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George Michael News from 1997

December 19, 1997

According to ÆGEAN NET, the Members Online CD won't be available to order until January 13th because of problems they had while testing the system.


December 17, 1997

The Trading Post at ÆGEAN NET is now completely open. It has CDs, cassettes, t-shirts, baseball caps, a mouse pad, a key chain, and a record bag. For more information, visit the ÆGEAN website or write to sales@aegean.net.


December 15, 1997

Fans will be able to become members of ÆGEAN NET's Members Online on December 20, 1997.

Many fans received an e-mail from ÆGEAN president, Andreas Georgiou, today. Mr. Georgiou welcomed everyone to ÆGEAN Members Online and addressed a number of issues. In summary, he:

  • Thanked the fans for their patience and explained that developing the official George Michael Fan Club online was more complicated than they anticipated.
  • Said that membership in the fan club will give information about George, including his upcoming tour. (The first show will be announced in the "Æ Secrets" section of Members Online.)

Trading Post at ÆGEAN NET is now open. It currently has an ÆGEAN NET mouse pad, key chain, and record bag available. The minimum order is 15 pounds. More items will be available.


November 10, 1997

George is once again leading the pack on the Internet. This time he is the first artist to have his fan club (Members Online) exclusively on the web, according to this week's DotMusic.

Members Online will begin on November 12th; it will include demos, unreleased recordings and links to George Michael fan-created websites.

Although Andreas Georgiou, president of ÆGEAN, acknowledges that not all fans own a computer, he believes that they can find a way to get access to a computer, possibly through school or cyber cafes. (A note from the Yours Only George editor: If you know fans without a computer, tell them that local libraries sometimes have free access to the Internet too.) The article also details how ÆGEAN has spent the last year closing down official and unofficial mail order clubs that were shortchanging the fans.

The membership will be 21.99 pounds a year. Once they have subscribed, fans will receive a CD-Rom that will give them access to the Members Online area of the ÆGEAN website.

Another article in the same issue of Dotmusic, gave Dreamworks' take on the "relative dismissal" of Older in North America. In a letter to his fans at the ÆGEAN site, George had blamed Dreamworks for his lack of sales in the U.S. Dreamworks, in turn, has blamed George, saying that success in the U.S. requires heavy promotion and public appearances, which George has decided not to do. Nonetheless, Older & Upper will be released worldwide, as reported earlier. (In Yogmæl, Shirlie said that it will be released on December 1st. We don't think this release date is for North America because George's letter [see November 1, 1997 News] says that it will be released in Dreamworks territory in the "new year.")

Also of note is that George did not win "Best Male" at the MTV Europe Music Awards. Jon Bon Jovi won instead.


November 1, 1997

The ÆGEAN web channel premiered phase 2 of its website today. For those of you unable to view the ÆGEAN channels, you may wish to look at our totally update page dedicated to the ÆGEAN site, which is in our ÆGEAN links section.

In the Artists channel of the ÆGEAN site, George wrote a beautiful, touching letter for his fans:

Hi everyone,

Just thought I should say thank you to you all for your unbelievable support over the years, and tell you that I am very touched by the various and impressive sites that I have found all over the Internet. Never thought I'd say it, but I am truly hooked on the web! The hours of browsing have further confirmed that my supporters are a very special group of people. Thank you especially for your messages of concern after my Mother's death earlier in the year, they were thoughtful and genuinely helped me.

Another reason for this letter is to thank you for bearing with us at ÆGEAN.NET as we find our feet on the Internet. We have taken longer than planned to put a members page together, but believe me when it arrives you will see that the wait was worth it. In addition to the regular George Michael site we also have very exciting plans to bring music to you with some unbelievably good new technology, (but more of that later).

Lastly and probably most importantly, I would like to apologise to many of my fans, especially those in the U.S.A, for the lack of availability of my work in your country, and I hope that you all realise that the relative dismissal of 'Older' in America, (especially considering its great success in the rest of the world), is just as bewildering to me as it is to you. I am afraid that my time so far with Dreamworks has been a frustrating and disappointing one. However, largely as a result of your comments ,not to mention a visit to the Virgin record store in Los Angeles earlier this year which revealed a singles chart with various import singles of mine at numbers 1, 2, 8, and 9, (Thank you Los Angeles!!!),in the new year I have asked Dreamworks to release a new double cd package of 'Older' (at a price as close to the original price as the retailers will allow) which will include my own remixed versions of 'Star People' and 'Strangest Thing', the forthright remix of 'Spinning The Wheel', 'Fastlove part 2', and two b-sides, 'Safe' and 'You Know That I Want To'. As for the two remaining songs as yet unreleased in America, ('Desifinado' and 'I Can't Make You Love Me'), they will be included on next year's 'Best Of' album. My apologies to those of you that were keen enough to buy the imported singles over the last year, but there are still a lot of people out there who have no idea that this stuff even exists, so I think it's a good idea to get it out there. Hopefully it will be distributed and made easy to get hold of by Dreamworks in January.....

It only remains to thank you all again, and hopefully see you when I tour beginning at the end of next year!!!

Love and thanks,

George Michael


October 30, 1997

According to Business Age magazine, George Michael ranks 11th among the richest British rock stars, with an estimated wealth of 95 million pounds. The list was compiled by analyzing the company accounts, record sales and other earnings of all major British pop acts over the past 35 years. (It also looks like he's the youngest of the richest top 20.)

The British pop top 20 are: 1. David Bowie - 550 million pounds; 2. Sir Paul McCartney - 520 million; 3. Tom Jones - 275 million; 4. Phil Collins - 220 million; 5. Elton John - 200 million; 6. Mick Jagger - 135 million; 7. Eric Clapton - 120 million; 8. George Harrison - 105 million; 9. Gordon Sumner (Sting) - 97 million; 10. Keith Richards - 96 million; 11. George Michael - 95 million; 12. Ringo Starr - 93 million; 13. Mark Knopfler - 85 million; 14. Dave Gilmour - 75 million; 15. Roger Waters - 70 million; 16. Rod Stewart - 66 million; 17. Robert Plant - 60 million; 18. Jimmy Page - 55 million; 19. Sir Cliff Richard - 52 million; 20. Charlie Watts - 50 million. ($1 = 0.599 British Pounds)

George will contribute "You Have Been Loved" to the upcoming Diana, Princess of Wales - Tribute CD. It will be released by the The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund on December 1, 1997.

The double CD listing is as follows (an "a" means that it is an exclusive track to the Tribute CD):

Album One

1. Queen - "Who Wants To Live Forever" 2. George Michæl - "You Have Been Loved" 3. Annie Lennox - "Angel" (a) 4. Sinead O Connor - "Make Me A Channel of Your Peace" (a) 5. U2/Pavarotti - "Miss Sarajevo" 6. Bryan Ferry - "Shakespeare's Sonnet No. 18" (a) 7. Paul McCartney - "Little Willow" 8. Eric Clapton - "Tears In Heaven" 9. R.E.M. - "Everybody Hurts" 10. Bruce Springsteen - "Streets of Philadelphia" 11. Neil Finn - "Don't Dream It's Over" (a) 12. The Pretenders - "Hymn To Her" 13. Rod Stewart - "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" (a) 14. Peter Gabriel - "In the Sun" (a) 15. Enya - "Watermark" 16. Barbra Streisand - "Love Theme From `A Star Is Born' ("Evergreen")" 17. Red Hot R&B All Stars - "Every Nation" (a) 18. Aretha Franklin - "I'll Fly Away" (a)

Album Two

1. Puff Daddy - "I'll Be Missing You" 2. Celine Dion - "Because You Loved Me" 3. Michael Jackson - "Gone Too Soon" 4. Whitney Houston - "You Were Loved" 5. Des'ree - "You've Gotta Be" 6. Mariah Carey - "Hero" (Live Version)(a) 7. Seal - "Prayer For The Dying" 8. Diana Ross - "Missing You" 9. Bee Gees - "Wish You Were Here" 10. Toni Braxton with Kenny G - "How Could An Angel Break My Heart" 11. Tina Turner - "Love Is A Beautiful Thing"(a) 12. Cliff Richard - "All That Matters"(a) 13. Spice Girls - "Mama" 14. Gloria Estefan - "Don't Wanna Lose You" 15. Simply Red - "Stars" 16. Placido Domingo/Michael Bolton - "Ave Maria" 17. Lesley Garrett - "Pavane"(a) 18. Chicken Shed Theatre Co. - "I'm In Love With the World"(a)

The new Older & Upper CD will include "extra tracks, enhancement of four videos, and a showcase of George Michæl Web pages," according to Yogmæl and Gnotes.


October 28, 1997

The ÆGEAN website will be premiering Phase 2 of their website on November 1st. For those of you unable to view the ÆGEAN, we will be updating our links page dedicated to ÆGEAN as soon as possible.

Older and Upper (also known as The Special Edition) will include an interactive element on the second CD, along with the songs as reported earlier. (Thanks to Yogmæl and Gnotes.)

George is being listed as one of the singers having contributed to the Princess Diana Tribute CD. The CD will be released on December 1st.


October 4, 1997

The release date for "Everything She Wants 97" is October 27th in the UK-- according to EQS.


September 30, 1997

ÆGEAN (George's record label) is on the move again and setting new standards on the 'Net. Read more about it in the Dotmusic article, "AEGEAN Jump in for Liquid Audio Downloads".

George was nominated for a CableAce Award this year for his performance with Stevie Wonder at the VH1 Honors program in the category of "Performance in a Music Special or Series." The awards are announced on November 14th and 15th in Los Angeles. (Thanks to Yogmæl.)


September 27, 1997

Here is the track listing for the new 'Older' 'Upper' CD.

OLDER UPPER
Jesus to a Child FastLove Part II
FastLove Spinning the Wheel forthright mix
Older Star People '97 radio version
Spinning the Wheel The Strangest Thing '97 radio version
It Doesn't Really Matter You Know That I Want To
The Strangest Thing Safe
To Be Forgiven
Move On
Star People
You Have Been Loved
Free

September 26, 1997

It looks like the rumors about a Wham! Reunion are false.

The new 'Older' 'Upper' CD will be released on November 17 (and of course it's NOT being released in North America.) Yogmæl is getting clarification on the song list at the moment. It looks like it will have all the "b" sides from singles.

MTV news reported that LL Cool J is sampling "Father Figure." (Thanks to Yogmæl.)

PA News recently had an article about the program "An Audience with... Elton John." (George was scheduled to appear, but was sick at the time.) During the show, the Spice Girls asked Elton who he would have in his version of the Spice Boys. Of course, he named George... and George could be called Hairy Spice.

The single "You Have Been Loved" reached the #2 spot in the UK, held back from the #1 spot by Elton John's beautiful tribute to Princess Diana, "Candle in the Wind."

Here is the updated track listings of the Wham! Greatest Hits. (Thanks to Gnotes.)

If You Were There The Edge of Heaven
I'm Your Man Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)
Everything She Wants Young Guns
Club Tropicana Last Christmas
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go Where Did Your Heart Go?
Like A Baby Everything She Wants '97
Freedom I'm Your Man '96
A Ray of Sunshine

September 18, 1997

Rumors are flying that George and Andy (our beloved Wham!) will reunite in concert in December.

The song list (at the moment) for the upcoming Wham! Greatest Hits collection, If You Were There, is very similar to The Final. (For those living in North America, The Final was Wham!'s final [double] album, which included new tracks [at the time] and their greatest hits. In North America, we got Music From the Edge of Heaven because Wham! had only had one successful album in North America and thus couldn't release a greatest hits double album.) Here's a side by side comparison.

The Final If You Were There
Wham! Rap (12") Wham! Rap
Young Guns (12") Young Guns (Go For It!)
Bad Boys (12") A Ray of Sunshine
Club Tropicana Club Tropicana
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
Careless Whisper (12") If You Were There
Freedom Freedom
Last Christmas (12") Last Christmas
Everything She Wants (12") Everything She Wants
I'm Your Man (Extended Stimulation) I'm Your Man
Blue (Armed with Love) Like A Baby
A Different Corner Everything She Wants '97
Battlestations Unnamed Song? (Assuming 15 tracks)
Where Did Your Heart Go? Where Did Your Heart Go?
The Edge of Heaven The Edge of Heaven

(Thanks to Amanda of Yogmæl for asking Shirlie of Ægean for this information.)

Last but not least, George has been nominated as Best Male at the MTV Europe Music Awards.


September 15, 1997

The Wham! Greatest Hits CD will be entitled, If You Were There. It will have 15 Wham! hits and a new version of "Everything She Wants."


September 2, 1997

MTV had part of George's statement about the tragic loss of Princess Diana:

MTV: "Many of the tributes coming in are from the numerous stars she met in her years on the world's stage. One musician Diana had a particularly close friendship with was George Michæl. The two met at the AIDS Trust Charity Concert of Hope. The Princess was the patron of the charity. In a statement, George says, 'She was truly the greatest ambassador for compassion and humanity in modern times, and we can only hope her memory will inspire many of us to pursue those qualities in our own lives.'"


September 1, 1997

According to Yogmæl and Shirlie of ÆGEAN:

  • The Wham! Greatest Hits CD will be released in late November. It is only a single album.
  • George's solo Greatest Hits CD will be released October or November of 1998. It will be a double album.
  • The "You Have Been Loved" video will be from the MTV Unplugged performance.
  • There will be a George Greatest Hits Video Compilation next year.
  • A tour will begin in late 1998.

August 30, 1997

According to postings from Shirlie (ÆGEAN) in Gnotes and Yogmæl, the next single in the U.K. will be "You Have Been Loved." It will be released in September. The tracks will be:

CD1:
  • "You Have Been Loved"
  • "The Strangest Thing 97" Radio Mix
  • "Praying For Time" Unplugged
  • "Father Figure" Unplugged
CD2:
  • "You Have Been Loved"
  • "The Strangest Thing 97" Radio Mix
  • "The Strangest Thing" Loop Ratz Mix

August 29, 1997

According to the Daily Mirror, George will be appearing as a guest at the September 14th taping of "An Audience with Elton John."


August 4, 1997

"The Strangest Thing" will be the next single off Older in the UK. Its release date is September 1st, according to EQS Music.


August 3, 1997

You can try out the high-tech, creative ÆGEAN chat at http://aegean.coloc.web.xara.net/chat/


July 31, 1997

According to the Daily Mirror, George was a guest at Tony Blair's Downing Street party last night (July 30).


July 24, 1997

This posting isn't news... The featured artist at Jon's Joint for this month is our very own George. There are midi files of "Too Funky," "Careless Whisper," "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," "Everything She Wants," "Faith," "FastLove," "Freedom," "The Edge of Heaven," "I'm Your Man," "Jesus to a Child," "One More Try," "Last Christmas," "Monkey," "Praying for Time," and "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go."


July 9, 1997

From the July 8, 1997, Daily Mirror:

"Stars Will Quiz Elton in TV Gala"

"SUPERSTAR Elton John is to be quizzed in a warts-and-all TV special. He will answer questions from top celebrities in An Audience With Elton John. Fergie, Rod Stewart and George Michæl will be among the guests in the ITV autumn spectacular."


June 25, 1997

Today is George's 34th Birthday. Happy Birthday, George!


June 24, 1997

At last Monday's British Interactive Multimedia Association awards, "FastLove" won for most performed work and George won for songwriter of the year.


June 15, 1997

ÆGEAN's newest band, Trigger, is working on their first video, according to the ÆGEAN site. Their first song is "Chameleon (Shed Your Skin)."


June 1997

In MTV's Top 500 of all time, George was in 7 videos.

  • "Faith" - #71
  • "Freedom '90" - #110
  • "Father Figure" - #161
  • "I Want Your Sex" - #221
  • "Do They Know It's Christmas" (Band Aid) - #294
  • "Careless Whisper" - #308
  • "Everything She Wants" - #458

May 30, 1997

At the 1996 Ivor Novello Awards, George won for Most Performed Work: Fast Love and Songwriter of the Year. He dedicated the award to his mother, Lesley.

George reportedly said, "I would like to thank my mother whose soul is in every note I have ever written."

He also is reported as saying, "The first time I received this award I cried, the second time I was p****d out of my head. I could have managed a nice combination of the two today - but the wine is not very nice."


May 18, 1997

For all of you who have missed it like we have, we'd like to tell you that the A Different Corner website is up and running again. Its new location is: http://www.noornet.com/~axatta/dcorner/


May 13, 1997

The AEGEAN Backstage area is now open. Here is the message they have:

"This area will contain CHAT ROOMS, behind-the-scenes NEWS, a VIP AREA FOR FAN CLUB MEMBERS only and an on-line SUBSCRIPTION FORM to join the Fan Club...

"If you would like to receive a postcard and an e-mail when this section is completed, just fill in your details below and we'll keep you informed."

Here is the direct link: Aegean: Official George Michæl Website


April 22, 1997

From the ÆGEAN Records site:

"Aegean Records' first release 'Waltz Away Dreaming' by Toby Bourke with George will be getting its first national network radio play in the UK on Sunday 27th of April at 7pm GMT. If you're not in the UK to hear it, get RealAudio Player and listen to it via the net at www.capitalfm.co.uk. The single is released in the UK on the 26th of May."


April 12, 1997

For pictures of George and Stevie Wonder at the VH-1 Honors, check out http://vh1.com/honors/webcast/s32097412.html


April 10, 1997

George will appear with Stevie Wonder at the VH-1 Honors. According to the VH-1 website, show times are as follows: April 11 at 9 PM; repeats April 11 at 11:30 PM, April 12 at 1 PM, April 13 at 6 PM, April 14 at 1 PM, April 15 at 12 AM, April 19 at 1 AM, April 19 at 9 PM, April 20 at 4 PM, and May 3 at 10 PM.


April 8, 1997

A clip of "Star People" (97 Mix) is available via RealAudio at Capital FM's website. From what we've heard, it's the best of all the mixes.


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