What an irony! The man who connected his name with Christmas, like few others, died yesterday on the very same day. George Michael ( born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou) passed away in his sleep at his home in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, aged 53.
Along with Andrew Ridgeley he formed the pop duo Wham!, whose greatest all-time Christmas favorite song ‘Last Christmas‘ (from the 3rd and final studio album ‘Music From The Edge Of Heaven‘) has been, and still is, present in most festive playlists with its catchy lyrical (and melody-wise) theme:
George Michael also had a significant solo career (5 studio albums) selling over 100 million albums, and was both talented and lucky enough to gain massive success with his debut ‘Faith‘ back in 1987. ‘Faith‘ won the Grammy Award for album of the year in 1989.
His second ‘Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1‘ might have been disappointing regarding sales (especially in US, that led to chronic legal battles with Sony Music), but it contained some of his best songs ever recorded:
After ‘Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1‘ Michael’s career was a downfall, while his latest solo album was ‘Patience‘ in 2004.
Another pop idol is gone. Real one. And it’s sad, especially in this era of fake, ‘plastic’ products/puppets that are built to last for merely some weeks (see “Talent” shows, etc.), for the music industry’s & managers’ sake.
These are some reactions of some artists, after the news broke:
“I am in deep shock. I have lost a beloved friend – the kindest, most generous soul and a brilliant artist. My heart goes out to his family, friends and all of his fans.” Elton John
“Heartbroken at the loss of my beloved friend Yog. Me, his loved ones, his friends, the world of music, the world at large. 4ever loved. A xx” Andrew Ridgeley
“It better not be true bout George Michael.” Liam Gallagher
“other than a global pop phenom, George Michael was one of the true British soul greats. alot of us owe him an unpayable debt. bye George xx.” Mark Ronson
Christos Doukakis