Let's begin with a favorite who is making a very welcome comeback to live concerts. George Michael a man who dominated the 1980s started out with his childhood friend, Andrew Ridgeley and formed the duo Wham! The record was a knockout, spawning hit after hit, including "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," "Everything She Wants," and the classic "Careless Whisper," which Michael penned at the age of 16.
Here are the facts: George Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou on June 25, 1963. He has sold over 80 million records worldwide. He had six number-one singles from his solo debut album, Faith. He fought his record company in 1993 and lost. Michael was arrested for lewd conduct in 1998. In the past decade, Michael's tabloid headlines were overshadowing his musical output.
George Michael's blue-eyed soul captured the hearts and ears of millions. He had a string of successes including his 1986 number-one monster hit "I Knew You Were Waiting For Me," a duet with Aretha Franklin. As a matter of fact, Michael was the first white male vocalist ever to record with the legend. Aretha brought a love gift to the studio for George: a huge rack of barbecued ribs. Rumor has it that Michael turned them down and she ate all the ribs herself!
Michael's 1987 hit "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me," a duet with Elton John, also topped the charts around the globe and further cemented George Michael as a star to be reckoned with. But it was his 1988 smash album Faith turning out six number-one singles, including "Father Figure," "I Want Your Sex," "Kissing A Fool" and the title cut that won the Album of the Year at the Grammys and made him a bona fide superstar.
During this time, Michael found himself feuding with his record company, Sony Records, over royalties. In 1993, he sued Sony attempting to free him of his contract. The court ruled in favor of Sony. The two finally parted company and Michael began recording for Steven Spielberg's label, Dreamworks, in 1996. The album, Older, was a critical and financial success. The album earned multi-platinum and gold status in 34 countries and went five times platinum in the UK. It did well in America, but apparently it didn't impress the American suits. What's a girl gotta do?!
Michael had several successes following, but it was his 1998 arrest in a public men's room in Beverly Hills that not only outed the star, but put him in a dangerous category with the public. He wasn't just the man who wanted your sex; it seemed he wanted the sex of a male stranger heavens! It may not sound like a shock for most of the gay community, but it ran shockwaves throughout his faithful straight fan base.
Soon after the scandal, Michael used the incident to his advantage and released the single "Outside." The accompanying video depicted Michael in a police uniform standing next to another uniformed officer in a public restroom. The end of the video captures Michael and the anonymous officer in a hot lip-lock. While it may have amused his gay following, it did little to make amends with his straight audience. Put it this way, the video was hardly in heavy rotation over at MTV and VH-1. It fared much better at Hunters, Revolver, Midnight Sun and the rest of the gay clubs across America and around the world. Typically, the incident hardly affected sales of his records in Europe and the rest of the world, just here in the "civilized" U.S. of A.!
The single "Outside" was included on a stunning two-set CD, Ladies and Gentlemen: The Very Best of George Michael - and the very best it was. CD One contained over a dozen of Michael's ballads while CD Two included his many uptempo hits. The album sold over 8 million copies.
If you feel it's been a while since you've heard the name "George Michael, "you're not alone. In 2003, he released the single "FREEEK!" in Europe and it was a huge success, going to number one in six countries. At that time, George returned to his record label Sony, his roots and his superb music that made him a star in the first place. After an eight-year wait, he came back with an outstanding CD aptly titled Patience.
I've always said that real honest-to-God talent will stand the test of time. If you've really got what it takes, your career will have longevity, or as they say in Hollywood, your career will have "legs." George Michael has proven to his devoted fans and to the world in general that he's got great legs and he definitely knows how to use them.
Fast-forward to the present. Over the past year, Michael has gone back out on the road, touring in Europe for over a million and a half fans. After the great success across the pond, he wondered how America would respond to his latest tour. On June 17, he kicked off his 25 Live Tour in San Diego and on June 19, wowed audiences in San Jose. To his pleasure and fans alike, he's had enormous success.
Michael told me that he is on tour for the first time in 17 years to say "thank you" to his fans, although he added that "I've probably needed to perform a lot more than I've wanted to admit." When asked if he would advise a closeted performer in the United States to remain that way, he responded, "Absolutely not. There is no career that's worth that. I'd just say, "Come out and accept that you'll lose some of your audience.'"
George Michael will perform at the United Center Wed., July 9. Tickets start at $65; see www.ticketmaster.com or www.georgemichael.com .