George Michael

From the formation of Wham! to his untimely death, this is the ultimate biography of George Michael. George Michael is an enigma. He was one of the most open and vocal pop superstars on the planet, yet he was also fiercely protective of his privacy. From the formation of Wham! in 1981 he immediately found fame and fortune beyond his wildest dreams. His music formed the soundtrack to the 1980s and he achieved all of this despite growing up in a dysfunctional family where his father openly proclaimed that George had no talent. Wham! Split in 1986 but Michael went on to greater things as a solo artist. Along the way he was embroiled in several controversies, but in a refreshing change to other superstars, he has been happy to address his issues head-on in the media. In the last decade he returned to touring with the massively successful 25Live tour and the critically acclaimed Symphonica after a serious health scare and a stint in prison. In the months before his death he was working on new material and a TV documentary. It was only after his death in December 2016 that stories of the full extent of his generosity came to light, adding another layer to the complex story of an unusual superstar. Rob Jovanovic's newly updated biography of George Michael tackles the issues and glory that formed the superstar and his place as a cultural icon.

From the formation of Wham! to his untimely death, this is the ultimate biography of George Michael. George Michael is an enigma. He was one of the most open and vocal pop superstars on the planet, yet he was also fiercely protective of his privacy. From the formation of Wham! in 1981 he immediately found fame and fortune beyond his wildest dreams. His music formed the soundtrack to the 1980s and he achieved all of this despite growing up in a dysfunctional family where his father openly proclaimed that George had no talent. Wham! Split in 1986 but Michael went on to greater things as a solo artist. Along the way he was embroiled in several controversies, but in a refreshing change to other superstars, he has been happy to address his issues head-on in the media. In the last decade he returned to touring with the massively successful 25Live tour and the critically acclaimed Symphonica after a serious health scare and a stint in prison. In the months before his death he was working on new material and a TV documentary. It was only after his death in December 2016 that stories of the full extent of his generosity came to light, adding another layer to the complex story of an unusual superstar. Rob Jovanovic's newly updated biography of George Michael tackles the issues and glory that formed the superstar and his place as a cultural icon.

“Gavin’s engrossing biography of the singer takes the measure of a gifted, tragic, and infuriating man.” —New York Times Book Review George Michael was an extravagantly gifted, openhearted soul singer whose work was both pained and smolderingly erotic. He was a songwriter of true craft and substance, and his music swept the world, starting in the mid-1980s. His fabricated image—that of a hypermacho sex god—loomed large in the pop culture of his day. It also hid—for a time—the secret he fought against revealing: Michael was gay. Soon his obsession with fame would start to backfire. As one of the industry’s most privileged yet tortured men began to self-destruct, the press showed little sympathy. George Michael: A Life explores the compelling story of a superstar whose struggles, as well as his songs, continue to touch fans all over the world. Acclaimed music biographer James Gavin traces Michael’s metamorphosis from the shy and awkward Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou into the swaggering, dominant half of the leading British pop duo of the 1980s Wham!; he then details Michael’s sensational solo career and its subsequent unraveling. With deep analysis of the creative process behind Michael’s albums, tours, and music videos, as well as interviews with hundreds of his friends and colleagues, George Michael: A Life is a probing, definitive portrait of a pop legend.

"Gavin's engrossing biography of the singer takes the measure of a gifted, tragic, and infuriating man." -New York Times Book Review George Michael was an extravagantly gifted, openhearted soul singer whose work was both pained and smolderingly erotic. He was a songwriter of true craft and substance, and his music swept the world, starting in the mid-1980s. His fabricated image-that of a hypermacho sex god-loomed large in the pop culture of his day. It also hid-for a time-the secret he fought against revealing: Michael was gay. Soon his obsession with fame would start to backfire. As one of the industry's most privileged yet tortured men began to self-destruct, the press showed little sympathy. George Michael: A Life explores the compelling story of a superstar whose struggles, as well as his songs, continue to touch fans all over the world. Acclaimed music biographer James Gavin traces Michael's metamorphosis from the shy and awkward Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou into the swaggering, dominant half of the leading British pop duo of the 1980s Wham!; he then details Michael's sensational solo career and its subsequent unraveling. With deep analysis of the creative process behind Michael's albums, tours, and music videos, as well as interviews with hundreds of his friends and colleagues, George Michael: A Life is a probing, definitive portrait of a pop legend.