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» George Michael video parodies arrest «
By Richard John, Jam!Music - Showbiz, 2 November 1998 |
| Like something straight out of the Village People, George Michael dresses as a cop in his new video that makes light of his arrest last spring in a park bathroom. The six minute video for the top three UK single "Outside" - the first single from his forthcoming hits collection - opens with a grainy, cheezy Swedish soft-porn parody ('eine fulm bi Hüu Jarss', according to the credits) set in a toilet. The male lead (Klaus Hoöd), goes to kiss 'Cindy' (Heidi Kóchenblauer), and when he pulls away 'Cindy' has turned into a police officer. The scene then switches to Hollywood - the city where Michael was busted earlier this year. The actual video features a barrage of images of police in helicopters descending on couples performing sex acts in public places, including a ship, a truck and a rooftop. The video is rife with homo-erotic imagery and has been released in two slightly different versions: censored (aka 'pixellated version') and uncensored. The uncensored version features a brief glimpse of a woman receiving oral sex in an office, two male police officers kissing passionately, and two males rolling around in a dumpster. These clips are pixellated in the censored version. There's also a brief re-enactment of Michael's arrest April 7 - this time it's a straight couple going at it. Futher playing on Michael's well-publicized 'bust', one scene has a public restroom hilariously morphs into a disco, where Officer Michael and dancers perform most of the song. The video ends with a shot of a 'Jesus Saves' neon-sign and the words 'all of us. all'. The video makes its exclusive debut Wednesday on MTV. The video will reportedly be introduced by Michael. It should begin airing on MuchMusic and Musique Plus soon after. The British pop star pleaded no contest this past summer to committing a lewd act in a Los Angeles public bathroom. He paid an $810 fine and was ordered to undergo counseling and community service. It's unclear at press-time whether the 'Outside' video will be considered 'community service'. 'Outside', a strings-heavy, 'sound of Philadelphia' funk tune (think 'Fastlove' from 'Older'), is one of three new tracks Michael recorded for 'Ladies and Gentlemen... The Very Best Of George Michael', out November 10 on Sony. The other two new tracks are 'A Moment With You' and a cover of Stevie Wonder's 'As' (with Mary J. Blige). 'A Moment With You' is included on the new hits CD - possibly a second single from the collection. Release information on 'As' is yet to be determined as Blige's US label has barred a North American release of the track. The album - a 2CD hits collection that stretches all the way back to the days of Wham! - is the final nail in Michael's contractual woes with his former label Sony. His new album is due out some time in 1999 on Dreamworks/Universal (for North America) and Virgin (for the rest of the world). |
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» George Michael cancels world tour «
By Richard John, Jam!Music - Showbiz, 4 September 1998 |
| According to a report in the English tabloid, The Sun, George Michael has cancelled his forthcoming world tour. The tour, which was announced during an internet chat over the summer, was to commence in March 1999. It would have taken the multi-million selling British pop star around the world. The tour would be the singer's first in over eight years. The paper quoted a friend as saying: "George doesn't want to let his fans down, but he just can't cope with touring at the moment." According to the report, Michael is still trying to cope with a series of personal tragedies which include the deaths of both his mother last year and a close Brazilian male friend in 1994. Michael, who released Older on DreamWorks in 1996, is set to release a greatest hits album on Sony in November. He has recently completed three new tracks - the last for Sony - for this collection. |
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» George Michael bares all during Web chat «
By Richard John, Jam!Music - Showbiz, 1998 |
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Los Angeles, greatest hits, touring and sexuality. These are just a few of the subjects British superstar George Michael talked about during his first internet chat, live Thursday afternoon. Amidst server errors and false starts, Michael spent 90 minutes candidly answering all sorts of fan questions, from inane to strictly personal. Although the chat was billed as 'anything-goes' Michael warned at the start, "There are some things that are off-limits for the simple reason that I'm not here to feed the press tonight." LOS ANGELES A hot topic was Michael's recent arrest and fine in Los Angeles on lewd conduct charges. During the chat, he seemed relaxed and repeatedly joked about the events. Asked about his view on becoming a positive role model for gay youth, he jokingly responded, "I guess I don't really see myself as being a role model for anyone ... unless gay youths are looking for advice on how to get arrested, I suppose." The light-hearted atmosphere continued throughout the chat. Later, when asked what he had in his CD player, after a long pause, he answered, "Mezzanine by Massive Attack... me, me, and some more stuff by me." Michael even managed to get in a few light-hearted digs at the press during the chat. When a question arose about his reported plans to move to Ireland, he coyly responded, "sorry to disappoint Irish fans, but the press are LYING! I never saw the house, I don't have 80 million pounds and I've never been to Los Angeles!" NEW PROJECTS On the subject of upcoming projects, Michael alluded to both the new hits album and a tour. For the hits album, he said he was finishing work on three new tracks, "and they are rather bloody good." It also looks likely that 1999 will see a full-blown tour again. It will be the first George Michael tour since the Cover to Cover tour of the early 1990s. Michael made his feeling regarding touring felt, "even though my fans know that I hate touring I really feel that it will be a rewarding thing to do." He then added, "and the support that people have shown me in the last few months has really touched me." SEXUALITY During the chat, Michael was possibly the most candid he has ever been about his sexuality. During a question on being 'out', Michael explained that there's a world of difference between being 'out' in terms of friends and family and being 'out' as a celebrity, which "apparently means making sure that the entire world, including people who don't give a toss, know who and what you are doing with your genitals". In another dig at the recent events in Los Angeles, Michael continued, "I have been an openly gay man with everyone in my life for a long time and that was good enough for me. As for my fans, I think I tried to tell them everything I could through my work, as opposed to using the media. But in all honesty, I think I blew that particular strategy in a big way." OTHER STARS Other questions during the chat involved Michael's opinion of current and past stars. "I really think that she WAS the Spice Girls", was his response to a question regarding Ginger Spice, who was rumoured to be spending some post-Spice time with George. "No disrespect to the others, I met them and they are all great girls, but let's be honest, who were YOU looking at when you watched the Spice Girls." The tone turned more somber when Frank Sinatra's name came up. "I think he was the finest singer of his time... and probably ours too." That's where the compliments stopped as Michael added, "but I did not respect him because his connections, and his actions towards others were well documented. Respect is earned by what you do, not just what you do with the gifts that God has given you." One of last few questions centered around Michael's heritage as he was asked whether he'd ever consider singing in Greek like Vassili Popaconstantino. After a rather lewd joke about the name, he said, "I've tried but it always sounds like someone trying not to throw up. It's a great language, just not one that I can manage." More than 2000 people crammed onto the MSN UK web server Thursday for the live chat. Thousands more questions had been submitted in the three weeks prior to the chat, through both MSN and Michael's Aegean Records site. Fans can expect the greatest hits album soon, while the tour reportedly will start in England in March of 1999. |