An excerpt of an interview with George Michael published in Spokane Chronicle on October 3, 1988
George Michael says he is satisfied with the turn his career has taken ‘since he went solo with his “Faith” album, and he doesn’t mind being labeled a pop singer.
Michael has reason to be satisfied: In the two years since the breakup of – his Wham! partnership with Andrew Ridgely, Michael has had five No. 1 singles.
“Faith” itself spawned four consecutive No. 1 singles, including the – title track from the solo album.
In an interview published in Friday’s Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Michael said he has no problem being identified as a pop singer because he respects that end of the music spectrum. He defended Wham!, a collaboration that resulted in 38 million in record sales, as serious work.
“I don’t think there was anything particularly lightweight about ‘Careless Whisper’ or ‘A Different Corner,’ ” he said. “The only thing that was lightweight was the way people perceived the image.
“Mine is still very much a pop image. It’s just that I believe more in pop music than most artists do. And I don’t think you could call ‘Faith’ anything other than a pop album. It’s very diverse, but I think it’s just an accomplished pop album.”
