Home » Former Wham! and ‘Last Christmas’ Star George Michael Dies at 53

Former Wham! and ‘Last Christmas’ Star George Michael Dies at 53

Former Wham! singer, George Michael, has tragically died on Christmas Day at the age of 53, his publicist announced on Sunday evening. He reportedly died peacefully in his bed from heart failure. (Updated Mon 26 Nov, 10h30 SA time.) His former manager said in a statement: “It is with great sadness that we can confirm our beloved […]

By SAPeople
26-12-16 21:37
in Eish!

Former Wham! singer, George Michael, has tragically died on Christmas Day at the age of 53, his publicist announced on Sunday evening. He reportedly died peacefully in his bed from heart failure. (Updated Mon 26 Nov, 10h30 SA time.)

His former manager said in a statement: “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.”

The singer – whose real name was Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou – shot to fame in the ’80s with Wham! Together with school friend Andrew Ridgeley, the pop duo became an international sensation with songs like ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go Go’ and ‘Last Christmas’.

George went on to enjoy a successful solo career with albums including ‘Faith’ and ‘Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1″. During his career – which lasted over 35 years – he sold more than 100 million albums.

The police said: “At this stage the death is being treated as unexplained but not suspicious. A post-mortem will be undertaken in due course.” They attended a property in Goring, Oxfordshire in England at around 13h42 local time.

Five years ago, the singer was admitted to hospital in serious condition after suffering from pneumonia. He was unconscious and underwent a tracheotomy. Afterwards he said his survival had been “touch and go”.

In 1998 he was publicly outed as being gay following an arrest in California for ‘lewd’ behaviour in a men’s public toilets. In recent years he had had a few run ins with police for driving under the influence of drugs and spent a few weeks in prison in 2010 after crashing his car into a Snappy Snaps shop in Hampstead High Street, near where he lived in London.

In 2011 he was applauded for his bravery in taking part in a BBC Comic Relief Skit in which he made fun of himself (watch below). Throughout his career he won multiple awards, including two Grammys, and clinched seven number one singles in the UK.

Just last week supermodel Kate Moss told BBC Radio the benefits of living next door to George in Highgate. She said: “He’s got a pool, so when it’s hot I’m like ‘oh can Lila come and jump in your pool?’. And he’s like ‘yeah, come over’.

“And we can actually climb from garden to garden over the walls with a ladder, we’ve done that a couple of times…”

Singer Elton John said, upon hearing the sad news, “I am in deep shock. I have lost a beloved friend – the kindest, most generous soul and a brilliant artist. My heart goes out to his family and all of his fans.”

George Michael was reportedly working on a new album at the time of his death.

#RestInPeaceGeorgeMichael #ThankYouSoMuchForTheMusic

A Collection of our Favourite George Michael Videos

Watch Wham! Wake Me Up Before You Go Go

George Michael called this James Corden’s first carpool karaoke! (2011)… James and George Michael sing some of his top hits…

Careless Whisper

Faith – by George Michael

https://youtu.be/lu3VTngm1F0

Wham! – Last Christmas

Watch George Michael address health issues in 2011

Last year:

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