60 Fun Facts About George Michael

George Michael was born in East Finchley in 1963 under what name?

His father Kyriacos 'Jack' was a Greek Cypriot restaurateur; his mother Lesley was an English dancer.

At Bushey Meads School, where he met Andrew Ridgeley, George Michael went by which nickname?

The two shared an ambition to be musicians and first played together in a ska band called the Executive.

Before Wham!, Michael and Ridgeley played in a short-lived band called the Executive in which genre?

Their demo included a ska version of 'Für Elise' and 'Rude Boy', the first Michael-Ridgeley composition.

Which Queen song did the teenage George Michael busk on the London Underground?

He would sing it again with Queen at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992.

Wham! signed their first record deal with which label after Ridgeley pestered its boss in a Bushey Heath pub?

Mark Dean of Innervision was the man cornered at the Three Crowns.

The 'Club Tropicana' video was shot at which Ibiza hotel, a favourite of Freddie Mercury?

The song reached No. 4 in the UK in July 1983.

The title of 'Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go' came from what?

He wrote 'up' twice by accident, then doubled 'go' on purpose.

The oversized 'CHOOSE LIFE' T-shirts in the 'Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go' video were designed by whom?

The video started a craze for slogan tees.

George Michael wrote 'Careless Whisper' at what age, on a bus to his DJ job?

Ridgeley wrote the chord sequence on the Telecaster he got for his 18th birthday.

Who played the famous saxophone part on 'Careless Whisper'?

Michael composed the sax line himself and auditioned several players before he was satisfied.

In April 1985 Wham! became the first Western pop act to tour which country?

Manager Simon Napier-Bell had spent 18 months persuading officials to allow it.

On the original Band Aid single, Michael sang his lines third, after Paul Young and which other singer?

He also donated the profits from 'Last Christmas', stuck at No. 2 behind Band Aid, to the same cause.

Which Elton John song did Michael sing with Elton at Live Aid in July 1985?

A 1991 live duet of the same song at Wembley Arena went to No. 1 in the UK and US.

The 'Last Christmas' video was filmed at a ski resort in which country?

Saas-Fee, with backing singers Pepsi & Shirlie among the friends on the trip.

'Last Christmas' finally reached UK number one on New Year's Day 2021, how many years after its release?

It was a chart record until Kate Bush's 'Running Up That Hill' took 37 years in 2022.

Roughly how many people saw Wham!'s farewell concert, 'The Final', at Wembley Stadium in June 1986?

The show included the world premiere of the China film Foreign Skies.

Which Wham! farewell single reached UK No. 1 in June 1986?

The compilation The Final came out at the same time.

After Wham! split, Andrew Ridgeley moved to Monaco and tried his hand at what?

His 1990 solo album Son of Albert failed to reach the UK top 75.

Ridgeley's long-term partner from 1990 to 2017, Keren Woodward, was a member of which group?

His brother Paul was an occasional percussionist for the same band.

Michael's 1987 duet 'I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)' paired him with which soul legend?

It was the first solo release he had not written himself, and won them a Grammy.

Which US radio host refused to say the title of 'I Want Your Sex' on air?

Some stations played a toned-down 'I Want Your Love'; the video had Michael writing 'explore monogamy' in lipstick.

'I Want Your Sex' also appeared on the soundtrack of which 1987 film?

It reached No. 2 in the US despite radio bans.

The 'Faith' single stayed at US No. 1 for four weeks and became the best-selling US single of which year?

The video's shades, leather jacket, cowboy boots and jukebox became defining 1980s images.

The 'Faith' rhythm guitar part is built on a classic rock and roll rhythm named after which musician?

Hugh Burns played it on a metal-bodied acoustic guitar over a two-bar LinnDrum loop.

How many singles from the Faith album reached No. 1 in the US?

'Faith', 'Father Figure', 'One More Try' and 'Monkey'.

Faith was the first album by a white solo artist to top which Billboard chart?

It also won Album of the Year at the 1989 Grammys and went Diamond in the US.

Which Grammy did Faith win at the 31st Grammy Awards in February 1989?

He also picked up the MTV Video Vanguard Award that September.

The 1990 video for 'Praying for Time' was notable for what?

Michael did not appear in any video from Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1.

Which director made the 'Freedom! '90' video, in which supermodels lip-synced instead of Michael?

Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Tatjana Patitz and Cindy Crawford took the verses.

In the 'Freedom! '90' video, which three symbols of the Faith era are destroyed?

The jukebox and guitar exploded at each 'freedom' in the chorus; the jacket simply burned.

The Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 cover crops a 1940 Coney Island photo by whom?

Disappointing US sales of the album led to Michael's legal battle with Sony.

Michael's 1990 autobiography Bare was co-written with which journalist?

It was published by Penguin the same year as Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1.

Which Queen song did George Michael perform to acclaim at the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert?

He called it the proudest moment of his career, singing a Freddie song to 80,000 people.

George Michael's 1990s lawsuit against which label led to Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 2 being scrapped?

His greatest hits set Ladies & Gentlemen was later released as a condition of severing ties with the label.

'Jesus to a Child' was a tribute to Anselmo Feleppa, Michael's partner, who came from which country?

They met at Rock in Rio in January 1991; he died in 1993 and the album Older is dedicated to him.

Which 1996 single spent three weeks at UK No. 1 with a futuristic virtual-reality video?

The Older album then produced a record six top-three UK singles in two years.

What was Michael's short-lived 1997 label, launched with 'Waltz Away Dreaming', called?

The song, a duet with Toby Bourke, was a tribute to his mother, who had died of cancer.

Michael's April 1998 arrest for a lewd act took place in a public toilet in a park in which city?

Undercover officer Marcelo Rodríguez made the arrest at Will Rogers Memorial Park; Michael was fined $810.

In the 'Outside' video, satirising his arrest, Michael dances in a toilet dressed as what?

The arresting officer later sued him for $10 million; the case failed.

Roughly how many UK copies has Michael's 1998 greatest hits Ladies & Gentlemen sold?

It spent eight weeks at No. 1 and over 200 weeks in the chart.

Michael recorded the 2000 single 'If I Told You That' with which American star?

He co-produced it with Rodney Jerkins.

The 2002 'Shoot the Dog' video depicted Tony Blair as which animal belonging to George Bush?

The sleeve used the Daily Mirror's 'Howdy Poodle' front page.

Which Don McLean anti-war song did Michael record and perform in 2003 in protest at the coming Iraq war?

His Top of the Pops appearance was his first studio one on the show since 1986.

Michael's 2004 album Patience sold over how many copies in the UK in its first week?

'Amazing' from the album became a No. 1 across Europe.

At Live 8 in 2005, Michael joined Paul McCartney on which Beatles song?

The following year he launched 25 Live, his first tour in 15 years.

On 9 June 2007 Michael became the first artist to perform live at which newly rebuilt venue?

His last-ever concert was at Earls Court in October 2012.

Michael made his American acting debut playing a guardian angel in which US TV series?

Every episode of the first season was named after one of his songs.

Michael was the passenger in the very first Carpool Karaoke sketch, driven around London by which host?

It was for Comic Relief in 2011, alongside his cover of New Order's 'True Faith'.

George Michael fell into a coma in 2011 after contracting pneumonia in which city on tour?

He recovered, and presented Adele with Best British Album at the 2012 Brits.

In 2010 Michael was jailed after crashing his car into what kind of Hampstead business?

It was a Snappy Snaps; he served four weeks at Highpoint Prison and got a five-year driving ban.

Michael reportedly paid for a contestant's IVF anonymously after seeing her on which quiz show?

He also once tipped a student nurse working as a barmaid £5,000.

Michael died on Christmas Day 2016 at his home in which Oxfordshire village?

The coroner attributed his death to dilated cardiomyopathy with myocarditis and fatty liver disease.

Michael was buried beside his mother in which part of north London?

His sister Melanie, who died three years to the day after him, lies on the other side of their mother.

In which year was Michael posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

The same year Chris Smith's archive documentary Wham! was released on Netflix.

How many US Billboard Hot 100 number ones did George Michael have?

In the UK he had 13, and the Radio Academy named him the most-played artist on British radio for 1984-2004.

Roughly how many copies has George Michael's debut album Faith sold worldwide?

It ranks among the best-selling albums of all time and took the Grammy for Album of the Year.

Which 1970s teen idol did George Michael cite as a major career influence and sing backing vocals for?

He sang on Cassidy's 1985 hit 'The Last Kiss' and even interviewed him for Ritz Newspaper.

Kenny Goss, Michael's partner from 1996, came from which US city?

The couple kept a home there alongside houses in Goring-on-Thames and Highgate.

Which New Order song did Michael cover in 2011 for Comic Relief?

It was released weeks before he embarked on the orchestral Symphonica tour.

How many Brit Awards did George Michael win in his career?

He also collected two Grammys, twelve Billboard Music Awards and four MTV Video Music Awards.