English singer and songwriter George Michael has recorded songs for five studio albums, two compilation albums and one live album.
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Following the break-up of the musical duo Wham! in June 1986, Michael began work on his debut solo studio album, Faith , having already recorded and released two solo singles during his tenure in the group – "Careless Whisper" (1984) and "A Different Corner" (1986) – both reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart upon release. [1] Released in late 1987, Faith featured nine new songs written and produced by Michael (with the sole exception of "Look at Your Hands", co-written with and originally intended for singer David Austin, along with "I Want Your Sex"), [2] and reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. [1] The album spawned six singles, four of which ("Faith", "Father Figure", "One More Try" and "Monkey") have reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. [3]
In September 1990, Michael released his second solo studio album, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 , [4] featuring nine original songs along with a cover version of "They Won't Go When I Go" – a song by Stevie Wonder from his seventeenth studio album, Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974). [5] Following the hugely successful but gruelling Faith Tour, Michael decided to withdraw from extensive promotion and minimize his public appearance; [4] as a result, he didn't appear on the album's artwork or in any of the singles' music videos ("Praying for Time", "Freedom! '90"). Despite that, Listen Without Prejudice managed to reach number one on the UK albums chart, [1] and was certified 4× Platinum by the BPI. [6]
In January 1991, Michael embarked on his second solo concert tour, the Cover to Cover tour, its set list mainly consisting of cover versions. [7] "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" – a duet with Elton John recorded live during the Wembley Arena concerts in March – was released internationally as a single in November, reaching number one on both sides of the Atlantic. [1] [3] A live recording of "Tonight" from the same concerts was featured on the tribute album Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin , released in October that year. [8] In 1992, Michael contributed three tracks ("Too Funky", "Happy" and "Do You Really Want to Know") to the charity album Red Hot + Dance . [9] In April 1993, the Five Live EP was released, featuring live performances of "Calling You", "Killer" and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" from the 1991 concerts, as well as "Somebody to Love" and "These Are the Days of Our Lives", performed during the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert on 20 April 1992. [10]
In May 1996, Michael released his third studio album, Older . Featuring eleven new songs, Older reached number one on the UK albums chart, [1] and spawned six consecutive top-three singles ("Jesus to a Child", "Fastlove", "Spinning the Wheel", "Older", "Star People '97" and "You Have Been Loved"). [11] In November 1998, the greatest hits album Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael was released, featuring three new tracks: "Outside", "A Moment with You" and "As" – a duet with American singer Mary J. Blige. In December 1999, Michael released his fourth studio album, Songs from the Last Century , consisting entirely of cover versions. [12] "If I Told You That", a duet between Michael and Whitney Houston, was released in May 2000. [13]
Michael's fifth studio album, Patience , was released in March 2004. [14] Preceded by the singles "Freeek!" and "Shoot the Dog" in 2002, Patience featured fourteen new tracks, and was the final studio album released by Michael before his death on 25 December 2016. [15] In November 2006, Michael's second compilation album, Twenty Five , was released, featuring the singles "An Easier Affair" and "This Is Not Real Love" – a duet with Mutya Buena. [16] In 2009, Michael released the Christmas single "December Song (I Dreamed of Christmas)". [17] In March 2011, the charity single "True Faith" was released, [18] followed by "White Light" (2012), [19] which was the last original song released by Michael before his death. In March 2014, the live album Symphonica was released, produced with Phil Ramone and recorded during Michael's Symphonica Tour between 2011–2012. [20] In 2017 and 2019, the posthumous singles "Fantasy" and "This Is How (We Want You to Get High)" were released respectively. [21] [22]
