Photographer Brian Aris will be publishing a compilation of George Michael photos in his book, Celebrating George, with photos ranging from the Wham! days with Andrew Ridgeley to George’s solo days.
This stunning collection of photographs features iconic George Michael images throughout his career—including many never before published.
The man born as Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou hated being photographed, and that makes this volume such an unusual and beautiful tribute to one of the music world’s most beloved stars. First meeting when he shot Wham!, Brian Aris gained George’s trust and subsequently enjoyed unprecedented access to document the complex and sensitive character behind one of pop’s most talented and consummate artists.
Dreaming of stardom from an early age, George achieved popularity first with Wham! and later reached heights of even greater success after re-creating himself as a serious solo artist with songs and music videos that remain iconic to this day. Tragically, he died on Christmas Day 2016 at just fifty-three.
With text documenting George’s life and Brian’s memories of his sessions and meetings with the star, together with iconic shots, contact sheets, and previously unseen images, this is an amazing, heartfelt tribute to one of the world’s most likable and talented performers who is one of the all-time immortal greats of pop music.
Brian Aris describes his time photographing George Michael:
“From the early days, when he first burst on the scene in 1981 as one half of Wham!, the pop duo he formed with Andrew Ridgeley, to the later years when he went on to enjoy even greater worldwide success as a sophisticated and glamorous solo artist, George was always fascinating to work with.”
Melanie is the co-founder of Yours Only George and has been the webmaster of the site since 1997. Melanie has been a George Michael and Wham! fan since "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" in 1984.
A few of you might remember my complaining last year that there was no 40th anniversary celebration of Wham!’s historic trip to China in 1985. Well, it looks like we might be getting a treat in 2026.
In 1985, George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley of the duo Wham! became the first Western pop act to perform in communist China. It’s a much talked about publicity stunt by Simon Napier-Bell to make Wham! a household name worldwide.
According to a press release, Zinc Media Group plc announced the completion of a new feature-length, 90-minute documentary produced for Sony Music Entertainment telling the story of WHAM!’s historic 1985 tour of China:
Wham! 10 Days in China uses newly restored and previously unseen archive footage alongside new interviews with Andrew Ridgeley to reveal the full story of the first Western pop act to perform in communist China. The concerts in Beijing and Guangzhou marked a significant cultural moment as Western pop music was introduced to Chinese audiences for the first time.
With the restored footage and exclusive interviews with Andrew Ridgeley and members of the touring party, the documentary will be a long-awaited look at the unseen footage.
The new documentary is directed by Mike Christie (Nick Cave’s Veiled World, New Order: Decades).
“The existence of this footage has been a mystery for years, spoken about in fragments but never truly seen. The story of the tour is intensely dramatic and finding a way to tell it in a form that the Wham! collective felt was finally worth pursuing has been a real honour.”
In the 1980s, a Wham! in China documentary was released. In fact, there are two versions of the original Wham! in China documentary. Oscar-winning filmmaker, Lindsay Anderson, was originally hired to create the documentary. Because of conflicts, Lindsay Anderson’s version has been rarely seen, except for a screening of Wham in China: If You Were There in May of 2024. More information on the conflict is available in the previous link.
Melanie is the co-founder of Yours Only George and has been the webmaster of the site since 1997. Melanie has been a George Michael and Wham! fan since "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" in 1984.
Today is George Michael’s birthday. It would have been his 62nd birthday if he had been alive. George Michael was born on June 25, 1963.
As many fans understand, I struggle with his birthday every year. Since I was younger than George Michael when he was alive, I recently discovered that I am now older than George Michael will ever be. That is a difficult thing to recognize at this point in my life. Does anyone else feel that way?
This year has personally been a very rough year for me. For the few of you who still visit the site know, I have been contemplating whether I will keep the Yours Only George site open. The site is only earning a few cents a day, which does not cover my costs, and I just don’t know how I can keep it open long-term without figuring out how to get more traffic. I have worked very hard this year to update older parts of the site, despite a few disgruntled fans causing me heartache about the things that currently aren’t updated.
Last year, I posted my happiest and saddest moments for the 28 years that Yours Only George has been online. Obviously, the saddest moment was learning that George Michael would no longer be with us to share his smart and humorous personality, nor his gift for writing and singing songs that defined a generation.
To keep the spirit of George Michael alive for the George Michael fans, I have started a feature called “On this day” on Facebook, X, Threads, and Bluesky, pointing to things that have happened to George Michael through the years. I have forgotten about so many of these things, and it’s so fun to read about them again. Usually, these pages are also updated, which helps me keep things more up to date.
For those of you who were on the mailing list through Feedburner/Google, I have moved the mailing list to Follow.it. You should have received a message asking you to confirm that would you like to continue receiving e-mails. If you’re new to the site, you can subscribe here.
Please consider sharing information about the site, as it helps me pay the bills and keep the site open.
Thanks for your support over the last 28 years!
I hope you all find a special way to celebrate George Michael’s birthday and life today!
Melanie Webmaster Yours Only George
About Melanie
Melanie is the co-founder of Yours Only George and has been the webmaster of the site since 1997. Melanie has been a George Michael and Wham! fan since "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" in 1984.
George Michael’s “Careless Whisper” is #1 on 2025’s All Time Top 500 for Smooth Radio. It is the seventh year in a row that “Careless Whisper” has topped the chart, and the eighth year at #1.
Andrew Ridgeley spoke to Smooth Radio about “Careless Whisper” reaching number one for the eighth year:
In the top 10, George Michael’s “A Different Corner” ranked at #3 for another year and “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” George’s duet with Elton John, moved up two spots to the #9 spot.
George Michael Rankings in Smooth’s Top 500
George Michael had a total of 19 songs in Smooth’s Top 500. Most songs moved up in the rankings, with the exception of “One More Try” and “The Edge of Heaven.” Here is the ranking:
#1 “Careless Whisper”
#3 “A Different Corner” (same as last year)
#9 “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” (duet with Elton John) (moved up from #11 last year)
#23 “Jesus to a Child” (moved up from #31 last year)
#32 “Father Figure” (moved up from #48 last year)
#56 “Somebody to Love” (with Queen) (moved up from #80 last year)
#67 “FastLove” (moved up from #104 last year)
#82 “Club Tropicana” (moved up from #105 last year)
#86 “Praying for Time” (moved up from #138 last year)
#97 “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” (moved up from #140 last year)
#105 “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” (duet with Aretha Franklin) (moved up from #114 last year)
#108 “Faith” (moved up from #116 last year)
#110 “One More Try” (dropped from #109 last year)
#114 “Everything She Wants” (moved up from #178 last year)
#117 “Freedom 90” (moved up from #169 last year)
#138 “I’m Your Man” (moved up from #163 last year)
#274 “As” (duet with Mary J. Blige) (moved up from #313 last year)
#288 “Freedom” (moved up from #320 last year)
#323 “The Edge of Heaven” (dropped from #284 last year)
“Heal the Pain” dropped out of the Top 500 this year. Last year it was #453.
Melanie is the co-founder of Yours Only George and has been the webmaster of the site since 1997. Melanie has been a George Michael and Wham! fan since "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" in 1984.
“As It Was” written by Kid Harpoon, Tyler Johnson and Harry Styles and performed by Harry Styles
“Houdini” written by Caroline Ailin, Danny L Harle, Tobias Jesso Jnr, Dua Lipa and Kevin Parker and performed by Dua Lipa
“Prada” written by D-Block Europe, Obi Ebele (Da Beatfreakz), Uche Ebele (Da Beatfreakz), Jahmori “Jaymo” Simmons and RAYE and performed by Cassö, RAYE and D-Block Europe
“Stargazing” written by Peter Fenn, Jesse Fink and Myles Smith and performed by Myles Smith
George Michael is no stranger to Ivor Novello awards. In 1985, he won Songwriter of the Year and Most Performed Work for “Careless Whisper.” In 1989, he won Songwriter of the Year and International Hit of the Year for “Faith.” In 1997, he won Songwriter of the Year and Most Performed Work for “Fastlove”.
When George Michael first won an Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year in 1985, he was visibly emotional, and according to the official site, George regarded it as one of the most significant achievements of his career.
“It was the first proper sign from within the industry that what I was doing was actually worthwhile. And that was the reason that I got so emotional,” George Michael said about winning his first Ivor Novello Award.
Read more about the 40th anniversary of “Last Christmas” in the following articles:
Melanie is the co-founder of Yours Only George and has been the webmaster of the site since 1997. Melanie has been a George Michael and Wham! fan since "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" in 1984.
