George Michael

Birthday: 25 June 1963, Bushey, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Birth Name: Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou

Height: 180 cm

George Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in Finchley, north London, in the United Kingdom, to Lesley Angold (Harrison), a dancer, and Kyriacos Panayiotou, a restaurateur. His father was a Greek Cypriot, and his mother was of English background. He first discovered fame as a musician when he and school friend, Andrew Ridgeley, formed the pop group Wham!. Success came fast and furious with their first album, 'Fantastic' (1983) hitting the UK number one spot. Wham! survived for five years and during that time the group notched up four number one singles and two number one albums. Most of their other releases made top three. George also contributed to the Band Aid Single 'Do They Know It's Christmas' (1984), and scored two further solo number one hits with 'Careless Whisper' and 'A Different Corner'.Following the break-up of Wham!, George went on to have a hugely successful career as a solo artist, his debut album 'Faith' (1987) - and the single of the same name - both achieving instant and international success. The album has since been certified Diamond.Over the last four decades George has notched up 8 number one albums in the and 13 number one singles in the UK (including Wham!, Band Aid, and the 'Five Live' EP). In the U.S. he has achieved 2 number one albums and 10 number one singles, with numerous other number one hits throughout the rest of the world.He has performed duets with artists including Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Queen, and Lisa Stansfield, and actively participates in charitable causes, Live Aid and the Freddie Mercury concert for AIDS being just two of the more prominent examples. According to a BBC documentary, George donated more than five million pounds towards various charities. Whilst with Wham!, he donated all the proceeds of 'Last Christmas' (1984) to charity. The single reached number two in the UK and George also performed simultaneously on the number one charity record 'Do They Know It's Christmas?'.George released the single 'December Song' in 2008 as a free download: his hope was that purchasers would donate money to charity.He remained in contact with his Wham! partner and long-time friend Andrew Ridgeley until his death in 2016. Show less «

It is nice to know that the News of The World is still so concerned for my well being.

[on his time in prison in September/October 2010] Most of my days have been spent reading thousands ...Show more »

[on his time in prison in September/October 2010] Most of my days have been spent reading thousands of letters and postcards of incredible support from people around the world. I promise to repay their kindness with new music as soon as I possibly can. Show less «

[on Elton John's concern for him] Elton lives on that. He will not be happy until I bang on his door...Show more »

[on Elton John's concern for him] Elton lives on that. He will not be happy until I bang on his door in the middle of the night saying: 'Please, please, help me, Elton. Take me to rehab.' It's not going to happen. Elton just needs to shut his mouth and get on with his own life. Look, if people choose to believe that I'm sitting here in my ivory tower, 'Howard Hughes'ing myself with long fingernails and loads of drugs, then I can't do anything about that, can I? Show less «

[on the death of Freddie Mercury in 1991] Freddie Mercury was a huge source of inspiration to me as ...Show more »

[on the death of Freddie Mercury in 1991] Freddie Mercury was a huge source of inspiration to me as a child. I religiously attended Queen's concerts year after year. This is a sad day. Show less «

[on doing concerts] People run on and off the stage, but usually they're removed before they get to ...Show more »

[on doing concerts] People run on and off the stage, but usually they're removed before they get to me. It's not really frightening. There's always the possibility that someone's going to take a potshot at you; you take that risk when you perform in front of thousands of people. Show less «

It was my own stupid fault. I was in possession of class C drugs which is an offence and I have no c...Show more »

It was my own stupid fault. I was in possession of class C drugs which is an offence and I have no complaints about the police, who were professional throughout. Show less «

[on regaining consciousness after his 2011 coma] I swear this is true. I came out of my coma talking...Show more »

[on regaining consciousness after his 2011 coma] I swear this is true. I came out of my coma talking in this West Country accent. There's nothing wrong with a West Country accent, but it's a bit weird when you're from North London. My sisters, who were obviously so relieved that I'd actually woken up, were just laughing away at this stand-up comedy. Show less «

Even though it's become a really cliched thing to see musicians working for charity, it's still effe...Show more »

Even though it's become a really cliched thing to see musicians working for charity, it's still effective and it still has to be done. Show less «

It is such an amazing feeling to watch the effect I have on my audience. There is no question that i...Show more »

It is such an amazing feeling to watch the effect I have on my audience. There is no question that is the most valuable thing I can ever do in terms of contribution and it seems that God wanted me to and gave me the voice to do it and the stamina to do it. Show less «

[April 2006] The trajectory of my particular soap opera with the press launched from that statement ...Show more »

[April 2006] The trajectory of my particular soap opera with the press launched from that statement Elton [Elton John] made about eighteen months ago when Elton hadn't seen me for years. Elton said he thought I was really miserable for some reason. From that point on I've been trying to prove that I'm not. Unfortunately it made me incredibly vulnerable to the press. Show less «

I'm basically a control freak. It's not because I want to be. I'm not at all into the power play tha...Show more »

I'm basically a control freak. It's not because I want to be. I'm not at all into the power play that's involved in it. I'm a perfectionist. Show less «

[on Tony Blair] His problem is, one, he's not as smart as he thinks he is and, two, this man does no...Show more »

[on Tony Blair] His problem is, one, he's not as smart as he thinks he is and, two, this man does not know when his ego is getting the better of him... A man who will not stare his ego down is every bit as dangerous as an altruist as he is a Hitler. Show less «

There is no such thing as a reluctant star. Stars are almost always people that want to make up for ...Show more »

There is no such thing as a reluctant star. Stars are almost always people that want to make up for their own weaknesses by being loved by the public and I'm no exception to that. Show less «

I do love Christmas. I always have loved it, ever since I was a child. When I was young both my pare...Show more »

I do love Christmas. I always have loved it, ever since I was a child. When I was young both my parents used to work so hard and they always seemed quite stressed to me. But at Christmas everyone would calm down and be nice to each other for a few days, and that used to make me feel very safe. It's Frank Sinatra who reminds me of Christmas. During the school holidays, when I was a kid, I used to work behind the bar of my dad's restaurant in Edgware [North London], and he'd always play Sinatra records for the customers. So that association is very strong for me. Why doesn't it snow at the right time anymore, like it did in the '60s? If it could snow on Christmas Eve or something that would be perfect. Show less «

[on his arrest for lewd conduct in 1998] Running naked up and down Oxford Street singing "I Am What ...Show more »

[on his arrest for lewd conduct in 1998] Running naked up and down Oxford Street singing "I Am What I Am" would have been a more dignified way to come out. Show less «

I do think that Live Aid (1985) was a great thing, it focused people, I think it showed young kids t...Show more »

I do think that Live Aid (1985) was a great thing, it focused people, I think it showed young kids the way in many respects and I think a lot of people are still inspired by what happened in the mid-Eighties. Show less «

Boy George is great company and a man I have always wanted to like. He acts in a homophobic way to o...Show more »

Boy George is great company and a man I have always wanted to like. He acts in a homophobic way to other gay men by being such a bitch. It's an aggression that he can't get rid of. Show less «

I have a serious problem with the fact that every time I made a mistake and every time I let myself ...Show more »

I have a serious problem with the fact that every time I made a mistake and every time I let myself down that I was letting young gay kids down. Show less «

Women seem to ignore the fact that I'm gay. I think that women really get the feeling that I underst...Show more »

Women seem to ignore the fact that I'm gay. I think that women really get the feeling that I understand them. I grew up with two sisters, I went out with women when I was younger. I do understand them, unfortunately. Show less «

[on his long-term partner, Kenny Goss] Gay relationships are a bit different. I'm sure we'll be allo...Show more »

[on his long-term partner, Kenny Goss] Gay relationships are a bit different. I'm sure we'll be allowed to roam if we want to. But we love each other dearly. Show less «

There are very few things in my life that I can't have if I want them. So when I see something that ...Show more »

There are very few things in my life that I can't have if I want them. So when I see something that I think I can't have, immediately I'm obsessed by it. Show less «

Parkinson (1971) is still the only interview on British TV that means anything. Perhaps that is beca...Show more »

Parkinson (1971) is still the only interview on British TV that means anything. Perhaps that is because he appears to realize that his guest should always be the star of the show and... He paid for dinner! Show less «

I think pop music should be about youth culture. It shouldn't be an endurance test. If I can just li...Show more »

I think pop music should be about youth culture. It shouldn't be an endurance test. If I can just live further from the spotlight I think that'll be better for all really. Show less «

As an artist I'm not interested in repeating former successes.

[on surviving severe pneumonia at Christmas 2011] Best Christmas I can remember, surrounded by the p...Show more »

[on surviving severe pneumonia at Christmas 2011] Best Christmas I can remember, surrounded by the people I love. And knowing that Christmas could have been very different this year for everyone at that table. As it was we stuffed and laughed ourselves silly. I'm such a lucky man! I hope you all had a great one. Show less «

Loyalty can be different things to different sexualities.

Elton John said he thought I was miserable for some reason and I have been trying to prove that I'm ...Show more »

Elton John said he thought I was miserable for some reason and I have been trying to prove that I'm not ever since. The subtext to it is always, 'He was all right before he came out and now he lives this depraved gay life and is miserable and fat' and from that point on I have suffered this kind of wishful thinking from the Press. Show less «

I just hope that I'll stay around musically for as long as I can. I'd love to think that I will stil...Show more »

I just hope that I'll stay around musically for as long as I can. I'd love to think that I will still be satisfying myself and other people as a musician until the day I die. Show less «

[on performing at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992] To sing with Queen was the most memor...Show more »

[on performing at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992] To sing with Queen was the most memorable moment of my career. Show less «

[on his arrest for lewd behavior] When someone is waving their genitalia at you, you don't automatic...Show more »

[on his arrest for lewd behavior] When someone is waving their genitalia at you, you don't automatically assume that they're an officer of the law. Show less «

[on his August 2009 car crash] If that juggernaut had killed me, I think I'd be perfectly happy with...Show more »

[on his August 2009 car crash] If that juggernaut had killed me, I think I'd be perfectly happy with the amount of quality music I have left in the world. My ego is sated. Show less «

In a strange way I've spent the last 15 to 20 years trying to derail my own career. But it never see...Show more »

In a strange way I've spent the last 15 to 20 years trying to derail my own career. But it never seems to suffer. I suffer like crazy. I've suffered bereavements and public humiliations, but my career always seems to right itself like a plastic duck in the bath. In some ways I resent that. Show less «

I still believe that music is one of the greatest gifts that God gave to man.

I have been doing this on and off since I was a teenager and never once seen violence. If I want to ...Show more »

I have been doing this on and off since I was a teenager and never once seen violence. If I want to see violence or what I call shameful behaviour, the idea that women in clubs these days have to hold their hand over their drink for fear of being drugged ... Please don't tell me as a member of the straight community that I am taking risks. I know what I do and I am sorry, but we should not be taking questions like this, from straight women in particular ... I do not deserve the criticism. What I don't have respect for is some demand for answers from an openly gay man who is living his own life. I have not cheated or lied about my sex life to anybody in my life, in my entire life. I hate not to be able to rise above it, but there is only so much you can take. I'm suing the individual involved who I have never, ever seen, let alone wanted to have any kind of sexual encounter with, and I'm currently investigating suing the secondary sources of libel. I am taking legal action against the photographers because they're harassing me and I should not have to worry about who's watching me at 2:30 in the morning. Show less «

I know I'm basically a good person whose two crimes appear to be that I'm gay and I've got a big mou...Show more »

I know I'm basically a good person whose two crimes appear to be that I'm gay and I've got a big mouth to go with it. Show less «

George Michael

George Michael's FILMOGRAPHY

Feedback about this page?