Monday, December 26, 2016

George Michael

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Sad news over the weekend....

Pop singer George Michael, an acclaimed singer and songwriter who became one of the most successful and influential artists of his time with his band, Wham! and later as a solo artist, has died. He was 53.

Born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in 1963 North London to a Greek Cypriot father and an English mother, Michael first achieved fame alongside his friend Andrew Ridgeley in 1981 as the pop duo Wham!. The band’s first album, “Fantastic” was a major hit in Britain, but it was “Make it Big”, the duo’s 1984 follow up that catapulted them to worldwide fame. The album would spawn five hit singles and eventually sell more than six million copies in the United States alone, turning Michael, lead singer and lead songwriter, into a global icon. 

Wham! would sell over 25 million records during their tenure, which ended with the group’s 1986 split amidst Michael’s increasing prominence in the band’s image, and his desire to break way from the clean cut, teen pop idol image associated with the duo. Michael would achieve that desire and even greater success as a solo artist with his 1987 solo debut, “Faith”.

He had an amazing career in the 80's and 90's and certainly left his mark in the music world for years to come.

He will be missed.

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