George exits on his last Christmas

George Michael, the British pop star, chose to make his final exit on Christmas Day. The official announcement in the news said, “It is with great sadness that we can confirm our beloved son, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home over the Christmas period. The family would ask that their privacy be respected at this difficult and emotional time. There will be no further comment at this stage.”

Born Georgios Kyriaces Panayiotou in London on June 25, 1963, the former heartthrob turned serious artist was found lifeless in bed in his home in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, by his partner, the celebrity hairstylist and photographer Fadi Fawaz last Sunday. The cause of death was attributed to heart failure. Michael was 53 years old.

Extremely good-looking, he was of mixed Cypriot and English parentage. His father was at that time a restaurateur while his mother was a dancer. He was also a gifted musician with an expressive singing voice. He formed Wham! with his friend and schoolmate Andrew Ridgeley in 1981. As one-half of the swoony, very hip-looking duo, Michael was one of the hottest idols of the time. In fact, it is still often said that it was Wham! which knocked Duran Duran from the top rung of pop favorites.

Wham! was a success right from the onset with hits like Bad Boys, Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do) and Club Tropicana. But it was the nonsensical boogie-woogie tune, Wake Me Up (Before You Go Go), that would propel the boys to prominence in the U.S. of A. soon everywhere. There was even a time when radio sets and music players all over Asia played only Wake Me Up in demonstrations to buyers. Despite the hits though — they also had Last Christmas and others — the pairing did not last and the announcement that Michael was going solo came two years later.

The hit songs and sold-out concerts continued for Michael alone in the ensuing years. He has since then sold over a hundred million records, 25 million of which were copies of his first solo album, Faith from 1987. The sales of his subsequent releases, Listen Without Prejudice, Volumes 1 and 2 left much to be desired and Michael spent the next 10 years in litigation with his label Sony Music. It was not until 1996 that he would release Older, followed by Songs From The Last Century, Patience and his last Symponica from two years ago.

Michael came out as gay after a Beverly Hills incident when he was caught in a lewd act with a male undercover police officer during a sting operation. He was fined and ordered to do community service. While many worried about how it would affect his career, the incident proved to be a relief for Michael who had been longing to make his sexual preference public for years. He has since then been active in the LGBT rights movement and in HIV/AIDS charity fund-raisers. 

His passing shocked fans all over the world. It felt like fate had dealt a wicked, ironic blow in what had been a particularly trying year for the music industry. 2016 also saw the demise of David Bowie, Prince, Leonard Cohen, Glen Frey, Maurice White and Natalie Cole on Dec. 30, 2015. Somebody must be putting up an All-star Band up there.

Michael himself sang about dying in his moving ballad Jesus To A Child, “Heaven sent and heaven stole/ you smiled at me/ like Jesus to a child.”

And as what usually happens in sad situations like these, there will surely be a spike in the sales of George Michael recordings. For those of you interested in discovering or more likely rediscovering his music, these are the titles you should start with. Most of them are included in Ladies and Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael.

Wake Me Up (Before You Go Go), The Edge Of Heaven, Last Christmas, Everything She Wants, Careless Whisper, Kissing A Fool, A Different Corner, Faith, I Want Your Sex, I Knew You Were Waiting For Me, the Grammy winning duet with Aretha Franklin, One More Try, Father Figure, Freedom 90, Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me, a duet with Elton John, Too Funky, Somebody To Love with Queen, Fast Love, Outside and Amazing.