one’s heart was dragged through emo-
tional ambiguity [about this song] more
than mine.” Rodgers, who first met
Michael “in the hard-partying Eighties”
when he invited him to perform live on
VH1 with Stevie Wonder and Steve Win-
wood, stresses his skill as a producer.
Freedom Uncut, which began life as a
shorter film shown on Channel 4, starts
with the release of Michael’s 1987 solo
debut, Faith, which is one of the best-
selling albums of all time. Five years
after that Michael’s boyfriend, Anselmo
Feleppa, “the person I had waited a
lifetime for”, died of an Aids-related ill-
ness. Michael talks about how his fear
and sadness spurred him to take Sony
to court over his restrictive contract.
“It was a good place to put my anger.”
He lost $8 million, but many of his
arguments about the lack of agency
that pop stars had continue, with dis-
cussions over the share of profits that
Spotify gives to musicians.
For Moss, Michael was a generous
next-door neighbour and fun friend.
“My favourite night was after the Olym-
pics closing ceremony,” she says. “We
went back to his house and we danced
and laughed and rewatched his perfor-mance. It was a very long night, I was
still there when the sun came up.”
The first album Moss bought was by
Wham! “I told George that I really
wanted to go to the final Wham! concert
and sat on the phone for eight hours,
but they sold out. I was heartbroken.
His music is still on all my playlists.”
After Michael died Austin stopped
listening to his music. “But a few years
ago I was in New York walking down
Madison Avenue and Praying for Time
came on. It took me by surprise. It
really hit me and I listened in a differ-
ent way. I thought, ‘He can really sing.’”
Austin and Michael’s mothers were
best friends. “We met when we were a
few months old in our prams,” he says.
“We started writing songs together
when we were around five. One was
called Music Maker of the World and we
played Crocodile Rock by Elton John.
George was the drummer and I played
guitar and we recorded everything.”
Michael’s parents were always incred-
ibly proud, Austin says. “He was such a
kind, caring, gentle, giving person. I
miss my friend. I miss our friendship,
doing all the normal things together,
speaking three or four times a day.
Music was our first love.”
Elton John remembers Michael as
someone who was brave and very out-
spoken. “Dinner with him was always
an event because he would have a defi-
nite opinion on anything. He took
something I thought was near perfect
in Don’t Let the Sun and made it better.
That’s the biggest compliment I can
pay.” Rupert Everett says: “His life was
an inspiration, a wonderful drama. I
miss him being alive.”
One of the most poignant moments
is when Michael talks about what he
really wanted to do. “I want to leave
songs... that will mean something to
later generations,” he says. “I want to
be remembered as someone who had
some kind of integrity.” cGeorge Michael Freedom Uncut is
in cinemas from Jun 22,
georgemichaelfreedomuncut.com.
George Michael’s limited edition box set
Older is released on Jul 8. Order at
georgemichael.lnk.to/OlderI never wanted to be
different, but maybe Iam different after all...
all I wanted was successGeorge MichaelOn the big screen George Michael
is remembered by his friends5
Club
Tropicana
1983
A shameless
celebration
of hedonism,
which is at
once tongue-
in-cheek
and utterly
sincere. This is
pop at its most
carefree and
ensnaring.4
You Have
Been Loved
1997
Written after
the death of his
lover Anselmo
Feleppa, it is
sung from the
perspective of
Feleppa’s mother
and shows
Michael’s depth
of empathy and
creativity. You
have to feel
strong to listen.3
Wake Me Up Before
You Go-Go 1984
This song was Michael
serving notice of his
deadly intent: part
Sixties-soul pastiche,
part expert songcraft,
it contains more
hooks than a
Victorian corset,
and remains a
guaranteed
floor-filler.2
Freedom! ’90
1990
Presaging Michael’s
battle with his
record label, and
casting a look over
his shoulder to his
breakthrough, this
housey, James
Brown-sampling
standout is an
arms-aloft paean to
independence and
innocence, with a
beat it’s impossible
not to lose yourself to.1
Everything She
Wants 1984
Overshadowed at the
time by Last Christmas,
the track it shared
double A-side
status with, this was
the real masterclass
in song-making. It
deploys a set of
chord progressions, a
convincing storyline
and a wonderful
synth-bass line that
elevate the song to
greatness.5 June 2022 5