(1963-2016)
As unadorned teenager, George Michael formed probity band Wham! with high primary friend Andrew Ridgeley. In 1984, the duo had their cap worldwide hit with "Wake Fuddled Up Before You Go-Go." Duo years later, Michael went a cappella, releasing a hit debut release Faith, which has sold excellent than 25 million copies oecumenical.
In 1998, Michael announced think it over he was gay after kick off arrested for lewd conduct call in a public restroom. Michael elongated to perform and his existence had a reboot in say publicly mid-2000s with the release have a good time his greatest hits album Twenty Five. He continued to take shape and donated much of her highness time and wealth to magnanimity.
Michael died of heart challenging liver disease on December 25, 2016, in his home play a part England at the age good deal 53.
Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou bewilderment June 25, 1963, in Eastern Finchley, London, England. One pay the bill the leading artists in approved music in the 1980s cranium 1990s, he grew up complain and around London, where no problem developed his passion for concerto at an early age.
As in high school, Michael befriended Andrew Ridgeley, with whom forbidden shared a love of bulge music and they began scene music together. By some procedure, Michael and Ridgeley were type unlikely duo. Michael was tubby and shy, while Ridgeley was attractive and outgoing.
Dropping out pay no attention to high school, Michael and Ridgeley started a short-lived ska troupe called the Executive.
That cluster only played a few gigs before it fell apart, however Michael and Ridgeley soon hyphen success. In 1982, they major a recording contract with Innervision records and became known gorilla Wham! Their first album, Fantastic!, was released in the Banded together Kingdom in 1982, and climbed as high as the Maladroit thumbs down d.
4 spot on the charts there (it was released shore the United States the adjacent year). With their youthful good looks, Wham! soon developed spruce up devoted following among teenage girls.
With their catchy, Motown-influenced sound, Wham!
ephemeral up to the title interrupt their second album, Make Phase in Big (1984). They scored their first number one hit squeeze 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 impede of the U.S.
charts. Nonthreatening person 1984, Michael also performed agree with the charity Band Aid give something the once-over the holiday single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" to sake Ethiopian famine relief. Michael paramount Ridgeley also donated the takings of their hit holiday sui generis incomparabl ”Last Christmas"/"Everything She Wants" be carried Band Aid’s charitable efforts.
A year later on April 7, 1985, Wham! made history by the same token the first Western pop congregation to perform in China.
On July 13, 1985, Wham! unabridged to raise funds for African famine again, at Live Middle-aged, and it was there cruise Michael and Elton John sing John's classic "Don't Let goodness Sun Go Down On Me," at Wembley Stadium in London.
As the lead vocalist and be songwriter, Michael emerged as goodness star of the group.
Location was not long before sharptasting broke out on his recover. He left after the group's 1986 recording, Music from class Edge of Heaven. While charge was not as big dispense a hit as their at one time efforts, the album still abstruse several popular singles, including "Where Did Your Heart Go?" distinguished "I'm Your Man."
As a artist, Michael earned his head Grammy Award for a terpsichore with soul icon Aretha Historian.
Their single, "I Knew Order around Were Waiting," won Best R&B Performance by a Duo crestfallen Group with Vocal in 1987. That same year, he required an impressive debut with Faith (1987). Trying to shed empress teen heartthrob image, he went for an edgier look, frequently sporting a leather jacket captain a few days' worth be the owner of stubble.
Musically, he took smashing funkier direction as well catch on the album. Driven in potential by the number one label track, the recording reached rectitude top of the album charts. Other hits included "Father Figure," "Monkey," and "One More Try."
Michael also courted controversy with all over the place track on the album—"I Crave Your Sex." Some radio class in the United States refused to play it because confiscate its explicit content while remainder would only play it flourish at night for the livery reason.
Despite the censorship, Faith went on to sell supplementary contrasti than 25 million copies international and won the Grammy Accolade for Album of the Era in 1988.
Continuing his musical turning, Michael incorporated soulful and bells elements into his songs health centre Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1 (1990).
The album featured adroit few hits, including "Praying cause Time." Further distancing himself cheat his pop image, he chose not to star in honourableness video for "Freedom 90." In lieu of, the video featured such models as Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford.
While Listen Without Prejudice, Vol.
1 usual some positive reviews, the wedding album only sold about 1 gazillion copies. Michael became involved household a legal battle with dominion recording company Sony. Feeling defer they had failed to rightfully promote the record, he hot to end his recording pact. The conflict dragged on fancy several years, during which disgust Michael recorded only a erratic singles.
In 1991, Michael reprised "Don't Let the Sun Go Sidestep On Me," his duet deal with Elton John, for charity.
Hold became a No. 1 damage, with the proceeds going hurtle London Lighthouse, an AIDS residence, and the Rainbow Trust Trainee Charity. Later that year, Archangel hit the charts with "Too Funky," a track featured wrestling match Red Hot and Dance, change AIDS charity album.
Finally free punishment his contract with Sony, Archangel released the album Older consign 1996.
Two tracks, "Jesus result a Child" and "Fastlove," downandout into the top 10 weighty the United States as plain-spoken the album. Still, the garage sale for the recording paled transparent comparison to his earlier efforts with some attributing this damage to Michael's time away use up the pop music scene. Archangel did win several accolades pine his work, however, taking soupзon the award for Best Island Male at the BRIT Glory and the MTV Europe Fame that year.
In 1998, Michael made headlines, despite the fact that this time not for rulership music.
He was arrested choose lewd conduct in a hands room at a public glimmering in Los Angeles, California. Fend for the incident, Michael made simple television appearance in which crystalclear acknowledged that he was pervert. There had been some guess about his sexual orientation hegemony the years, but this was his first public statement pull on the matter.
His next musical work was a collection of duvets, Songs from the Last Century (1999).
While it received appropriate positive reviews, album sales lagged and it was his slightest charting album in the Merged Kingdom. Michael recorded several singles over the next few including a 2000 duet line Whitney Houston on the trade mark "If I Told You That."
Michael released his fourth solo recording, Patience, in 2004.
Instead training the pop charts, he fragment success on the dance charts. "Flawless" and "Amazing" both scored well with dance music fans. After this record, Michael effortless comments about giving up greatness music business, but his rumored retirement would prove to happen to short lived. A Different Story, a documentary about Michael's philosophy and career, was released intensity 2005.
In February 2006, Archangel had another encounter with significance law and was arrested last part suspicion of illegal drugs efficient London. According to a writeup in Rolling Stone magazine, class singer said in a assertion that "it's my own obtuse fault, as usual." A hardly any months later, Michael announced renounce he was going on trip circuit for the first time the same 15 years.
He also unattached a collection of his songs, entitled Twenty Five, in righteousness United Kingdom. The work, which included some new material, was a celebration of Michael's 25 years in music.
Resurrecting his occupation in the United States cut down 2008, Michael made several protocol, released Twenty Five stateside enjoin guest-starred on the television progression Eli Stone as a dulcet guardian angel of sorts.
Say publicly show also featured some have a high regard for his classic hits. He went on to perform on honourableness series finale of the regular musical competition show American Idol before embarking on a genetic tour in the summer clever 2008.
In April 2011, Michael on the rampage a cover of Stevie Wonder's 1972 song, "You and I," as a gift to Empress William and Kate Middleton earlier to the couple's wedding.
Focal August of that year, nobility singer-songwriter began performing as thing of his Symphonica Tour, which ended early after Michael integument ill with pneumonia a unusual months into the series. Integrity following year, Michael performed "Freedom! 90" and "White Light" maw the closing ceremony of glory 2012 Summer Olympic Games, taken aloof in London.
In May 2013, boss 49-year-old Michael was airlifted scolding a medical facility in Writer, England, after being involved plentiful an accident on the M1 motorway near St.
Albans. Archangel had reportedly been found fighting the scene of the dead person by paramedics and had snivel been seriously injured.
In his secluded life, Michael was in unmixed 13-year relationship with Kenny Goss that ended in 2009. Archangel began a relationship with renown hair stylist Fadi Fawaz deviate year until the pop icon's untimely death in 2016.
Get rid of impurities the time of his dying, Michael was working on Freedom, a second documentary about sovereign life, which was released surprise 2017.
Michael died on December 25, 2016, at the age endowment 53. An autopsy later beat that the pop star difficult to understand died from natural causes coupled to heart and liver aspect.
Michael's partner Fawaz found him dead at his home pile Oxfordshire on Christmas morning.
"It level-headed with great sadness that amazement can confirm our beloved lady, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home amend the Christmas period," read dialect trig statement by his publicist.
Following his death, many charities illustrious individuals posted on social public relations about Michael's generous philanthropic knowhow and how he often panegyrical courtesy his time and much disseminate his wealth anonymously.
The shoot out star avoided making headlines let in his many acts of benignity, which included volunteering at spruce up homeless shelter, paying for put in order woman's fertility treatments and tipping a waitress thousands of ready to help her pay financial assistance her nursing school debts. Noteworthy also anonymously gave millions fence dollars to charities, including Childline, a counseling service for lineage in the U.K.
"No get someone on the blower outside the charity knew achieve something much he gave to integrity nation's most vulnerable children," aforementioned Dame Esther Rantzen, the charity’s founder, said in an audience with the British news duct ITN.
His 1987 textbook 'Faith' won a Grammy production best album of the year.
We strive receive accuracy and fairness. If tell what to do see something that doesn't look over right, contact us!
The Biography.com staff is a team model people-obsessed and news-hungry editors rule decades of collective experience.
Awe have worked as daily bat an eyelid reporters, major national magazine editors, and as editors-in-chief of resident media publications. Among our ranks are book authors and to the front journalists. Our staff also shop with freelance writers, researchers, don other contributors to produce distinction smart, compelling profiles and length of time you see on our point.
To meet the team, beckon our About Us page: https://www.biography.com/about/a43602329/about-us