It’s a sophisticated example of Michael’s way with an irrepressible 60s soul pastiche, with lyrics that played on the duo’s imminent demise: “One last time might be for ever.” 19. The Wham! No 1 no one seems to remember – you certainly don’t hear it as often as the others nowadays – which feels unfair. Michael performing at a Wham! farewell concert in 1986. But it rises beyond pastiche: the melody is gorgeous, Michael’s vocals are superb. The music recalls Mind Games, while the frustrated, sarcastic lyrical tone and the slapback echo-dosed vocals are very Instant Karma!. George Michael – Praying for Time (1990)Īnother shift away from the sound of Faith, Praying for Time is audibly immersed in the oeuvre of John Lennon. It is also a fantastic pop song, which presumably infuriated people even more. It’s neon-hued, incredibly perky and utterly brazen in its desire to be hugely commercially successful: they performed it on Top of the Pops wearing T-shirts that read Number One. If any song embodies what infuriated people about Wham!, Wake Me Up … is it. Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (1984)
A gorgeous, heartfelt, harmony-laden but schmaltz-free ballad, it comes with a hint of darkness lurking in the background, as well as what appears to be a reference to Michael’s well-publicised troubles: “I went a little crazy / God knows they can see the child.” 24. Inevitably overshadowed by Last Christmas, 2011’s December Song deserves to be better known. George Michael – December Song (I Dreamed of Christmas) (2011) A great version on Michael’s final album, Symphonica, strips away the synths and replaces them with choral backing vocals and a southern soul organ, revealing the song’s musical roots. George Michael – One More Try (1987)įaith offered an embarrassment of songwriting riches, including the pained balladry of One More Try. Sometimes, the contents of Patience sounded a little too obviously like the work of someone who smoked an enormous quantity of weed, but My Mother Had a Brother – which retold the story of Michael’s closeted gay uncle, who killed himself on the day the singer was born – is tender and yet incredibly powerful. George Michael – My Mother Had a Brother (2004) Wham! rightly had a regard for Blue: it turned up on greatest hits album The Final. Photograph: Mike Maloney/Shutterstockīlue started life as an unfinished near-instrumental hastily bunged on the B-side of Club Tropicana, and gradually developed on stage into a classy, blue-eyed R&B slow jam far better than a lot of songs on their debut album, Fantastic.
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