"LWP" was released in 1990, but his record company Sony didn´t like his change of image - again - and didn't do the best they could, and it didn´t sell as good as it could have - even though it went amazingly well for a CD with no promotion and very few videos. It also won "Best Album" in 1991, and George's speech was something like this: "I've never made an album that sounds like 'Listen Without Prejudice' before. When I came up with the title for the album, I was warned by a lot of people that it looked like I was saying don't be prejudiced against me. But what I was talking about was that the album should be listened to by all types and races. In the mid 1980's black and white crossover music was a real hip thing to do, but now it seems quite the opposite. You're supposed to know who you're aiming your music at and who you should be listening to, depending on your colour." Things made George think about the contract that he signed as an 18 year old boy, and didn't want this anymore. The contract would mean that SONY would own all of his work for the next 30 years, and if SONY didn't like his music it would never see the light of day. He wanted out of the contract. But it wasn't supposed to be that easy, and even though he asked to be released from his contract, they wouldn't release him. They knew he'd made them millions of £ and everyone would think the contract was over - because he'd already stayed with them for all these years. But SONY didn't want to lose their best income, and because of that he spent 3 years in court fighting them. George: "Since Sony Corporation bought my contract, along with everything else and everyone else at CBS, I have seen the great American company that I proudly signed to as a teenager become a small part of the production line for a giant electronics corporation which, quite frankly, has to understanding of the creative process. Sony appears to see artists asa little more than software. Musicians do not come in regimented shapes and sizes but are individuals who evolve together. Sony views this as a great inconvenience." Sony: "Our contract with George is valid and legally binding. There is a serious moral as well as legal commitment to any contract, and we will not only honour it but vigorously defend it." He lost: "I'm shocked at the judgement. It means that even though I both created and paid for my work, I will never own it or have any rights over it. And perhaps most importantly, I have no right to resign. In fact, there is no such thing as resignation of an artist in the music industry. However, I'm convinced that the English legal system will not uphold what is effectively professional slavery." Finally, they ended up with what George had asked for 3 years before - they sold his contract to someone else. Later he accused the judge of being homophobic and that he was paid off by SONY - who wanted this to be "the final" battle for him. But even though he lost a lot of time and money he was free at last.                                                       He was working on an album - "Listen Without Prejudice vol.ll" - but because of the courtcase it never saw the light of day. It was mean to be a double album at first, one with ballads, one with upbeat tunes. The first one was "LWP Vol I" - the last one was never released. In the video called "George Michael" he performed "Praying for time" and here's a pic in which I think he looks GORGEOUS!