There were a lot of pop stars in the 1980s. Some have been forgotten while others are still remembered. Where did you end up? George Michael is remembered for his drug use, his arrest in a public bathroom, his subsequent outing by the press, and his health problems at the end of his life.
His music is richer and more lasting than many people think. The case for George Michael the musician and the man who was tortured by the pop star image he created early in his career are both made in the book, George Michael: A Life.
Why did you write a biography of George Michael?
When George Michael released Older, I was attracted to him. I was a huge fan of the Great American Songbook, but it was only one of many reasons that spun my head around. George was sharing pages from his diary in that album, and I was moved by the sadness and rawness of it. The love of his life had been taken away from him. It wasn't difficult to figure out who this person was to George even though there were hints in that album.
He released an album called Patience, which was moreautobiographical, and I wanted to know the whole story. It wasn't until December 25th that I decided to take action. The news about his death was on my phone. I was going to throw my hat in the ring if everyone wanted to write this book. I didn't realize I was the only one who wanted to write that book. There were biographies of him in the U.S. and the U.K., but I am the only American writer who wrote about him.
You've written biographies of several people. What was different about this one?
The biographies were easy to do. Most of the people that I wanted to get, I got. Most of the time, I didn't have to grovel in order to get people to talk to me.
There is a big difference between legends and superstars. There are layers of protection around that person. I had to fight to get people to talk to me. The people who knew him were still coming to terms with his passing. George had led a tabloid-friendly life which resulted in many writers digging around for dirt on him. The sins of those writers were absorbed by me.
It took a long time for people who knew George to begin trusting me. Most of the no's turned into yes's around two years into the project. By the end of the book, I had interviewed over 200 people and read over 2000 articles. I knew I had a chance to tell George's story more honestly than any other person has.
Is anyone you wanted to speak to for your book not available?
Yes, oh, God. I wanted to speak to the people that George named in his will, the people who had a quiet relationship with him. The people who stayed close to George all the way through were the ones who he trusted to keep his secrets. I tried to talk to him, but couldn't. Boy George didn't get any luck. I didn't have access to many of the pop stars of his era. I found out everything I needed to know when I talked to people who had known both of them. I was able to tell the truth. In the end, I got everything I wanted, even though I was turned down or ignored.
How did this change his life?
George Michael's music was about feelings and pain. It was real. He could not tell you the whole story. It's not easy to make a decision when you're locked in a closet. George was tortured by a long list of reasons why he shouldn't come out, the most obvious of which was losing everything that he had fought so hard for.
It was frightening for people of George Michael's generation to think that they would lose everything if people knew that they were gay. The Older album was a breakthrough for him because he was more open about his pain and struggle with being in a closet.
What effect did it have on him? He was living in constant fear of being discovered even though he was out to certain people. What are people thinking? He had a lot of homophobia instilled in him by his dad.
He created a George Michael character that wasn't true. It wasn't a real thing. The world eventually fell in love with that person. George was aware that he was lying. George felt that he was standing up in front of stadiums full of people all over the world as a fraud when he was on the Faith tour and I was touched by his comments about how it felt to be on the tour. George slowly and deliberately destroyed the George Michael image. The first half of his life was spent making George Michael, and the second half was spent tearing George Michael down.
He created and destroyed the George Michael image in a way that surprised me. What was the most surprising thing you found while researching this book?
He had a lot of self-hatred. He was scarred by the fact that he grew up in a family where homophobia was common.
What do you want people to remember about George Michael: A Life?
I want people to understand what he was going through. It is easy to look at the life of George Michael and judge him for his mistakes. I encourage readers to look for some sympathy for George and to try and put themselves in his shoes, which is what I had to do in writing this book. A guy who was self-hatred was this one.
George Michael's name evokes good feelings in people and I hope that he is not seen as a tragic figure. It brings them back to a song of his that had an impact on their lives. Isn't that great?
I want to know what your favorite George Michael song is, and why.
That is simple. There is a song from the Older album.
It's an amazing piece of work. The statement was about promiscuity in the era of AIDS. Gay men who heard that song were aware of what George was saying. The prowling quality was reminiscent of all of George's cruising in public places. He had made up a lot about his sexuality until that point, but that song was the most honest one. I'm amazed that more writers didn't notice that song and what it meant. George was in the closet even after he came out. He was a man who had a lot of secrets.
JamesGavin's George Michael: A Life is available in bookstores and online.
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