Music

George’s first solo single, “Careless Whisper”, was released on Wham!’s Make It Big album (the song is credited as Wham! featuring George Michael in North America). It hits #1 in nearly 25 countries.

George participated in the recording of Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, an all-star charity recording that included Bono, Bob Geldof, Sting, Boy George, and many others. The song raised £8 million to fight the famine in Ethiopia, and it became that year’s Christmas #1 edging out “Last Christmas” from the top spot.

George released “White Light” for radio airplay on June 29 to mark the 30th anniversary of the date his first single with Wham! called “Wham! Rap” entered the UK charts. As George wrote on his website, “White Light is my thank you to everybody who has been a part of my success.”

Release of George’s cover of New Order’s “True Faith”. Proceeds from the sale of the CD and the downloads were given to Comic Relief.

George released “December Song (I Dreamed Of Christmas)” as a free download on his official website. It was re-released commercially the following year on 14 December 2009, with physical copies selling out in just one day, following a live performance of the song on the final of the 2009 series of The X Factor UK.

Release of “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”, a live duet with Elton John recorded during the Cover to Cover tour. It tops the charts internationally, with proceeds benefiting charity.