FAREWELL : George Michael

We’d already lost our fair share of pop superstars throughout 2016, but Australia woke today to news of the death of George Michael.
Possessing one of the smoothest and most recognisable voices in popular music, Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou first rose to fame through his partnership with Andrew Ridgeley in 1980s pop outfit Wham!
The duo danced their way onto charts across the world throughout the early and mid 1980s with hits such as ‘Young Guns (Go For It)’, ‘Bad Boys’, ‘I’m Your Man’, ‘Freedom’ and the inimitable ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go Go’.
Their festive anthem ‘Last Christmas’ became a seasonal favourite and has endured for more than 30 years (ironically re-entering at No.60 on the weekend’s ARIA singles chart).
Post-Wham! solo success soon followed.
George hit the charts time and time again throughout the late ’80s and early ’90s, gifting us classics such as ‘Faith’, ‘Father Figure’, ‘I Want Your Sex’, ‘Too Funky’ and his duet with Elton John on ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’.
His 1996 album ‘Older’ delivered ‘Jesus To A Child’, ‘Fastlove’ and ‘Spinning The Wheel’. In 1998, he took us ‘Outside’ with a slightly risque music video (who can forget the mirrored urinals) and turned up the controversy with ‘Freeek!’ four years later.
All but one of his solo albums hit No.1 in the UK.
Beyond the music world, George was never far from the scrutiny of the media.
From his infamous arrest in a US public toilet in 1998 (which subsequently inspired the ‘Outside’ video) through to his widely known battle with drugs to being caught asleep behind the wheel of his car, George’s life was often plastered over the tabloids.
But through the ups and the downs, George Michael’s extraordinary talent shone through.
That extraordinary voice, the wonderful memories and that incredible back catalogue of hits will endure for weeks, years and decades to come.
There will never be another like George Michael. And he’ll be sadly missed.
He was just 53 years old.

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