Top 66 George Michael Facts
“Michael and Elton John perform “Don’t Let the Sun go down on me” for the first time at Michael’s concert in Wembley in 1991. The song was the only #1 scoring single of the modern era to be recorded at an outdoors venue. Proceeds were divided among charities for children, AIDS, and education.”
“Anselmo Feleppa was his first love.”
“He recorded a cover of Stevie Wonder’s hit “”You and I”” as a wedding gift to Prince William and Kate Middleton. This was later released in April 2011. “
“Some US radio stations refused to play “I Want Your Sex” because of its sexually explicit content.”
“On June 9, 2009, Michael joined Beyoncé Knowles on stage during “If I Were A Boy” at the last UK show of her world wide tour I Am… Tour.”
“He has been in seven car crashes and is currently banned from driving.”
“Geri Halliwell wrote her new song “Angels in Chains” about George Michael”
“He was paid £1.7 million ($2 million) to perform for an hour at Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin’s New Year’s party on 31 December 2006.”
“His 1987 duet with Aretha Franklin on “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” gave the American singer her first and only UK number-one hit”
“In 1991 while on the Rio leg of his “Cover to Cover Tour” he met and fell in love with audience member Anselmo Feleppa. “Jesus to a Child” (1994) is a tribute to his lover who died in March 1993 of an AIDS-related brain haemorrhage”
” Second single, “Faith,” shot to #1 in the USA, and #2 in the UK. The video of him in shades, leather jacket and Levis has become iconic and a definitive image of the 80s music scene and fashion. Hands up on who wore torn jeans from then on.”
“George Michael kicked off his solo career in 1987 with the Aretha Franklin duet “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” . The song co-written with Simon Climie of Climie Fisher shot to number 1 in the UK and USA and bagged him a Grammy Award in 1988 for Best R&B Performance.”
“He released three studio albums while a member of Wham! and five as a solo artist.”
“George Michael was seriously considered as a replacement for Queen front man Freddie Mercury.”
“George Michael also volunteered at a homeless shelter and requested the workers to keep his involvement a secret”
“He received £1.5 million (US$3 million) to perform a 1-hour concert in Moscow for the 300 guests of Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin on the Eve of 2007. Easy money.”
“Michael wrote “Careless Whisperer”, one of his most famous and beautiful songs, when he was just 17 years old.”
“George Michael & Elton John
The ‘Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me’ duet with Elton John was recorded live at a 1991 concert at Wembley Arena in London.”
“In 2007, Michael said he had hidden the fact he was gay because of worries over what effect it might have on his mother.
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“His wedding gift to Prince William and Kate Middleton was a cover of Stevie Wonder’s 1972 song “You and I”, which was released in April 2011.”
“He has no known children but we believe that Justin Timberlake’s his most direct pop ancestor. George is to Justin what Michael Jackson was to Usher (Who’s your father figure?).”
“In 1984, Michael was part of the first ever Band Aid concert and sang on the charity song “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” for famine relief in Ethiopia. He is well known for his charity work but has yet to appear on the 46664 bill, we’re waiting George…”
“His wedding gift to Prince William and Kate Middleton was a cover of Stevie Wonder’s 1972 song “You and I”, which was released in April 2011.”
““Fastlove” (1996) is written about Michael’s brief love affair with city banker Brett Charles whom he met in Kazakhstan and appears on Older (1996), the third studio album of his solo career.”
“George Michael won various music awards throughout his career, including 3 Brit Awards, 4 MTV Video Music Awards, 4 Ivor Novello Awards, 3 American Music Awards, and 2 Grammy Awards (from 8 nominations).”
“This is Wham!’s debut on the long-running British music show “Top of the Pops”:”
“During his career, he has won 21 music awards from a grand total of 49 nominations.”
“On July 23, 2006 George Michael was again accused of engaging in anonymous public sex, this time at London’s West Hampstead Heath Park. The anonymous partner was later discovered to be 58-year-old Norman Kirtland, an unemployed van driver. Sis, man.”
“George Michael died in the same year (2016) as pop icons Prince and David Bowie”
“A huge Beatles fan, George Michael bought the Steinway Model Z upright piano used by John Lennon for £1.7 million ($2 million) and sent it to the Beatles Story museum in Liverpool in 2000.”
” He has reportedly admitted that he called Justin Timberlake and invited him to recreate the Madonna/Britney Spears kiss. Timberlake hasn’t called back.”
“His birth name in Greek is ‘Γεώργιος Κυριάκος Παναγιώτου’.”
“George Michael performed at a free concert for the medical staff of Vienna General Hospital to thank them for saving his life in 2011. “
“George Michael´s last performance with Wham! was at the Wembley Stadium in London in June 1986.”
“He was the third performer on the 1984 Band Aid single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?””
“George Michael, born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou on 25 June 1963 in the UK. Yes, he belongs to Cancer, the air sign. His dad, Kyriacos Panayiotou, was a Greek Cypriot restaurateur and his mum, Lesley Angold Harrison, was an English dancer. His maternal grandmother was Jewish.”
“George Michael was arrested five times during his life. He was arrested four times for possession of marijuana and his fifth arrest was for public indecency.”
“None of the singles released from Faith (1987) topped the UK singles chart.”
““Last Christmas” is the UK’s bestselling song never to get to number one, kept off the top by “Do They Know It’s Christmas?””
“His music video “”Freedom”” (1989) featured supermodels such as Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford and Tatjana Patitz. It was directed by David Fincher.”
“George Michael was partially color-blind and wore contact lenses or glasses”
“Undercover cop Marcelo Rodríguez busted him in 1998 for soliciting sex in a men’s toilet, which led to Michael publicly revealing he is gay and mocking the incident in the music video for “Outside”
“George Michael was involved in seven car crashes and was banned from driving for some time.”
“He shares his birthday with “Life of Pi” author Yann Martel, who also turns fifty”
“He was born in East Finchley, north London, which has the postal code N2.”
“He once said: “I don’t want to look at other people my age in leather. Why would I put it on?””
“His autobiographical film, A Different Story (2005), features artists like Sting, Mariah Carey, Elton John, Noel Gallagher, Simon Cowell, Geri Halliwell, Boy George and Andrew Ridgeley as themselves. Also check out his autobiography titled “Bare” (1991) which he co-wrote with writer Tony Parsons.”
“He appeared on the inaugural MTV Europe Music Awards show in 1994.”
“During 2007, he sent the £1.45 million piano that John Lennon used to write “Imagine” around the United States on a “peace tour,” having it on display at places where violence had taken place, such as Dallas’ Dealey Plaza where U.S. President John. F. Kennedy was shot.”
“In his last ever radio interview Mercury had praised Michael adding that he loved his track “Faith”.”
“He has been in a longtime partnership with Kenny Goss, with whom he runs the Goss-Michael Foundation, a nonprofit arts organization in Texas.”
“He accidentally fell out of a car travelling on the M1 motorway in England and was airlifted to hospital. He has since been discharged.”
“He was seriously considered as a replacement for Queen front man Freddie Mercury.”
“Before Michael became a professional musician, he busked on the London Underground, performing songs such as “”’39″” by Queen.”
“His decision to sing “White Light” at the 2012 Olympic Closing Ceremony was inspired by the fact he almost died from pneumonia a year earlier and the message of overcoming adversity fit the Olympic theme.”
“Michael sold more than 100 million records worldwide, which makes him one of the best-selling British artists of all time”
“25 Live was his first tour in 15 years, with a total of 106 shows performed in 41 countries and grossing almost US$200 million.”
“He is a southpaw, better known as left-handed.”
“Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin paid him US$3 million for an hour-long New Year’s Eve concert in Moscow 2007.”
“His father Kyriacos Panayiotou is a Greek Cypriot, while his late mother Lesley Angold was English.”
“1995’s “Jesus to a Child” not only gave him his first solo single to enter the UK charts at the top, but also the first solo number one from a studio album.”
“In 1985 Wham! was the first Western pop group to tour in China, with a final concert held at the Workers’ Gymnasium in Beijing. The tour was documented in the film Foreign Skies: Wham! In China.”
“He met Andrew Ridgeley at school when Ridgeley volunteered to tutor him. They formed a short-lived ska band called The Executive and in 1981 they launched Wham! and big blow-dried hair for guys became fashionable. You know who you are.”
““I Want Your Sex” was the first single from his debut solo album Faith released in 1987. It topped the charts in Ireland and the Netherlands.”
“On December 25, 2008 he released a new track “December Song” on his website for free. The song is not available anymore but can be accessed on file sharing networks (if you’re determined and tech savvy).”
“His former Wham! colleague Andrew Ridgeley also turned fifty this year (January 26).”
Back when it was ok to say gay