Well of course it wouldn’t be 2016 without yet another untimely death of an actor/musician/pop culture icon, and this week it was the much beloved 80’s and 90’s pop star sensation George Michael, who unfortunately passed away on Christmas day at the age of 53.
A popular teen heartthrob with “the voice of an angel,” George Michael started out his musical career as the star of the 80’s pop duo Wham!, whose 1984 hit single “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” launched the duo into international stardom, becoming their first #1 single in the UK and accompanied by a memorable video of the pair with another popular music duo, Pepsi and Shirlie, all wearing Katharine Hamnett t-shirts with the slogans “CHOOSE LIFE” and “GO GO”.
On the heels of all that single’s success and right at the time when MTV was becoming, well, MTV, George eventually went on to launch a solo career and become a fixture on the popular music channel, with his charming good looks, musical rebel flair, and catchy tunes like “Faith” and “Careless Whisper” coming to represent the sounds of the 80’s and early 90’s. After all, who could forget arguably one of the most recognizable saxophone licks of all time, as the sensually deep and soulful horn notes of “Careless Whisper” went on to become an instant classic, being played in numerous films and TV shows throughout the years and covered still to this very day by multiple rock, jazz, and blues musicians around the world. And of course there was “Freedom 90,” another UK and US chart-topper that marked the return of his partnership with Andrew Ridgeley and Wham! and once again proved the everlasting pop power of such a great talent.
Unfortunately, though, it would be that very same pop music fame, along with his inner struggles with his sexuality, that went on to bring out a darker, more troubled side to George, as over the years he would reappear time and again in the news and tabloids in rather unflattering circumstances, including his infamous 1998 arrest for lewd behavior in a public restroom—an arrest that led to his coming out of sorts via the song and video “Outside,” which famously depicted an image of two uniformed policemen kissing and eventual helped Michael declare himself as a proud gay man for the very first time, something that was often assumed by many but never 100% confirmed.
Still, he continued to struggle in his later years, fighting health issues and substance abuse that landed him numerous trips in and out of the hospital. He was an avid cannabis user as well, unfortunately more often than not to his detriment. He told the Guardian in a 2006 interview that cannabis kept him “sane and happy.” “Seven joints a day,” he told one reporter, while others estimate is was more like 25! He admitted that marijuana use had been a problem for him and that he was always trying to limit himself, but at the same time declared that if cannabis were legal, the world would be a better place, and that the real problem with drugs wasn’t the actual drugs themselves, but the war being waged against them and the criminal penalties they carried.
And then of course there was his style, a hyper-sexualized masculine identity of sorts that reached its signature peak in 1987’s “Faith,” where he sported a super-cropped, close-shaved beard, mirrored aviators, a leather jacket, and fingerless gloves—a look that would continue to follow him throughout the late 80’s and early 90’s, including an appearance in his well-received “Father Figure” video that very same year.
Yes, fashion and all the sexual allure it afforded him was certainly a constant in George’s life, and he continued to play to its tune (and reinvent it) even as the times and styles changed, eventually trading in his signature leather jacket and jeans look for a more mature and sophisticated suit and button down, making good use of his newfound style in “Father Figure” and again in his 1992 video for “Too Funky,” which brought George back to the fashion runway for its setting, this time under the direction of fashion designer Thierry Mugler. Sure, it was over the top in just about every way imaginable, but it was also George Michael in just about every way imaginable too. And then some.
In the end George will be remembered for his beautiful, angel-like voice, his catchy tunes and lyrics, sexual style and flair, and of course his open championing of gay and LGBT rights, something that became much more important to him in his later years. Another much beloved talent taken from us way too soon in a year where many others have been taken to, hopefully to a better, more peaceful place. At least that’s what we’d like to believe. Or as George would say, you “gotta have faith.”
