Biography for
George Michael (II) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

25 June 1963, Bushey, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Birth Name

Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou

Nickname

Yog
Knobby
TLTI

Height

6' (1.83 m)

Mini Biography

George Kyriacos Panayiotou was born in Finchley, north London, in the United Kingdom. He first discovered fame as a musician when he and school friend, Andrew Ridgeley, formed the pop group Wham!. Success came fast and furious with their first album, 'Fantastic' (1983) hitting the UK number one spot. Wham! survived for five years and during that time the group notched up four number one singles and two number one albums. Most of their other releases made top three. George also contributed to the Band Aid Single 'Do They Know It's Christmas' (1984), and scored two further solo number one hits with 'Careless Whisper' and 'A Different Corner'.

Following the break-up of Wham!, George went on to have a hugely successful career as a solo artist - despite a few silly brushes with the law here and there. His debut album 'Faith' (1987) - and the single of the same name - were both an instant and international success worldwide, both peaking at number one in the United States. The album has since been certified Diamond. Over the last three decades George has notched up 8 number one albums in the UK and 13 number one singles (including Wham!, Band Aid, and the 'Five Live' EP). He has performed duets with Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Queen, and Lisa Stansfield, and actively participates in charitable causes, Live Aid and the Freddie Mercury concert for AIDS being just two of the more prominent examples.

George released the single 'December Song' in 2008 as a free download: his hope was that purchasers would donate money to charity.

He still remains in contact with his Wham! partner and long-time friend Andrew Ridgeley.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Matt Lee-Williams

Trivia

Was arrested in early 1998 at a public restroom in Beverly Hills for commiting a lewd act in front of an undercover police officer. He has since made a music video mocking the whole incident. The arresting police officer has since filed a civil suit againt George for defamation of character. It was dismissed.

He enjoyed four British number one singles with Wham: "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" (1984), "Freedom" (1984), "I'm Your Man" (1985) and "The Edge of Heaven" (1986).

Has sung duets with Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Rory Bourke, Mary J. Blige and Whitney Houston.

His song "Father Figure" was sampled for PM Dawn's hit "Looking Through Patient Eyes".

Collaborated with Queen and Lisa Stansfield on the British chart-topping "Five Live" (EP) of 1993.

The first three singles of George Michael's solo career all went to the no. 1 position on the UK chart: "Careless Whisper" (1984), "A Different Corner" (1986) and "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (1987). The latter was a duet with Aretha Franklin.

His song with Wham!, "Last Christmas", is the best selling British hit never to get to number one, reaching the no. 2 position in December 1984, being re-issued and reaching the no. 6 position the next December and being re-issued again and reaching the no. 45 position in December 1986. It spent a total of 24 weeks on the British chart.

He sang on the no. 1 and no. 2 Christmas singles of 1984, Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and Wham!'s "Last Christmas".

He was a big fan of "This Morning" (1988) and, on the final episode of the series, he phoned the presenters, Richard and Judy, to thank them live on air and to wish them the best.

He has contributed two songs to the "Warchild Hope" album (released 21 April 2003); one is a cover of Don McLean's "The Grave" and the other is his own classic "Faith" (a duet with Ms Dynamite).

His controversial single "Shoot the Dog" (released 2002) had a video that ridiculed Tony Blair, Cherie Blair and George W. Bush.

His last performance with Wham! was at Wembley Stadium in June 1986.

Played a benefit for striking British miners. [September 1984]

He wrote his smash hit single "Careless Whisper" when he was just 17, on a Thursday afternoon in Bushey. He waited until he was 21 before he released it as his first solo single.

Is of Greek-Cypriot heritage from his father, a restaurant owner, who emigrated to the U.K. from Cyprus, in the 1950s.

He and Andrew Ridgeley wrote "Careless Whisper" on the back of a bus during their school days.

Was backing vocals on Andrew Ridgeley's album "Son Of Albert" on tracks "Red Dress" & "Shake". These were the only 2 songs to do well on the charts.

His 1990 solo hit "Freedom 90" from the CD "Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1" was so titled to avoid confusion with his previous Wham! hit "Freedom".

Wrote many of his songs while working at a movie theater as a teenager.

He has sold an estimated 80 million records worldwide, both as a solo performer and as one half of the duet Wham!, as of 2006.

In the Independent on Sunday 2006 Pink List - a list of the most influential gay men and women - he came no. 25, down from 22.

He has an estimated fortune of £70 million.

Winner (as part of Wham!) of the British Phonographic Industry Award for British Group in 1985.

Winner of the British Phonographic Industry Award for British Male Solo Artist in 1988 following the success of his multi-million selling album "Faith".

His album "Listen Without Prejudice Vol.1" won the 1991 Brit Award for British Album.

Winner of the 1997 Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist following the success of his multi-million selling album "Older".

Announced his retirement in February 2004, but began a new European tour in September 2006, his first tour in fifteen years.

His debut solo album "Faith" has sold more than 20 million copies since its release in 1987.

He was paid £1.7 million to perform for an hour at Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin's New Year's party on 31 December 2006.

His partner Anselmo Feleppa, whom he met in 1991, died from an AIDS-related brain haemorrhage in 1993.

Sentenced to 100 hours community service for driving while unfit. The singer was arrested on 1 October 2006 after being found slumped at the wheel of his Mercedes in the early hours of the morning. He had an antidepressant in his system, as well as cannabis and 16 micrograms per millilitre of the illegal Class C drug GHB. (9 June 2007).

Friend of Geri Halliwell.

Ranked #73 on VH1's 100 Sexiest Artists.

A fan of The Beatles, he performed with Paul McCartney at Live 8 (2005) (TV). He also bought John Lennon's Steinway Model Z upright piano for £1.67m in the year 2000, then returned it to Liverpool's Beatles Story museum.

He wrote, produced and performed the classic song "Last Christmas" when he was just 21 years old. There have been over 395 cover versions of the song by different artists since it was released in 1984.

Lives in London, Goring, United Kingdom and Dallas, Texas.

In September 2010, while serving a prison sentence for driving under the influence of drugs, George received a two-page handwritten letter from Sir Paul McCartney to lift his spirits. In the letter, McCartney said that he empathised with George as he himself had spent ten days in prison in Japan in 1980 after being caught with cannabis. He told George to keep his chin up and that he would see him when he is released. Apparently, George was delighted with the letter and read it over and over again.

He wrote the classic ballad 'Careless Whisper' when he was 17 on the number 32 bus on the way to his job as a cinema usher in Watford, England. The song reached number one in more than 25 countries and sold in excess of 6 million copies.

Close friend of Shirlie Holliman. He introduced her to her future husband, Martin Kemp. She was one of his backup singers.

The singer's music video "Freedom" (1989) featured supermodels Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford and Tatjana Patitz. Curiously, GM appeared nowhere in the video himself. Directed by David Fincher and photographed by Jeff Cronenweth.

Personal Quotes

I do think that Live Aid (1985) (TV) was a great thing, it focused people, I think it showed young kids the way in many respects and I think a lot of people are still inspired by what happened in the mid-Eighties.

I still believe that music is one of the greatest gifts that God gave to man.

Even though it's become a really cliched thing to see musicians working for charity, it's still effective and it still has to be done.

It was my own stupid fault. I was in possession of class C drugs which is an offence and I have no complaints about the police, who were professional throughout.

"The trajectory of my particular soap opera with the press launched from that statement Elton made about eighteen months ago when Elton hadn't seen me for years. Elton said he thought I was really miserable for some reason. From that point on I've been trying to prove that I'm not. Unfortunately it made me incredibly vulnerable to the press." (April 2006)

I have been doing this on and off since I was a teenager and never once seen violence. If I want to see violence or what I call shameful behaviour, the idea that women in clubs these days have to hold their hand over their drink for fear of being drugged ... Please don't tell me as a member of the straight community that I am taking risks. I know what I do and I am sorry, but we should not be taking questions like this, from straight women in particular ... I do not deserve the criticism. What I don't have respect for is some demand for answers from an openly gay man who is living his own life. I have not cheated or lied about my sex life to anybody in my life, in my entire life. I hate not to be able to rise above it, but there is only so much you can take. I'm suing the individual involved who I have never, ever seen, let alone wanted to have any kind of sexual encounter with, and I'm currently investigating suing the secondary sources of libel. I am taking legal action against the photographers because they're harassing me and I should not have to worry about who's watching me at 2:30 in the morning.

In a strange way I've spent the last 15 to 20 years trying to derail my own career. But it never seems to suffer. I suffer like crazy. I've suffered bereavements and public humiliations, but my career always seems to right itself like a plastic duck in the bath. In some ways I resent that.

"Parkinson" (1971) is still the only interview on British TV that means anything. Perhaps that is because he appears to realize that his guest should always be the star of the show and... He paid for dinner!

It is nice to know that the News of The World is still so concerned for my well being.

Gay relationships are a bit different. I'm sure we'll be allowed to roam if we want to. But we love each other dearly. (On his long-term partner, Kenny Goss)

Running naked up and down Oxford Street singing I Am What I Am would have been a more dignified way to come out. (On his arrest for lewd conduct in 1998)

I think pop music should be about youth culture. It shouldn't be an endurance test. If I can just live further from the spotlight I think that'll be better for all really.

Women seem to ignore the fact that I'm gay. I think that women really get the feeling that I understand them. I grew up with two sisters, I went out with women when I was younger. I do understand them, unfortunately.

Elton John said he thought I was miserable for some reason and I have been trying to prove that I'm not ever since. The subtext to it is always, 'He was all right before he came out and now he lives this depraved gay life and is miserable and fat' and from that point on I have suffered this kind of wishful thinking from the Press.

[on his August 2009 car crash] If that juggernaut had killed me, I think I'd be perfectly happy with the amount of quality music I have left in the world. My ego is sated.

[on Tony Blair] His problem is, one, he's not as smart as he thinks he is and, two, this man does not know when his ego is getting the better of him... A man who will not stare his ego down is every bit as dangerous as an altruist as he is a Hitler.

[on Elton John's concern for him] Elton lives on that. He will not be happy until I bang on his door in the middle of the night saying: 'Please, please, help me, Elton. Take me to rehab.' It's not going to happen. Elton just needs to shut his mouth and get on with his own life. Look, if people choose to believe that I'm sitting here in my ivory tower, 'Howard Hughes'ing myself with long fingernails and loads of drugs, then I can't do anything about that, can I?

Boy George is great company and a man I have always wanted to like. He acts in a homophobic way to other gay men by being such a bitch. It's an aggression that he can't get rid of.

[on his arrest for lewd behavior] When someone is waving their genitalia at you, you don't automatically assume that they're an officer of the law.

I know I'm basically a good person whose two crimes appear to be that I'm gay and I've got a big mouth to go with it.

I'm basically a control freak. It's not because I want to be. I'm not at all into the power play that's involved in it. I'm a perfectionist.

There are very few things in my life that I can't have if I want them. So when I see something that I think I can't have, immediately I'm obsessed by it.

I just hope that I'll stay around musically for as long as I can. I'd love to think that I will still be satisfying myself and other people as a musician until the day I die.

[on his time in prison in September/October 2010] Most of my days have been spent reading thousands of letters and postcards of incredible support from people around the world. I promise to repay their kindness with new music as soon as I possibly can.

[on doing concerts] People run on and off the stage, but usually they're removed before they get to me. It's not really frightening. There's always the possibility that someone's going to take a potshot at you; you take that risk when you perform in front of thousands of people.

I do love Christmas. I always have loved it, ever since I was a child. When I was young both my parents used to work so hard and they always seemed quite stressed to me. But at Christmas everyone would calm down and be nice to each other for a few days, and that used to make me feel very safe. It's Frank Sinatra who reminds me of Christmas. During the school holidays, when I was a kid, I used to work behind the bar of my dad's restaurant in Edgware [North London], and he'd always play Sinatra records for the customers. So that association is very strong for me. Why doesn't it snow at the right time anymore, like it did in the '60s? If it could snow on Christmas Eve or something that would be perfect.

As an artist I'm not interested in repeating former successes.

Loyalty can be different things to different sexualities.

I have a serious problem with the fact that every time I made a mistake and every time I let myself down that I was letting young gay kids down.

It is such an amazing feeling to watch the effect I have on my audience. There is no question that is the most valuable thing I can ever do in terms of contribution and it seems that God wanted me to and gave me the voice to do it and the stamina to do it.

[on the death of Freddie Mercury in 1991] Freddie Mercury was a huge source of inspiration to me as a child. I religiously attended Queen's concerts year after year. This is a sad day.

[on surviving severe pneumonia at Christmas 2011] Best Christmas I can remember, surrounded by the people I love. And knowing that Christmas could have been very different this year for everyone at that table. As it was we stuffed and laughed ourselves silly. I'm such a lucky man! I hope you all had a great one.