The video for Father Figure may have depicted Michael in a relationship with a woman, but the song’s lyrics told a more complex story: “Sometimes love can be mistaken for a crime.” Meanwhile, the shift from the hushed longing of the verses to the explosive, gospel-inspired chorus is just fabulous. 7. Wham! – Last Christmas (1984) On 16 May 2013, Michael sustained a head injury when he fell from his moving car on the M1 motorway, near St Albans in Hertfordshire, and was airlifted to hospital. [212] [213] [214] On 29 May, Michael's publicist confirmed that he had left the hospital and that his injuries were superficial. [215]

Watch: George Michael Inhales in Tripped-Out 'True Faith' Music Vid". Towleroad.com. 21 March 2011 . Retrieved 2 January 2019. In the early hours of Christmas Day 2016, Michael died in bed at his home in Goring-on-Thames, at the age of 53. He was found by his partner, Fadi Fawaz. [182] [183] [251] In March 2017, a senior coroner in Oxfordshire attributed Michael's death to natural causes due to dilated cardiomyopathy with myocarditis and a fatty liver. [252] [253] [254] [255] Ultratop.be – George Michael – Ladies and Gentlemen – The Best of" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 May 2016.Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael is the first compilation album by George Michael, released on 9 November 1998. The collection of 29 songs (28 on the North American release) is separated into two-halves, with each CD of the double set containing music of a particular theme and mood. The first CD, titled "For the Heart", predominantly contains Michael's hit ballads, while the second CD, "For the Feet", comprises mostly his popular dance tunes. A DVD release also titled Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael followed in 1999, featuring 23 music videos from Michael's career. ARIA End of Year Albums 2017". Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved 5 January 2018. This album is everything I hoped for and more. Whatever George does next will have my full support. Caulfield, Keith (3 January 2017). "George Michael's U.S. Music Sales Up 2,678% Following Death". Billboard . Retrieved 5 January 2018. Michael additionally charts one more solo set on the list, the 1998 greatest hits compilation Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael, at No. 84 (11,000 units; up 3,291 percent, with 7,000 sold; up 5,257 percent). Official Charts Analysis: Posthumous No.1 album for George Michael". Music Week. 27 October 2017 . Retrieved 28 October 2017.

In February 2012, two months after leaving hospital, Michael made a surprise appearance at the 2012 Brit Awards at the O 2 Arena in London, where he received a standing ovation, and presented Adele the award for Best British Album. [131] In March, Michael announced that he was healthy and that the Symphonica Tour would resume in autumn. [132] The final concert of the tour—which was also the final concert of Michael's life–was performed at London's Earls Court on 17 October 2012. [133] A South Bank Show recording from September 1990. The programme documents Michael's career up to that point, from the Wham! era to the release of his second solo studio album, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1. It also includes a TV commercial for the album, which was co-directed and choreographed by Michael. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDFed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p.187. a b c d e f "NVPI Goud & Platina" (in Dutch). NVPI. Archived from the original on 28 August 2009 . Retrieved 5 March 2011.ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2017 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved 21 January 2017. Freedom '90" was the second of only two singles from Listen Without Prejudice to be supported by a music video (the other being the Michael-less "Praying for Time"). [73] The song alludes to his struggles with his artistic identity, and prophesied his efforts shortly thereafter to end his recording contract with Sony Music. As if to prove the song's sentiment, Michael refused to appear in the video (directed by David Fincher), and instead recruited supermodels Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Tatjana Patitz, and Cindy Crawford to appear in and lip sync in his stead. [73] It also featured lyrics critical of his sex symbol status. [74] It reached No. 8 success on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, [14] and No. 28 on the UK Singles Chart. [13] " Mother's Pride" gained significant radio play in the US during the first Persian Gulf War during 1991, often with radio stations mixing in callers' tributes to soldiers with the music. [75]

The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (George Michael; 'Ladies & Gentlemen ')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien . Retrieved 27 October 2017. George Michael - Freedom! '90 (Official 4K Video)". georgemichael/ YouTube. 30 October 2020. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021 . Retrieved 2 November 2020. Ladies & Gentlemen was released by Sony Music Entertainment as a condition of Michael severing his contractual ties with the label amid a great deal of acrimony and publicity prior to the release of Older in 1996. However, singles from Older do appear on this compilation. Michael would later return to Sony to release his 2004 album Patience.ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2010 DVDs" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved 11 December 2021. In 2012, Michael entered a relationship with Fadi Fawaz, a Lebanese-Australian celebrity hairstylist and freelance photographer based in London. [180] [181] It was Fawaz who found Michael's body on Christmas morning 2016. [182] [183] Legal troubles I t is testament to what a remarkable artist George Michael was when you realise he pulled out one of the finest live performances of his career with the news that his partner Anselmo had been diagnosed with HIV still ringing in his ears. Patience’s use of samples and reinterpretations continues on Flawless (Go To The City), which utilises US dance act The Ones’ Flawless as its foundation. It’s a rare slice of undiluted upbeat pop here. He channelled that pain (and worry about his own health status) into this celebration of Freddie Mercury’s life at the Queen’s frontman’s 1992 memorial concert. His version of Somebody To Love is quite extraordinary and a duet with Lisa Stansfield on These Are The Days Of Our Lives equally moving.

Swiss Year-end Charts 1999". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014 . Retrieved 18 May 2016. Michael came out as gay in 1998, and was an active LGBT rights campaigner and HIV/AIDS charity fundraiser. His personal life, drug use, and legal troubles made headlines following an arrest for public lewdness in 1998 and multiple drug-related offences. The 2005 documentary A Different Story covered his career and personal life. Michael's 25 Live tour spanned three tours from 2006 to 2008. Michael fell into a coma in 2011 during a bout with pneumonia, but later recovered. He performed his final concert at London's Earls Court in 2012. Michael died of heart disease on Christmas Day in 2016, at his home in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. In 1996, Michael was voted Best British Male at the MTV Europe Music Awards and the Brit Awards; [94] [95] and at the British Academy's Ivor Novello Awards, he was awarded the title of Songwriter of the Year for the third time. [96] Michael performed a concert at Three Mills Studios, London, for MTV Unplugged. [97] It was his first long performance in years, and in the audience was Michael's mother, who died of cancer the following year. [98]

Companies, etc.

Brazilian album certifications – George Michael – Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil . Retrieved 27 October 2017. Michael performs in London on his Faith tour, June 1988. Photograph: Pete Still/Redferns 13. George Michael – Faith (1987)