George Michael born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou ; 25 June β 25 December was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon , [ 2 ] he is one of the best-selling recording artists of all time [ 3 ] and was named one of the greatest singers of all time by Rolling Stone. Their tour in China was the first by a Western popular music act, and generated worldwide media coverage. Michael's first solo single, " Careless Whisper " , reached number one in over 20 countries, including the UK and US.
After Wham! His debut solo album, Faith , stayed at number one on the Billboard for 12 weeks and topped the UK Albums Chart. It is one of the best-selling albums of all time , having sold over 25 million copies worldwide.
Michael became the best-selling music artist of , and Faith was awarded Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards. Michael's second solo album, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. His personal life, drug use, and legal troubles made headlines following an arrest for public lewdness in and multiple drug-related offences.
The documentary A Different Story covered his career and personal life. His 25 Live tour spanned three tours from to In Michael fell into a coma during a bout with pneumonia, but recovered. He performed his final concert at London's Earls Court in Michael died of heart disease on Christmas Day in , at his home in Goring-on-Thames , Oxfordshire. The Radio Academy named him the most played artist on British radio during the period β He was the only son and the youngest child of three.
Michael spent most of his childhood in Kingsbury , London, in the home his parents bought soon after his birth; he attended Roe Green Junior School and Kingsbury High School. While Michael was in his early teens, the family moved to Radlett. The two had the same career ambition of being musicians.
