The George Michael Vault
This page contains articles, information and news on George Michael and his music
Original
Name: Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou
Born: 25 June 1963, Finchley, London
Father: Kyriacos Panayiotou (known Jack Panos)
Mother:
Lesley Angold Harrison (died on February 26, 1997)
Sisters: Yioda, Melanie
List
of the books published about George Michael and how to get them
Stories from BARE
Chartography
- The George Michael Chart History
The 80-Million Dollar Man - An article from VH-1 in Germany
Can
We Listen Without Prejudice - An article from the Sunday Times
George
Michael Albums Sold | Grammy Awards and Nominations | George Michael In His Own Words
George
Michael In Other People's Words | Other Articles
I
would like to thank and
for their major contributions to this page. Without whom I wouldn't have the time to set this up.
George
Michael Albums Sold
Faith has sold:
- 8 million copies in the US
- 16 million copies worldwide
Listen
Without Prejudice has sold:
- 2 million copies in the US
- 8 million copies worldwide
Note that
judging by the number of copies sold, George Michael's popularity significantly fell only in the US. The rest of the world bought 8
million copies of Faith and 6 million (only 2 less) copies of Listen without Prejudice. It appears that Jesus to a Child shows the
continuation of the same trend.Info source: The New York Times December 24, 1995, Art&Leisure section: cover story
GEORGE
MICHAEL: GRAMMY NOMINATIONS
1985. Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for "Wake Me up before You Go
Go".
1986. Best Music Video- Long Form for Wham!/The Video.
1987. Best Rhythm & Blues
Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for "I Knew You Were Waiting" with Aretha Franklin.
1988. Album of
the Year for "Faith"
1988. Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male for "Father Figure"
1991.
Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male for "Freedom'90"
1992. Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for
"Dont Let the Sun Go Down on Me" with Elton JohnGEORGE MICHAEL: GRAMMY AWARDS
1987. Best Rhythm
& Blues Vocal Performance Vocal Performance by Duo or Group for "I Knew You Were Waiting" with Aretha Franklin.
1988.
Album of the Year: "Faith"On winning his first Grammy Award :
"It was the 11 time Aretha Franklin won
the R & B slot, and a track she shared with George Michael: "I Knew You Were Waiting" earned them both the duo/group
prize. Michael had had the number one song in 1985's Hot 100 ("Careless Whisper") and again in 1987 ("Faith"),
but his soul credits were dubious prior to his successful matchup with "Lady Soul". He said in a statement after the
Grammycast: "Winning the R & B category with Aretha validates the tremendous influence r&b music has had on my music,
songwriting, and creative process. Not bad for Brit with soul."
On winning his second Grammy Award :
"Michael
ended losing his bid for best male vocals to McFerrin, but topped the one-man-jazz-band for a bigger prize, Album of the Year
("Faith"), in a victory that signalled Michael's graduation from a one-time teen idol to a critically regarded musical
talent. Michael got his start in business as one half of the bubblegum pop group Wham!. After his breakup with partner Andrew
Ridgley, he started hitting the charts solo, but he told Billboard: "It's nerve-wrecking. When you are given the freedom to do
what you like because you are no longer part of group, you are also given the freedom to make mistakes". Critics did'n think he
was erring seriously, however. Stephen Holden of the New York Times wrote: "If asked to nominate the one contemporary pop star
most likely to be successful 10 years from now as today, I'd cast my vote for George Michael. He has everything a pop star requires
for longevity... including extraordinary skills as songwriter, arranger and producer."
Source: The Grammys For the Record,
Thomas O'Neil1993 and the Grammy's WEB site
George Michael, In
His Own Words:
On Aids and Freddie Mercury: "I think a lot of people, not necessarily people who have anything against gay
people, are probably taking some small comfort in the fact that although Freddie died of Aids he was publicly bisexual. It's a very,
very dangerous comfort. The conservative estimate for the year 2000 is that 40 million people on this planet will be infected by
HIV, and if you think that those are all going to be gay people or drug addicts, then you are pretty well lining up to be one of
those members. So, please, for God's sake and for Freddie's sake and for your own sake, please, be careful."George,
Michael, April 1992, Wembley Stadium, Tribute Concert to Freddie Mercury (The quote appears on the cover of George Michael's
"FIVE LIVE" EP, reseased in 1993.)
George Michael
in Other People's Words:
Intro: George Michael and Boy George have been known forever as rivals on the British pop-scene.
Neither of them has expressed very warm feelings towards the other over the years. Here is a little paragraph from "Take It As
A Man", the recently published autobiography of Boy George, : "The mere mention of George Michael was enough to start me
off. I'd known him for years, but he was always so snotty. I cracked jokes like, "George Michael's got no sense of
houmour." It was true: the more successful and rich he became the more seriously he would take himself. Of course, I was
jelous. I hated the way he was portayed as a serious songwriter while I was treated like a pop joker..." Later in the book, a
more mature Boy George somewhat modifies his attitude: "I've somewhat come to terms with my jealousies. I even speak to George
Michael now. Recently we had dinner with Keren and Sarah from Bananarama and he was friendly and funny. I now try to look beyond the
veneer of everyone I meet. No one or nothing is ever what it seems."Boy George with Spencer Bright, "Take it Like a
Man", Cometmarket, Ltd, 1995.
LET GEORGE DO IT:
"Michael
Jackson's reign at No. 1 in the U.K. with "Earth Song" has been ended by "Jesus to a Child", the first George
Michael's single in a long spell. It's the 10th British chart-topper of Michael's career, counting four from Wham! and five of his
own. In the U.S., where "Jesus" is the first release on the DreamWorks SKG Music label, the single will mark Michael's
11th visit to the summit- if it can go all the way. That includes three No. 1 hits for Wham! and seven so far for Michael since the
duo split."Billboard Magazine, January 27, 1996
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