Washington (CNN) Soulful, dazzlingly talented, bewitching – there are many words that sum up the power of George Michael. Another: subversive.
Before his sexuality was known to the public for certain in 1998, Michael, who would have turned 59 this month, undermined the private pain of gay men, making it readable in an era defined by virulent homophobia.
Get “Freedom!” ’90s: “I think there’s something you should know / I think it’s time I told you / There’s something deep inside me / There’s someone else I gotta be,” Michael sings in the funky pre-hook . The most obvious interpretation of “Freedom!” is that it’s a reproach of the bubble gum pop Michael created during his Whams! years. But I would say that the song’s theme of liberation also operates in another register – which is a codified embrace of homosexuality: there is someone else I must be.
More than three decades after Michael embarked on his solo career, with parts of the world engaged in a new battle for LGBTQ equality, the pop megastar’s subtle and heartwarming explorations of queer life are no less impactful.
To analyze the lasting resonance of Michael’s story, I spoke to James Gavin, the author of the new book, “George Michael: A Life”. During our conversation, which has been slightly edited in length and clarity, we discussed the sides of Michael’s duel, the pain the singer went through as a result of homophobia, and the need to empathize with Michael in a way that the public has done so only rarely in his life.
Part of what your book does is explore the different sides of George Michael: the Michael who was a “hypermacus sex god”, as you put it, and the Michael who was an insecure person. How did you approach that process?
Michael spent the first half of his life creating that character you were describing (the hypermacho sex god), and the second half destroying that character.
He reached that incredible climax in 1988, during the Faith tour for the album that made him the biggest pop star in the world at the time. It was what he had dreamed of for most of his life, and it had left him unhappy. This is an old story in the pop world: you get everything you thought you wanted but it ends badly. What fascinated me, though, was the process that followed, when Michael began to tear down that initial person and then continued to bring himself down.
I approached that job by talking to over 200 people who had known it, sometimes very briefly, sometimes extremely well. The whole process was like rolling a boulder up a hill. When I started writing the book, almost everyone ignored me or said no, and I think for two reasons. One, it was very close to his death and the people were still cruel. And two, people were immediately suspicious, and part of that was because Michael had lived his entire life in hiding. The people around him knew that to remain in his good graces, they had to keep his secrets.
I see your bio as part of a series of recent works that seek to reevaluate our collective mistreatment of the stars we claimed to love and the psychological toll of celebrities. There’s Gerrick Kennedy’s 2022 book, “Didn’t We Almost Have It All: In Defense of Whitney Houston” and Samantha Stark’s 2021 documentary, “Framing Britney Spears.”
You’re raising a very good point, because pop music, which is what Michael has his eye on, is ephemeral. It changes all the time and most people are left behind pretty quickly. And Michael – like all the people you mentioned, like anyone who achieved what he got – never thought he was going to go away. And he crushed him when he did.
This was certainly true of Houston as well, but I think Michael needed so much love and acceptance from everyone that when his second solo album sold half of his first solo album – we’re talking about 7 , 5 million copies versus about 20 million copies; 7.5 million copies is a phenomenal success: it was devastated. He took it as a horrible blow and perceived the album almost as a failure.
There is also the unreality of life in that stratosphere. You completely lose contact with the people below.
I also just want to say he had a big heart. One of the great things about Michael was the fact that he donated millions of pounds to charity. At a time in the mid to late 1990s when things were really starting to unravel for him, he stepped up his charitable contributions. And I think it was a self-healing gesture on her part. I think it was a way he felt he could influence people’s lives firsthand, beyond a more abstract pop star way.
Michael endured so much pain early in his life and career: the loss of his lover to AIDS, the loss of his mother. Did he ever recover from those losses?
No he did not. It just got worse and worse. He felt terribly victimized, as if the world wanted to take him.
Part of my book talks about it. There is a passage on Equality Rocks (a 2000 benefit concert for the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group). In this celebration of emerging equality and freedom and a sense of oneness, Michael could only look at that crowd and see all the pain that being gay had caused him. And the monologue he gave at the concert is a long outburst of everything that hurt him in his life. He was angry, angry about all of this.
What would you say is missing from our conversations about Michael?
I wrote an epilogue that I hope is more optimistic than the one before it, because I don’t want to leave people on a negative note. I’ve tried to focus on the fact that whenever I mention the name “George Michael” to people, they smile. Immediately, that name carries a rush of good associations and they seem to ignore all sad and dark things.
Also, you need to do your best to try to empathize. I couldn’t have told this story if I couldn’t find empathy for Michael. You have to be somehow able to put yourself in the shoes of the person you are writing about. If you can do this, you will not fall into the trap of judgment. And judging is a bad thing for a biographer to do. It’s easy to look at someone like Michael, who had it all, and feel nothing for him. But I can’t overstate the importance of empathy.
How much does Mariah Carey make during Christmas?
In 2019, Celebrity Net Worth calculated that Mariah Carey earns between $ 600,000 and $ 1 million each December from royalties. To see also : Michael Arnold Examines Whether Airbnb Is a Real Estate Gold Mine. But the celebration of Christmas always comes earlier every year.
What is Mariah Carey’s net worth in 2021? What is Mariah Carey’s net worth? Carey’s net worth is estimated to fall within a pretty broad range – it could be worth anywhere from $ 300 million to $ 550 million, depending on the source cited.
What is Mariah Carey’s net worth?
| Net assets: | $ 320 million |
|---|---|
| Date of birth: | March 27, 1970 (age 52) |
| Genre: | Female |
| Height: | 5 ft 8 in (1.75 m) |
| Profession: | Record producer, singer, songwriter, musician, model, author, composer, actor, film producer, voice actor |
Who is the richest singer of all time?
1. Paul McCartney (Net worth: $ 1.2 billion) With $ 1.2 billion to his name, according to Money Inc., Paul McCartney is still the richest of the richest rock stars ever.
What happened to George Michael’s partner in Wham?
Like Wham! astounded, Andrew eventually admitted that George had the best talent in songwriting, music and voice and took a backup role in the band. This may interest you : Boot camp to train for high-tech jobs. Once the duo divorced, Ridgeley became the anti-George-Michael, stepping out of the spotlight, moving to Morocco and pursuing Formula Three.
What did Andy do to the Wham? Born in Surrey, England in 1963, Andrew Ridgeley is known as the mute musician of Wham !, the 1980s rock group starring George Michael who produced hits like “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” and “Careless Whisper. “. Although he occasionally helped write music, sing and play instruments, his main role in the group was …
Who were George Michael’s partners?
Michael formed the duo Wham! with Andrew Ridgeley in 1981. Read also : George Michael preferred music over fame. So does the doctor he made..
Does Ridgeley get royalties?
Ridgeley still receives thousands of pounds a year from its ‘Careless Whisper’ royalty share. Shortly after the breakup, Ridgeley moved to Monaco and tried his hand at Formula Three motor racing. Meeting with little success, he moved to Los Angeles in search of a career in acting.
How much money does Wizard make every Christmas?
The only song in the top five released in the 1970s – Wizzard’s I Wish It Could be Christmas Everyday – is believed to earn around € 200,000 annually for its producers thanks to Christmas royalties.
What is the most profitable Christmas song? According to the Guinness Book of Records, Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” is not only the best-selling Christmas / holiday single in the United States, but also the best-selling single of all time, with estimated sales exceeding 50 million copies in all. the world.
Who makes the most royalties at Christmas?
- # 4) Mel Torme – “The Christmas Song” (1944). Estimated earnings: $ 45 million. …
- # 3) Haven Gillespie and Fred J Coots – “Santa is coming to town” (1934). Estimated earnings: $ 50 million. …
- # 2) Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff – “All I want for Christmas is you” (1994). …
- # 1) Irving Berlin – “White Christmas” (1940).
How much does the Pogues make every Christmas?
Fairytale of New York ”by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl topped at number two, bringing in £ 400,000 annually. Meanwhile, at the top of the list is Slade’s ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’, which is said to bring in £ 1 million in royalties per year.
Does Ridgeley get royalties?
Ridgeley still receives thousands of pounds a year from its share of & quot; Careless Whisper & quot; royalties. Shortly after the breakup, Ridgeley moved to Monaco and tried his hand at Formula Three motor racing. Meeting with little success, he moved to Los Angeles in search of a career in acting.
What is Andrew Ridgeley doing now? Then he turned his back on acting and moved to England for good. Around the same time, Andrew and his girlfriend, Keren Woodward (from Bananarama) moved into a medieval cottage in Wadebridge, Cornwall, where they still live. Despite the fact that they separated for a few years in 2017, they remain together.
How much was George Michael’s estate worth?
What is George Michael’s net worth? George Michael was an English singer, songwriter, record producer and philanthropist who had a net worth of $ 200 million at the time of his death. He became famous as a member of the musical duo Wham! in the 1980s and subsequently embarked on a solo career.
How much is Andrew from Wham worth?
| Net assets: | $ 40 million |
|---|---|
| Date of birth: | January 26, 1963 (59 years) |
| Genre: | Male |
| Profession: | Songwriter, guitarist, environmentalist, singer |
| Nationality: | United Kingdom |
