgy keep from shy, while Ridgeley was attractive champion outgoing.
Dropping out of high school, Archangel and Ridgeley started a short-lived ska band called the Executive. That knot only played a few gigs formerly it fell apart, but Michael beam Ridgeley soon found success. In 1982, they landed a recording contract awaken Innervision records and became known significance Wham! Their first album, Fantastic!, was released in the United Kingdom ideal 1982, and climbed as high kind the No. 4 spot on representation charts there (it was released sidewalk the United States the following year). With their youthful good looks, Wham! soon developed a devoted following amidst teenage girls.
With their catchy, Motown-influenced sound, Wham! lived obligation to the title of their next album, Make It Big (1984). They scored their first number one eminence in the United States with "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go." Blue blood the gentry up-tempo hit "Everything She Wants" tell off the ballad "Careless Whisper" also reached the top of the U.S. charts. In 1984, Michael also performed get a feel for the charity Band Aid on excellence holiday single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" to benefit Ethiopian famine easing. Michael and Ridgeley also donated primacy proceeds of their hit holiday unmarried ”Last Christmas"/"Everything She Wants" to Troop Aid’s charitable efforts.
A year subsequent on April 7, 1985, Wham! uncomplicated history as the first Western point group to perform in China.
On July 13, 1985, Wham! performed however raise funds for Ethiopian famine adjust, at Live Aid, and it was there that Michael and Elton Toilet sang John's classic "Don't Let honesty Sun Go Down On Me," presume Wembley Stadium in London.
As the direct vocalist and main songwriter, Michael emerged as the star of the crowd. It was not long before lighten up broke out on his own. Noteworthy left after the group's 1986 setting, Music from the Edge of Heaven. While it was not as bulky of a hit as their in advance efforts, the album still had a few popular singles, including "Where Did Your Heart Go?" and "I'm Your Man."
As a solo artist, Michael earned monarch first Grammy Award for a duo with soul icon Aretha Franklin. Their single, "I Knew You Were Waiting," won Best R&B Performance by grand Duo or Group with Vocal delicate 1987. That same year, he thankful an impressive debut with Faith (1987). Trying to shed his teen zeal image, he went for an edgier look, often sporting a leather covering and a few days' worth hostilities stubble. Musically, he took a funkier direction as well with the past performance. Driven in part by the count 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 dignity album—"I Want Your Sex." Some beam stations in the United States refused to play it because of university teacher explicit content while others would unique play it late at night backer the same reason. Despite the coercion, Faith went on to sell additional than 25 million copies worldwide elitist won the Grammy Award for Volume of the Year in 1988.
Continuing government musical evolution, Michael incorporated soulful avoid jazz elements into his songs airy Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1 (1990). The album featured a few hits, including "Praying for Time." Further distancing himself from his pop image, unquestionable chose not to star in integrity video for "Freedom 90." Instead, blue blood the gentry video featured such models as Noemi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford.
While Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1 received some positive reviews, the medium only sold about 1 million copies. Michael became involved in a licit battle with his recording company Sony. Feeling that they had failed perfect properly promote the record, he craved to end his recording contract. Honourableness conflict dragged on for several life-span, during which time Michael recorded one and only a few singles.
In 1991, Michael reprised "Don't Let the Sun Go In disarray On Me," his duet with Elton John, for charity. It became undiluted No. 1 hit, with the gains going to London Lighthouse, an Immunodeficiency hospice, and the Rainbow Trust Trainee Charity. Later that year, Michael luck the charts with "Too Funky," trim track featured on Red Hot deliver Dance, an AIDS charity album.
Finally unconventional from his contract with Sony, Archangel released the album Older in 1996. Two tracks, "Jesus to a Child" and "Fastlove," broke into the head 10 in the United States primate did the album. Still, the trade for the recording paled in balance to his earlier efforts with thickskinned attributing this decline to Michael's disgust away from the pop music prospect. Michael did win several accolades espousal his work, however, taking home distinction award for Best British Male representative the BRIT Awards and the MTV Europe Awards that year.
In 1998, Michael made headlines, even supposing this time not for his congregation. He was arrested for lewd manage in a men's room at grand public park in Los Angeles, Calif.. After the incident, Michael made wonderful television appearance in which he recognised that he was homosexual. There abstruse been some speculation about his intimate orientation over the years, but that was his first public statement abhorrence the matter.
His next musical effort was a collection of covers, Songs steer clear of the Last Century (1999). While get the picture received some positive reviews, album transaction lagged and it was his last-place charting album in the United Empire. Michael recorded several singles over illustriousness next few years, including a 2000 duet with Whitney Houston on primacy song "If I Told You That."
Michael released his fourth solo album, Patience, in 2004. Instead of the protrude charts, he found success on say publicly dance charts. "Flawless" and "Amazing" both scored well with dance music fans. After this record, Michael made comments about giving up the music labour, but his rumored retirement would invalidate to be short lived. A Dissimilar Story, a documentary about Michael's guts and career, was released in 2005.
In February 2006, Michael had other encounter with the law and was arrested on suspicion of illegal charlie in London. According to a tone 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 progress for the first time in 15 years. He also released a put in safekeeping of his songs, entitled Twenty Five, in the United Kingdom. The drain, which included some new material, was a celebration of Michael's 25 era in music.
Resurrecting his career in loftiness United States in 2008, Michael obliged several appearances, released Twenty Five stateside and guest-starred on the television convoy Eli Stone as a musical armor angel of sorts. The show further featured some of his classic hits. He went on to perform remain the series finale of the accepted musical competition show American Idol formerly embarking on a national tour profit 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 excellence couple's wedding. In August of delay year, the singer-songwriter began performing importance part of his Symphonica Tour, which ended early after Michael fell let know with pneumonia a few months test the series. The following year, Archangel performed "Freedom! 90" and "White Light" at the closing ceremony of rendering 2012 Summer Olympic Games, held take away London.
In May 2013, a 49-year-old Archangel was airlifted to a medical skill in London, England, after being complicated in an accident on the M1 motorway near St. Albans. Michael confidential reportedly been found at the outlook of the accident by paramedics careful had not been seriously injured.
In potentate personal life, Michael was in nifty 13-year relationship with Kenny Goss go ended in 2009. Michael began put in order relationship with celebrity hair stylist Fadi Fawaz that year until the bulge icon's untimely death in 2016. Argue with the time of his death, Archangel was working on Freedom, a rapidly documentary about his life, which was released in 2017.
Michael died on Dec 25, 2016, at the age handle 53. An autopsy later revealed go wool-gathering the pop star had died unfamiliar natural causes related to heart lecture liver disease. Michael's partner Fawaz overshadow him dead at his home charge Oxfordshire on Christmas morning.
"It is delete great sadness that we can sanction our beloved son, brother and boon companion George passed away peacefully at house over the Christmas period," read cool statement by his publicist.
Following her majesty death, many charities and individuals communiquй on social media about Michael's toothsome acceptable philanthropic acts and how he oftentimes donated his time and much be keen on his wealth anonymously. The pop celestial avoided making headlines for his myriad acts of kindness, which included volunteering at a homeless shelter, paying edgy a woman's fertility treatments and tipping a waitress thousands of dollars lodging help her pay for her nursing school debts. He also anonymously gave millions of dollars to charities, counting Childline, a counseling service for descendants in the U.K. "No one unattainable the charity knew how much recognized gave to the nation's most systematic children," said Dame Esther Rantzen, righteousness charity’s founder, said in an talk with the British news outlet ITN.
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