December 2022 nONCONFORMIST of the Month – George Michael
On Christmas Day 2016, I was shocked by the news that George Michael had passed away. I was first introduced to George Michael as a teenager in 1984 when he appeared on “Friday Night Videos” as part of the duo Wham! I loved the catchy and upbeat sound of their song “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” and was tapping my feet. I was also quite taken with what I saw on the television screen. The lead singer was a gorgeous, tan, smiling young man with beautiful hair. I remember gasping and thinking, “Oh my God!” It didn’t take long for Wham! to hit it big and for their music to be heard everywhere. I learned the young man’s name was George Michael and of course I was a fan. Through the years, as Wham! split up and George Michael pursued his solo career, I continued to listen and enjoy his music.
George Michael was born on June 25, 1963 in the Middlesex section of London. He was of Greek descent and his real name was Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, which I was never able to pronounce. He was chubby and shy as a child, which made him feel self-conscious. As a teen, he befriended a classmate named Andrew Ridgeley and they discovered they shared a dream of being musicians. After working as a DJ and singing in a ska band, he and Andrew eventually formed Wham! in 1981. Their debut album, “Fantastic” hit #1 in the UK and their second album “Make it Big” hit #1 in both the UK and the US.
In 1986, Wham! split up and George started hi solo career. His debut solo album “Faith” went to #1 in both the UK and the US. He created controversy with the first single called “I Want Your Sex” which went to #2 in the Us and #3 in the UK. His next album, “Listen Without Prejudice”, released in 1990, had more of a funky sound and was again quite popular as was one particular music video that featured several popular supermodels of the time.
George recorded duets with Aretha Franklin and Elton John and performed onstage with Queen at the 1992 Freddie Mercury tribute concert. The concert was not only a tribute to Freddie who had died from AIDS the previous year, but a fund-raiser for AIDS research. The public did not know that when George Michael was performing onstage, he was experiencing significant fear and grief due to his partner’s recent AIDS diagnosis. His partner died the following year and he had to grieve in private because he had not, at that point, publicly disclosed that he was gay. His pain and love during this experience was the inspiration for his next album which was more soulful.
In 1998, George was arrested for a “lewd act” and later admitted that the act may have been a subconsciously purposeful due to him feeling imprisoned by keeping his sexuality a secret. Later that year he released another controversial song called “Outside” which made fun of the incident. George would have more encounters with the legal system in 2006, 2008, and 2010, for impaired driving and drug possession. During an interview after one of these incidents, George was self-deprecating and brutally honest by saying, “It’s my fault, as usual.”
As evidenced by these legal encounters, George struggled with substance abuse, possibly in response to the loss of his partner and his struggle with keeping his sexual orientation a secret for so many years. It could also be that he turns to substances because his fame was so overwhelming that he isolated much of the time. His substance of choice was marijuana and it has been reported that he smoked 25 joints per day. He was eventually able to abstain when he attended rehab in 2015. George also had some severe health issues and nearly died from pneumonia in 2011 and a head injury in 2013 when he fell from a moving car.
George Michael contributed to many charitable organizations and even gave many of his donation anonymously. One example of this, was a couple who wanted a child but couldn’t afford IVF therapy so George sent the money anonymously. Only later, after the baby was born, did he tell the couple that he had had made the donation. He was also a patron of the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
Sadly, George was reclusive during his last few years and died at age 53. The cause of death that was published is heart and liver problems. I personally appreciate his talent and the controversy he created, both purposeful and accidental. Thank you, George, for your music and your generosity.