"My George Michael Interview"
July 2003:
"So are you doing any promotion for the new album?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'll be doing some interviews around Europe and TV/radio," he explained.
"So I wouldn't get one?" I blurted out.
"So you wouldn't get one?" he repeated, looking at me, "You mean an interview?"
I knew I was in way over my head, considered joking it off, but ended up nodding. If you don't ask etc.
"It will obviously just be about the music, as I think the controversial matters have been fairly well documented in the past!" I continued, trying to strengthen my case a bit.
He kept looking at me, rubbing his goatee.
"Yeah, why not?"
"What?" I asked, probably looking shocked beyond reason.
"At the time of release," he smiled.
Still trying to figure out what the hell had just happened, I somehow managed to ask who I should contact. He asked me for a pen and paper, after searching his car, I got both. He wrote down the name and number of his PA and that was it.
January 2004:
"So, George, how about that interview?" I asked. "All of your people are suddenly giving me the run-around."
He said, "I'll tell you what, call me tomorrow and we'll set something up for the end of the week."
So I did and he asked, "How about Saturday at four?" January 24th at four it was, then.
It turned out this was the first interview he was going to do for the new album. Unfortunately it was cut short, for reasons beyond both mine and George's control, but I had enough to publish the first article in Norway.
Not only did I get a full page in a left-wing political newspaper that rarely do music pieces, I also got a front page. "Politics & Music"
...the Norwegian article
...the English translation
"Political Perfectionist"
Making his new album has not been a smooth ride for George Michael: rejections of songs from industry people; a foray into politics that saw various newspapers try to destroy his career; and a loss of musical inspiration.
Musician George Michael, has been practically living at Sir George Martin’s Air Studios in Hampstead, London since January 2003, writing and recording his new album, Patience. If that sounds unusually long to you, you’d be right - this is an all-time record for the studio that opened in 1992. All good things must come to an end, though, and on the last Sunday in January of this year, the time had finally come for the artist to bite the bullet, and wrap up his album that he says has taken five years of his life to complete. George Michael was still working on his album when Klassekampen met him at the studio.
- There’s a lot of overtime. We work right up to the deadline which is... tomorrow!
BIG EXPECTATIONS
Since re-signing with Sony Music late last year, there has been a tremendous buzz surrounding Michael’s new album, Patience, his first since 1996’s Older. Although many didn’t realise it at the time, Older was George Michael’s “coming out” album, dedicated to his first long-term gay partner Anselmo Feleppa who died of AIDS related illness in 1993. Musically the tone of that album was sombre, coinciding as it did with Michael’s grieving process for the person that he came to believe was the one true love of his life.
On Patience, Michael continues where Older left off with personal lyrics that very much catalogue his life in the intervening period since the last album. On the song Amazing, he’s chose to provide an intimate insight into his relationship to Kenny Goss, partner of eight years.
The 14 track album also includes titles like Please Sent Me Someone (Anselmo’s Song), Precious Box, John And Elvis Are Dead, American Angel and My Mother Had A Brother. At over 70 minutes in duration it’s a long album, but it doesn’t include any cover songs as fillers.
– Aftter such a long time I felt I owed it to those who have been waiting for years, to give them an album of all original material, he says.
POLITICALLY INVOLVED
But making this album has not been a smooth ride for George Michael: rejections of songs from industry people; a foray into politics that saw various newspapers try to destroy his career; and a loss of musical inspiration. Originally, Michael had intended his album to be an entirely up-tempo affair.
– I wanted to make a killer dance album before I was 40, he says.
When this plan fell to pieces, the next idea was to make the album a series of social commentaries on modern life. Unsure about the best way to proceed contractually, Michael decided to sign a one single deal with Universal Music. He released the first of these commentaries, Freeek!, in 2002, a song about the easy access that that children have to pornography on the Internet. The song was not particularly well-received, and Michael’s large 30-something female fan base in particular were not impressed. But this negative reaction was nothing, compared to his decision to get political.
ABOUT TERROR
At the very moment that the first terrorist plane hit the twin towers in New York, Michael had been trying to complete another social commentary song, this time about the problems with terrorism that he thought -political instability in the Middle East would cause the Western World. The song came to be called Shoot The Dog.
– I was working on this song, trying to finish it, but didn’t really know what I was going to do with it. Then my sound engineer called me into a room with a TV in saying “You’re not going to believe this…”
Against the strong advice of Universal Music and other advisors, Michael insisted on releasing the song in the aftermath of the terrorist attack. It was accompanied by a video satirising Tony Blair and George Bush. Even Michael was shocked by the response:
– Newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch in the US and UK were scathing in their attacks, using headlines such as Washed Up Pervert. What really hurt, though, is that not one single artist stood up to support me.
Months later, as a coalition of armed forces led by the US and UK completed final preparations for launching their attack on Iraq, Michael put all thoughts of music on hold, as he trailed around television stations giving interviews about why he believed the war to be wrong. He seemed to believe that he could persuade Blair and Bush to pull back from going to war. He didn’t seem to care so much about his musical career any longer. At the time of the release of Shoot The Dog, he had been adamant he was not going to let the press destroy him without a fight. But by the time that war was imminent, he said
– I’ve had 20 good years, and at this point, if my career suffers then to be honest that’s not the most important thing. The looming war was clearly troubling Michael. So much so that, unknown to the public, he had lost his musical inspiration.
NEW INSPIRATION
It was in the midst of this that Kenny Goss reminded him that what people really wanted from his was music, and Michael hurriedly recorded a cover of Don McLean’s The Grave that was made available to the masses. And he did his first performance on Top Of The Pops for the first time in 17 years.
– My Inspiration returned I was determined to make an album that would satisfy the audience.
The album juxtaposes electronic sounds with live instruments; ballads with up-tempo numbers; in equal measure, very much marking a return to his classic style.
– The album is a lot more radio friendly than before, explains the singer.
– You haven’t been on a tour since 1991. What now?
He grins widely.
– A tour? Well, I’ve at least booked Wembley Arena near the end of 2004.