George Michael Biography (1963–)

From ‘80s teen pop sensation to adult superstar, George Michael’s music & private life intrigue both fans and onlookers.

George Michael: Wham! Days
George Michael was born “Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou” on June 25, 1963 in London, England.
George Michael rose to fame in the 1980s along with collaborator Andrew Ridgeley in the British teen pop sensation Wham! Wham!’s first album Fantastic went to No. 1 on the UK album charts. The aptly named sophomore effort, Make it Big,  was Wham!’s breakthrough record, spawning the hits “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” and “Careless Whisper.” The success of “Careless Whisper,” which featured a solo George Michael, led Michael to break away from Wham! and transition toward a solo career.

George Michael: Flying Solo
Desiring to reach an older audience, George Michael began his solo career in 1987 by performing a duet on the song “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" with Aretha Franklin. The song peaked at No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and UK singles charts. That same year, George Michael released his first album Faith, on which he wrote and produced most of the songs himself. Faith sold 10 million copies and produced four consecutive No. 1 singles such as the album’s title track, “I Want Your Sex,” “Father Figure” and “One More Try.” George Michael is the only British male singer to accomplish this feat. Faith spent 87 weeks on the Billboard chart.

George Michael: Controversy begins
Controversy surrounded the first single from Faith  “I Want Your Sex,” as many believed its racy lyrics glorified causal sex. American and British radio stations either chose to ban the song, refused to say the title on air, or chose to substitute “love” for “sex.” MTV would only show the video for “I Want Your Sex” after-hours. Regardless of the song’s censorship, “I Want Your Sex” reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart and remained on the Top 40 Chart for 14 weeks.

George Michael: Winding Down
After a whirlwind tour in support of Faith, an exhausted George Michael released Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 in 1990. The first single “Praying for Time” peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard chart despite having no music video. “Freedom ‘90” reached No. 8 on Billboard; George Michael famously refused to be included in the video and it instead featured supermodels Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Linda Evangelista lip-synching the lyrics. To many the video suggested George Michael was rejecting his own success rather than his real intent, which was to shed his status as a sex symbol. Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 peaked at No. 2 on Billboard and spent several months inside the Top 10.

George Michael: Covers Elton
In 1991, rather than tour in support of Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, George Michael began the “Cover to Cover Tour” where he sang his favorite songs. The most notable cover was Elton John’s “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” which Elton John and George Michael performed at Live Aid in 1985. Elton John and George Michael decided to record the duet at George Michael’s concert at London's Wembley Stadium. The cover reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart and in the UK. The song’s proceeds were split between the AIDS charity London Lighthouse and the Rainbow Trust Children's Charity.

George Michael: Struggles
George Michael ended plans to release Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 2 as he became disillusioned with his record company, Sony. Unhappy with how Sony promoted Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, George Michael was unwilling to go forward with another album. George Michael released the single “Too Funky,” his last with record company Sony, as a part of Red Hot and Dance, an AIDS charity album in 1992. “Too Funky” hit No. 4 in the UK and No. 10 in America.

George Michael: Freedom
After a lengthy court battle with Sony, George Michael lost his suit. George Michael was unable to release any new material until DreamWorks Records, in America, and Virgin Records, worldwide, stepped in to buy out George Michael’s Sony contract. The deal allowed Sony to release George Michael’s greatest hits albums, while new material surfaced on DreamWorks and Virgin. In 1996, George Michael released Older, featuring the single, “Jesus to a Child,” debuting at No. 1 in the UK and No. 6 in America. The second single “Fast Love” peaked at No. 8 on Billboard. Older sold over 10 million copies worldwide.

George Michael: Embraces the past
In 1998, Sony released a two-disc album of greatest hits and rarities called Ladies and Gentlemen: the Best of George Michael. The album features duets between George Michael and Aretha Franklin, Astrud Gilberto, and Elton John. The first single “Outside” was seen as a self-parody of Michael’s arrest for lewd behavior in Beverly Hills, California. The second single was a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “As” featuring Mary J. Blige. Ladies and Gentlemen: the Best of George Michael sold over 10 million copies. Michael released Songs from the Last Century in 1999. The album covered songs from the Police to Frank Sinatra. George Michael had a hit in the UK with his cover of the Police’s “Roxanne.”

George Michael: Returns to Sony
After one album away from Sony, George Michael returned in 2004 to release his fourth studio album Patience. The song “Freeek!” was released prior to the album and made use of “sampling” songs from several artists including Aaliyah's "Try Again.” Patience’s second single “Shoot the Dog,” ignited controversy for its critical view of the lead up to the Iraq War and the partnership between then- British Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. President George W. Bush. “Shoot the Dog” was not released in the U.S. However, it peaked in the top five in several European countries except the UK. Patience sold over six million copies worldwide.

George Michael: Twentyfive
In 2006, George Michael released his second greatest hits album Twentyfive in celebration of his 25 years in music. The two-disc collection includes songs from George Michael’s solo career as well as music from his Wham! days. It also contains a previously unreleased duet with Paul McCartney on “Heal the Pain.” The Twentyfive two-disc DVD collection contains 40 videos from both Wham! and Michael’s solo career. In 2008, George Michael will embark on the third leg of his popular 25 Live tour. The tour will mark the first time in 17 years that Michael has toured in North America. The tour has set records, with many venues and tickets selling out in a matter of minutes.