Biographic - Sunday June 1, 2008 Comic Strip Licensing and Permissions

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George Michael. George Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in London on June 25, 1963. He formed the pop duo Wham! With school pal Andrew Ridgeley, and the pair quickly considered the pop charts worldwide. George was the band's singer, writer, arranger and producer and the media quickly conferred passenger status on Ridgeley. Given George's obvious desire to transcend the limitations of Teen Pop, the duo's parting of ways was inevitable, and amicable when it came. They signed off with a packed concert at London's famous Wembley Stadium in 1986. George's next project was a Grammy-winning duet with soul legend Aretha Franklin on the 1987 chart-topper "I knew you were waiting for me." By year's end, he had released "Faith" the album that catapulted him to mega-stardom. "Faith" topped the U.S. charts for 12 weeks, spawning four number-one singles. It has gone on to sell 20 million copies worldwide. But the constant promotional duties and a grueling 8-month tour took a heavy toll. For his next album 1990's "Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1" He declined to tour, appear videos or undertake any promotional appearances, relations with his record company soured, eventually resulting in a lengthy legal battle. There followed a number of releases, including his chart-topping duet with Elton John on "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me," whose profits were donated to charity, before he returned with "older" his first studio album 6 years. Melancholy in tone, "Older" reflected George's grief at the recent death of a lover, his sadness was soon compounded by the loss of his beloved mother in 1997. A high-profile arrest in Beverly Hills in 1998 laid bare his private life. Although his albums have continued to top the charts around the world- he has sold more than 40 million records to date- the incident seamed to have provided the kiss of death to his career in the U.S. This Summer, however to celebrate his 25 years in the music business and the release of a new album, George Michael undertakes his first major U.S. tour in 17 years.

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