George Michael, dead at 53

[philly]

pagesix.com/2016/12/25/george-michael-dead-at-53/

Ex-Wham! singer George Michael dies

Singer George Michael has died aged 53, his publicist has said.

The star, who launched his career with Wham! in the 1980s and later continued his success as a solo performer, is said to have "passed away peacefully at home".

Thames Valley Police said South Central Ambulance Service attended a property in Goring in Oxfordshire at 13:42 GMT.

Police say they were treating the death as unexplained but there were no suspicious circumstances.

In a statement, the star's publicist said: "It is with great sadness that we can confirm our beloved son, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home over the Christmas period.

"The family would ask that their privacy be respected at this difficult and emotional time. There will be no further comment at this stage."

Michael, who was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in north London, sold more than 100m albums throughout a career spanning almost four decades.

He first found fame with his schoolfriend Andrew Ridgeley in duo Wham! before going on to release solo albums, including the multi-million selling Faith and follow-up Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1.

It outsold Faith in the UK but led to Michael losing a court case with record label Sony over his frustration over how the album has been marketed.

As his career faded, Michael faced headlines for the wrong reasons.

In October 2006 he pleaded guilty to driving while unfit through drugs and was banned from driving and in 2008 he was cautioned for possession of class A drugs, including crack cocaine.

In September 2010 Michael received an eight-week prison sentence following an incident the previous July in which he crashed his Range Rover into a shop in north London.
George Michael and Andrew Ridgely first found fame with Wham! in the 1980s

Earlier this month it was announced that producer and songwriter Naughty Boy was working with Michael on a new album.

In 2011, Michael postponed a series of concerts after being taken to hospital for treatment for pneumonia.

After treatment in a Vienna hospital, he made a tearful appearance outside his London home and said it had been "touch and go" whether he lived.

Doctors were said to have performed a tracheotomy to keep his airways open and he was unconscious for some of his spell in hospital.
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[the Scribe]

MSN take on his death. He was too young to die. This is so sad. Too many have left us this year and there is still 6 days to go.

Singer-songwriter George Michael dies at 53

REMEMBERING GEORGE MICHAEL© People.com REMEMBERING GEORGE MICHAEL
Singer George Michael has died. He was 53.

“It is with great sadness that we can confirm our beloved son, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home over the Christmas period,” Michael’s publicist confirmed to Entertainment Weekly and PEOPLE.

“The family would ask that their privacy be respected at this difficult and emotional time. There will be no further comment at this stage.”

Thames Valley Police said South Central Ambulance Service attended a property in Goring in Oxfordshire at 13:42 GMT and authorities say there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death, according to the BBC.

Michael had been working on releasing an album for next year with producer Naughty Boy as reported by BBC earlier this month.

Michael, who was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, launched his music career in the 1980s as a band member of Wham! with childhood friend Andrew Ridgeley, and released hits such as “Last Christmas,” “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” and “Careless Whisper.”

In 1987, he released his debut solo album, Faith, which sold over 25 million copies and catapulted him into success. His second album, Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1, — which featured the song “Freedom ’90” — celebrated its 25th anniversary in September 2015.

The hitmaker announced that he was gay in 1998, two years after entering into a relationship with Kenny Goss. Their romance ended 13-years later when Michael revealed at his August 2011 Prague State Opera concert that he had broken up with his longtime partner.

Three months later in November 2011, Michael was taken to hospital for treatment for pneumonia. Just the year before, he suffered a major car crash in which he was arrested for driving under the influence of marijuana.

During his almost four-decades of fame, the singer sold 100 million albums worldwide and garnered three American Music Awards, three Brit Awards and two Grammy Awards out of eight total nominations.

[sliderocker]

The death of George Michael was like a bolt out of the blue, something completely unexpected. I had been watching news reports for updates on Carrie Fisher's condition following her massive heart attack and expecting an announcement that she had passed. George, though, wasn't someone you expected to see a death announcement for, and it's just so shocking. None of the stories mention a cause of death. I liked much of his music. "Teacher" and "A Different Corner" were among my favorites. His death is another that makes 2016 one of the worst and I can't wait to see it go.

Just hoping and praying for Carrie that she pulls through. She's in stable condition, which a lot of people are taking as meaning she's out of danger. She's not. One of my cousins died a couple of years ago also from a massive heart attack and like Carrie, he too was in stable condition when he died. People need to understand stable does not mean the person is out of danger. Normally, if a heart attack patient is still with us after three days, they got a good chance of making it. However, with a massive heart attack, it's more like the person still has to be with us for a month to be considered somewhat out of danger. Sadly, for Carrie, because she wasn't breathing for about 10 minutes, chances are she's going to have some kind of brain damage, maybe enough that she'll end up in an assistant care facility. Ten minutes without oxygen is too long. She could be in a vegetative state at this time.

[erik]

George Michael's death was truly something nobody had expected, but it is also yet another reminder of how many we've lost in 2016. It's been an incredibly sad year for the entertainment industry all around (IMHO).

[philly]

The performer died of heart failure, according to his longtime manager.

George Michael has died of heart failure, according to the singer's longtime manager Michael Lippman.

The English singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame with the group Wham! in the 1980s was found on Christmas morning, says Lippman.

"It is with great sadness that we can confirm our beloved son, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home over the Christmas period," his rep said in a statement to the BBC. "The family would ask that their privacy be respected at this difficult and emotional time. There will be no further comment at this stage."

"I'm devastated," Lippman said on Sunday. The manager received a call on Christmas morning notifying him that Michael had been found "in bed, lying peacefully." The exact time of death is not clear at this time, but there was "no foul play whatsoever," said Lippman.

The death by heart failure was unexpected, he added. Funeral plans will be announced shortly.

The Thames Valley Police, calling the death "unexplained but not suspicious," sent THR the following statement: "Thames Valley Police were called to a property in Goring-on-Thames shortly before 2pm Christmas Day. Sadly, a 53-year-old man was confirmed deceased at the scene. At this stage the death is being treated as unexplained but not suspicious. A post mortem will be undertaken in due course. There will be no further updates from Thames Valley Police until the post mortem has taken place."

[philly]

Sarah Michelle Gellar made a faux pas:

[fabtastique]

Very very sad news about George Michael. 2016 has been devastating.

Glad Carrie Fisher is still with us but as mentioned above, 10 mins or so without oxygen (don't they have oxygen on planes?) is such a long time which must have some consequences for her health and recovery prospects.

[Mr. kaplansky]

I always thought that George Michael's voice was the male version of Linda Ronstadt's voice. Both of their voices are rich and creamy.

[erik]

While I was never really a fan of his style of music, I did like his 1990 solo hit "Praying For Time".

Again, of course, his loss is just the latest in a string of horrific losses in the music world.

[Dianna]

Wow this has been a cruel year.. RIP

[sliderocker]

A song by George Michael I never knew about, a tribute to John Lennon and Elvis Presley:

[jhar26]

Dec 26, 2016 9:42:35 GMT -5 erik said:

While I was never really a fan of his style of music, I did like his 1990 solo hit "Praying For Time".

Again, of course, his loss is just the latest in a string of horrific losses in the music world.

He was a talented guy. After his start with Wham it was quite an achievement to recover from that and being taken seriously. But he did well in his solo career. He probably could have done even more if he hadn't had so many legal problems for a wide variety of reasons. And smoking 25 joints per day as some reports are saying? Cannabis may be pretty harmless, but 25 joints per day? That's a lot of joints, I must say. I don't think you can get done much if you never give yourself the chance to come down.

[erik]

Quote by jhar26:

And smoking 25 joints per day as some reports are saying? Cannabis may be pretty harmless, but 25 joints per day? That's a lot of joints, I must say. I don't think you can get done much if you never give yourself the chance to come down.

Provided that the story is not an example of "fake news" (the number is not only quite large, but also well rounded off [IMHO]), he had to have been dealing with something much more serious than just a common cold or flu to have been hitting the stuff that much. In any case, he wouldn't be the first to have created art while under the influence, and he won't be the last.

[Dianna]

Dec 26, 2016 6:05:58 GMT -5 Mr. kaplansky said:

I always thought that George Michael's voice was the male version of Linda Ronstadt's voice. Both of their voices are rich and creamy.

I agree both voices are strong and clear.. too bad they didn't sing together.. would have been amazing.
Strange right before he died I was listening to Christmas Music and Band Aid's 80's DO they know it's Christmas( Feed the World) with various English artists.Boy George, Sting and George Michael was one I kept repeating. As Madonna said.. 2016 Fu%K Off. horrible year

[Pete]

I like Mariah Carey's version of 'One More Try'

[Dianna]

I remember this song being a big hit on the radio, the name of the singer wasn't given at first, and for the longest time I thought it was George Michael.. it was Donny Osmond trying to make an 80's comeback as a serious pop singer..

[the Scribe]

That was a good song and you are right, it does sound like George Michael. The Osmonds were a very talented and good looking family. Linda almost looks like a distant cousin imo.