Grammy Award Winners". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 28 July 2013 . Retrieved 14 December 2014. In 2004, Michael said, "I used to sleep with women quite a lot in the Wham! days but never felt it could develop into a relationship because I knew that, emotionally, I was a gay man. I didn't want to commit to them, but I was attracted to them. Then I became ashamed that I might be using them. I decided I had to stop, which I did when I began to worry about AIDS, which was becoming prevalent in Britain. Although I had always had safe sex, I didn't want to sleep with a woman without telling her I was bisexual. I felt that would be irresponsible. Basically, I didn't want to have that uncomfortable conversation that might ruin the moment, so I stopped sleeping with them." In the same interview, he added: "If I wasn't with Kenny [his boyfriend at the time], I would have sex with women, no question". He said he believed that the formation of his sexuality was "a nurture thing, via the absence of my father who was always busy working. It meant I was exceptionally close to my mother", though he stated that "there are definitely those who have a predisposition to being gay in which the environment is irrelevant." [160] In 2007, Michael said he had hidden his sexuality because of worries over what effect it might have on his mother. [161] Two years later, he added: "My depression at the end of Wham! was because I was beginning to realise I was gay, not bisexual." [164] An LGBT rights campaigner and HIV/AIDS charity fundraiser, [230] [231] [232] the proceeds from the 1991 single " Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" were divided among 10 different charities for children, AIDS and education. He was also a patron of the Elton John AIDS Foundation. [233] Michael wore a red ribbon at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium in April 1992. [234] [235] He was instrumental in bringing the compilation CD Red Hot + Dance to fruition, contributing three original songs, with the album featuring Seal and Madonna among others. [236] George Michael mural unveiled as part of Brent Borough of Culture celebrations". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021 . Retrieved 3 December 2020.

Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael (1998) was Michael's first solo greatest hits collection. The collection of 28 songs (29 songs are included on the European and Australian release) are separated into two halves, with each containing a particular theme and mood. The first CD, titled "For the Heart", predominantly contains ballads; the second CD, "For the Feet", consists mainly of dance tunes. It was released through Sony Music Entertainment as a condition of severing contractual ties with the label. [99] Ladies & Gentlemen was a success, peaking at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart for eight weeks. [13] It spent over 200 weeks in the UK chart, and is the 45th best-selling album of all time in the UK. [100] It is certified seven-times platinum in the UK and multi-platinum in the US, and is Michael's most commercially successful album in his homeland, having sold more than 2.8million copies. [70] As of 2013, the album had reached worldwide sales of approximately 15million copies. [101] The first single of the album, " Outside", was a humorous song making a reference to his arrest for soliciting a policeman in a public toilet. " As", his duet with Mary J. Blige, was released as the second single in many territories around the world. Both singles reached the top 5 in the UK Singles Chart. [13]a b Cohen, Benjamin (27 February 2006). "George Michael: "arrest my own stupid fault" ". Pink News. Archived from the original on 25 August 2009 . Retrieved 20 November 2009. Symphonica was released on 17 March 2014, and became Michael's seventh solo No. 1 album in the UK, and ninth overall including his Wham! chart-toppers. The album was produced by Phil Ramone and Michael; the album was Ramone's last production credit. [134] On 2 November 2016, Michael's management team announced that a second documentary on his life, entitled Freedom, was set to be released in March 2017. [135] [136] A month after, English songwriter Naughty Boy confirmed plans to collaborate with Michael, for a new song and album. [137] Naughty Boy claimed that the song is "amazing but [...] bittersweet". [138] On 7 September 2017 (months after Michael's death), the single " Fantasy", featuring Nile Rodgers, was released. [139] George Michael released from prison". The Daily Telegraph. London. 11 October 2010. Archived from the original on 13 October 2010 . Retrieved 11 October 2010.

a b c d e f g h i j k l George Michael Album & Song Chart History Billboard. Retrieved 21 April 2011 Born in East Finchley, Middlesex, Michael formed the pop duo Wham! with Andrew Ridgeley in 1981. Their first two albums, Fantastic (1983) and Make It Big (1984), reached number one on the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200. Their hit singles included " Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" and " Last Christmas". Their tour of China in 1985 was the first by a Western popular music act, and generated worldwide media coverage. [11] [12] George Michael goes to ground". BBC News. Archived from the original on 30 December 2016 . Retrieved 29 December 2016. Garcia, Alex S. "mvdbase.com - George Michael - "Monkey" ". Music Video DataBase . Retrieved 1 November 2015.

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George Michael Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019 . Retrieved 14 June 2019. On 26 October 2011, Michael cancelled a performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London due to a viral infection. On 21 November, Vienna General Hospital admitted Michael after he complained of chest pains while at a hotel two hours before his performance at a venue there for his Symphonica Tour. Michael appeared to be "in good spirits" and responded well to treatment following his admission, but on 25 November hospital officials said that his condition had "worsened overnight". This development led to cancellations and postponements of Michael's remaining 2011 performances, which had been scheduled mainly for the United Kingdom. [208] The singer was later confirmed to have suffered from pneumonia and, until 1 December, was in an intensive care unit; at one point, he was comatose. On 21 December, the hospital discharged him. Michael told the press that he had undergone a tracheotomy, [209] that the staff at the hospital had saved his life, and that he would perform a free concert for them. [210] After waking from the coma, Michael had a temporary West Country accent, and there was concern he had developed foreign accent syndrome. [211] George Michael on Australian stage". Herald Sun. 21 February 2010. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020 . Retrieved 22 February 2010. During November 1994, after a long period of seclusion, Michael appeared at the first MTV Europe Music Awards show, where he gave a performance of a new song, " Jesus to a Child". [90] The song was a melancholy tribute to his lover, Anselmo Feleppa, who had died in March 1993. The song entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 1 and No. 7 on Billboard upon release in 1996. [13] [14] It was Michael's longest UK Top 40 single, at almost seven minutes long. The exact identity of the song's subject—and the nature of Michael's relationship with Feleppa—was shrouded in innuendo and speculation, as Michael had not confirmed he was homosexual and did not do so until 1998. The video for "Jesus to a Child" was a picture of images recalling loss, pain and suffering. Michael consistently dedicated the song to Feleppa before performing it live. [91] Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. November 2019. Archived from the original on 30 August 2020 . Retrieved 26 November 2019.