George Michael
- Profession: Musician
- Place/Date of Birth: Finchley, 25 June 2020
The UK dates for the tour are: Saturday June 9 - Wembley Stadium, London; Tuesday June 12 - Carrow Road, Norwich; Friday June 15 - City Of Manchester Stadium, Manchester; Sunday June 17 - Hampden Park, Glasgow; Tuesday June 19 - Home Park, Plymouth.
Star denies ’unfit to drive’ charge - Jan 10 2007
Pop star George Michael has denied being ’unfit to drive’ through drugs following an incident in which he was found passed out in his car, a court heard.
The singer was found by police on September 30 last year after worried motorists dialled 999 saying his Mercedes was causing an obstruction at traffic lights in Cricklewood, north London.
He was arrested on suspicion of being ’unfit to drive’ and for possession of what was believed to be cannabis.
The 43-year-old former Wham! star was taken to hospital before being cautioned by police for carrying the drug.
He was then charged with being ’unfit to drive’ just before Christmas.
Michael, whose birth name is George Panayiotou, was not at Brent Magistrates’ Court in London to hear his lawyer Keima Payton say he would be pleading not guilty.
The court heard that the defence would question the admissibility of a blood test taken from the singer as prosecution evidence.
District Judge Katherine Marshall set a date of March 7 for further legal argument on the matter.
During the 13 minute hearing, the judge also scheduled the trial to take place on April 23.
Michael was released on unconditional bail until the trial date.
Pop singer on unfit to drive charge - Jan 2 2007
Pop star George Michael has been charged with being "unfit to drive" after an incident in which he was found passed out in his car, police said.
The singer will appear at Brent Magistrates’ Court in London on January 11 after he was arrested in north London in October.
Michael was found by officers after worried motorists dialled 999 to report his car was causing an obstruction at traffic lights in Cricklewood.
He was arrested on suspicion of being unfit to drive and for possession of what was believed to be cannabis.
The 43-year-old former Wham! star was taken to hospital before being cautioned by police for carrying the drug.
He was charged with "being unfit to drive" just before Christmas, a Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed.
George claims album top spot - Nov 20 2006
Hot on the heels of the successful start of his first UK tour for 15 years, George Michael has reached the number one album spot with Twenty Five.
The hit songs, taken from the singer’s career over three decades, beat Best Of albums from Sugababes, Girls Aloud and Jamiroquai.
His spokeswoman, Connie Fillipello, said the star celebrated at home with his family and friends after hearing the news.
George opened the UK leg of his tour in front of 16,500 fans at the MEN arena in Manchester on Friday.
Helena Bonham Carter
Hugh Laurie
Rachel Weisz
Faces in Fashion
Ricci Stoene
Sadie Frost
Musicians
DJ Jon Carter
Graham Coxon
Ms Dynamite
Writers & Artists
Amanda Craig
Features
Celeb Rehab
Keeping up with the WAGs...
Profiles: Film
Angelina Jolie
Keira Knightley
Tom Cruise
Profiles: Music
Britney Spears
Kylie Minogue
Madonna
Profiles: Fashion
Kate Moss
Naomi Campbell
Victoria Beckham
Win a flight to New York
Win a flight to New York
Win a return flight to New York and get paid for your opinions!
| Book local Hotels |  |
under £40 | |
from £40 to £60 | |
from £60 to £80 | |
from £80 to £100 | |
over £100 |
Michael had hit after hit with Wham! - Club Tropicana, Wham Rap, Wake me Up Before You Go Go all remain classics, featuring on every best of the eighties compilation going. Whilst in Wham! George had solo success with one of his most famous hits, Careless Whisper.
When the mighty Wham! split in 1986 Michael found he had to prove himself to music critics who thought he was just another flash in the pan boy band reject. He did it easily with hit after hit, a duet with Aretha Franklin and a blue eyed soul boy image. In the nineties he kept the good work up, duetting with Elton John on Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me and in 1992 was announced to be one of the richest men in the UK thanks to incredible record sales.
But in the mid to late nineties things started to turn sour with George’s record label, Sony and despite producing one of the most successful albums of the decade with Older, he left Sony to create his own label - Aegean Records. A year later George hit the headlines after being arrested for committing ’lewd acts’ in a public toilet (you all know that story), forcing the singer to come out publicly.
Many thought it would be the end of his career, but the master of reinvention hit back with arguably his finest single to date, Outside. The video for his hit single featured the cheeky Greek dressed as a policeman gyrating about a disco-balled toilet, a great two fingers up to the press and police who had outed him. George has since played up his gayness, recently telling the world about his ’open relationship’ with boyfriend Kenny Goss and his ’Vanilla’ tastes in sex. In between revealing all he has become increasingly political, releasing slated single Freeeek!, an anti Iraq war song and using interviews to champion the causes close to his heart.
The ex Wham! star remains a force to be reckoned with even after announcing that he is bowing out of the music business to release his recordings online for free. Good news for skint George Michael fans, not so much for the industry.
By Laura Walton
October 2007