Although George Michael didn’t show up for the playback of Symphonica at Hamilton’s Gallery in Mayfair yesterday, there were still plenty of articles about the event and the new CD.

George Michael’s PR company is calling the exhibition of photographs taken by his long-term collaborator, Caroline True, and the playback of the album, A Four-Day Celebration.

The Daily Mirror focused on David Austin’s comment that George has quit cannabis: “He has not smoked dope for over a year and a half now. It has completely changed his life.” He also mentioned George’s accident on the M1 last year: “That was just an unfortunate accident – that is all that was.”

The Guardian’s article George Michael’s Symphonica: five things we learned looked at the music:

Billed as his sixth studio album and the follow-up to 2004’s Patience, Symphonica is basically a slightly confused live album. On the one hand we learn that the string arrangements were recorded in a studio, and there are photos of Michael in a studio environment working on the album with the legendary producer Phil Ramone, but on the other we’re told that live vocals from each of the shows on the tour were sent over to Ramone who then selected the best ones and arranged the songs from there.

The Times only gave Symphonica 3 out of 5 stars, saying, “And his new album, his first since 2004’s Patience, is not really a new album at all.”

The Daily Mail has the photographs of all the celebrities attending the event, with the main focus on Hannah Janes, the model in the “Let Her Down Easy” video. Other photos include Jack, George’s father, and Shirlie Kemp.