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George Michael pulls out of BBC documentary
Ananova, 26 August 2002
George Michael has pulled out of plans to take part in a BBC television documentary. He had been planning to talk about about his life since his single Shoot The Dog was released. The idea was for a camera crew to follow him and boyfriend Kenny Goss for four months. But George was upset that producers of the My Worst Week show were also planning to include the story of his arrest in 1998 for lewd conduct, reports The Sun. BBC Choice boss Stuart Murphy has confirmed the deal with George is off.
GEORGE's TV TANTRUM
The Sun, 25 August 2002
TROUBLED singer GEORGE MICHAEL is now at war with the BBC over a warts’n’all documentary planned for the New Year. George was set to tell all to the BBC about his life since his controversial Shoot The Dog single was released.
He and his boyfriend KENNY GOSS had agreed to be followed around for four months for the programme. But George has pulled out after the BBC’s My Worst Week series retold the story of when he was arrested for lewd conduct after flashing at an undercover police officer in Los Angeles in 1998.
A BBC insider said: “George chucked a complete tantrum over it. He said he was outraged that we would bring all those humiliating details back up and then expect him to co-operate with interviews for another documentary. “He told us in no uncertain terms that he won’t be helping the BBC out.”
BBC Choice boss Stuart Murphy yesterday confirmed that the deal with George is off.
Wicked Whispers
Daily Mail, 22 August 2002
WHILE Geri Halliwell is smitten with new American love Damian Warner, I hear that her friendship with George Michael is officially dead. The reason: George's flop record Shoot The Dog. Says my source: 'Having entertained our boys out on the battlefield, Geri took exception to the antiwar overtones of George's record. And she was personally hurt by her attention-seeking cartoon counterpart in the video.
Prince Albert of Monaco gets down with the stars in St. Tropez
Hellomagazine, 16 August 2002
One of Europe’s most eligible bachelors, Prince Albert of Monaco, has been out and about in St Tropez – currently Europe’s hottest destination – showing off his beach volleyball talents by day and then partying with the stars into the early hours.
Albert spent Wednesday afternoon at St Tropez’s exclusive Nikki beach resort playing a few rounds of beach volleyball before retiring to his luxury yacht with U2 singer Bono and his wife Ali.
The prince, who is a big fan of U2, had invited Bono – real name Paul Hewson – and Ali to spend a few days on his yacht as part of their 20th wedding anniversary celebrations. The big day is not actually until next Wednesday, but the couple are already celebrating their two decades together in style.
In the evening, they all moved on to get down at the recently re-opened club and restaurant, the VIP Room, where French singer Johnny Hallyday’s son David was holding his 36th birthday bash. Also on hand to party into the small hours were U2 guitarist The Edge and singer George Michael.
POP CREEP'S 'DOG' SONG A SWAN SONG
New York Post, by Bill Hoffmann, 5 August 2002
RECORD LOW:
George Michael sold a mere 3,000 copies of the anti-U.S. song "Shoot the Dog" in Britain.
August 5, 2002 -- New figures on record sales show George Michael has effectively flushed his career down the toilet with the release of his anti-American song, "Shoot the Dog." The washed-up pop pervert has sold just 3,000 copies of the controversial tune in England, where it was released last week.
The staggeringly low figure stands in sharp contrast to Michael's enormous selling power 15 years ago. Back then, Michael's fans would snap up 500,000 copies of one of his new hits in just weeks, including songs like "I Want Your Sex" and "Faith."
"The sales are a huge embarrassment," said top London entertainment writer Dominic Mohan. "George had hoped the anti-U.S. single would rescue his flagging career ... It just backfired."
As The Post reported last month, Michael attempted to relaunch his sagging career with a song that insinuates President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair are gay lovers. "Shoot the Dog" also ridicules the United States for defending itself against Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network.
Even without the tune, Michael's popularity has been on thin ice in the United States. In 1998, he was busted in the men's room of a Beverly Hills park for performing lewd sex acts in front of an undercover police officer. Insiders at his European label, Universal, say Michael has taken news of his "Shoot the Dog" bomb badly.
"He was at least hoping to get in the Top 10. He put on a brave face when he heard . . . and told those around him that it didn't matter," a source told London's Sun newspaper. But deep down, you could see it did."
"Shoot the Dog" was issued in Britain, but Michael has said there are no plans to release it in the United States - partly because he no longer has a record label here.
Bragg Supports George Michael
Yahoo, August 2, 2002
Billy Bragg has come out in support of George Michael's controversial new single. Shoot The Dog. However, the leftie crooner says that he understands why the former Wham! star has been on the receiving end of so much criticism.
"You have to make people realise you're not just saying it, that's the trouble George Michael had," Bragg told website Designer Magazine. "He didn't seem to have rationally thought through what he was saying. And the reason he got a bit of stick [was because he used] this silly arse video instead of coming up with the arguments. I defend his right to say it and I don't care if he's Kylie Minogue for the rest of his days. He should feel strong enough to do all that and I think it has to be supported. Rather him, than Eminem - I think Eminem is a homophobic little rascal."
Bragg also thinks Bono's work to try to clear Third World debt is a positive sign that pop stars are trying to use their fame to better the world. "You have this platform and how you use it is an important thing," he said. "And I think Bono, who is genuinely a "rock idol", uses fame in a positive way. You can use it in many different ways - you can use it to get into places or you can try and make sense of a really weird job in a really nasty world and I think he's trying to do that. If I had the access to the people who he had access to, I'd certainly go and do it. And if I had access to the trousers he has access to - I would certainly wear them!!!"
GEORGE MICHAEL 'SHOOT THE DOG'
Yahoo, August 2, 2002
Poor old George, he's had a rough few years, what with taking record companies to court, being collared cottaging in an LA toilet and now getting grossly misunderstood by irate Americans over the accompanying political satire video for this single.
Maybe he's getting addicted to controversy, because he was always going to come in for some flak by referring to the cosy relationship between Tony Blair and George W Bush, with lyrics like, "So Cherie, my dear, could you leave the way clear for sex tonight? Tell him: Tony, Tony, I know that you're horny but there's something about that Bush that ain't right."
Musically, this is the same old George disco / electro fodder, packed with slinky, bleeping beats, a mix of inaudible, 'dirty old man' whispers and Bee Gees-styled falsetto gymnastics.
The best part of the song is when George fuses a lengthy sample from The Human League's Love Action into the mix. Certainly funky, but by no means a classic.
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