George Michael
- Profession: Musician
- Place/Date of Birth: Finchley, 25 June 2020
George Michael’s interview on Desert Island Discs is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Sunday at 11.15am and again on Friday at 9.02am.
Michael’s HIV fears cut from documentary - Sept 20 2007
George Michael has asked the BBC not to broadcast an interview in which he discusses his HIV fears.
The pop star spoke openly with Stephen Fry for a forthcoming documentary.
He is said to have admitted that he has not taken a test for at least three years because he fears it might be positive.
His former partner, Anselmo Feleppa, died of an Aids-related illness in 1995.
But the interview has now been removed from the programme at the star’s request.
A spokesman for the singer said: "On reflection, he felt it was too close and too personal a journey, and he asked for his contribution to be removed.
"It was too personal for Anselmo’s family to revisit."
The BBC confirmed that the interview would not feature in the programme, Stephen Fry: HIV And Me.
When the BBC Two documentary was launched in June, BBC bosses revealed details of the former Wham! star’s conversation with Fry.
Producer Ross Wilson said: "George says he does not believe in tests. He says he finds the wait for results too harrowing and that he hasn’t had a test since at least 2004 due to his fears it might be positive."
In the two-part programme, Fry takes an HIV test himself and examines how the disease is spreading.
George auctions suit for HIV charity - July 31 2007
A striking Armani suit worn on tour by George Michael is to be auctioned on eBay to raise money for charity.
The profits from the silver outfit, which he has worn on his 25 Live European Tour, will be donated to the Terrence Higgins Trust, a charity providing services for people living with, and affected by, HIV and Aids.
Bidding will run from August 2 to 12 and any interested buyers can see the suit on all posters and promotional material for the singer’s tour, which is billed as "a celebration of his 25-year career in music".
The Wham! star - real name Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou - supports a number of charities as well as the Terrence Higgins Trust, including The Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity, Outline and Swan Lifeline.
He became the first singer to perform at the new Wembley Stadium, almost seven years after the last concert at the London venue, in June this year.
George to star in Catherine Tate show - July 18 2007
George Michael is set to star in Catherine Tate’s Christmas TV special, it has been confirmed.
The 44-year-old former Wham! star met the flame-haired actress at a free nurses’ gig last year.
The music man, who was recently banned for driving after he was found slumped at the wheel of his car, has already recorded the scenes for the BBC One show.
A source told The Sun: The scripts are top secret but George is happy to take the mick out of himself.
"He’ll do anything Catherine tells him as he’s such a fan."
George is not the only name to have guest starred in the hit comedy show.
Other famous faces who have made an appearance include Jools Holland, Patsy Palmer, Natalie Cassidy and Paul O’Grady.
The former prime minister Tony Blair made a surprise appearance alongside the actress’s teenage chav character Lauren for a Comic Relief special earlier this year.
George to publish warts-and-all book? - June 28 2007
George Michael is reportedly set to spill the beans on his life in a new book.
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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