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Birth
George Kyriacos Panayiotou (later known as George Michael) was born on June 25, 1963 in East Finchley, London, England (http://www.georgemichael.com/timeline/) -
Wham! is created
George Michael and Andrew Ridgley met in high school and decided to form a band. Originally, they were in a band called the Executive, but that group dissolved, leaving Gorge and Andrew, and that is how Wham! was created (All Music). They quickly gained popularity and in an interview George Michael stated that they were the only band in their time that was not ashamed of being screamed at and that they made sure that the public knew that they weren't like they were in their music videos. -
Wham! hits #1
They started releasing songs and started making it in the charts, and when they released their first album Fantastic, it made #1 in the UK charts. On May 14, 1984, Wham! released their song "Wake Me up Before You Go", which became their first single to ever hit #1 on the UK and US charts. (http://www.georgemichael.com/timeline/) -
George Michael goes solo
Two years after the formation of Wham!, George Michael decided to go solo in his singing career. He released a duet with Aretha Franklin. His duet reached the top of the charts in the US and UK. 6 month later, George Michael released his first single off of his album Faith titled "I Want your Sex" which, despite being banned on BBC, reached #3 in the charts. (georgemichael.com) -
Faith
George Michael debuted his first solo album on October 30 titled Faith. The album topped the charts in the US and the UK but when interviewed by Rolling Stone, he claimed that he wanted to the album to stay on top over Christmas, because, "Brits are becoming more and more like Americans, always looking out for number one" (Rolling Stone). Faith won George Michael his first ever Grammy for Album of the year in 1989. -
George Michael is Arrested in LA
George Michael was arrested in a public park after engaging in a "lewd act" with an undercover police officer. He later went on CNN in order to talk about his sexuality. He stated that he had no problem with people knowing that he was in a relationship with a man. He also wanted people to know that the songs he wrote when he identified as straight were about women, but the more recent songs were about men. (CNN) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLoVJ5DgYcY ) -
Death
On Christmas Day 2016, people woke up to the news that George Michael had passed away in his home in London at 53 years old. It was later revealed that he died of a heart and liver disease. Many mourned his death and had many tributes for him including Adele at the Grammy's 2017 -
GQ article
The day after his death GQ released an interview they did when George Michael won the GQ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. He talked about his depression and drug use stating "Is my body a temple, or is my life a temple?" he muses. "I'm definitely in the latter category and I think my life has been better since thinking that way." (GQ)
