Maxi gainza biography of george michael
George changed his appearance, became more athletic, and together with Andrew, they started giving impromptu street performances and playing in the subway. In , Ridgeley formed the band "Executive," which included George, performing under the name "Michael Jones," along with Andrew's brother and two other classmates. The band did not last long, and in , George and Andrew announced the formation of the duo "Wham!
Ridgeley, responsible for the group's image, created the persona of wealthy heartthrobs enjoying life. The duo's subsequent songs, such as "Club Tropicana" and "Enjoy What You Do," became hits, and their debut album, "Fantastic," topped the charts. In , Wham! The following year, his first solo album, "Faith," sold 25 million copies and produced five chart-topping hits.
However, the single "I Want Your Sex" faced controversy and was removed from rotation due to its explicit title. The collection was a huge success, October 19, George released Outside, a joyous, disco-infused jam that used self-deprecating humour to poke fun at the April 7, George was arrested in Beverly Hills for allegedly engaging in a lewd act alone in a November 24, The Best of Wham!
January 20, Older was released as a single. The video for the song was directed by Andy Morahan August 19, Spinning The Wheel, the third single taken from Older, was released. May 13, Older, the third solo studio album of George Michael, was released. In the UK, the album April 22, Fastlove, the second single drawn from Older, was released.
July 11, After months of negotiation, Sony lost its battle to hold on to one of its biggest George performed Freedom Some days after the verdict George, during an interview with In December , before February 10, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. January 15, Cover to Cover — the second solo concert tour by George Michael — started in Birmingham.
The tour October 30, Freedom! September 3, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. Produced, arranged and November 21, Kissing A Fool, the sixth and final single from the album Faith, was released. July 4, The fifth single from Faith — Monkey — was released. The song hit number one on both the The video for the song, directed It was a dance hit in Europe as well as North America, reaching No.
Each episode of the show's first season was named after a song of his. Michael also appeared on the finale show of American Idol on 21 May, singing "Praying for Time". When asked what he thought Simon Cowell would say of his performance, he replied "I think he'll probably tell me I shouldn't have done a George Michael song. He's told plenty of people that in the past, so I think that'd be quite funny.
In early , Michael performed his first concerts in Australia since In February , two months after leaving hospital, Michael made a surprise appearance at the Brit Awards at the O 2 Arena in London, where he received a standing ovation, and presented Adele the award for Best British Album. Symphonica was released on 17 March , and became Michael's seventh solo No.
The album was produced by Phil Ramone and Michael; the album was Ramone's last production credit. On 7 September , Michael's estate released the single " Fantasy ". However, the track was not included on the album. On 18 October , a music video was released on Vevo. In , the Emma Thompson -written film Last Christmas was released.
The title of the film is taken from the Wham! An official soundtrack album was released by Legacy Recordings on CD, two-disc vinyl , and digital formats on 8 November On 22 June , the documentary film Freedom Uncut was released. Michael had been working on the film shortly before his death, alongside David Austin , [ ] and provides the narration throughout.
Michael stated that his early fantasies were about women, which "led me to believe I was on the path to heterosexuality ", but at puberty he started to fantasise about men, which he later said "had something to do with my environment". At the age of 19, Michael told Andrew Ridgeley that he was bisexual. Then I fell in love with a man, and realised that none of those things had been love.
In , Michael said, "I used to sleep with women quite a lot in the Wham! I didn't want to commit to them, but I was attracted to them. Then I became ashamed that I might be using them. Although I had always had safe sex , I didn't want to sleep with a woman without telling her I was bisexual. I felt that would be irresponsible. Basically, I didn't want to have that uncomfortable conversation that might ruin the moment, so I stopped sleeping with them.
He said he believed that the formation of his sexuality was "a nurture thing, via the absence of my father who was always busy working. It meant I was exceptionally close to my mother", though he stated that "there are definitely those who have a predisposition to being gay in which the environment is irrelevant. During the late s, Michael had a relationship with make-up artist Kathy Jeung, who was regarded for a time as his artistic "muse" and who appeared in the " I Want Your Sex " video.
In , Michael established a relationship with Anselmo Feleppa, a Brazilian dress designer whom he had met at the Rock in Rio concert in January that year. Six months into their relationship, Feleppa discovered that he was HIV-positive. Michael later said: "It was terrifying news. I thought I could have the disease too. I couldn't go through it with my family because I didn't know how to share it with them — they didn't even know I was gay.
It took about three years to grieve, then after that I lost my mother. I felt almost like I was cursed. In , Michael entered into a long-term relationship with Kenny Goss, a former flight attendant, cheerleading coach, [ ] and sportswear executive from Dallas , Texas. Michael's homosexuality became publicly known following his April arrest for public lewdness.
Soon afterwards, Michael made a video for his single " Outside ", which satirised the public toilet incident and featured men dressed as policemen kissing. The court dismissed the case, but an appellate court reinstated it on 3 December On 23 July , Michael was again accused of engaging in anonymous public sex , this time at London's Hampstead Heath.
In February , Michael was arrested for possession of Class C drugs , an incident that he described as "my own stupid fault, as usual". He was cautioned by the police and released. He was taken to the police station and cautioned for controlled substance possession. In the early hours of 4 July , Michael was returning from the Gay Pride parade, when he was spotted on CCTV crashing his car into the front of a Snappy Snaps store in Hampstead, north London, and was arrested on suspicion of being unfit to drive.
Michael struggled with substance abuse for many years. On 21 November, Vienna General Hospital admitted Michael after he complained of chest pains while at a hotel two hours before his performance at a venue there for his Symphonica Tour. Michael appeared to be "in good spirits" and responded well to treatment following his admission, but on 25 November hospital officials said that his condition had "worsened overnight".
This development led to cancellations and postponements of Michael's remaining performances, which had been scheduled mainly for the United Kingdom. On 21 December, the hospital discharged him. Michael told the press that he had undergone a tracheotomy , [ ] that the staff at the hospital had saved his life, and that he would perform a free concert for them.
On 16 May , Michael sustained a head injury in a car accident on the M1 motorway , near St Albans in Hertfordshire and was airlifted to hospital. In June , he checked into a drug rehabilitation facility in Switzerland. Michael's father was a communist. Bush , with their involvement in the War on Terror. In , Michael performed a free concert for NHS nurses in London to thank the nurses who had cared for his late mother.
He told the audience: "Thank you for everything you do — some people appreciate it. Now if we can only get the government to do the same thing. Kennedy had been shot. He said: "Loss is such an incredibly difficult thing. I bow down to people who actually have to deal with the loss of a child. From until his death, Michael was a patron of the Swan Lifeline charity.
At the time he had moved to his home in Highgate, he had swans in the river at the end of his garden. A neighbour, who was involved with the charity, asked him if he would be interested, and he immediately agreed. Following Michael's death, various charities revealed that Michael had privately supported them for many years. Those charities included Childline to whom he had donated "millions" , [ ] [ ] the Terrence Higgins Trust , and Macmillan Cancer Support.
The woman gave birth to a girl in After his death, it was also revealed that Michael had been anonymously paying for an annual Christmas tree erected where he lived in Highgate, as well as funding the Christmas lights, for the previous decade. He was also the largest funder of Highgate's annual Fair in the Square for those ten years, donating anonymously as "a local resident".
In the early hours of Christmas Day , Michael died in bed at his home in Goring-on-Thames , at the age of He was found by his partner, Fadi Fawaz. Owing to the delay in determining the cause of death, Michael's funeral was held on 29 March In a private ceremony, he was buried at Highgate Cemetery in north London, on one side of his mother's grave.
In the summer of , a temporary informal memorial garden was created outside Michael's former home in The Grove, Highgate. The site, in a private square that Michael had owned, was tended by fans for approximately eighteen months until it was cleared. The proceeds were donated to various philanthropic organisations Michael gave to while he was alive.
It did not include bequests to either Fawaz or to his former partner, Kenny Goss. In , following legal proceedings, the trustees of Michael's estate entered into a financial settlement with Goss. Elton John was among those who paid tribute to Michael, emotionally addressing the audience in Las Vegas on 28 December, "What a singer, what a songwriter.
But more than anything as a human being he was one of the kindest, sweetest, most generous people I've ever met. In , Michael was commemorated with a mural in his native borough of Brent. At the time of his death, Michael was estimated to have sold between million and million records worldwide. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk.
Read View source View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikinews Wikiquote Wikidata item. English singer-songwriter — For other people named George Michael, see George Michael disambiguation. Michael performing in Houston , East Finchley , Middlesex , England. Goring-on-Thames , England.
Boogie Box High. George Michael's voice. Musical artist. Main article: Wham! Michael at the closing ceremony of the London Summer Olympics. LED lights during Michael's performance of his single " Freedom! Sexuality and relationships. Main article: List of awards and nominations received by George Michael. Discography and record sales. Main article: George Michael discography.
See also: Wham! See also: List of George Michael live performances. Desert Island Discs.
Maxi gainza biography of george michael
BBC Radio 4. Archived from the original on 27 February Retrieved 18 January Archived from the original on 23 October Retrieved 3 March Sky News. Archived from the original on 26 December Retrieved 27 December Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 3 August Retrieved 3 August Gale Research, Incorporated. As a solo artist George Michael has been hailed as a leading creative force in popular songwriting.
With fame approaching, Michael decided to change his name from the intimidating Georgios Panayiotou to the more accessible George Michael. Smooth Radio. Retrieved 5 July Archived from the original on 26 October Retrieved 6 July Archived from the original on 19 August Retrieved 10 April Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 12 April Retrieved 12 April The Official Charts Company.
Retrieved 21 April Archived from the original on 9 June While he was interested in music from an early age — at age six, he discovered an old gramophone in his parents' garage and wrote his first song — he didn't realize he wanted to pursue music as his life's work until after he got seriously hurt. That drug use ultimately turned varied and voluminous.
In September , police in North London discovered Michael in a public restroom using crack cocaine and marijuana. The amounts on his person were small, and he was released without further legal action. According to Kenny Goss, Michael's former romantic partner of 15 years, taking drugs was a matter of course. By the time of the interview, he was down to "seven or eight a day.
Not long after, he met the man who would become one of the great loves of his life — for however tragically and briefly. At a Wham! Within days, the two were a couple, but just two months into the relationship, Feleppa fell ill, developing a rash on his chest and a flu that he couldn't shake. In the documentary George Michael: Freedom via Hello , the pop star explained that he and Feleppa awaited the results of the test over Christmas Day , which Michael called the "darkest, most frightening time of my life," all the while keeping their relationship and struggle secret from their families and the media.
In March , scarcely two years after he connected with Michael, Feleppa suffered a brain hemorrhage during a medical procedure and passed away at age The death of partner Anselmo Feleppa understandably left George Michael devastated and in deep mourning for a prolonged period of time. That only got worse when, in , his mother, Lesley Angold Panayiotou, received news that she had a rapidly destructive, terminal case of cancer.
She was able to spend one last Christmas with Michael and the rest of her family, eventually passing away just two months later in February The singer subsequently fell into a deep, dark sadness. It was something different to grief," he said.