George's highs and lows

22 September 2008 01:08pm

George Michael has enjoyed one of the most successful and enduring careers in the music business.

He has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, with seven US number-one singles, 11 number-one British singles and six number-one albums.

But behind the commercial success the singer's private life has not always run smoothly.

He spent years refusing to comment on his sexuality but in 1998 was forced to "come out" after being arrested in public toilets in Beverly Hills, California for engaging in a lewd act.

The incident forced him to openly disclose his homosexuality and his relationship with American Kenny Goss.

He recently admitted in an interview that his late 20s had been a very depressing time for him after he lost his partner, Anselmo Feleppa, to HIV and his mother died some time later.

He said: "I had my very first relationship at 27 because I really had not actually come to terms with my sexuality until I was 24.

"I lost my partner to HIV then it took about three years to grieve; then after that I lost my mother. I felt almost like I was cursed."

In October 2006 he was found slumped over the wheel of his car. Last May he pleaded guilty to driving while unfit through drugs and was banned from driving for two years.

Michael shot to fame in the 80s with schoolmate Andrew Ridgeley, the other half of Wham!

They had a string of hits including Wham Rap, Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, Freedom and I'm Your Man.

In 1986 the duo split up and Michael pursued a solo career. His first solo album, Faith, released in 1988, was a success with both the critics and music fans, selling in excess of 10 million copies.

But the singer spent most of the early 1990s locked in a legal fight with his record company Sony which prevented him from recording any fresh material.

The legal battle was finally ended when Virgin and Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks paid Sony 40 million dollars - £23.8 million - to release him from a multi-album deal.

He returned to music with the single Jesus To A Child, which gave him his first solo Number One hit for seven years. The single was taken off the album, Older, which made history after giving Michael six top three hits.

After a 15 year absence he took to the stage for a two-year tour - Live -- which concluded in the UK with two shows in August this year, and included one UK date which was a free gig exclusively for NHS nurses, after he was so impressed with how some of them looked after his mother as she faced death.

Last year he announced that he would never make another album for sale in record shops and intended to put all future songs on the internet for free. He also announced he was unlikely to tour again, saying he thought he was too old to be a pop star. "Mainly the reason is because I'm 45 and I think pop music should be about youth culture. It shouldn't be an endurance test," he said.

© The Press Association