George Michael
- Profession: Musician
- Place/Date of Birth: Finchley, 25 June 2020
"If I had known the day after the charge was brought the legal option of accepting a punishment without taking responsibility for something I felt I was not guilty to I could have saved everyone here a lot of time and trouble."
George adds court date to tour - April 25 2007
George Michael is set to appear in court the day before he performs at Wembley Stadium following a ruling by a district judge.
The trial of the 43-year-old former Wham! star has been listed to start on May 8, followed by the dates of May 30, May 31 and June 8, after a preliminary hearing at Brent Magistrates’ Court in north west London.
The star, whose birth name is George Panayiotou, will face a charge of driving while unfit through drugs and an allegation of being in charge of a vehicle while unfit through drugs.
It was announced last month that the singer will play the first concert at the new Wembley Stadium on June 9, as part of his British and European stadium tour which starts in May.
District Judge Katherine Marshall rejected an application for the star to be allowed to be absent throughout the trial.
She said she wanted him to be in court on May 8 and she would be willing, if he did not wish to remain at the trial, to bail him to reappear on the final day.
The judge noted: "He is around in the area because I believe he is appearing at Wembley Stadium. I do not think he will have any difficulty in being here on June 8."
Michael concert a first for Wembley - Mar 5 2007
Popstar George Michael will play the first concert at the new Wembley Stadium.
The singer, who performed on a number of occasions at the old Wembley Stadium, will take to the stage at the new venue on June 9 as part of his British and European stadium tour.
The tour kicks off at Aarhus Stadium in Denmark on May 18 and will visit Manchester, Glasgow, Plymouth and Norwich as well as France, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Holland and Hungary.
Michael will be the first artist to play at the 90,000 capacity venue, the opening of which has been beset by repeated delays and financial wrangling.
Last year, rock band Bon Jovi were booked to open the new stadium but they, along with the Rolling Stones, Robbie Williams and Take That, were forced to move venue when building work overran.
Michael played some of his most memorable gigs at the old Wembley Stadium.
He performed in Live Aid in 1985, Wham’s farewell concert with Andrew Ridgeley in 1986, the Nelson Mandela concert in 1988, the Freddie Mercury tribute concert in 1992 and Net Aid in 1999.
Alex Horne, managing director of Wembley Stadium, said: "It’s fantastic news that George Michael is to play Wembley Stadium’s opening concert.
"He’s no stranger to this great stage having performed at the old stadium both with Wham! at Live Aid and also as a solo artist, so this is a fitting first gig in the new stadium. I’m sure this will be a very hot ticket and we are looking forward to putting the stadium back on the world map as a major music destination."
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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