George Michael (1963–2016) was the London-born singer who went from Wham! to one of the defining solo pop careers of the late '80s and '90s. Faith (1987) sold more than 25 million copies and won the Album of the Year Grammy; Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 (1990) and Older (1996) show the depth behind the hits. Explore George Michael vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou was born in East Finchley, London on June 25, 1963 to a Greek Cypriot father and English mother. He launched his career as half of the pop duo Wham! (with Andrew Ridgeley) in 1981, with global hits Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, Last Christmas, and Careless Whisper. He went solo in 1986 with the global landmark Faith (1987), which sold more than 25 million copies and won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. His career across the subsequent three decades involved creative and personal struggles, with the 1996 Older album marking a artistic statement following his coming out as gay (publicly confirmed after a 1998 arrest). He died of heart and liver disease on December 25, 2016 at his home in Goring-on-Thames at age 53.
George Michael's sound combines pop, dance-pop, R&B, soul, jazz, and adult contemporary with his distinctive vocal range and increasingly sophisticated production approaches across his catalog. His work has been widely cited as a defining commercial pop template of the late 1980s and 1990s.
Original Columbia and Epic pressings of the George Michael catalog are widely collected. Multiple anniversary editions, including the deluxe edition of Faith and Older, have been released. The Last Christmas single and Wham!'s related catalog have had numerous holiday-season repressings.
Listeners new to George Michael typically start with Faith (1987) or Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 (1990).
