George Michael interview with translation. Latest interview: George Michael spoke candidly about his lover in a documentary. Good material for therapists

53-year-old George Michael's heart stopped while he was peacefully in bed at home. Police arrived and described the cause of death as "unclear but not suspicious." So 2016, as if planning to knock more major figures off the chessboard of world music, took another victim - I would like to believe, the last one.

Wham! "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go"

Georgios Kyriakos Panayiotou was born on June 25, 1963 in north London in the family of a Greek restaurateur and an English dancer who came to England from Cyprus. When his family moved to Hertfordshire, new school Georgios met with Andrew Ridgeley. Together with him, they first created a group playing pop with a noticeable ska influence. After a short time, the lineup was reduced to a duet called Wham! , - this is how George Michael and big show business first met each other.

George Michael "Careless Whisper" - this song was released on the album Wham! , however in the US it was signed as "Wham! with the participation of George Michael,” and in other countries as his solo recording.

Road Wham! success was not so long - after the appearance of the song “Young Guns (Go For It)” on the “Top of the Pops” program, it entered the English charts. "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" became a worldwide hit. George Michael was the obvious leader of the duo, so the beginning solo career seemed like the next, absolutely obvious step.

George Michael "Faith"

Wham! broke up in 1986, when George Michael released his most successful album, Faith. 25 million copies of this record were subsequently sold worldwide. The combined circulation of records by George Michael and Wham! exceeds 100 million copies.

George Michael "Freedom! "90"

Recordings with Elton John and Aretha Franklin, Grammy awards, huge sales - that's what his life consisted of in the late 80s and early 90s. He performed at Wembley with by Queen at a concert in memory of Freddie Mercury, while the Iron Curtain was being destroyed under his songs. Residents of the USSR watched the video “Freedom! 90” with supermodels Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford - and the advantages of the capitalist system and democracy over socialism became clear to them as daylight.

George Michael "Too Funky"

Despite the fact that his songs, as a rule, were about sexuality and passion, and his videos looked very vicious, George Michael was forced to hide his homosexuality for quite a long time. In 1998, there was a molestation scandal in a public toilet in Beverly Hills. The Latino to whom the singer showed his whistle turned out to be an undercover police agent.

George Michael not only came out, but also made an epoch-making video “Outside” based on this scandal. The policeman tried to sue the singer for 10 million, but the court did not believe that the moral damage caused to him was so significant.

George Michael "Outside"

20 years ago, the album “Older” was released, perhaps the last solid and significant recording of George Michael. The record was rated much higher in Europe - but in America, George's star began to decline.

George Michael's "Different Corner" is a solo song released in 1986 by Wham! I was just about to give a large-scale farewell concert at Wembley Stadium.

After Older, George Michael repeatedly complained about creative block and generally reduced his productivity quite significantly. Singles like "Shoot the Dog", which was directed against Tony Blair, George W. Bush and the invasion of Iraq, did not have the same resonance. His last studio album was released in 2004.

George Michael "Fastlove"

But the scandals did not end. In addition to the incident in the American toilet, there were others. He was arrested several times for drug-related offenses. He was stripped of his driver's license after his Range Rover rammed a London store window - Michael, who was driving, was under the influence of drugs. Journalist Simon Hattenstone, who interviewed Michael twice,

I love smoking. It helps me stay sane and happy.

If only I drank as much No matter how many joints I smoke, I'd look like Keith Richards.

Cannabis can be a terrible drug. To use it constantly, you need to be an accomplished person. Because it relaxes you so much that you forget about your ambitions.

Stay in Pentonville(prison in England - Esquire) was a truly scary experience. I sat with pedophiles and the “humiliated and insulted.” I tried not to leave my cell much in those days.

I never realized his ethnicity to the Greeks, not counting his hairiness.

More than anything else I'm afraid of losing my ability to create music.

My bank of tunes is in my head. If I suddenly lose all my accumulated funds tomorrow, I can easily return them in four or five songs.

I'm happy when I'm in love.

I never minded against being considered a pop star. For some reason people think that I see myself as a serious artist. No, that's not true. I just want people to know that I take pop music absolutely seriously.

No matter what happens in my life, the one thing I've always held on to is my belief in my own talent as a songwriter.

I never told my parents that I want to become a pop star or something like that. They just knew that I was absolutely obsessed with music. It's funny, but my father thought I couldn't sing.

My father never once betrayed his disappointment or latent homophobia, which I am sure he experienced. This was hard for him, and I should be grateful that he never complained to me.

It's sad, but I'm sure success can cancel out a parent's disappointment. I sincerely believe that my success was a consolation for my father, who will never see his grandchildren.

I don't want children. I don't want responsibility. I'm gay. I smoke weed and do only what I want in my life because of my talent. I represent an unattainable ideal for others, and they blame me for it. Especially men.

Towards the end of Wham! I became depressed because I realized that I was gay, not bisexual.

For some strange reason my life did not become easier because I admitted my homosexuality. It turned out quite the opposite. The press seemed to relish the fact that I had previously behaved as a supporter of a traditional sexual orientation - they went after me to the fullest.

Media- these are real demons.

I don't understand Americans as a people who will humiliate and suppress your dignity, but I consider the American state to be like that.

I had to give up America and say goodbye to the most significant part of my career, because otherwise the demons would have enslaved me.

People irritate me the most who emerge from the failures of others.

One of the most unpleasant events The thing that happened to me was when I was photographed without a shirt and I was out of shape. What could be worse: being fat and gay at the same time?

My biggest problem in life- fear of loss. I'm afraid of losing Kenny (Kenny Goss, George Michael's long-term partner - Esquire) more than own death. I don't want to live through it.

I slept with women during Wham!, but I knew it would never develop into a relationship because emotionally I was still gay.

My homosexuality is rather acquired. Due to the absence of my father, who was always busy with work, I was excessively close to my mother. All my early sexual fantasies were straightforward and understandable: in one of my first fantasies, I was surrounded by a bunch of babysitters with naked tits. Also, I masturbated to my math teacher for a while. All this leads me to believe that before puberty, when I began to fantasize about men, I was heterosexual. So I think it has something to do with my environment.

I'm into Madonna when we first met. I was only 23. She is very strong. Her sexuality belongs only to her, it is not for men. I had a feeling that sex with her would be similar in intensity to sex with a man. I don't know why. Perhaps I should have tried it then!

I don't believe in the Bible or religion, but I think Armageddon is a lucky guess. I really think this will happen.

I hit walls only a few times in my life: when my mother died and when my friend Anselmo died (Anselmo Feleppa is George Michael’s partner. - Esquire). You hit walls when you can't do anything. In other cases there is an alternative. The song Move On was about exactly that. You just have to move forward.

Pneumonia almost got me. On a subconscious level, I was very scared, and I may never feel completely safe again.

The singer recalled how he felt after learning that Anselm Flepp had AIDS.

Photo: Legion-Media.ru George Michael

George Michael's Christmas Song will forever be a classic. However, the most fabulous time The year was filled with pain for the artist. George Michael passed away on Christmas Day 2016. Before his death, the singer recalled how in new year holidays I lost two people I loved more than anything in the world. Michael spoke about his emotions in the 90-minute documentary film"George Michael: Freedom."

“From the day I found out about my partner, I felt constant fear. It was either the fear of death or the fear of the next loss. I have never been so depressed. It was the darkest time,” the artist shared.

Michael George and his first love Anselm Fleppa met at a festival in Rio in 1991. Six months later, Anselm was diagnosed with AIDS. The designer died in 1993.

"I remember looking up at the sky and saying, 'Don't you dare do this to me!' I was absolutely devastated when I learned that Anselm had a terminal illness... just devastated,” George Michael recalled.

For recent years the famous singer more than once faced the fact that his personal life, its discussion in the press and rumors were getting out of control. Most likely, this is what prompted George to give one of his most candid interviews to Gay Times magazine.

In it, he spoke extremely openly about his personal life, that before public recognition of his orientation he had only 3 girls, why it was so difficult for him to admit his passions to his parents, and that the massive spread of AIDS forced him to end his relationship girls and why he was never interested in his Wham! Andrew Ridgeley.

Translation into Russian especially for you!

George was already 29 years old when he confessed everything to his parents. His mother's fears that her only son might inherit the "gay gene" cast a shadow over her life: the singer's uncle (her brother Collin) was gay and committed suicide.

“My mother was always afraid that I was gay,” says George. “She was incredibly afraid that I would be the same as her brother, which accordingly meant that I would not fight for life. She almost physically felt that she had passed this gene on to me. Therefore, on such pressing issues, she largely supported and even shaped her father’s position – homophobia.”

George Michael with his mother and father

“There lived a gay waiter above the restaurant that our family ran, and I was strictly forbidden to go to the top floor when he was in the restaurant. She was very afraid that I might accidentally pick up his lifestyle and become gay.”

“Knowing my father, I can say that he never even imagined that his son could be gay, simply because this could not happen, because we are a Greek Cypriot family. But the mother was very afraid of her father’s anger and condemnation. Now I already understand that she was simply afraid that this gene was in me, if it was there, it would lead me to the same thing that it led Collin to.”

George dedicated the song “My Mother Had A Brother” from the Patience album to his deceased uncle.

“My mother didn’t tell me about my uncle until I was 16. I don't know if it was a conscious decision on her part or if she just couldn't muster up the courage. When I found out, it radically changed my opinion of her because she had seen her own father die as well. They both committed suicide by gas poisoning, and the mother was “lucky” to find the corpses of both of them.”

“She spent years repenting that she couldn’t turn back time. And over the last 20 years of our lives, I think we haven’t said a single harsh word to each other.”

In an interview, George said that he was able to confess everything to his parents only after the death of Anselmo Felippe, the Brazilian designer, his first love. They met at the Rock In Rio festival in 1991. 6 months later Anselmo learned that he was ill. And in 1993, he died from a cerebral hemorrhage, which was caused by the disease.

Anselmo Felipe

George remembers those times:
“I sat at the table not knowing whether the person I madly loved was sick, or whether I myself was sick. It was probably the loneliest time of my life.”

He was so devastated by the loss of Anselmo that he was no longer afraid of how his parents would react to his confession of homosexuality and eventually decided to write them a letter.

“I wrote them a 4-page letter and it was one of the easiest things I've ever written. This was the only unresolved issue - to confess everything to my parents.” - says George.

“Mother said that it was the most beautiful letter, which she had ever read, that it completely explained my feelings and that she need not worry about me. It was the easiest thing to do, although it should have been one of the most difficult. I need to ask my father to show me this letter again!”

Brooke Shields

IN early years in Wham! George had girlfriends. He dated actress Brooke Shields, model Pat Fernandes and makeup artist Kathy Jeung. Besides them, he still dated men.

At the peak of his success, he became so afraid of AIDS that he himself described his personal life at that time as “rubbish” (nonsense, nonsense).

“I only had three girls, but I was still looking for sex on the side. True, as a result, this only happened when I was busy with completely different issues. After getting drunk, I toyed with the idea of ​​my bisexuality. But then HIV appeared and I could no longer sleep with a woman without warning her that I had also slept with men. To be honest, my interest in women wasn't strong enough to have those conversations, so I just stopped sleeping around altogether.
As a result, I had virtually no sex between 1985 and 1994, except for Anselmo, my first partner, to whom I was absolutely faithful.”

Interestingly, at school everyone thought that Andrew Ridgeley was gay, not George: “Andrew loved extravagant clothes. He came to school in cherry silk pants. Everyone around was whispering “is he gay?”, and I answered “no, what are you talking about!”

George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley

“He was handsome, but not in a way that attracted me. He was too nice, too charming, too elegant. I can understand why people think we slept together - but he loved women.”

When the two friends became famous as Wham!, George felt that admitting his true sexuality could be detrimental to their careers.

“I spent a lot of nerves. I wanted to tell everyone everything, but I had no idea how successful we would become. And in general, it was beyond understanding. I was about 20, and we were already the most successful band in Europe and for two years the most successful pop group in America. And if your goal is to become the best-selling artist in America, then you won’t try to make it even more difficult.”

Until a certain time, he did just that. But only up to a certain point. In April 1998, George was arrested and later charged with attempting to induce a plainclothes police officer to have sex in a public toilet. It was the most shocking coming-out imaginable. Moreover, it was aggravated by the fact that at that time George had already found his new love - Kenny Goss. The beginning of their relationship coincided with the death of George's mother from cancer.

George Michael and Kenny Goss

“I met Kenny three years after Anselmo left. I called my mother to tell her (about Kenny) and she told me she had cancer. She insisted that it was at a very early stage, but that was not true. I found myself on my knees again. Terrible."

George's life has always been emotional" roller coaster" And the recent story with the trial is no exception. First he is put on trial and the continuation of his tour is in big doubt. The court then issues a fine, community service and disqualification, and the next day George opens the renovated Wembley Stadium. Now he plans to work as he sees fit and officially register his relationship with Kenny, despite the fact that he constantly denies rumors about the upcoming ceremony.

“This will be just our ceremony, we are not Sonny and Cher. And I don’t want any more troubles, believe me, I will try.”

In recent years, the famous singer has more than once encountered the fact that his personal life, its discussion in the press and rumors were getting out of control. Most likely, this is what prompted George to give one of his most candid interviews to Gay Times magazine.

In it, he spoke extremely openly about his personal life, that before public recognition of his orientation he had only 3 girls, why it was so difficult for him to admit his passions to his parents, that the massive spread of AIDS forced him to end his relationship girls and why he was never interested in his Wham! Andrew Ridgeley.

Translation into Russian especially for you!

George was already 29 years old when he confessed everything to his parents. His mother's fears that her only son might inherit the "gay gene" cast a shadow over her life: the singer's uncle (her brother Collin) was gay and committed suicide.

“My mother was always afraid that I was gay,” says George. “She was incredibly afraid that I would be the same as her brother, which accordingly meant that I would not fight for life. She almost physically felt that she had passed this gene on to me. Therefore, on such pressing issues, she largely supported and even shaped her father’s position – homophobia.”

George Michael with his mother and father

“There lived a gay waiter above the restaurant that our family ran, and I was strictly forbidden to go to the top floor when he was in the restaurant. She was very afraid that I might accidentally pick up his lifestyle and become gay.”

“Knowing my father, I can say that he never even imagined that his son could be gay, simply because this could not happen, because we are a Greek Cypriot family. But the mother was very afraid of her father’s anger and condemnation. Now I already understand that she was simply afraid that this gene in me, if there is one, it will lead me to the same thing that it led Collin to.”

George dedicated the song “My Mother Had A Brother” from the Patience album to his deceased uncle.

“My mother didn’t tell me about my uncle until I was 16. I don't know if it was a conscious decision on her part or if she just couldn't muster up the courage. When I found out, it radically changed my opinion of her because she had seen her own father die as well. They both committed suicide by gas poisoning, and the mother was “lucky” to find the corpses of both of them.”

“She spent years repenting that she couldn’t turn back time. And over the last 20 years of our lives, I think we haven’t said a single harsh word to each other.”

In an interview, George said that he was able to confess everything to his parents only after the death of Anselmo Felippe, the Brazilian designer, his first love. They met at the Rock In Rio festival in 1991. 6 months later Anselmo learned that he was ill. And in 1993, he died from a cerebral hemorrhage, which was caused by the disease.

Anselmo Felipe

George remembers those times:
“I sat at the table not knowing whether the person I madly loved was sick, or whether I myself was sick. It was probably the loneliest time of my life.”

He was so devastated by the loss of Anselmo that he was no longer afraid of how his parents would react to his confession of homosexuality and eventually decided to write them a letter.

“I wrote them a 4-page letter and it was one of the easiest things I've ever written. This was the only unresolved issue - to confess everything to my parents.” - says George.

“Mother said that it was the most beautiful letter she had ever read, that it completely explained my feelings and that she did not have to worry about me. It was the easiest thing to do, although it should have been one of the most difficult. I need to ask my father to show me this letter again!”

Brooke Shields

During the early years of Wham! George had girlfriends. He dated actress Brooke Shields, model Pat Fernandes and makeup artist Kathy Jeung. Besides them, he still dated men.

At the peak of his success, he became so afraid of AIDS that he himself described his personal life at that time as “rubbish” (nonsense, nonsense).

“I only had three girls, but I was still looking for sex on the side. True, as a result, this only happened when I was busy with completely different issues. After getting drunk, I toyed with the idea of ​​my bisexuality. But then HIV appeared and I could no longer sleep with a woman without warning her that I had also slept with men. To be honest, my interest in women wasn't strong enough to have those conversations, so I just stopped sleeping around altogether.
As a result, I had virtually no sex between 1985 and 1994, except for Anselmo, my first partner, to whom I was absolutely faithful.”

Interestingly, at school everyone thought that Andrew Ridgeley was gay, not George: “Andrew loved extravagant clothes. He came to school in cherry silk pants. Everyone around was whispering “is he gay?”, and I answered “no, what are you talking about!”

George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley

“He was handsome, but not in a way that attracted me. He was too nice, too charming, too elegant. I can understand why people think we slept together - but he loved women.”

When the two friends became famous as Wham!, George felt that admitting his true sexuality could be detrimental to their careers.

“I spent a lot of nerves. I wanted to tell everyone everything, but I had no idea how successful we would become. And in general, it was beyond understanding. I was about 20, and we were already the most successful band in Europe and for two years the most successful pop group in America. And if your goal is to become the best-selling artist in America, then you won’t try to make it even more difficult.”

Until a certain time, he did just that. But only up to a certain point. In April 1998, George was arrested and later charged with attempting to induce a plainclothes police officer to have sex in a public toilet. It was the most shocking coming-out imaginable. Moreover, it was aggravated by the fact that at that time George had already found his new love - Kenny Goss. The beginning of their relationship coincided with the death of George's mother from cancer.

George Michael and Kenny Goss

“I met Kenny three years after Anselmo left. I called my mother to tell her (about Kenny) and she told me she had cancer. She insisted that it was at a very early stage, but that was not true. I found myself on my knees again. Terrible."

George's life has always been an emotional rollercoaster. And the recent story with the trial is no exception. First he is put on trial and the continuation of his tour is in big doubt. The court then issues a fine, community service and disqualification, and the next day George opens the renovated Wembley Stadium. Now he plans to work as he sees fit and officially register his relationship with Kenny, despite the fact that he constantly denies rumors about the upcoming ceremony.

“This will be just our ceremony, we are not Sonny and Cher. And I don’t want any more troubles, believe me, I will try.”