416) George Michael - Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1

Warning this is one of my reviews where I do not actually talk about the record.

The charts were released on a Tuesday lunchtime, so you came home from school then spent the afternoon talking about them at school, it was better than French.

What we heard was how gorgeous George Michael was. I couldn’t stand him, he pranced about and all the girls I liked said how great he was, bloody George Michael. As I sat there with my teenage acne and too much gel how were they not noticing me, I told them he was rubbish, what an arse.

Then he released Careless Whisper, damn that was quite good, but he was still doing Wham so I’d still slag him, what an arse.

I quite liked the song Faith, my sister bought the album so I sneaked it for a listen, Father Figure, what a song, but I was in pubs now, where we lived we had a video jukebox, get us, posh Glasgow, and all the girls I still liked from school were there, they’d play his videos and I’d tell them he was still rubbish, guess what that didn’t work with the ladies, yep we know what I was.

Wee sis comes home with clearly a record bag.

“What’s that?”

“George Michael’s new one.”

I then had a look and told her it was a terrible cover and would be rubbish, I’d not heard a note of it, I really did not have a clue.

Let’s fast forward.

George Michael died on Christmas Day 2016 and me and my much better half were shocked, it’s always a shock when someone from your youth dies especially if they are of similar age, it was just the two of us when the news came through and we spent Christmas Day evening drinking watching his songs on YouTube because do you know what, he was really bloody good.

Since he has died I have read how he struggled with his homosexuality the tragedy of his partners death and the wonderful things he did to help people out financially. He was fifty-three when he died, I’m fifty-five I hope he had some sort of happiness because he seemed a decent guy and seriously if you care what sexuality someone is then can I say you are an arse. 

This is meant to be 200 words, I know they never are, so can I sum this up. When he broke through, he was vying with Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet, no one then or now is waiting for a Simon Le Bon or a Tony Hadley solo album, we still aren’t.

If we get one and they can produce songs as good as Praying for Time, Freedom 90 and Heal the Pain then they deserve to be praised to the roof as George should have been. He could really sing and this was an accomplished album that sold in its millions. 

I don’t think I genuinely appreciated George until he was gone, what an arse

7.5/10

GIVE IT A STREAM: Freedom 90