All language subtitles for George Michael Freedom 2017

[ominous music playing]

On Christmas day 2016,

we heard with shock
and disbelief

that our dear friend
George Michael had passed away.

Only days before he was putting
the finishing touches

to the film your about to see.

This is George's film Freedom.

And it's his final work.

["Fast Love" playing
by George Michael]

♪ Looking for some education ♪

♪ Made my way into the night ♪

♪ All that bullshit,
conversation ♪

♪ Baby can't you
read the signs? ♪

♪ I won't bore you with
the details baby ♪

♪ I don't even wanna
waste your time ♪

♪ Let's just say that
maybe You could help to ease ♪

♪ My mind ♪

♪ I ain't Mr. Right ♪

♪ But if you're looking for ♪

♪ Fast love ♪

♪ If that's love in your eyes ♪

♪ It's more than enough ♪

♪ Had some bad love ♪

♪ Some fast love ♪

♪ Is all that I've got
on my mind ♪

♪ Ooh ooh ♪

♪ Ooh ooh ♪

["Fantasy" playing
by George Michael]

♪ Give you all the lovin'
that your heart ♪

♪ Ooh yeah ♪

♪ Give you all the lovin'
that your heart ♪

♪ Desires ♪

♪ Give you all the lovin'
that your heart ♪

♪ Desires... ♪

[George Michael] In 1988,

George Michael became
the biggest selling artist
in the world.

This is the story of just
how fame and tragedy intervened

to change his life forever.

[rock music playing]

[George] I was massively
unhappy and lonely.

I remember standing there with
a tear in my eye thinking,

I really don't know if
I'll ever do this again.

And it changed everything
from that day to this.

I was single, I hadn't come out.

If I could have the self
awareness and the strength
to walk away,

I could change my life.

I felt that stepping back would

save me from somehow
screwing up my career.

Er,

yeah, waiting please.

[man] Here we go!

[guitar music plays]

[Mary J. Blige] I first
became aware of George Michael's

music when I was probably, like,

I was definitely a little girl.

♪ Doo, do, doo do ♪

[Tracey Emin] I think his
music was really,

it's just there in your psyche.
I just think it's,

it's not even taken for granted,
it's just there in the ether.

♪ Well there ain't
no point in moving on ♪

♪ Until you've got
somewhere to go ♪

♪ And the road that
I have walked upon ♪

♪ Well it filled my pockets
And emptied out my soul ♪

[Tracey Emin] He's got
a voice like an angel.

There's certain songs that you
could ask George just to sing

and it would make people cry,

just the resonance
of this voice.

♪ And some of them
are about you ♪

[Elton John] It comes
from someone who has felt pain.

And it comes from someone
who has a deep talent.

♪ Now I know there's no way
I can write those wrongs ♪

♪ Believe me... ♪

[Stevie Wonder] George is...

in the category of many of us

who have been blessed with
the gift of music.

♪ ...there's a way back
for every man ♪

♪ So here I am ♪

[Naomi Campbell] There's
no voice like his on the radio.

♪ Oh, don't people change ♪

♪ Here I am ♪

♪ Is it too late to try again ♪

♪ Here I am ♪

[George Michael] I genuinely
believe that there's something

very odd about people
in my position.

But the central belief
that my musical journey

would be of my own making

has been the thing that's
informed almost every decision

I've ever made
in terms of my career.

I have a musical
ability which was,

powered as a young,
as a teenager

it was powered by this
desperate ambition to be famous

and to be loved
and respected, whatever.

Um,

and all I wanted at
that time was success.

[rock music playing]

[George Michael]
I had no master plan.

I didn't know if I was going to
be a singer or anything but,

at school I met Andrew.

And we formed this ska band
called The Executive

and we were terrible, basically.

But Andrew and I had already
developed an act for writing
these catchy little songs.

And we got together
a couple of tracks,

one was called
Careless Whisper

and one was called Wham Rap.

[rock music playing]

The 80's was the most
depressing sort of demoralizing

times that we've ever had for
young people in British history.

Because of the recession
because of everything,

because of mass unemployment.

So I think music then was
probably really, really
important.

In terrible depression,

you have the people
that come out and say,

" This is terrible,
this is terrible depression."

♪ This town ♪

♪ Is becoming a ghost town ♪

And then you have the escapist

things that go let's party.

♪ Young Guns, Having some fun ♪

♪ Crazy ladies keep 'em
on the run ♪

♪ Wise guys realize ♪

♪ There's danger
in emotional ties. ♪

♪ See me, single and free ♪

♪ No tears, no fears,
what I want to be ♪

♪ One, two,
take a look at you ♪

♪ Death by matrimony! ♪

[Ricky Gervais]
It wasn't all sugary.

He was singing about being
on the dole and having kids
and you know,

there was a bit of social
commentary there and
he was embracing this,

this new fangled
thing called rap.

You know, dressed like
someone from West Side Story.

We should have known then.

[music playing]

Then Club Tropicana taught us,

"Don't worry,
you can sun tan."

It predicted global warming way
before its time. [laughs]

♪ Club Tropicana
drinks are free ♪

I mean, I can't get the little
white shorts out of my head.

♪ Call me good ♪

♪ Call me bad... ♪

I'll be very honest,

I was a Culture Club fan.

And we used to throw
eggs at the Wham fans.

They were massive, weren't they,
Wham and George Michael
and that?

It was like, they were just
fucking everywhere weren't they?

♪ Baby I'm your man ♪

[James Corden]
Anyone of my generation,

you really can't
remember the first time you
heard about George Michael

if you grew up in the UK,
because he's just part of
the fabric, of it.

[Jean Paul Gaultier] So it's
the time of Wham,

which was like a lot of fun.
I was going to clubs,

like Heaven etcetera.

And it was a lot of fun
and we loved it.

It was truly represented
the time, you know.

♪ Uh huh huh ♪

♪ Oh yeah... ♪

I'm sure our kid, me older
brother, I'm sure he was,

I'm sure he had a bit of a Wham
moment, you know what I mean?

♪ Somebody told me ♪

♪ Boy, everything she wants ♪

♪ Is everything she sees... ♪

[Ricky Gervais] Nobody
felt I was too old to like them.

I felt a bit ashamed that
I was liking this teen band.

But they were great,
they had something else.
They had a lot more.

♪ And now you tell me that
you're having my baby ♪

♪ I'll tell you that
I'm happy if you want me to ♪

♪ But one step further... ♪

[George Michael] Wham itself
was an absolute joy.

It was joyous as it sounded.

They say youth is
wasted on the young.

My god what a wonderful
joy ride for two 18 year-olds.

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah... ♪

[George Michael] There
was a humor about Wham that no
one ever gave us credit for.

We were so taking the piss out
of ourselves half the time.

How can the country be
in love with these two idiots?

I knew how to make these
records and make them
jump out of the radio.

And the idea that just
because I was wearing

ridiculous shorts and um,

curtain rings in my ears

would actually stop people
from noticing that.

When I look back, it's kinda,
I still think it's
kind of stunning.

♪ Don't you think that ♪

♪ I know it ♪

[audience cheers]

[George Michael]
By the end of it,

I had no doubt that I could
become an international

solo success.

And it's as though there's...

always been this red line.

I see like a red line which
goes through everything.

Like a staircase of whatever
you're about to do next.

And I could feel that
at the final concert.

I already had one foot
in my solo career.

[audience chanting]
We want more!

Okay, then.

that's enough of that.

[Tracey Emin] I'm not
ever gonna be a fan of
boy band right,

it's not going to happen.

When he went solo,

the whole thing
went up ten notches.

♪ Time can never mend ♪

♪ The careless whisper ♪

♪ Of a good friend ♪

I think he was the first
one that was definitely
an obvious teen band

to then go on and be
a serious singer song writer.

And, take over the world.

♪ There's things
that you guess ♪

♪ And things that you know ♪

[Ricky Gervais] It's still very
rare for an act like that to go
to America.

[George Michael] The 80's.
just spawned this handful

of massive celebrities

that were constantly
battling in the charts.

♪ That's all I wanted ♪

♪ Something special,
something sacred ♪

♪ In your eyes ♪

[George Michael] If I was
looking for happiness,

this was the wrong road.

But I don't think there's any
way I could have controlled

my ego enough
to have stopped me

exploring the possibility
of being the biggest selling
artist in the world.

So I went with full gusto into
creating a new character.

You know, one I thought would be
resonant enough to stand up

there next to Madonna
and Jackson and Prince.

And I guess I did that pretty
effectively alongside

what was a very,
very commercial record.

♪ Well I guess it
would be nice ♪

♪ If I could touch your body ♪

♪ I know not everybody ♪

♪ Has got a body like you ♪

[Emmanuelle Alt] The attitude,
it was creating like a,

personage, as we call it, you
know. It was very charismatic.

In every video,
it was very strong impact.

♪ Oh but I ♪

♪ Need some time off
from that emotion ♪

[Jean Paul Gaultier] He's like
er, in coming in, in jeans,

you know. And like tight
and sexy and like, rock image.

And moving with the hips like
that, you know.

A little like Wham
before, you know.

A little like that
but more like, sexy.

Check this out then,
modern day Elvis.

♪ I gotta faith ♪

[Stevie Wonder] I liked
the spirit of Faith.

Because you do have to have it.

I'm amazed,

♪ Baby ♪

♪ Baby ♪

Yeah, I remember that.

[George Michael]
I didn't realize

that people would look
at the Faith image and go,

"Fuck that's cool."

♪ You say I'm giving
you the blues ♪

I was really, really overwhelmed
by the size of things I suppose.

I lived in fucking sunglasses,

I couldn't make eye contact
with people. It was bizarre.

♪ And another who tied me down
to lover boy rules ♪

I still suffered terribly
with insecurity about my looks.

It goes back to a family
background where conceit

of any kind was considered
an absolute sin.

So no one was ever praised
about the way they looked.

♪ Well I need someone
to hold me ♪

♪ But I wait for
something more ♪

♪ Yes I've gotta have faith ♪

Faith was number one in Britain

for one week,

but in America, number one
for twelve weeks.

And then on top of that,
he had four number one singles,

a number two single

and a number five single.

In 1988 he was the biggest
pop star in the world.

♪ 'Cause I've gotta
have faith ♪

♪ I gotta to have faith,
faith, faith, uh ♪

[Mary J. Blige]
All I remember is

Faith being played
fifty times a day on MTV.

You had to be in heavy
rotation on whatever
pop station you were on.

Duran Duran, David Bowie,

Eurhythmics' was played
on MTV like constantly.

Played on all
the video stations.

You really didn't hear
any of those artists,

but you hear George Michael
on some of the urban stations.

Right after Luther Vandross.

His music broke
the rule to everybody.

[George Michael]
In America, radio play for me

was substantial on
a lot of R&B stations.

He uniquely received recognition
on the R&B soul charts

that very few white
performers ever got.

He obviously had studied
American soul music

and felt a connection
and kindred spirit.

We were introduced
to each other.

So we're going back now
to about '86 maybe.

And it was his thought
that he wanted to

do a duet with
one of my artists.

♪ When the river was deep ♪

♪ I didn't falter ♪

♪ When the mountain was high ♪

♪ I still believed ♪

♪ When the valley was low ♪

♪ It didn't stop me ♪

♪ It didn't stop me now ♪

♪ No no ♪

♪ I knew you were waiting ♪

♪ Some way ♪

♪ Some how... ♪

[George Michael] It was great
that I had my own voice

and I'd worked
with Aretha Franklin

and everything had gone so well.

From an artistic point of view,
it just got better and better.

George Michael's voice
to me was always very soulful.

And was very um,

warm and sultry and urgent.

He had soul, period.

Soul is um, an expression
of the soul of the heart.

[George Michael] It was
good to be a Number one
in the black charts.

It was an amazing
thing to see obviously.

[Mark Ronson] England has
a great love affair

with American black
music and R&B

and a great tradition of
our own interpretation
of soul music and that thing.

But he's, he's kind of up there
at the pinnacle of it.

♪ But remember this ♪

♪ Every other kiss ♪

♪ That you ever give ♪

♪ Long as we both live ♪

♪ When you need the hand
of another man ♪

♪ One you really can
surrender with ♪

♪ I will wait for you ♪

♪ Like I always do ♪

♪ There's something there ♪

♪ That can't compare ♪

♪ With any other ♪

[George Michael]
Making that album,

I'm sure I was incredibly
proud of it.

But I don't think I ever
imagined it would be
bigger than Wham.

[Nile Rodgers] I imagine
that the pressure on someone
like George must've been insane,

because he was doing stuff that
was just so phenomenal.

After you have
that kind of success,

like what do you, what do
you go home at night and go,

"Now what do I do?"

[George Michael] I do
remember it being shocking to me

that I could become
more successful then
I had been with Wham.

I suppose the whole
exercise was an effort to raise

my profile and define what my
solo image was going to be.

But I really had
no idea how effective

it was going to be
especially in America.

And I had no idea what it was
like to be that big in America.

[Tracey Emin] George is
really, really private.

And I think when he was
young with all that fame.

I think it just came too fast
and it wasn't actually what
he was expecting.

I was probably most out,

out of control in any
kind of sense of

that during the
whole Faith thing.

[David Austin] Being caught in,
in the eye of this storm
is catastrophic.

It's just 24/7, full time,

in your face. I mean,

the wind burn is terrible.

[George Michael] I can't
really explain how overwhelming

that kind of hysteria can be
if there's only one person
to absorb it.

When I was with Andrew
it was so easy to keep
one foot in my old life,

the life that I'd known with
him before we'd been famous.

It was so easy to keep
each other grounded,

to take the piss out
of each other

and be able to look
at each other and talk about

the madness that was
going on around us.

But when you can't do that,
suddenly it is scary.

I don't know many 24 year olds

who would not have...

at least subconsciously

found that frightening
enough to self-destruct.

[Paul Russell] Now the
problem is, the record came
out everywhere in the world

pretty much at the same time,

so everybody wanted a piece
of George to help promote, um,

the album.

Enormous pressure.

Huge, huge pressure.

[George Michael] Ten months
of that was enough to

really push me to the edge.

I was terribly lonely...

me and my red line
were very lonely.

and the only good part of
my day was playing live.

When I sang Careless Whisper,

I can't remember which was the
last gig on the American tour,

which would have been
the end of the whole tour.

I think it was Pensacola.

But when I sang
Careless Whisper that night,

I remember standing there with
a tear in my eye thinking,

I really don't know if
I'll ever do this again.

♪ Time can never mend ♪

[crowd cheering]

♪ The careless whispers ♪

♪ Of a good friend ♪

♪ To the heart and mind ♪

♪ Ignorance is kind ♪

♪ There's no comfort
in the truth ♪

♪ Pain is all... ♪

[jazz music plays]

[George Michael] I was
intelligent enough to know

I should not be...

trying to catch up
with Michael Jackson,

or Madonna or whatever,

which was absolutely
what I was intent on doing.

I felt that tired and exhausted

at being the center of
that much attention.

I suppose the way my lack of
mental balance showed itself

was that I actually,

really began to hide
away when I got home.

And I did almost
nothing for a year

but try and reestablish
some idea of a real life.

Music was my very
controlling lover.

I had millions of lovers
that I never saw

other than in
the sense of live work.

But I still deserved one,
just one of them for me.

And I knew that the only
way I was going to find
that one person,

that lover, was to jump
off of the merry-go-round

just for long enough
to catch my breath.

And letting my heart rule
my head rather than, you know,

the red line.

The red line that goes,
up, up, up.

Sometimes you feel like he's,

he's got like a layer
or two of skin missing.

Like he, like he just,
like he, he,

like he bruises easier.

And because of that he
can write these amazing songs.

But I never wanted
to be someone else.

I wanted to be a star and I
wanted people to love me

and recognize me in the street
as a child that's what I wanted.

But I never really never
wanted to be someone else.

I believe I am a writer much
more than anything else.

And I want to leave songs.
I believe I can leave songs
that, that will be,

will mean something
to other generations.

This award is for favorite
soul and R&B album.

[George Benson]
And the winner is...

George Michael.

George Michael!

[crowd cheers]

I've been a lover of, um,
soul music since I was a kid

and, I'd just like
to thank everybody who's
helped me this year.

I'd like to thank black radio.

I'd like to thank
everyone at CBS records
in the R&B department.

And I'd like to thank
everyone who voted for me,

I can't believe it.
Thank you very much.

[crowd cheers]

[George Michael] I'd won
these do awards that were
traditionally received

by black artists.

And I think there was
a perception that
it had gone too far.

[Gladys Knight] The black
male artist works very
hard to get his due.

And Bobby Brown had
across the board play.

And he could compete in
the same category as George
Michael competes in,

that would be
a whole other thing.

[George Michael] This was
the same point in time
that Public Enemy arrived,

Spike Lee arrived.

Playback.

- Spike Lee what's up, man!
- What's up, Flavor Flav,

LP is in the house!

Flavor Flav at the
American Music Awards

What's George Michael
doing there?

How'd he win all awards?
How'd he win R&B category?

[George Michael] Suddenly
cross over was not hip.

And I see their point.

I totally saw their
point at the time.

I just felt it
was sad you know,

that white and black
people recording together

suddenly was kind of
dancing with the enemy.

You mean George is White?

Are you serious?

Oh, my God.

And he is blind, right?

[David Austin] I think it
had a huge effect on George,

because he'd won
in this category.

He'd achieved something that,

that was beyond
his wildest dreams,

only to have the carpet pulled
from under his feet.

I don't think there's any
attempt to, to kind of um,

steal black heritage
in what I'm doing.

All, all I think that's
happening is I'm trying
to make good music.

Music is not based on
the color of one's skin,

or you know, this is,
well this is soul music

or this is pop or this is...

to me those things, is kind of
old you know what I mean?

[guitar music playing]

[George Michael] I suddenly
couldn't get anywhere near
radio, black radio.

And that was the reason really.

Listen Without Prejudice was
called Listen Without Prejudice.

It was me saying here's an album
that has bits of gospel,

you know, bits of R&B.

Some very white stuff.

And it was just trying to say,
"Let me be both of these things

without having to
be one or the other.

[Liam Gallagher] I don't
know if I bought it, stole it

or it just sort of like,
just got delivered.

You know what I mean,
sometimes you get albums
like that,

don't you,
you know what I mean?

They just, they're that great
they just end up in your house.

[Elton John] What can
I say about the sound of it?

It's very ethereal. It's a,
it has a mystery about it.

George on this album
got everything that
he had inside his gut

onto vinyl or CD or cassette.

And, thank God he did.

Well let's have
a party pop pickers.

[Praying For Time plays]

In fucking one.

This song now,

it's got such a big opening
and message actually I think.

[Elton John] That opening,
it reminds me of John Lennon.

Like off one of
John's solo albums.

♪ These are the days of
the open hand ♪

♪ They will not be
the last Look around now ♪

♪ These are the days of the
beggars and the choosers ♪

[Mary J. Blige] When I
listen to George Michaels songs,

I think, not only he's tapped
into his dark side,

whatever's going on in his life.

But he's tapped into
the truth about who he is

and what he is and what life is.

And he wasn't afraid
to share that with us.

♪ The rich declare
themselves poor ♪

♪ And most of us
are not sure ♪

♪ If we have too much ♪

♪ But we'll take our chances ♪

♪'Cause God's stopped
keeping score ♪

♪ I guess somewhere
along the way ♪

♪ He must have let us
all out to play ♪

♪ Turned his back
and all God's children ♪

♪ Crept out the back door... ♪

Not only really just
his writing but it's the vocal
performance you know.

And it's always just like.

It just always feels so honest.

You just believe kind of
every word that he sings.

And even the ad libs.

Even him throwing out a line

is like better than
most people's verses.

When I hear that,

it is right up there,
you know what I mean? And then,

you get into the lyrics.

The one that jumps out is 'the
rich declare themselves poor'.

I like it because it's got a bit
of a dig, you know what I mean?

I mean, that's the way
I take it anyway.

It's like you bunch of fucking
cunts you know what I mean,

always fucking playing
the poverty card.

I like that because it's got
a bit of a Lennon vibe.

He likes to dig people out.

There was no one before
the Beatles that did
them kind of songs.

It's a classic.
It's up there, I'd say,

it could have been cut with the
same cloth as imagine, you know
what I mean?

[music stops]

Oh, it's a bit much isn't it?

I didn't expect
to be as moved as I am.

♪ Let me tell you a secret ♪

♪ Put it in your
heart and keep it ♪

♪ something that
I want you to know ♪

[George Michael] It was
my time to discover the Beatles

and at the time I was big
into Abbey Road and Revolver
and you know.

And it's the people that
you're trying to emulate
sometimes can bring you up.

I made one record to show
how much I loved Lennon.

I made another record to show
how much I loved McCartney.

I didn't dream that McCartney
would ever sing it.

And actually, when he
sings it, it sounds like
a Paul McCartney record.

The next week we're going
to do um, some vocals yeah?

[Paul] In a couple of days.

[George Michael] It's the most
surreal moment of my career
I think,

to have
Paul McCartney singing

something that I wrote
as a tribute to Paul McCartney.

I don't think I would've
had the nerve to ask him
when I wrote it.

Sounds like a fucking group.

Cool.

♪ In your heart now ♪

♪ I'll be good to you ♪

♪ I can make this thing too ♪

♪ I'll get to your
heart somehow ♪

♪ Yeahhh ♪

Yeah, c'mon lad.

[Paul McCartney] ♪ Yeahhh ♪

[George Michael] You know
the man forgot to introduce me.

[guitar music plays]

I heard the beginning of Baby
You Can Drive My Car start.

There's this bit of
film of me going,

So that's what I did,
I just ran on just before

I was supposed
to sing the chorus.

♪ Song in-between ♪

♪ Baby you can drive my car ♪

[Mary J. Blige] I haven't done
this in a long time.

["They Won't
Go When I Go" plays ]

See how piano based
the album is.

♪ No more lying friends ♪

♪ Wanting tragic ends ♪

♪ Though they do pretend ♪

♪ They won't go when I go ♪

I mean it sounds like Stevie.

I love this song.

♪ All those
bleeding hearts... ♪

I hear [laughs]

so much,

like, exhaustion.

Like not exhaustion
in him as an artist,

but exhaustion in him you know,

as a human.

In this world that we
live in I hear a fight.

[laughs]

Sometimes you know,

you definitely hear
the pure talent.

Pure talent.

I hear hope.

Brilliant.

They Won't Go When I Go
for sure,

like that was, that was
probably my

introduction even
to Stevie Wonder.

[Stevie Wonder] The version he
did of They Won't Go When I Go,

it brings back a lot
of memories because they,

um, it's a thought that at
the end of the day...

we come um,

alone in this world and we will,
and we will die alone.

Er, and it's what we do in
between that's going to
determine how and what,

we'll be remembered as and we
can think about it in spirit.

So it was great to hear
him sing the song.

[plays electric keyboard]

♪ Unclean minds
mislead the pure... ♪

I'm actually crying,
so you know, um.

It takes a massive
amount of bravery

for George to do
a song like that.

When you go to an area

that you know is sort of
like sacred ground [laughs]

you're going to a place um,

because your heart
tells you to go there.

You have a love of something
and you, you want to be,

you want to live in that world.

The reason for me doing so many
Stevie Wonder covers,

I've done in over various sets
I've done like four or five

Stevie Wonder covers and um,
apart from the fact

that I, I consider him to be
an incredible writer um,

his voice the,
the key that he was writing

for at that time was perfectly
suited to my voice.

♪ His patience's long but
soon he won't have any ♪

♪ To find a job is like
a haystack needle ♪

♪ Cause where he lives they
don't use colored people ♪

♪ Living just enough ♪

♪ Just enough for the city... ♪

♪ Yeah ♪

♪ La, La, La, La, La, La, ♪

[Stevie Wonder] Well
George reminds me of me

as a little kid you know.

My, my passion for music.

He and I doing,
Living In The City,

I remember that.
It was a lot of fun.

Chemistry is something
that you can't fake.

It's about how you relate
to each other

and how it connects.

[George Michael] I'm aware of
the need for persona.

And my actual persona I'm not
really prepared to give.

I'm a real homebody.

I'd much rather be taking
my dog for a walk,

or you know, be with friends.

I feel like I don't
belong out there,

being this professional person
going around selling his wares.

[Ricky Gervais] He had a much
harder journey than me in a way

because if you get fame

and accolades and wealth
beyond your wildest dreams

as a teenager

it usually goes wrong.

But he, he obviously had a wiser
head on his shoulders than most.

Like I think a lot of young
musicians now are kind of
you know,

what's the word...

manufactured.

And I think for him he didn't
ever want to be like that.

And, and part of his
reactionary way was to
break away from all of that.

[George Michael] I was still
struggling with the idea of
having that much attention.

And I think
I recoiled from that.

And I felt that stepping
back would save me from

somehow screwing up my career.

I, I see kind of
hard sell promotion
as prostituting myself.

I can't help it.
Even if it's a complete fallacy,

that's how I see it.
I'm of that generation.

He felt he needed to withdraw
from the merry-go-round

that is promoting an album.

And explained in
a very articulate way

that he just felt
he had to withdraw from that

for the moment for
his own sanity.

That we'd probably get
more albums out of him,

if we just allowed
him to back off.

Er, it was quite a,
a bombshell I suppose
for us to have to deal with.

The fact that he didn't do any
promotion of it,

it begs you know,
it's quite astonishing.

["Freedom 90's" playing]

[Elton John]
What's coming up now,

is one of the great intro's.

[mimics intro]

And I, it's not me
on piano either.

Which is...

I always hated him for that.

♪ I won't let you down ♪

♪ I will not give you up ♪

♪ Gotta have some
faith in the sound ♪

♪ It's the one good thing
that I've got ♪

♪ I won't let you down ♪

♪ So please don't give me up ♪

♪ 'Cause I would really,
really love to stick around ♪

♪ Oh yeah ♪

[Mark Ronson] Freedom 90's
kind of like this

funk groove masterpiece that
just comes in and like Track 2.

You're striving to make
something every time
you go in the studio

half as good as
a record like that.

It's the Mona Lisa.

♪ Heaven knows
I was just a young boy ♪

♪ Didn't know what
I wanted to be ♪

Big changement.
He's not there.

He doesn't appear.

Beautiful girls are there.
The top, top, top, top model.

♪ And I guess it was
enough for me ♪

[George Michael] If you're gonna
say to your record company look,

I'm not gonna be in this video,

I'd say that's a fairly good
consolation prize really.

Five absolutely
gorgeous super models

that people still
want to look at today.

♪ On your rock and roll T.V. ♪

[Elton John] It changed
the whole face of how
videos were done.

The video said everything.
It was genius.

And it was a,
a revolutionary thing.

George had raised the
bar to whole new level.

[Emmanuelle Alt] That was
like a big statement.

It was really well done.
It could have been a disaster.

[Cindy Crawford] It was
a specific group of women
that George wanted

and that had just been on
the cover of British Vogue

that was shot by
Peter Lindbergh.

It was like, he wants
you five and it has
to be all of you five.

♪ Sometimes the clothes
do not make the man ♪

Now in fashion there is no
supermodels like, like this.

This is gone.

It was like the magic
moment of modeling.

I suppose that's
the lasting memory of
that whole video shoot,

was the cost of the girls
and the fees they were
charging on a daily basis.

That was pretty ground breaking.

George pitched it to me in LA

and his exact words were,

"You're the leader of the gang

and unless you say yes,
the rest of the girls won't"

His people talked to my people.

Yeah, you know how it
went back then.

It was like, well,
is Christy doing it?

♪ I will not give you up ♪

♪ Freedom! ♪

♪ You've gotta give
for what you take ♪

[Christy Turlington] My scene
where I'm sort of crawling

on the ground and you
can just see my eyes.

People think, oh that's so,
so like sexy and mysterious.

It's just really, I didn't know
the words. [laughs]

[Linda Evangelsita] I prepared
in the trailer with George.

He showed me how
to hit the notes

and it's hard to lip-sync.

[Christy Turlington]
David Fincher was directing it

and even though the
shot ended up looking

like the steamy bath scene,
there was no water in the tub,

I was freezing cold.

I was covered in glycerin
to make my skin shiny.

And I kind of thought,

I hope Fincher knows
what he's doing.

[Christy Turlington] I remember
David and George working
closely together.

He was, you know,
right there looking
through the lens at times.

[Tatyjana Patitz] Everything
suited each girl.

So I think it was just strong
and we were all so different.

It's such a fun song.

I mean you listen to the words
and kind of the statement,

it has much more meaning.

And I feel like that whole
time for George Michael

was about him saying,

"Enough, like you guys
tried to prepackage me

and sell me in a way
that wasn't authentic.

♪ Ooh somehow ♪

♪ All we have to see ♪

♪ Is that I don't
belong to you ♪

♪ And you don't belong
to me, yeah yeah ♪

♪ Freedom! ♪

♪ I won't let you down ♪

♪ Freedom! ♪

♪ I will not give you up... ♪

You can see the biker,

jacket which is
burning like with fire.

So it's like symbolic.

[Mark Ronson] I got the
impression he was saying, like,

"That's chapters closed
and I'm done being

a public figure pop star."

[George Michael] The burning
of the jacket,

the exploding guitar,
the exploding juke box

was me just saying
I'm sick of this.

I really can't cope with it.

♪ Freedom! ♪

♪ You've gotta give
for what you take ♪

[Andy Stephens] Not only
were we not going to get him
appearing in promotional videos,

but we weren't going to get his
image on the album sleeve.

We weren't going to get
his name on the album sleeve.

Would I have chosen
that album sleeve that
wasn't the beach shot

taken from 1940
or whatever it was, yeah.

Would I have like his
name on the al...

yeah. Of course I would.

A lot of people are just
pimping themselves out

24/7 you know what I mean?

And there's mystique
about George Michael.

♪ But today the way I play
the game has got to change ♪

♪ oh yeah ♪

♪ Now I'm gonna
get myself happy ♪

[Elton John] In making
records it's fun,

and then you have
to talk about it,

which is not fun.

Yeah, I thought it was bonkers.

But then it all
makes sense doesn't it?

[George Michael] When I
spoke to the Los Angeles Times

about stepping back
from promotion,

Frank Sinatra wrote me an open
letter that just said you know,

"Just get over it. Be glad
that God gave you a gift and
get out there and use it."

I don't think
he wrote the letter.

I actually believe that was
the work of a publicist,

not the work of a genius.

What a wonderful letter.

Here, probably the greatest
male singer of all time

is saying, "Embrace your talent.

Enjoy the, the success.

Don't be threatened by it."

[George Michael] Now, even
though he's the greatest singer
that ever walked the planet

as far as I'm concerned,

I wasn't taking any advice
from Frank Sinatra.

You can't put a gun to any
creative person's head and say,

"Create, write,
promote, market, whatever.

They, you just have to go with
it. That's what we had to do.

[George Michael] By now,
even though I thought I'd
delivered them

what I felt was a great album
and a visual feast

in the form of Freedom 90,

Sony America was not promoting
Listen Without Prejudice.

In the meantime, I did the one
thing I was prepared to do...

live work.

[rock music plays]

[audience cheering]

[George Michael] The basis for
me going to do Rock In Rio was
that I wanted to see Brazil.

♪ SO you want ♪

♪ To be free? ♪

♪ To live your life ♪

♪ The way you want to be ♪

♪ Will you give... ♪

[George Michael] At the
front of this 160,000 people

there was this guy over on the
right hand side of the stage

that just fixed
me with this look.

And he was so cute,

I was so distracted by him,

that I stayed away from that
end of the stage for a while.

Because otherwise
I thought I was going
to get really distracted

and forget the words
or something, you know?

♪ Tainted hearts ♪

♪ Heal with time ♪

♪ Shoot bad love ♪

♪ So we can stop... ♪

[George Michael] The moment
I looked at him,

I got the feeling

that told me I was
going to know him very well

and that he was going
to be a part of my life.

♪ Solitary brother ♪

♪ Is there still a part of you
that wants to live? ♪

Anselmo was the first time
I think I really loved
someone selflessly.

It was kind of immediate.

Everybody,
with the exception of my family

was introduced to him very,
very quickly.

Because I felt immediately
that everything had changed.

♪ Solitary sister ♪

[David Austin] All our
friends knew of course.

I remember seeing him
and just thinking how,

I just feeling so happy for him.

The two of them met and it
changed George's life.

[soft music playing]

It's very hard to be proud
of your own sexuality

when it hasn't brought
you any joy.

Once it's, once it is
associated with joy and love,

it's easy to be proud
of who you are.

It's the first time you actually
believe somebody loves you um,

that's a wonderful
moment in your life

and it was a wonderful
six months.

[George] What a poser.

He was just very full of energy,

very loving,

I was happier than I'd
ever been in my entire life.

[David Austin] He didn't
care who saw him with Anselmo.

He found something.

He found what he was
looking for you know.

[George Michael]
By the time I met Anselmo,

I had made the decision
to jump off the merry-go-round.

And I was already in
the early stages of my
confrontation with Sony.

Recording an album

and then saying,

"I'm not going to promote it or
I'm not going to market it,

I'm not going to participate."

That's a serious
detriment to an album.

I think we had
personality issues

between um,

between people in the UK and
people in the American company.

Why wasn't this Faith part 2?

We want all those
nice pop songs.

What do you mean he's
not going to promote it,

or he's not going
to have his image on it?

That's like saying I'll
do a movie but I,

I won't do one premier,

I won't do any interviews
for the movie, you know.

You say, "Oh my God."

[Tracey Emin] The moment
someone says to a musician

or to an artist make more of
them or do more of that,

it kills you.

And I think probably
for someone like George,

especially at certain
times of his career,

he must have felt quite trapped.

In England they made an effort.

And Listen Without Prejudice
outsold Faith.

And in lots of
places it outsold Faith

because I think it
was actually a better album.

But it wasn't about that it was
about the total and utter lack

of respect that the minute
somebody doesn't see themselves

as a commodity,
that they actually have
the audacity to think,

"My God I am actually
creating something

and I must keep myself
sane in order to do that."

The minute, minute somebody
does that they're over.

We tried very, very hard

to get the American
executives to come over

and listen to why George felt
the way that he did from George.

'Cause there was no one better
to put that forward than
George Michael telling them,

as he had told us...

the reasons how
he really felt deep down.

But they wouldn't come.

[George Michael] There were
executives that came to London

in 1989 and we played
them the record.

I explained to them
that Faith had taken
me to the edge of madness.

That I wanted to be a long term
player in this business.

Now any logical CEO I think
would have thought okay,

he's gonna do this,

he'll get it out of his system
and he'll get back on board.

George is very stubborn.

He's incredibly one of the most
stubborn people I've met.

Um, but he was right to be
stubborn on this occasion.

And I'm sure the record company
recoiled in horror.

[George Michael] It was very
much a clash of cultures really.

In America there was
definitely a door that shut.

♪ But losing everything ♪

♪ Is like the sun
going down on me ♪

[George Michael] I managed
to have a couple of really big
hit records in the meantime.

There was the track with Elton.

And of course the Red Hot
and Dance album came out.

["Too Funky" playing]

♪ Hey, you're just
too funky for me ♪

♪ I gotta get inside of you ♪

♪ And I'll show you heaven,
if you let me ♪

[Linda Evangelista] It was very
difficult to make that video.

It all fell apart.

Not for any of George's reasons.

It just fell apart.

And he saved it.

[George Michael] Linda bless
her heart came back again.

We got a bit drunk.
I won't say any more about that.

It's a stupid, stupid song.

That would look great on me.

I think George should
definitely wear this.

So I realized at that point

that if a hit record
was not going to reinstate

any kind of relationship with
Sony then nothing was.

I don't want to pick a fight.

I just wanted to work
with people who wanted
to work with me.

And who would have some
respect for the fact that

I was growing up.

It was deeply,
deeply troubling times.

Because you could see this,
it's like trying to watch a,

a train wreck in slow motion

and there's nothing
you could do to stop it.

[George Michael] Anselmo
and I were in LA when um,

he was advised to go
for his test.

He hadn't been tested
for a while and he was
absolutely healthy looking.

More than healthy
looking when I first met him.

Within a month or
two of meeting him,

um, he had a, a flu that
he couldn't get rid of.

And some red marks that
came up on his chest.

And I remember
a kind of terror of...

me understanding that this was
possibly the beginning of,

you know an illness.

I remember him leaving
the house and um,

to this day I remember

looking at the sky and saying,

"Don't you dare to this to me."

I mean I was twenty seven
going on twenty eight,

but at that point
in time you think like that's

a life time to have
waited to be loved.

Anselmo had the test...

in Brazil.

I went home to,

to my family for Christmas

and sat at the Christmas table

not knowing whether
my partner who might,

the people sitting around
the table did not know about,

not knowing whether this man
that I was in love with was,
was terminally ill.

And therefore not knowing
whether I potentially was
terminally ill.

That Christmas was
probably the darkest,

darkest most frightening, um,

time in my life.

I remember my publicist calling
me to tell me...

that Freddie Mercury had died.

And he died of HIV obviously.

And I remember I was,

I was crying and you know,

you just thought.
I mean bless him I,

I was really sad

that Freddie had passed away,

but of course I was crying about
something else entirely.

Which was the fact that both
my partner and possibly
myself were HIV.

[David Austin] It was an
incredibly difficult period

for George because
it was something that

he had to hold close
to his chest.

[George Michael] I was
just absolutely devastated

to find out that
he had a terminal illness.

I was just devastated.

["Someone To Love" playing]

♪ Ooh, each morning
I get up I die ♪

♪ Can barely stand on my feet ♪

♪ Take a look in
the mirror and I cry ♪

♪ Lord what you're
doing to me ♪

♪ I have spent all my years
in believing you ♪

♪ But I just can't
get no relief ♪

♪ Lord! ♪

♪ Ooh somebody ♪

♪ Can anybody find me ♪

♪ Somebody to love? ♪

[George Michael] Even by
the time Freddie's tribute
had been put together

I was still sworn to secrecy.

♪ Got no feel,
I got no rhythm ♪

♪ I just keep losing my beat ♪

[George Michael] I'm very
proud of that performance
but, Anselmo was in the crowd.

And I went out there knowing
I had to honor Freddie Mercury

and I had to pray for Anselmo.

♪ someday I'm gonna be free ♪

♪ Lord! ♪

[drums beating]

♪ Find me somebody to love ♪

♪ Find me somebody to love ♪

♪ Find me somebody to love ♪

And I just wanted to die inside.

So it was so much to me all
in that one performance.

♪ Find me somebody to love ♪

♪ Anybody find me ♪

♪ Somebody to ♪

Come on!

♪ Love! ♪

[audience cheers]

Yeah!

♪ Find me somebody to love ♪

♪ Ooh ♪

♪ Somebody to love ♪

♪ Find me somebody ♪

♪ Somebody to love... ♪

I was so overwhelmed
by the sadness

of singing the
songs of this man

that I absolutely
worshipped as a child,

who has passed away in
the same manner that my first

live in partner was
going to experience.

It was just
overwhelming for me.

♪ Love! ♪

[George Michael] It's not
an accident

that the performance
probably most well known

in my career...

was sung...

to my lover...

who was dying.

He was the reason that
I had the strength to go
to battle with Sony.

I saw it as,

if I'm going to do nothing
but love this man and care
for this man,

if I could do nothing
beneficial as a musician,

because I cannot even
think of a note,

maybe I have a chance to
do something truly special

and change the standard
record contract forever.

[Paul Russell] I didn't think

that it would end up
in court at the time.

Because I really thought
that sanity would prevail.

Well, I was wrong.

It didn't.

Our relationship broke down
because they said,

"No, you are this kind
of artist.

This is the kind of
artist we sell.

This is the kind
of artist we know how to sell.

And if you don't want to sell
yourself that way

and you want to go off
on this journey and find

this other audience,
we're not going to support you."

The relationship had
completely disintegrated.

George flew out to New York
with his publisher.

And basically it was at
that meeting that George told

the head people at Sony that
he wanted out of the deal.

Wanted a divorce.

What he was basically saying is,

how can I stay with a company

who won't support me in any way

when I feel so strongly.

We issued a writ
three days later.

[George Michael] I will
never know if...

Sony and I would have
ended up in court

had Anselmo not become ill.

I was absolutely terrified
of losing him.

And the prospect of
watching him die of AIDS.

I was in LA and, um,
the phone rang

and was told that Anselmo's
best friend in Brazil
was on the phone.

And, [gasps]

then it all goes blurry
for a long time.

[George Michael] He still
23 years later

brings a tear to my eye.

He was, he was my savior.

It's still very hard
for me to explain

how finding a companion
at that stage in my life

changed me.

And such a beautiful companion.
Such an amazing person.

I think to some degree
the Sony court case

was a perfectly good
place to put my anger.

I used to go and run on
the treadmill every day.

And play squash.

And do everything I could to get
rid of all this anger and fear.

But the best place for it was
court number one really.

[cameras clicking]

There was the part of my
personality that could say,

"Okay, fuck this."

This can't all be bad.

I've got to do something good
with this time in my life.

And change the
path of artists' lives.

One of Britain's most
successful pop singers,

George Michael, is today
asking a high court judge

to declare his recording
contract null and void.

He says the contract with
Sony music is too restrictive

and that the company takes
too much of the profits.

[Reporter] George Michael's
counsel told the court

that this case
is not about money.

While crown QC argues
that his client's contract
is in restraint of trade.

He stressed what he called
it's unreasonable length

perhaps 12-15 years

and he says it's drafted
in Sony's favor.

For the music industry,
this case could mean
a dramatic shift

in power towards major artists.

[indistinct chatter]

Very, very good.

[Reporter] What is it going to
mean for the record industry?

This was a world-wide...

major artist saying
to a record company,

that the basic contract
which record companies used

was invalid.

[George Michael] If you
really fall out

with the people who control
your professional life,

you have a right to walk away.

I think that is the right
of every individual.

And the music industry
takes away that right

from every artist it signs.

George is very, very brave.
He's not afraid of anybody.

Um, and he thought
he was being wronged

and he went out and
fought his own corner.

What we couldn't do
was stand up and say,

"Yeah, you're right."

These contracts are slavery
and they shouldn't be allowed,

Your honor.

[laughs] We weren't going
to do that.

You'd have artist after artist

queuing up to take
their record company to court.

[George Michael] I can't
think of one artist
that supported me.

I know of a lot of artists
who sat back and waited
for the results.

But that's a different thing.

[Andy Stephens]
Artists like George Michael

come along if you're lucky,

once in a lifetime.

My feelings as the court case
went on were that we'd lost him.

How could you ever
patch that up?

I'd never let on to George

of problems until after
he'd been in the witness box.

And I said,
"It's not going well.

And you know, you shouldn't
raise your hopes at this stage."

[BBC News intro music plays]

The pop star George Michael
loses his high court battle

to break away from
his record company Sony.

In dismissing the claim
the judge, Mr. Justice Parker,

ruled that the contract was both
reasonable and fair.

The 30 year old singer
had argued that the agreement

was stifling his
artistic development

and he threatened to
never record for Sony
again if he lost.

George Michael says he'll
appeal against the judgment

which he said condemned him
to professional slavery.

Having received
this judgment,

I would like to reiterate

the reasons why I embarked
upon these proceedings.

I have no right to resign.

In fact there is no such thing

as resignation for
an artist in the music industry.

Effectively,

you sign a piece of paper at
the beginning of your career

and you're expected
to live with the decision,

good or bad,

for the rest of
your professional life.

I shall obviously take full
advice from my lawyers,

but the initial view is that
we have very strong grounds

for appeal and we hope
to have the appeal heard
as quickly as possible.

Thank you very much for your
time and for all the support

that I've received
since this action began.

Thank you.

[Reporter] George will
you sing for Sony again?

[George Michael] After the court
case was finished

and I'd lost,
and not just lost,

I, I lost completely.
I mean I lost on everything.

Every count.

They then called up
and you know kind of said

"Well there's, can't we patch
things up," kind of thing.

But I knew in reality that
was like a formality.

They had to do that.

Um, but ultimately,
the whole thing was
a complete waste of time.

And I regret it to this day.

[Paul Russell] Looking
back on it now, 25 years on,

my first thought is
that I think it's sad.

When you win a court case you're
normally out there high fiving
and putting the drinks in.

But I don't think anyone felt,

not in my team anyway,
any sense of euphoria.

Certainly there were no winners.

I mean, we,
we won the court case.

But we didn't win anything.

You've actually lost,

because you've lost
the support of that artist.

George had said in
passing David Frost wants

to do an
interview with me.

And I said,
"You've got to do it."

They know you're
a man of principle.

Now, you've got to
be a man of principle
who's totally obsessed.

Ahh, well,

what's happens now,
is that we go to appeal.

I can't see any
other way round it.

I mean, of course there is the
ultimate option

and appeal at the House of Lords
which would take forever.

Oh, it was all bluff.

I mean, they intended to
take it to the um,

Court of Appeal in the UK.

Never to the House of Lords,

never to the
European Court of Justice.

They can only lose
by going to appeal.

Everybody was watching, um,

including David Geffen.

No one's going to let
a talent like that flounder
out there for very long.

[David Austin] So David
Geffen contacts Sony

and said to them,

"Listen guys,

he's never ever going
to make another piece
of music for you ever."

You might as well let him go.

[George Michael] I flew
to New York,

had a very quick meeting there,
where basically you know,

we're agreeing that
the contract would be sold.

I was like, in 7th heaven.

[Tony Russell] Sony said,
"We want this transfer fee and

it would have bought
you a top class footballer."

In fact it might have bought
you Lionel Messey in those days.

[Paul Russell] In the end,

he did whatever he did with
David Geffen and Virgin.

And basically bought himself
out of the contract.

Was it a good decision
in hindsight of history?

I'm not sure.

George unquestionably lost
the battle but won the war,

because he got a freedom
that he craved for.

'Cause he felt
he had to get away.

Peace to George Michael.

[audience cheers]

[George Michael] I think
the whole experience
of losing Anselmo,

the period of grief,

roughly two years that
I didn't write a note of music.

And then,
the absolute knowledge

that the next album I was
going to write would be
about grief and recovery.

Older is my greatest moment.

♪ Kindness ♪

♪ In your eyes ♪

♪ I guess ♪

♪ You heard me cry ♪

♪ You smiled at me ♪

♪ Like Jesus to a child ♪

[George Michael]
I sat at a keyboard,

played a very simple
string part.

Stream of consciousness
rubbish comes out my head,

just rubbish.

And then I sang
Like Jesus to a Child.

And I thought,

"Oh My God, that's him."

That's him and me.

Like Jesus to a child.

♪ When you find your love ♪

♪ When you know
that it exists ♪

And I was so excited
that I finally

been able to put my feelings
about Anselmo into words.

And within a week of writing it,

I was singing it in front
of the Brandenburg Gate

paying my first kind of public
tribute to him there.

♪ When you've been loved ♪

♪ So I know just what love is ♪

♪ And the lover that I kissed ♪

♪ He's always by my side ♪

♪ Oh the lover
I still missed ♪

♪ Was Jesus ♪

♪ To a child ♪

[Stevie Wonder]
I just celebrate people

who are able to use their
joys and their pains

to really help people to heal.

[George Michael] I think
I wrote the best,

most healing piece of music.

It was all systems go
from that point on.

♪ In the absence of security ♪

♪ I made my way
into the night ♪

♪ Stupid Cupid keeps
on calling me ♪

♪ And I see lovin'
in his eyes ♪

♪ I miss my baby ♪

[George Michael] For anyone
who had a clue

about any kind of symbolism,

I was coming out.

And you know Fast Love
makes me laugh

because it's all about
cruising and covering my pain.

Blunting out that,
that pain with fast love.

Simple as that.

♪ I do believe that we are
practicing the same religion ♪

There's not one track
on that album

that is not about Anselmo,

about the risk of AIDS,

which was Spinning The Wheel.

♪ Spinning that wheel for me ♪

♪ You've got a thing
about danger ♪

♪ Ain't you getting what
you want from me ♪

♪ Ain't you getting what
you want from me ♪

♪ You've got a thing
about strangers ♪

♪ Baby that's what
we used to be ♪

♪ Baby that's what
we used to be ♪

♪ You've got a thing
about danger baby ♪

♪ I guess the hungry
just can't see ♪

♪ One of these days You're
gonna bring some home to me ♪

[George Michael] I believe
I was destined to feel
that particular pain

so that I could do the
ultimate with my music
in terms of healing.

And the number of people
who come up to me and say,

"Oh you don't know
how much you helped me

with Older when
I lost this person

or when I lost that person.

♪ Time and I need you... ♪

And the winner of the best
Male Solo Artist is...

George Michael.

[crowd cheers]

Now unfortunately...

George cannot be here tonight

but I,

I have a message from him
and I'm going to read it out

and it says,
"To everybody here

and everybody watching at home,

I would like to apologize
for not attending
tonight's awards show.

I genuinely would have
loved to have been there
to say a huge thank you."

I had about 6 months period
where things were okay

and I was recording Older.

Then I found out
my mother had cancer.

[classical music playing]

I was so spiritually
crushed after Mum died.

So crushed and so felt so bloody
picked on by the Gods, you know.

For all my adult life
she was phenomenal,
absolutely phenomenal.

A terrible horrible loss.

From the day I found
about my partner,

to the day that I could say

I actually felt on
the mend from my mother

was just constant fear.

Was either fear of death or,

or fear of the next
bereavement you know.

And uh, I just took
it very, very badly.

Very badly indeed.

I'd never felt um,

that kind of depression.

I, it was something
different to grief.

It was on top of grief
because I was grieving
for my mother still

but it was something else.
It was um,

I felt like a sportsman

that, that had a terrible injury

in the middle of an incredibly
successful career.

I'm so, so much more aware

of how intrinsic
to my entire being

it is to be able
to create music.

Having lost it for,
for 3 or 4 years of my life,

I really did, I lost the music
at the center of me.

Which was like losing
God for me. It really was.

It was the darkest,
darkest time.

But even when I've lost control,

Even when I really
hit rock bottom,

I believe that the
red line is still there,

[Tracye Emin] There's a part of
George that is really private.

His inner soul is quite private,

there's a space for him.
And I think that's why,

you know his writing, his music,

his performing,

all of that is
this big external thing,

But all of that comes from some
really private internal place.

I think if George wasn't
like superstar musician,

he'd be an accountant
that writes poetry every night.

Do you know what I mean?

[George Michael] I'd just like
to say very genuinely, um,

I'm really touched by this um,

the first half of the 90's was
pretty crap for me

and uh,

1996 has kind of made
it all worthwhile.

Thank you very much.

[Stevie Wonder] It always feels
better when you're able to,

you know, to be yourself.

To just be you.

And um,

being you means you know,

not being afraid or ashamed

of um, sharing the gift
that you've been given.

One, two, three, yeah!

♪ Star people ♪

♪ Counting your money till
you soul turns green ♪

George's authentic and there
aren't that many authentic
artists around.

[Tracey Emin] His real,
he's not mass produced.

He isn't owned, he isn't,
he isn't bossed around by
anybody.

He's never been bossed around
by record companies.

He's done exactly what
he's wanted to do.

You know and everyone had this,
had this go at him about him

'cause he didn't come out
when he was 18.

Loads of people didn't
come out when they were 18.

Especially when they'd just been
signed up by a fucking giant
record label.

But boy did he come out
later in a big way.

♪ And yes I've been bad ♪

♪ Doctor won't
you do with me... ♪

When he came out I wanted
to go George, you don't need,
what'd... we know.

[laughs]

Don't make a song
and dance about it.

And he did, he did a
song about it didn't he?

He did a whole song
and dance about it.

♪ I never really said it ♪

♪ Before ♪

[Ricky Gervais] He's fearless.

He disarms the press.

'Cause they think they've
got him, they say,
"Awww you did this."

and he goes, "Yep...

and?"

And when they went...

Argh you're gay, he went yeah,
sorry I didn't call you,

you know what I mean?

He didn't call everyone,
listen...

I think people genuinely
adore George.

Not just the music.

Er, but they feel for
him and his struggle.

He's a villain.

George Michael is probably
my favorite singing convict.

Bless him. He did his time.

We're all imperfect.

And we've all made mistakes.

George has made his mistakes
sometimes publicly.

But people are willing
to forget because underneath

I know for a fact that George
is one of the most kindest,

most generous people
I've ever met in my life.

♪ I'm your man! ♪

♪ Yeah ♪

His music feels like feeling

or moments in your
life that are personal to you.

Someone saying the very same
thing that you felt.

♪ If you're gonna do it,
do it right ♪

♪ Do it with me ♪

♪ If you're gonna do it,
do it right ♪

[James Corden] It feels like he
just puts his arm around you

and says you're
not on your own.

It's just such a journey.

He's just taken us
on a journey with him.

♪ Baby ♪

♪ I'm your man! ♪

I love it!

♪ Baby ♪

♪ I'm your man! ♪

♪ If you're gonna do it,
do it right - right? ♪

[James Corden] Without that
sketch I wouldn't have a

successful show in America.

Because there was something
so joyful about it.

There was something so
brilliant about being with him

that made us go oh,

I wonder if we could do that
with other artists.

[Ricky Gervais] In Extras,
George played George Michael

on Hampstead Heath
looking for fun.

I've only got 20 minutes
actually, I'm on my lunch break.

He just nailed it.

He, he gave us that
sort of decadent,

almost bored rock star.

Lunch break.

Yeah, I'm doing
community service.

Are you still doing that?

Oh no, not that one,
I'm doing another now,

I'm picking up litter now.

Oh right, what'd you
do wrong this time?

Fly tipping believe it or not.

It was great.
It was really, really great.

I was, I, I was really,

really knocked out at
how good an actor he was.

Um, and such a sport.

Well, I better get going,
'cause you know,

I'm going to have to go
back to work soon so.

C'mon then you,
I'll give you a quickie.

I'm not that desperate matey

Cheeky bastard.

♪ I'll be your sexual freak ♪

[Ricky Gervais] I think
he's challenged the stereo type

of the gay man as well

and what was acceptable.

Because you know, it,

it even though people were
out in the 60s and 70s

they were safe sexless gay men,

whereas George went
I've got a cock.

That, that, that

frightened some people.

Yeah, literally I imagine.

That's something about George
he's really sexy,

you know, really sexy.

And living with that,

good looking, sexy, talented,

you know. It's tough out there.

[laughs]

He's very hairy isn't he?

[laughs]

♪ Tell it to me, to me, to me ♪

♪ I know that you'll hold me ♪

♪ But there's something about
that Bush ain't right.

[laugh]

[Elton John] There's so
many different facets to George.

And you can see
him growing as an artist

and moving away from
the original stuff into more,

beautiful kind of Edith Piaf,
Frank Sinatra territory,

but it's George.

["How Do You Keep
The Music" Playing]

♪ How do you keep
the music playing? ♪

♪ That I feel for her ♪

[Tony Bennett] I just
loved that he was very friendly,

we got along great.

He just walked in very prepared.

And he was so spontaneous,

he did it in one take.

I couldn't believe how,

how equipped he was.

And I remember saying,

"Boy, this guy is going
to be around a long time."

♪ Forever ♪

[George Michael] I really
am not in the business of

selling myself anymore.

When I do it,
I want to do it properly.

♪ She takes the back
road and the lane ♪

♪ Past the school
that has not changed ♪

♪ In all this time ♪

When he does up tempo,
it's full of joy.

And when he does sorrow,
which is the true mark
of a great singer,

you can hear the pain
and everything.

He's a brilliant
singer of lyrics.

It's an extraordinary
talent to have.

♪ Just to give him life ♪

♪ That man ♪

♪ She loved that man ♪

♪ For all his life ♪

I absolutely definitely
know that George Michael

fits into the category of a
great artist, a great performer.

♪ And the rosebuds know to
bloom in early may ♪

♪ Now I know deep... ♪

You hear pain, you hear joy.

You can hear everything
in George Michael.

♪ And I'll be
loving you always ♪

♪ Until the rainbow burns
the stars out of the sky ♪

[Stevie Wonder] Mary J Blige
and George Michael
doing As was amazing.

The marriage of the two of
them was just a magical, um

experience of that song.

And I was in awe
when I heard it.

♪ I'll be loving you ♪

I know him as an
extremely gifted artist

and I embrace the records

that he made with
Aretha and Whitney.

Probably my two
greatest vocalists.

♪ If we take this chance ♪

♪ Next thing to
each other romance ♪

[James Corden] You wanna watch
him, you're interested in him,

you wanna listen to him.
You want to know what
he's got to say.

The impact that's he's had,

you have to see when
you go to his concerts.

You have to really see it.

It is phenomenal.

So would you like one more song?

The word I think I'm
hearing the most is...

♪ Freedom! ♪

♪ Freedom! ♪

♪ Freedom! ♪

♪ You've gotta give
for what you take ♪

♪ Freedom! ♪

♪ Freedom! ♪

[Mark Ronson] You play
somebody a record like Freedom.

That music is gonna

continue to mean
something to people like,

as long as it's heard.

♪ Freedom! ♪

And that's why you get to
have a three decade career.

♪ All we have to do now ♪

♪ Is take these lies ♪

♪ And make them true ♪

♪ Somehow ♪

♪ All we have to see ♪

♪ Is that I don't
belong to you ♪

♪ And you don't belong to me, ♪

♪ Yeah yeah ♪

♪ Freedom! ♪

♪ Freedom! ♪

♪ Freedom! ♪

♪ You've gotta give
for what you take ♪

♪ Freedom! ♪

♪ Freedom! ♪

♪ Freedom! ♪

♪ You've gotta give
for what you take ♪

♪ You've gotta give
for what you take ♪

♪ May not be what
you want from me ♪

[soft music plays]

[Jim Forbes] What would
you be hoping for as
a way to be remembered?

You mean what would
I like written on my...

[Jim Forbes]
No, let's not go that far.

- Okay.
- [Jim Forbes] But I mean

what would you hope the legacy
that's attached to your name is?

Great songwriter, you know,

and um.

I think two things, one...

you know, great singer
songwriter from a period of time

which I don't think
would be, um,

we'll be seeing again. You know,
I don't think youth culture

will produce people
like myself and Madonna

and Prince. I don't think it's
going to do that anymore.

Um, I think it's
too fragmented now.

So I'd like to be
remembered as one of those
last kind of big stars

in the sense that

there was a certain
glamour to it.

But really it's just the songs.

And I hope that people
think of me as someone who
had some kind of integrity.

I hope I'm remembered for that.

Very unlikely.

Things would've
been a waste of time,

[laughs] waste of effort.

["A Different Corner" playing]

♪ I'd say love was
a magical thing ♪

♪ I'd say love would
keep us from pain ♪

♪ Had I been there ♪

♪ Had I been there ♪

♪ I would promise
you all of my life ♪

♪ But to lose you would
cut like a knife ♪

♪ So I don't dare ♪

♪ No, I don't dare ♪

♪ 'Cause I've never
come close ♪

♪ In all of these years ♪

♪ You are the only
one to stop my tears ♪

♪ And I'm so scared ♪

♪ I'm so scared ♪

♪ Take me back in time
maybe I can forget ♪

♪ Turn a different corner ♪

♪ And we never would have met ♪

♪ Would you care? ♪

♪ Oh, I don't understand it

♪ For you it's a breeze ♪

♪ Little by little ♪

♪ You've brought me ♪

♪ To my knees ♪

♪ Don't you care? ♪

♪ No, I've never come close ♪

♪ In all of these years ♪

♪ You are the only one
to stop my tears ♪

♪ I'm so scared ♪

♪ Of this love ♪

♪ And if all that there is ♪

♪ Is this fear of being used ♪

♪ I should go back
to being lonely ♪

♪ And confused ♪

♪ If I could ♪

♪ I would ♪

♪ I swear ♪

♪ Oh ♪

♪ I swear ♪

♪ If I could ♪

♪ I would ♪

♪ I swear ♪