Born on 25th June 1963 in East Finchley, London, George Michael became one of the best-selling musicians of all time, with over 120 million records sold worldwide.
In 1981, together with Andrew Ridgeley, he formed the 1980’s band, Wham! who were one of the most loved and listened to bands of the 80’s with a string of popular hits including “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” (1984), “Last Christmas” (1984), and “Careless Whisper” (1984) – the latter topping the charts in over 20 countries. The group’s first two albums reached number one in both the UK and the US.
In the spring of 1986, George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley announced their split and the breakup of Wham!, and George started off on his successful solo career, releasing his debut solo album “Faith” in 1987, which topped the UK and US charts, selling over 25 million copies. This was followed up by two more hugely successful albums – Older (1996) and Patience (2004).
Michael won many awards during his career, including 2 Grammy Awards, 3 Brit Awards, 3 American Music Awards, 12 Billboard Music Awards, and 4 MTV Video Awards, and in 2015 he was ranked 45th in Billboard’s “Greatest Hot 100 Artists of All Time”. He was also named by The Radio Academy as the most played artist on British radio between 1984 and 2004.
George Michael died on Christmas Day in 2016 at his home in the village of Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.
After his death, charities such as Childline, the Terrence Higgins Trust, and Macmillan Cancer Support revealed that Michael had been privately supporting them for many years, in some cases donating millions to their causes.
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