George Michael died on December 25th, 2016,
at 53 years old. He was found dead by boyfriend,
Fadi Fawas, in his home in Oxfordshire, England.
The cause of death was purportedly heart
failure. An award-winning singer and passionate
social justice advocate, he will be missed by
both his fanbase and the LGBT
George Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos
Panayiotou on June 26, 1963 in East Finchley,
London. He met Andrew Ridgeley when he was
12 as a fellow student at Bushey Meads School.
They became fast friends and grew up to form
the band, Wham! as adults. Wham! was responsible
for hits such as “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”
and “Last Christmas”. This is particularly ironic, as
Michael died on Christmas Day. The duo broke up in
1986, because Michael wanted to make music
geared towards a more adult audience, as opposed to
the band’s teenage demographic. They parted on
good terms and remained friends for the rest of the
artist’s life. After leaving Wham!, Michael went on to
pursue a successful solo career. He was the artist
behind the song “Careless Whisper,” whose famous
saxophone solo has been used in many memes.
Over the course of his life, he won four VMAs, three AMAs, and
two Grammys. In 2017, he was planning to create a biographical
film as well as release a comeback album.
Despite this, his life was not without its share of struggle. He
abused drugs, particularly cannabis, and struggled with reducing
his addiction to it. He also struggled with depression for many years. His depression began after his lover, Anselmo Feleppa, died from AIDS-related brain hemorrhaging. Michael felt guilty for Feleppa’s death because he seeked treatment in Brazil to keep a low profile. Michael believed that he might have survived if he had gotten better medical treatment in the UK or US.
Remembering George Michael