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Downloaded from
YTS.MX

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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

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On Christmas Day, 2016,
we heard with shock
and disbelief...

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...that our dear friend,
George Michael,
had passed away.

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Only days before,
he was putting
the finishing touches

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to the film you're about to see.

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This is George's film, Freedom,
and it's his final work.

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♪ Looking for some education

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♪ Make my way into the night

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♪ All that bullshit
Conversation

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♪ Baby, can't you read
The signs

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♪ I won't bore you
With the details, baby

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♪ I don't even wanna waste
Your time

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♪ Let's just say that maybe

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♪ You could help me
Ease my mind

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♪ I ain't Mr. Right

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♪ But if you're looking for

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♪ Fast love

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♪ If that's love
In your eyes

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♪ It's more than enough

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♪ Had some bad love

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♪ So, fast love is all that
I've got

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♪ On my mind♪

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[POP MUSIC PLAYING]

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♪ I can give you
All the loving
That your heart

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♪ I can give you
All the loving
That your heart

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♪ I can give you
All the loving
That your heart

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♪ Desires♪

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NARRATOR:
In 1988, George Michael became

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the biggest selling artist
in the world.

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This is the story
of just how fame and tragedy

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intervened to change
his life forever.

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GEORGE MICHAEL:
I was massively unhappy
and lonely.

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I remember standing there
with a tear
in my eye, thinking,

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"I really don't know
if I'll ever do this again."

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And it changed everything
from that day to this.

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I was single,
I hadn't come out.

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If I could have
the self-awareness
and the strength to walk away,

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I could change my life.

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I felt that stepping back
would save me

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from somehow screwing up
my career.

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MICHAEL: Uh...

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Yeah, waiting please.

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MAN: We got them.

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WOMAN 1: I first became aware
of George Michael's music

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when I was hardly like...
I was definitely a little girl.

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WOMAN 2:
I think his music was really...

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It's just there in your psyche.

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I just think it's not even
taken for granted.

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It's just there in the ether.

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♪ There ain't no point
In moving on

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♪ 'Till you've got somewhere
To go

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♪ And the road that I have
Walked upon

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♪ Well, it filled my pockets

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♪ And emptied out my soul♪

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WOMAN 2:
He's got a voice like an angel.

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There are certain songs
that you could ask George
just to sing,

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and it would make people cry,
just the resonance
of his voice.

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♪ And some of them
Are about you♪

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MAN 1: It comes from someone
who has felt pain,

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and it comes from someone
who has a deep talent.

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♪ Now I know there's no way
I can right those wrongs

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♪ Believe me I would not lie

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MAN 2: George is
in the category
of many of us

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who had been blessed
with the gift of music.

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♪ But you once said
There's a way back

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♪ For every man

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♪ So, here I am

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WOMAN: There's no voice
like his on the radio.

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♪ Oh, don't people change?

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♪ Here I am

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♪ Is it too late
To try again?

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♪ Here I am♪

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I've genuinely believed that
there's something very odd
about people in my position.

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But the central belief that
my musical journey

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would be of my own making
has been the thing
that's informed

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almost every decision
I've ever made in terms
of my career.

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I have a musical ability
which was...

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powered as a young,
as a teenager, it was powered by
this desperate ambition

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to be famous and to be loved
and respected, whatever.

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And all I wanted at that time
was success.

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♪ I'm sorry
If I smoked your plan♪

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MICHAEL: I had no master plan,
I didn't know if I was gonna be
a singer or anything.

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But, at school, I met Andrew,
and we formed this Ska band
called The Executive,

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and we were terrible basically.

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But Andrew and I had
already developed a knack

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for writing these catchy
little songs,

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and we got together
a couple of tracks.

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One was called
"Careless Whisper"
and one was called "Wham Rap!"

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♪ You got soul on the dole?

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♪ You're gonna have a good time
Down on the line♪

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The '80s was probably one of the
most depressing,
sort of, demoralizing times

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that we've ever had
for young people
in British history,

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because the recession,
because of everything,
because of mass unemployment.

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So, I think music, then,
was probably really,
really important.

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In terrible depression,
you have the people that

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come out and say,
"This is terrible.
This is terrible depression."

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♪ This town
Town

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♪ Is comin' like a ghost town♪

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And then you have
the escapists...
things that go, "Let's party."

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♪ Young Guns having some fun

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♪ Crazy ladies keep 'em
On the run

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♪ Wise guys realize

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♪ There's danger
In emotional ties

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♪ See me, single and free

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♪ No tears, no fears,
What I want to be

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♪ One, two,
Take a look at you

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♪ Death by matrimony♪

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The day
after First of the Pops,

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I was just convinced that
everyone would recognize me.

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You know, I was walking
down the street like...

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"Watch TV last night?"

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And I think it took about
three days

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before someone came up
and asked me for my autograph,

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and I was absolutely shattered
that it took that long.

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♪ A married man
You're out of your head

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♪ Sleepless nights
On an H.P. bed

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♪ A daddy by the time
You're 21

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♪ If you're happy with a nappy
Then you're in for fun

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RICKY GERVAIS:
It wasn't all sugary.
He was singing about

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being on the dole
and having kids.

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And, you know,
there was a bit
of social commentary there,

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and he was embracing this
newfangled thing called rap,

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you know, dressed like someone
from West Side Story.

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We should have known then.

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Then, "Club Tropicana"
taught us,
"Don't worry, you can sun tan."

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He predicted global warming
way before its time.

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♪ Club Tropicana
Drinks are free

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I mean, I can't get the little
white shorts out of my head.

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♪ Call me good

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♪ Call me bad

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♪ Call me anything
You want...♪

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I'll be very honest.
I was a Culture Club fan.

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And we used to throw eggs
at the Wham! fans.

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They were massive, weren't they?
George Michael,
and it was like...

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They were just
fucking everywhere,
weren't they?

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♪ Baby, I'm your man♪

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Anyone of my generation,
you really can't remember
the first time

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you heard about George Michael
if you grew up in the UK

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because he's just
part of the fabric of it.

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So, there is a time of one
which was like a lot of fun.

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I was going to club
like ... etcetera.

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And we'd have a lot of fun
and we loved it.

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It was truly representing
the time, you know?

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♪ Oh yeah♪

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I'm sure I could,
me older brother...

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I'm sure he had a bit
of a Wham! moment,
you know what I mean?

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♪ Somebody told me

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♪ Boy, everything she wants
Is everything she sees♪

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GERVAIS: And I already felt
I was too old to like them.

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I felt a bit ashamed that
I was liking this teen band,

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but they were great.
They had something else.

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They had a lot more.

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♪ And now you tell me that
You're having my baby

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♪ I'll tell you that I'm happy
If you want me to

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♪ But one step further...♪

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MICHAEL: Wham! itself
was an absolute joy.

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It was as joyous as it sounded.

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They say youth is wasted
on the young.

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My God,
what a wonderful joyride
for two 18-year-olds.

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♪ Wake me up before you go-go♪

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MICHAEL: There was a humor
about Wham! that no one ever
gave us credit for.

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We were so taking the piss
out of ourselves half the time.

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How can the country be in love
with these two idiots?

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I knew how to make these
records and how to make them
jump out of the radio.

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And the idea that just
because I was wearing
ridiculous shorts

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and curtain rings in my ears
would actually stop people
from noticing that.

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When I look back,
I still think it's kind
of stunning.

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I mean, everything happened
kind of incrementally for us.

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But there was
never a point where I thought,

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"My God, I'm more famous than
I expected to be,"

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because I was so busy
thinking about trying
to get to the next level.

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But, I always believed,
deep down,

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that once I had my foot
in the door, no one
was gonna get me out.

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♪ Yeah, yeah

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♪ I'm like a maniac
At the end of the day

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♪ I'm like a doggie
Barking at your door...♪

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It's so hard to remember
the day of the final,
because it went so perfectly.

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It was like a dream, really.

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I know that there was this
overwhelming feeling
of pride,

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and also a horrible awareness
that meant
a kind of end for Andrew and I.

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But on that final day,
I remember us
hugging each other

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and knowing that there
was something incredibly sad
going on

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at the same time that
we were celebrating, you know.

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By the end of it,

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I had no doubt that I could
become an international
solo success.

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And as though there's always
been this red line,

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I see it like a red line
which goes through everything.

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Like a staircase
to whatever you're
about to do next.

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And I could feel that
at the final concert.

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I already had one foot
in my solo career.

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Okay.

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CROWD: [CHANTING]
We want more! We want more!

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That's enough of that.

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I'm not ever going to be
a fan of a boy band, right?

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It's not going to happen.

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When he went solo,
the whole thing went up
ten notches.

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♪ Time can never mend

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♪ The careless whispers
Of a good friend♪

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I think he was the first one
that was definitely
an obvious teen band

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to then go on to be
a serious singer, songwriter
and take over the world.

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♪ There's things that you guess
And things that you know♪

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GERVAIS: It's still very rare
for an act like that to go
to America.

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00:14:05,085 --> 00:14:10,366
The '80s just spawned
this handful
of massive celebrities

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00:14:10,504 --> 00:14:13,404
that were
constantly battling the charts.

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♪ That's all I wanted

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00:14:16,372 --> 00:14:19,237
♪ Something special,
Something sacred

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00:14:20,514 --> 00:14:22,689
♪ In your eyes

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00:14:22,827 --> 00:14:24,725
♪ For just one moment...♪

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00:14:24,864 --> 00:14:28,764
MICHAEL: There was really,
Prince, Madonna, Jackson,
and myself.

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00:14:28,902 --> 00:14:32,354
And I just didn't feel
who I was,
was bright enough,

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00:14:32,492 --> 00:14:36,289
or kind of vivid enough
to compete, because they
were different people.

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00:14:36,427 --> 00:14:39,257
They seemed to be
much more larger than life.

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00:14:41,087 --> 00:14:45,056
If I was looking for happiness,
this was the wrong road.

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00:14:45,194 --> 00:14:49,474
But I don't think there's
any way I could have
controlled my ego enough

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00:14:49,612 --> 00:14:53,754
to have stopped me
exploring the possibility
of being

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00:14:53,893 --> 00:14:56,343
the biggest selling artist
in the world.

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00:14:56,481 --> 00:15:02,625
So, I went with full gusto
into creating a new character.

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00:15:02,763 --> 00:15:06,077
You know, one that I thought
would be
resilient enough

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00:15:06,215 --> 00:15:10,633
to stand up there next
to Madonna and Jackson
and Prince.

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00:15:11,841 --> 00:15:13,395
Ladies and gentlemen,

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00:15:14,844 --> 00:15:16,191
George Michael.

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00:15:17,813 --> 00:15:19,815
MICHAEL: And I guess I did that
pretty effectively,

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00:15:19,953 --> 00:15:23,957
alongside what was
a very, very commercial record.

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00:15:36,866 --> 00:15:39,214
♪ Well, I guess
It would be nice

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00:15:39,352 --> 00:15:41,975
♪ If I could touch your body

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00:15:42,113 --> 00:15:47,222
♪ I know not everybody
Has got a body like you♪

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00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:52,641
The attitude, he was creating,
like, a personage
as we call it, you know.

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00:15:52,779 --> 00:15:54,022
He was very charismatic.

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00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:57,025
Every video
was a very strong impact.

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00:15:57,163 --> 00:16:01,719
♪ Oh, but I need some time off
From that...♪

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00:16:01,857 --> 00:16:06,310
GAULTIER: He is, like,
coming in jeans, you know,
and like tight and sexy.

233
00:16:06,448 --> 00:16:10,728
And like a rock image and moving
with the hips like that.

234
00:16:10,866 --> 00:16:13,524
You know, a little
like Wham! before, you know.

235
00:16:13,662 --> 00:16:16,976
A little like that,
but more, like, sexy.

236
00:16:17,114 --> 00:16:19,564
Check this out then,
modern day Elvis.

237
00:16:19,702 --> 00:16:22,878
♪ Faith, I gotta have...♪

238
00:16:23,016 --> 00:16:27,365
I liked the spirit of "Faith",
because you do have to have it.

239
00:16:27,503 --> 00:16:29,678
I remember his "Baby, ow!"

240
00:16:29,816 --> 00:16:30,955
♪ Baby♪

241
00:16:31,093 --> 00:16:32,888
Yeah, I remember that.

242
00:16:33,026 --> 00:16:35,649
MICHAEL: I didn't realize
that people would look
at the "Faith" image

243
00:16:35,787 --> 00:16:37,099
and go, "Fuck, that's cool."

244
00:16:37,237 --> 00:16:39,377
♪ I'm givin' you the blues♪

245
00:16:39,515 --> 00:16:42,898
I was really, really
overwhelmed by the size
of things, I suppose.

246
00:16:43,036 --> 00:16:44,969
I lived in fucking sunglasses.

247
00:16:45,107 --> 00:16:47,420
I couldn't make eye contact
with people. It was bizarre.

248
00:16:47,558 --> 00:16:50,871
♪ And another who tied me
Down to loverboy rules♪

249
00:16:51,010 --> 00:16:55,186
I still suffered terribly
with insecurity about my looks.

250
00:16:55,324 --> 00:16:58,017
It goes back
to a family background

251
00:16:58,155 --> 00:17:03,677
where conceit of any kind
was considered an absolute sin.

252
00:17:03,815 --> 00:17:06,266
So, no one
was ever praised about
the way they looked.

253
00:17:06,404 --> 00:17:08,303
♪ Well, I need someone
To hold me

254
00:17:08,441 --> 00:17:10,857
♪ But I'll wait
For somethin' more

255
00:17:10,994 --> 00:17:12,617
♪ Yes, I gotta have faith♪

256
00:17:12,755 --> 00:17:18,382
"Faith" was number one
in Britain for one week.

257
00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:21,522
But in America,
number one for 12 weeks.

258
00:17:21,661 --> 00:17:25,078
And then on top of that,
he had four number one singles,

259
00:17:25,215 --> 00:17:28,702
a number two single
and a number five single.

260
00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:33,224
In 1988, he was the biggest
pop star in the world.

261
00:17:33,362 --> 00:17:35,778
♪ Because I gotta have faith
Faith, faith

262
00:17:35,916 --> 00:17:39,368
♪ I gotta have faith,
Faith, faith♪

263
00:17:39,506 --> 00:17:45,443
All I remember is "Faith"
being played 50 times a day
on MTV.

264
00:17:45,581 --> 00:17:49,723
You had to be in heavy
rotation on whatever
pop station you were on.

265
00:17:49,861 --> 00:17:55,384
Duran Duran, David Bowie,
Eurythmics was played
on MTV, like, constantly,

266
00:17:55,522 --> 00:17:57,248
played on all
the video stations.

267
00:17:57,386 --> 00:17:59,595
You really didn't hear
any of those artists,

268
00:17:59,733 --> 00:18:04,773
but you heard George Michael,
on some of the urban stations,
right after Luther Vandross.

269
00:18:04,911 --> 00:18:07,362
His music broke through
to everybody.

270
00:18:08,777 --> 00:18:12,091
MICHAEL: In America,
radio play for me

271
00:18:12,229 --> 00:18:15,197
was substantial
on a lot of R&B stations.

272
00:18:15,335 --> 00:18:19,615
He uniquely achieved recognition
on the R&B soul charts

273
00:18:19,753 --> 00:18:22,308
that very few white performers
ever got.

274
00:18:24,586 --> 00:18:28,003
He obviously had studied
American soul music,

275
00:18:28,141 --> 00:18:30,971
and felt a connection
and a kindred spirit.

276
00:18:33,940 --> 00:18:36,425
We were introduced
to each other,

277
00:18:36,563 --> 00:18:41,465
so, we're going back now
to about '86 maybe.

278
00:18:41,603 --> 00:18:45,676
And it was his thought
that he wanted to

279
00:18:45,814 --> 00:18:49,473
do a duet
with one of my artists.

280
00:18:49,611 --> 00:18:51,164
♪ Like a warrior that fights

281
00:18:51,992 --> 00:18:53,925
♪ And wins the battle♪

282
00:18:54,063 --> 00:18:55,755
MICHAEL:
When I was about six or seven,

283
00:18:55,893 --> 00:18:59,586
I had a wind-up gramophone
that my mum gave me.

284
00:18:59,724 --> 00:19:02,037
I had two Supreme singles,

285
00:19:02,175 --> 00:19:06,214
one wasStop! In the Name
of Love and one
wasBaby Love.

286
00:19:06,352 --> 00:19:09,803
And I hadDelilah by Tom Jones,
which is funny,

287
00:19:09,941 --> 00:19:11,943
because I kind of ended up
somewhere between

288
00:19:12,081 --> 00:19:14,083
the Supremes and Tom Jones
when you think about it.

289
00:19:14,222 --> 00:19:16,569
♪ I know you did
Kept my faith

290
00:19:16,707 --> 00:19:18,674
♪ When the river was deep

291
00:19:18,812 --> 00:19:21,229
♪ I didn't falter

292
00:19:21,367 --> 00:19:23,231
♪ When the mountain was high

293
00:19:23,369 --> 00:19:25,785
♪ I still believed

294
00:19:25,923 --> 00:19:27,994
♪ When the valley was low

295
00:19:28,132 --> 00:19:30,445
♪ It didn't stop me

296
00:19:30,583 --> 00:19:31,584
♪ It didn't stop me

297
00:19:31,722 --> 00:19:32,723
♪ No

298
00:19:32,861 --> 00:19:34,000
♪ I knew you were waiting

299
00:19:34,138 --> 00:19:35,277
♪ Some place♪ Somewhere

300
00:19:35,415 --> 00:19:37,383
♪ Somehow♪ For me♪

301
00:19:37,521 --> 00:19:39,626
MICHAEL:
It was great that I had my
own voice

302
00:19:39,764 --> 00:19:41,732
and I had worked
with Aretha Franklin,

303
00:19:41,870 --> 00:19:43,423
and everything
had gone so well.

304
00:19:43,561 --> 00:19:47,047
From an artistic point of view,
it just got better and better.

305
00:19:48,325 --> 00:19:51,190
George Michael's voice, to me,
was always very soulful,

306
00:19:51,328 --> 00:19:56,850
and it was very warm,
and sultry and urgent.

307
00:19:56,988 --> 00:19:58,852
He has soul. Period.

308
00:19:58,990 --> 00:20:02,718
Soul is an expression
of the soul, of the heart.

309
00:20:04,237 --> 00:20:06,757
MICHAEL:
It was good to be number one
in the black charts.

310
00:20:06,895 --> 00:20:10,381
It was an amazing
thing to see, obviously.

311
00:20:10,519 --> 00:20:12,349
England has a great love
affair with

312
00:20:12,487 --> 00:20:16,801
American black music and R&B
and a great tradition of

313
00:20:16,939 --> 00:20:20,219
our own interpretation
of soul music and that thing,
but he's...

314
00:20:21,496 --> 00:20:23,360
He's kind of up there,
at the pinnacle of it.

315
00:20:23,498 --> 00:20:26,604
♪ But remember this
Every other kiss

316
00:20:26,742 --> 00:20:29,849
♪ That you ever give
Long as we both live

317
00:20:29,987 --> 00:20:33,128
♪ When you need the hand
Of another man

318
00:20:33,266 --> 00:20:36,165
♪ One you really can
Surrender with

319
00:20:36,304 --> 00:20:39,617
♪ I will wait for you
Like I always do

320
00:20:39,755 --> 00:20:46,072
♪ There's something there
That can't compare

321
00:20:46,210 --> 00:20:51,042
♪ With any other♪

322
00:20:53,631 --> 00:20:57,359
MICHAEL: Making that album,
I'm sure I was incredibly
proud of it,

323
00:20:57,497 --> 00:21:00,638
but I don't think I ever
imagined it would be
bigger than Wham!.

324
00:21:00,776 --> 00:21:03,192
RODGERS:
I imagine that the pressure
on someone like George

325
00:21:03,331 --> 00:21:05,056
must have been insane,

326
00:21:05,194 --> 00:21:09,785
because he was doing stuff
that was just
so phenomenal.

327
00:21:09,923 --> 00:21:12,340
After you have
that kind of success,

328
00:21:12,478 --> 00:21:16,861
like, what do you
go home at night and go,
"Now, what do I do?"

329
00:21:19,381 --> 00:21:22,626
MICHAEL:
I do remember it being
shocking to me

330
00:21:22,764 --> 00:21:26,940
that I could become more
successful than I had
been with Wham!

331
00:21:27,078 --> 00:21:31,566
I suppose the whole
exercise was an effort to
raise my profile

332
00:21:31,704 --> 00:21:34,672
to kind of define what
my solo image
was going to be.

333
00:21:34,810 --> 00:21:37,365
But I really had no idea
how effective
it was going to be,

334
00:21:37,503 --> 00:21:38,849
especially in America.

335
00:21:40,437 --> 00:21:46,235
And I had no idea what
it was like to be that big
in America.

336
00:21:46,374 --> 00:21:48,721
WOMAN: George is really,
really private

337
00:21:48,859 --> 00:21:51,275
and I think, when he was young,
with all that fame,

338
00:21:51,413 --> 00:21:56,176
I just think it came too fast,
and it wasn't actually
what he was expecting.

339
00:21:56,315 --> 00:21:59,145
I was probably
most out of control,

340
00:21:59,283 --> 00:22:02,735
in any kind of sense of that,
during the whole "Faith" thing.

341
00:22:05,565 --> 00:22:10,190
Being caught in the eye
of this storm
is catastrophic.

342
00:22:10,329 --> 00:22:15,782
It's just 24/7 full time
in your face.

343
00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:19,165
I mean, the wind burn
is terrible.

344
00:22:19,303 --> 00:22:24,273
MICHAEL: I can't really explain
how overwhelming

345
00:22:24,412 --> 00:22:29,175
that kind of hysteria can be
if there's only one person
to absorb it.

346
00:22:29,313 --> 00:22:33,731
When I was with Andrew,
it was so easy to keep
one foot in my old life,

347
00:22:33,869 --> 00:22:37,597
the life that I had known
with him before
we'd been famous.

348
00:22:37,735 --> 00:22:39,668
It was so easy
to keep each other grounded,

349
00:22:39,806 --> 00:22:41,360
to take the piss out
of each other,

350
00:22:41,498 --> 00:22:42,982
and be able to look
at each other

351
00:22:43,120 --> 00:22:46,779
and talk about the madness
that was going on around us.

352
00:22:46,917 --> 00:22:49,713
But when you can't do that,
suddenly, it is scary.

353
00:22:51,956 --> 00:22:58,998
I don't know many 24-year-olds
who would not have,
at least subconsciously,

354
00:22:59,136 --> 00:23:02,035
found that frightening enough
to self-destruct.

355
00:23:04,452 --> 00:23:06,039
PAUL RUSSELL:
Now the problem is,
the record came out

356
00:23:06,177 --> 00:23:08,697
everywhere in the world,
pretty much at the same time.

357
00:23:08,835 --> 00:23:14,393
So, everybody wanted
a piece of George
to help promote the album.

358
00:23:16,222 --> 00:23:17,568
Enormous pressure.

359
00:23:17,706 --> 00:23:19,225
Huge, huge pressure.

360
00:23:20,882 --> 00:23:24,748
MICHAEL:
Ten months of that was enough
to really push me to the edge.

361
00:23:26,059 --> 00:23:29,408
And I was terribly lonely,
you know?

362
00:23:29,546 --> 00:23:33,308
Me and my red line
were very lonely.

363
00:23:33,446 --> 00:23:38,486
And the only good part
of my day was playing live.

364
00:23:38,624 --> 00:23:41,350
When I sang
"Careless Whisper"...

365
00:23:41,489 --> 00:23:44,699
I can't remember which
was the last gig
on the American tour,

366
00:23:44,837 --> 00:23:46,390
which would have been
the end of the whole tour.

367
00:23:46,528 --> 00:23:48,668
I think it was Pensacola.

368
00:23:48,806 --> 00:23:51,533
But when I sang
"Careless Whisper" that night,

369
00:23:51,671 --> 00:23:55,295
I remember standing there,
with a tear
in my eye, thinking,

370
00:23:55,434 --> 00:23:58,022
"I really don't know
if I'll ever do this again."

371
00:23:59,127 --> 00:24:02,613
♪ Time can never mend

372
00:24:11,208 --> 00:24:15,108
♪ The careless whispers

373
00:24:16,247 --> 00:24:20,424
♪ Of a good friend

374
00:24:23,254 --> 00:24:25,602
♪ To the heart and mind

375
00:24:27,983 --> 00:24:31,193
♪ Ignorance is kind

376
00:24:33,195 --> 00:24:37,199
♪ There's no comfort
In the truth

377
00:24:43,896 --> 00:24:51,075
♪ Pain is all♪

378
00:25:15,134 --> 00:25:21,485
I was intelligent enough
to know I should not be trying
to catch up with

379
00:25:21,623 --> 00:25:24,108
Michael Jackson or Madonna
or whatever,

380
00:25:24,246 --> 00:25:27,353
which was absolutely what
I was intent on doing.

381
00:25:27,491 --> 00:25:34,705
I felt that tired and exhausted
at being the center
of that much attention.

382
00:25:34,843 --> 00:25:38,260
I suppose the way my lack
of mental balance showed itself

383
00:25:38,398 --> 00:25:42,713
was that I actually
really began
to hide away when I got home.

384
00:25:44,025 --> 00:25:46,545
And I did almost nothing
for a year,

385
00:25:46,683 --> 00:25:51,342
but try and reestablish
some idea of the real life.

386
00:25:53,413 --> 00:25:57,763
Music was
my very controlling lover.

387
00:25:59,074 --> 00:26:02,388
I had millions of lovers
that I never saw

388
00:26:02,526 --> 00:26:06,219
other than
in the sense of live work.

389
00:26:06,944 --> 00:26:08,567
But I still deserved one.

390
00:26:08,705 --> 00:26:10,292
Just one of them for me.

391
00:26:12,053 --> 00:26:16,644
And I knew that
the only way I was gonna find
that one person,

392
00:26:16,782 --> 00:26:21,441
that lover,
was to jump off
of the merry-go-round

393
00:26:21,580 --> 00:26:25,135
just for long enough
to catch my breath,

394
00:26:25,273 --> 00:26:30,278
and letting my heart rule
my head, rather than,
you know, the red line.

395
00:26:31,624 --> 00:26:34,834
The red line that goes
up, up, up, up, up, up.

396
00:26:36,422 --> 00:26:39,080
Sometimes you feel like he's...

397
00:26:39,218 --> 00:26:42,670
He's got, like, a layer or two
of skin missing.

398
00:26:45,017 --> 00:26:49,538
Like he just,
like he bruises easier,

399
00:26:49,677 --> 00:26:52,541
and because of that,
he can write
these amazing songs.

400
00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:55,234
I never wanted
to be someone else.

401
00:26:55,372 --> 00:27:00,135
I wanted to be a star,
and I wanted people to love me
and recognize me in the street.

402
00:27:00,273 --> 00:27:01,654
As a child,
that's what I wanted,

403
00:27:01,792 --> 00:27:04,105
but I never really wanted
to be someone else.

404
00:27:06,003 --> 00:27:08,488
I believe I am a writer
much more than I am
anything else.

405
00:27:08,627 --> 00:27:10,698
And I want to leave songs.

406
00:27:10,836 --> 00:27:14,322
I believe I can leave songs
that will be, will mean
something to other generations.

407
00:27:18,844 --> 00:27:21,743
This award is for
favorite soul and R&B album.

408
00:27:21,881 --> 00:27:27,507
And the winner is,
George Michael.

409
00:27:28,060 --> 00:27:29,406
George Michael.

410
00:27:40,003 --> 00:27:42,868
I've been a lover of soul music
since I was a kid.

411
00:27:45,525 --> 00:27:49,357
And I'd just like to thank
everybody who has helped me
this year.

412
00:27:49,495 --> 00:27:53,361
I'd like to thank Black Radio,
I'd like to thank everyone
at CBS Records,

413
00:27:54,086 --> 00:27:55,397
in the R&B department.

414
00:27:55,535 --> 00:27:58,055
And I'd like to thank everyone
who voted for me.

415
00:27:58,193 --> 00:27:59,816
I can't believe it.
Thank you very much.

416
00:28:02,888 --> 00:28:07,444
I won these two awards
that were traditionally
received by black artists.

417
00:28:09,964 --> 00:28:13,174
And I think there
was a perception
that it had gone too far.

418
00:28:13,312 --> 00:28:17,592
The black male artist
works very hard to get his due,

419
00:28:17,730 --> 00:28:20,802
and Bobby Brown
had across the board play.

420
00:28:20,940 --> 00:28:25,773
And he could compete
in the same category
as George Michael competes in.

421
00:28:25,911 --> 00:28:27,429
That would be
a whole another thing.

422
00:28:27,567 --> 00:28:29,535
I didn't ask to be given
those awards,

423
00:28:29,673 --> 00:28:32,987
I'm not going to pretend
I wasn't happy to get them.

424
00:28:33,125 --> 00:28:36,784
But I do understand
what the argument that says,

425
00:28:36,922 --> 00:28:41,685
"This guy is just
an acceptable version
of black music

426
00:28:41,823 --> 00:28:44,239
for White America."

427
00:28:44,377 --> 00:28:47,415
Suddenly, crossover
was not hip.

428
00:28:47,553 --> 00:28:51,005
And I see that point.
I totally saw the point
at the time.

429
00:28:51,143 --> 00:28:52,834
I just felt it was sad,
you know,

430
00:28:52,972 --> 00:28:55,388
that white and black people
recording together,

431
00:28:55,526 --> 00:28:58,115
suddenly was, kind of,
dancing with the enemy.

432
00:28:58,840 --> 00:28:59,841
You mean George is white?

433
00:29:01,532 --> 00:29:02,533
Are you serious?

434
00:29:03,017 --> 00:29:04,018
Oh, my God!

435
00:29:04,950 --> 00:29:06,330
And he is blind, right?

436
00:29:06,468 --> 00:29:08,401
I think it had
a huge effect on George,

437
00:29:08,539 --> 00:29:11,991
because he'd won
in this category,

438
00:29:12,129 --> 00:29:16,927
he'd achieved something
that was beyond
his wildest dreams,

439
00:29:17,065 --> 00:29:20,759
only to have the carpet pulled
from under his feet.

440
00:29:20,897 --> 00:29:26,488
I don't think there's
any attempt to, kind of,
steal black heritage

441
00:29:26,626 --> 00:29:28,007
in what I'm doing.

442
00:29:28,145 --> 00:29:30,803
All I think that's happening is
I'm trying to make good music.

443
00:29:30,941 --> 00:29:34,531
Music is not based on
the color of one's skin,

444
00:29:34,669 --> 00:29:38,259
or, you know, this is soul music
or this is pop.

445
00:29:38,397 --> 00:29:40,502
To me, those things are like,
it's kind of old.

446
00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:41,710
You know what I mean?

447
00:29:50,789 --> 00:29:54,723
MICHAEL: I suddenly couldn't
get anywhere near radio,
Black Radio.

448
00:29:54,862 --> 00:29:56,415
And that
was the reason, really,

449
00:29:56,553 --> 00:29:59,245
Listen Without Prejudice
was called
Listen Without Prejudice.

450
00:29:59,383 --> 00:30:04,043
It was me saying,
"Here's an album that has bits
of gospel, you know,

451
00:30:04,181 --> 00:30:07,909
bits of R&B,
some very white stuff,"

452
00:30:08,047 --> 00:30:11,499
and it was just trying to say,
"Let me be
both of these things

453
00:30:11,637 --> 00:30:14,088
"without having to be
one or the other."

454
00:30:14,226 --> 00:30:16,331
LIAM GALLAGHER:
I don't know if I
bought it, stole it,

455
00:30:16,469 --> 00:30:19,438
or it just, sort of like,
just got delivered.

456
00:30:21,371 --> 00:30:23,442
You know, I mean, sometimes you
get albums like that, don't you?

457
00:30:23,580 --> 00:30:27,170
You know what I mean?
They're that great,
they just end up in your house.

458
00:30:27,308 --> 00:30:28,585
ELTON JOHN:
What can I say about
the sound of it?

459
00:30:28,723 --> 00:30:30,242
It's very ethereal.

460
00:30:30,380 --> 00:30:32,761
It has a mystery about it.

461
00:30:32,900 --> 00:30:37,249
George, on this album,
got everything that he had
inside his gut,

462
00:30:37,387 --> 00:30:41,529
onto vinyl or CD or cassette.

463
00:30:41,667 --> 00:30:42,841
And thank God he did.

464
00:30:44,152 --> 00:30:46,016
Well, let's have
a party pop song.

465
00:30:51,297 --> 00:30:53,023
[MUSIC PLAYS ON RECORD PLAYER]

466
00:30:53,161 --> 00:30:55,646
It fucking won.

467
00:30:55,784 --> 00:31:02,239
This song, now, it's just got
such a big opening,
a message, actually, I think.

468
00:31:02,377 --> 00:31:05,311
JOHN: That opening,
it reminds me of John Lennon.

469
00:31:05,449 --> 00:31:07,969
Sliced out
of one of John's solo albums.

470
00:31:08,107 --> 00:31:12,146
♪ These are the days
Of the open hand

471
00:31:12,284 --> 00:31:15,218
♪ They will not be the last

472
00:31:16,150 --> 00:31:18,290
♪ Look around now

473
00:31:18,428 --> 00:31:23,226
♪ These are the days
Of the beggars
And the choosers♪

474
00:31:23,364 --> 00:31:25,780
When I listen
to George Michael's songs,

475
00:31:25,918 --> 00:31:29,404
I think, not only he's tapped
into his dark side

476
00:31:29,542 --> 00:31:31,544
of whatever's going on
in his life,

477
00:31:31,682 --> 00:31:37,309
but he's tapped into the truth
about who he is and what he is,
and what life is.

478
00:31:37,447 --> 00:31:39,794
And he wasn't afraid to share
that with us.

479
00:31:39,932 --> 00:31:43,694
♪ The rich declare
Themselves poor

480
00:31:43,832 --> 00:31:47,388
♪ And most of us
Are not sure

481
00:31:47,526 --> 00:31:51,599
♪ If we have too much
But we'll take our chances

482
00:31:51,737 --> 00:31:55,361
♪ 'Cause God's stopped
Keeping score♪

483
00:31:55,499 --> 00:31:59,676
When I hear that,
it is right up there,
you know what I mean?

484
00:31:59,814 --> 00:32:02,921
And then you get
into the lyrics.

485
00:32:03,059 --> 00:32:06,476
The ones from the side
is "The rich declare
themselves poor."

486
00:32:06,614 --> 00:32:08,547
I like it, 'cause it's
got a bit of a dig.
You know what I mean?

487
00:32:08,685 --> 00:32:10,929
I mean, that's the way
I take it anyway.

488
00:32:11,067 --> 00:32:12,965
It's like, "You bunch
of fucking cunts," you know,

489
00:32:13,103 --> 00:32:15,657
"always fucking playing
the poverty card."

490
00:32:15,795 --> 00:32:17,970
I like that, 'cause it's got
a bit of Lennon vibe.

491
00:32:18,108 --> 00:32:20,352
He likes to dig people out.

492
00:32:20,490 --> 00:32:23,562
There's no one before
The Beatles that has done
this kind of song.

493
00:32:23,700 --> 00:32:26,254
♪ When there is no hope
To speak of

494
00:32:26,392 --> 00:32:29,568
♪ And the wounded
Skies above♪

495
00:32:29,706 --> 00:32:31,535
Not only, really,
it's just his writing,

496
00:32:31,673 --> 00:32:33,434
but it's
the vocal performance,
you know?

497
00:32:33,572 --> 00:32:35,091
And it's always just like...

498
00:32:36,782 --> 00:32:41,511
It just always feels so honest.

499
00:32:41,649 --> 00:32:45,687
You just believe, kind of,
every word that he sings
and even ad-libs.

500
00:32:45,825 --> 00:32:50,416
Even him throwing out a line
is better
than most people's verses.

501
00:32:50,554 --> 00:32:52,625
There comes a point where
you have to write something

502
00:32:52,763 --> 00:32:54,869
which you
haven't written before,

503
00:32:55,007 --> 00:33:00,012
and which your interest
in any particular topic
or subject will inspire you,

504
00:33:00,150 --> 00:33:03,429
and that's why, I suppose,
eventually, most lyricists,

505
00:33:03,567 --> 00:33:08,124
do approach wider topics
than sex and love, you know?

506
00:33:13,370 --> 00:33:16,373
♪ These are the days
Of the empty hand

507
00:33:17,478 --> 00:33:20,377
♪ Oh, you hold on
To what you can

508
00:33:21,620 --> 00:33:27,591
♪ And charity is a coat
You wear twice a year♪

509
00:33:28,765 --> 00:33:30,767
"Charity's a coat you wear
twice a year."

510
00:33:30,905 --> 00:33:32,976
Like, just like...
There's things that

511
00:33:33,114 --> 00:33:36,255
stick out to you
when you're listening to,
kind of,

512
00:33:36,393 --> 00:33:39,258
pop music and whatever else
at that age.

513
00:33:39,396 --> 00:33:43,952
♪ So, maybe we should all be
Praying for time

514
00:33:48,405 --> 00:33:52,651
♪ To-do-do♪

515
00:33:52,789 --> 00:33:54,549
But even if I'm making whatever,
you know, I mean,

516
00:33:54,687 --> 00:33:58,105
I'd work on his case, you know,
but I am gonna assist you

517
00:33:58,243 --> 00:34:00,659
'cause it's a classic.
It's up there.

518
00:34:00,797 --> 00:34:03,662
I'd say it could have been cut
from the same cloth as Imagine.

519
00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:06,044
It's got, you know,
it's heartfelt,

520
00:34:07,907 --> 00:34:10,462
and the words are amazing
and the tune's great.

521
00:34:21,989 --> 00:34:23,958
That was a bit much, isn't it?

522
00:34:24,096 --> 00:34:26,063
I didn't expect to be
as moved as I am.

523
00:34:27,030 --> 00:34:29,964
♪ Let me tell you a secret

524
00:34:30,101 --> 00:34:33,139
♪ Put it in your heart
And keep it

525
00:34:33,277 --> 00:34:35,107
♪ Something that I want to...♪

526
00:34:35,245 --> 00:34:37,799
MICHAEL:
It was my time to discover
The Beatles.

527
00:34:37,937 --> 00:34:40,906
And at the time, I was big
into Abbey Road and Revolver,

528
00:34:41,043 --> 00:34:44,496
and you know...
And it's the people that
you're trying to emulate,

529
00:34:44,634 --> 00:34:47,223
sometimes, that can
bring you up.

530
00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:49,949
I made one record to show
how much I loved Lennon,

531
00:34:50,088 --> 00:34:53,056
I made another record
to show how much
I love McCartney.

532
00:34:53,194 --> 00:34:56,301
I didn't even dream
that McCartney would
ever sing it.

533
00:34:56,438 --> 00:34:59,373
And actually, when he sings it,
it sounds like
a Paul McCartney record.

534
00:34:59,511 --> 00:35:02,479
Next week, we're gonna do
some vocals, yeah?

535
00:35:02,617 --> 00:35:03,929
'Cause you're ready for that.Thanks.

536
00:35:04,067 --> 00:35:06,138
♪ Please let me try to

537
00:35:06,276 --> 00:35:08,589
♪ I can heal the pain

538
00:35:08,727 --> 00:35:10,418
♪ That you're feeling inside♪

539
00:35:10,556 --> 00:35:16,044
It's most surreal moment
of my career, I think,
to have Paul McCartney singing

540
00:35:16,183 --> 00:35:18,806
something that I wrote
as a tribute
to Paul McCartney.

541
00:35:18,944 --> 00:35:21,222
I don't think I would have
had the nerve to ask him
when I wrote it.

542
00:35:22,844 --> 00:35:25,123
Sounds so fucking cool.

543
00:35:25,261 --> 00:35:26,503
It's cool.

544
00:35:26,641 --> 00:35:29,334
♪ Won't you show me
Your heart now?

545
00:35:30,783 --> 00:35:33,234
♪ I'll be good to you

546
00:35:33,372 --> 00:35:36,203
♪ I can make this thing true

547
00:35:36,341 --> 00:35:39,930
♪ And get
To your heart somehow

548
00:35:42,657 --> 00:35:44,452
Yeah. Go on, love.

549
00:35:44,590 --> 00:35:45,591
♪ Yeah...♪

550
00:35:46,903 --> 00:35:48,249
Okay.

551
00:35:48,387 --> 00:35:50,424
MICHAEL: You know,
the man forgot to introduce me.

552
00:35:53,565 --> 00:35:56,844
I heard the beginning of
"Baby, You Can Drive
My Car" start.

553
00:35:56,982 --> 00:35:58,328
There's this bit of film of
me going...

554
00:36:05,059 --> 00:36:06,405
So, that's what I did.
I just ran on

555
00:36:06,543 --> 00:36:08,096
just before I was supposed
to sing the chorus.

556
00:36:08,235 --> 00:36:11,928
♪ But you can do something
In between

557
00:36:12,066 --> 00:36:14,241
♪ Baby, you can drive my car♪

558
00:36:24,285 --> 00:36:25,769
I haven't done this
in a long time.

559
00:36:28,496 --> 00:36:30,740
[MUSIC PLAYING ON RECORD PLAYER]

560
00:36:39,611 --> 00:36:40,991
See how piano-based
the album is?

561
00:36:41,129 --> 00:36:43,684
♪ No more lying friends

562
00:36:43,822 --> 00:36:46,756
♪ Wanting tragic ends

563
00:36:46,894 --> 00:36:49,690
♪ Though they do pretend

564
00:36:49,828 --> 00:36:53,141
♪ They won't go when I go

565
00:36:53,280 --> 00:36:54,660
I mean, he sounds like Stevie.

566
00:37:00,770 --> 00:37:01,805
Love this song.

567
00:37:04,981 --> 00:37:07,086
♪ All those bleeding hearts♪

568
00:37:07,225 --> 00:37:11,850
I hear so much,

569
00:37:14,887 --> 00:37:16,544
like, exhaustion.

570
00:37:17,925 --> 00:37:20,238
Not exhaustion in him
as an artist,

571
00:37:20,376 --> 00:37:27,106
but exhaustion in him, you know,
as a human in this world
we live in.

572
00:37:27,245 --> 00:37:32,146
I hear a fight.[CHUCKLES]

573
00:37:32,284 --> 00:37:36,875
Sometimes, you know,
like, you'd definitely
hit a pure talent.

574
00:37:37,600 --> 00:37:38,601
Pure talent.

575
00:37:40,568 --> 00:37:41,569
You hear hope.

576
00:37:46,022 --> 00:37:47,057
Brilliant.

577
00:37:49,059 --> 00:37:52,028
"They Won't Go When I Go",
for sure, like, that was...

578
00:37:53,340 --> 00:37:58,379
That was probably
my introduction even
to Stevie Wonder.

579
00:37:58,517 --> 00:38:00,692
The version
"They Won't Go When I Go",

580
00:38:00,830 --> 00:38:05,524
it brings back a lot
of the memories
because it's the thought

581
00:38:05,662 --> 00:38:12,393
that at the end of the day,
we come alone in this world,

582
00:38:12,531 --> 00:38:15,500
and we will,
and we will die alone.

583
00:38:15,638 --> 00:38:18,813
And it's what we do in between
that's going to determine

584
00:38:18,951 --> 00:38:24,302
how and what we'll be remembered
as and what we can think
about in spirit.

585
00:38:25,717 --> 00:38:27,374
So, it was great to hear him
sing the song.

586
00:38:38,419 --> 00:38:41,353
♪ Unclean minds
Mislead the pure

587
00:38:41,491 --> 00:38:44,322
♪ The innocent
Will leave for sure

588
00:38:44,460 --> 00:38:50,362
♪ For them
There is a resting place

589
00:38:50,500 --> 00:38:56,679
♪ People sinning just for fun
They will never see the sun

590
00:38:56,817 --> 00:39:01,856
♪ For they can never show
Their faces

591
00:39:01,994 --> 00:39:06,585
♪ There ain't no room
For the hopeless sinner

592
00:39:07,862 --> 00:39:14,179
♪ Who will take more than he
Will give

593
00:39:14,317 --> 00:39:20,530
♪ He will give
He will give

594
00:39:20,668 --> 00:39:23,533
♪ He ain't hardly gonna give♪

595
00:39:30,989 --> 00:39:31,955
I'm actually crying.

596
00:39:32,093 --> 00:39:34,820
So, you know,

597
00:39:37,305 --> 00:39:40,930
it takes a massive amount
of bravery

598
00:39:41,068 --> 00:39:43,242
for George to do a song
like that.

599
00:39:43,381 --> 00:39:44,968
When you go into an area,

600
00:39:46,798 --> 00:39:49,697
that, you know is sort of,
like, sacred ground,

601
00:39:51,734 --> 00:39:54,012
you're going to a place

602
00:39:55,772 --> 00:39:58,292
because your heart tells you
to go there.

603
00:39:58,430 --> 00:40:03,021
You have a love of something
and you want to live
in that world.

604
00:40:06,542 --> 00:40:11,305
♪ His father works some days
For 14 hours

605
00:40:11,443 --> 00:40:15,965
♪ And you can bet
He barely makes a dollar

606
00:40:16,103 --> 00:40:20,763
♪ His mother goes
To scrub the floors for many

607
00:40:20,901 --> 00:40:24,594
♪ And you'd best believe
She hardly gets a penny

608
00:40:24,732 --> 00:40:27,286
♪ Living just enough

609
00:40:27,425 --> 00:40:33,741
♪ Just enough for the city♪

610
00:40:35,156 --> 00:40:37,262
Reason for me doing
so many Stevie Wonder

611
00:40:37,400 --> 00:40:39,713
'cause I've done
in over various sets.

612
00:40:39,851 --> 00:40:42,888
I've done like four or five
Stevie Wonder covers.

613
00:40:43,026 --> 00:40:46,996
And apart from the fact, like,
I consider him to be
an incredible writer.

614
00:40:48,963 --> 00:40:51,345
His voice, the key

615
00:40:51,483 --> 00:40:54,900
that he was writing for
at that time was perfectly
suited to my voice.

616
00:40:56,833 --> 00:41:01,459
♪ His patience's long
But soon he won't have any

617
00:41:01,597 --> 00:41:06,291
♪ To find a job
Is like a haystack needle

618
00:41:06,429 --> 00:41:10,122
♪ 'Cause where he lives
They don't use colored people

619
00:41:10,260 --> 00:41:17,509
♪ Living just enough
Just enough
For the city, yeah

620
00:41:22,410 --> 00:41:24,620
♪ One more time♪

621
00:41:31,834 --> 00:41:36,528
WONDER: Well, George reminds
me of me as a little kid,
you know?

622
00:41:36,666 --> 00:41:39,013
My passion for music.

623
00:41:40,946 --> 00:41:42,879
He and I doing
the "Living For The City",

624
00:41:43,017 --> 00:41:45,054
I remember that that
was a lot of fun.

625
00:41:45,192 --> 00:41:48,575
♪ Oh, no♪

626
00:41:48,713 --> 00:41:52,061
Chemistry is something
that you can't fake.

627
00:41:52,199 --> 00:41:56,548
It's about how you relate
to each other
and how it connects.

628
00:42:14,670 --> 00:42:18,121
MICHAEL: I'm aware
of the need for persona,

629
00:42:18,259 --> 00:42:21,539
and my actual persona,
I'm not really prepared
to give.

630
00:42:23,817 --> 00:42:25,128
I'm a real homebody.

631
00:42:25,266 --> 00:42:28,960
I'd much rather be
taking my dog for a walk.

632
00:42:29,892 --> 00:42:33,240
Or, you know, be with friends.

633
00:42:37,382 --> 00:42:40,074
I feel like I don't belong
out there.

634
00:42:40,212 --> 00:42:42,214
Being this
professional person,

635
00:42:42,352 --> 00:42:45,321
going around
selling his wares.

636
00:42:45,459 --> 00:42:51,085
He had a much harder
journey than me in a way,
because if you get

637
00:42:51,223 --> 00:42:56,815
fame and accolades and wealth
beyond your wildest dreams

638
00:42:56,953 --> 00:43:01,130
as a teenager,
it usually goes wrong.

639
00:43:01,268 --> 00:43:05,824
But he obviously had
a wiser head on his shoulders
than most.

640
00:43:05,962 --> 00:43:08,586
I think
a lot of young musicians now are

641
00:43:08,724 --> 00:43:12,935
kind of, you know,
sort of, manufactured.

642
00:43:13,073 --> 00:43:15,420
And I think, for him,
he didn't ever want
to be like that.

643
00:43:15,558 --> 00:43:20,287
And part of his
reactionary way was to
break away from all of that.

644
00:43:20,425 --> 00:43:23,980
MICHAEL: I was still
struggling with the idea of
having that much attention.

645
00:43:24,118 --> 00:43:27,328
And I think, like,
recoiled from that

646
00:43:27,466 --> 00:43:31,539
and I felt that stepping back
would save me

647
00:43:31,678 --> 00:43:34,439
from somehow screwing up
my career.

648
00:43:36,096 --> 00:43:39,789
I see, kind of,
hard sell promotion
as prostituting myself.

649
00:43:39,927 --> 00:43:42,896
I can't help it,
even if it's
a complete fallacy.

650
00:43:43,034 --> 00:43:44,173
That's how I see it.

651
00:43:44,311 --> 00:43:47,038
I am of that generation.

652
00:43:47,176 --> 00:43:53,769
He felt he needed to withdraw
from the merry-go-round
that is promoting and albums

653
00:43:53,907 --> 00:43:57,289
and explained
in a very articulate way.

654
00:43:57,427 --> 00:43:59,775
That he just felt
he had to withdraw from that

655
00:43:59,913 --> 00:44:01,293
for the moment,
for his own sanity,

656
00:44:01,431 --> 00:44:03,848
that we would probably get
more albums out of him

657
00:44:03,986 --> 00:44:06,540
if we just allowed him
to back off.

658
00:44:06,678 --> 00:44:11,303
That was quite a bomb shell,
I suppose,
for us to have to deal with.

659
00:44:11,441 --> 00:44:13,720
The fact that he didn't do
any promotion of it,

660
00:44:13,858 --> 00:44:16,446
it's begs, you know,
it's quite astonishing.

661
00:44:21,935 --> 00:44:24,109
[MUSIC PLAYING ON RECORD]

662
00:44:27,285 --> 00:44:29,736
JOHN: What's coming up now
is one of the great intros.

663
00:44:29,874 --> 00:44:32,152
[BEAT-BOXING]

664
00:44:33,084 --> 00:44:35,431
And I was,
not me on piano either,

665
00:44:35,569 --> 00:44:37,847
which is...
I always hated him for that.

666
00:44:39,228 --> 00:44:41,609
♪ I won't let you down

667
00:44:41,748 --> 00:44:44,164
♪ I will not give you up

668
00:44:44,302 --> 00:44:46,822
♪ Gotta have some faith
In the sound

669
00:44:46,960 --> 00:44:49,825
♪ It's the one good thing
That I've got

670
00:44:49,963 --> 00:44:52,310
♪ I won't let you down

671
00:44:52,448 --> 00:44:55,071
♪ So, please
Don't give me up

672
00:44:55,209 --> 00:44:59,041
♪ Because I would really,
Really love to stick around

673
00:44:59,179 --> 00:45:00,525
♪ Oh, yeah♪

674
00:45:02,285 --> 00:45:04,632
"Freedom! '90"
is, kind of, like this

675
00:45:04,771 --> 00:45:08,395
funk groove masterpiece
that just comes in a like,
track two.

676
00:45:11,467 --> 00:45:13,331
You're striving
to make something

677
00:45:13,469 --> 00:45:15,091
every time you go
in the studio,

678
00:45:15,229 --> 00:45:16,921
half as good
as a record like that.

679
00:45:18,370 --> 00:45:19,440
It's the Mona Lisa.

680
00:45:21,615 --> 00:45:24,860
♪ Heaven knows
I was just a young boy

681
00:45:24,998 --> 00:45:27,069
♪ Didn't know what
I wanted to be♪

682
00:45:27,207 --> 00:45:28,898
Big change made, he's not there.

683
00:45:29,692 --> 00:45:30,797
He doesn't appear.

684
00:45:30,935 --> 00:45:32,557
Beautiful girls are there.

685
00:45:32,695 --> 00:45:35,042
The top, top, top,
top, top model.

686
00:45:35,180 --> 00:45:36,837
♪ And I guess
It was enough...♪

687
00:45:36,975 --> 00:45:38,390
MICHAEL: If you're gonna say
to your record company,

688
00:45:38,528 --> 00:45:40,116
"Look, I'm not gonna be
in this video."

689
00:45:40,254 --> 00:45:42,878
I think that's fairly good
consolation prize. Really.

690
00:45:43,982 --> 00:45:46,260
Five absolutely
gorgeous supermodels

691
00:45:46,398 --> 00:45:48,297
that people
still want to look at today.

692
00:45:48,435 --> 00:45:51,541
♪ Rock and roll TV
Rock and roll TV♪

693
00:45:51,679 --> 00:45:54,234
It changed the whole face
of how videos were done.

694
00:45:54,372 --> 00:45:55,822
The video said everything.

695
00:45:55,960 --> 00:45:58,686
It was genius, and it
was a revolutionary thing.

696
00:45:58,825 --> 00:46:01,931
George had raised the bar
to a whole new level.

697
00:46:04,037 --> 00:46:06,315
ALT:
It felt like a big statement.

698
00:46:06,453 --> 00:46:07,661
It was really well done.

699
00:46:07,799 --> 00:46:09,525
It could have been a disaster.

700
00:46:09,663 --> 00:46:13,115
CRAWFORD: It was
a specific group of women
that George wanted,

701
00:46:13,253 --> 00:46:15,980
that had just been
on the cover of BritishVogue

702
00:46:16,118 --> 00:46:17,809
that was shot
by Peter Lindbergh.

703
00:46:17,947 --> 00:46:20,225
It was, like,
"He wants you five.

704
00:46:20,363 --> 00:46:22,780
"And it has to be
all of you five."

705
00:46:22,918 --> 00:46:25,506
♪ Sometimes the clothes
Do not make the man♪

706
00:46:25,644 --> 00:46:29,372
Now in fashion,
there is no supermodels
like this.

707
00:46:29,510 --> 00:46:30,822
This is gone.

708
00:46:30,960 --> 00:46:34,826
It was like the magic moment
of modeling.

709
00:46:38,105 --> 00:46:40,073
I suppose
that's the lasting memory

710
00:46:40,211 --> 00:46:42,903
of that whole video shoot
was the cost of the girls

711
00:46:43,041 --> 00:46:44,698
and the fees they were charging
on a daily basis.

712
00:46:44,836 --> 00:46:46,182
That was pretty groundbreaking.

713
00:46:46,320 --> 00:46:50,773
George pitched it to me in L.A.
and his exact words were...

714
00:46:50,911 --> 00:46:55,571
"You're the leader of the gang,
and unless you say yes,
the rest of the girls won't."

715
00:46:55,709 --> 00:46:57,573
His people talked to my people.

716
00:46:57,711 --> 00:47:00,300
Yeah, you know
how it went back then.

717
00:47:00,438 --> 00:47:02,198
I was like,
"Well, is Christy doing it?"

718
00:47:03,475 --> 00:47:05,684
♪ Freedom

719
00:47:05,823 --> 00:47:08,273
♪ You've got to give
What you take♪

720
00:47:08,411 --> 00:47:10,551
CHRISTY TURLINGTON:
My scene where I'm sort of
crawling on the ground

721
00:47:10,689 --> 00:47:12,277
and you just see my eyes.

722
00:47:12,415 --> 00:47:16,868
People think I know, that slow,
so, like, sexy and mysterious

723
00:47:17,006 --> 00:47:19,181
is just really,
I didn't know the words.

724
00:47:22,563 --> 00:47:26,740
LINDA EVANGELISTA:
I prepared
in the trailer with George.

725
00:47:26,878 --> 00:47:32,642
He showed me how to hit
the notes
and it's hard to lip sync.

726
00:47:34,023 --> 00:47:35,991
CRAWFORD: David Fincher
was directing it.

727
00:47:36,129 --> 00:47:40,133
And even though the shot
ended up looking
like the steamy bath scene,

728
00:47:40,271 --> 00:47:41,548
there was no water in the tub.

729
00:47:41,686 --> 00:47:43,136
I was freezing cold.

730
00:47:43,274 --> 00:47:46,691
I was covered in glycerin
to make my skin shiny.

731
00:47:46,829 --> 00:47:50,695
And I, kind of, thought,
"I hope Fincher knows
what he's doing."

732
00:47:50,833 --> 00:47:53,836
TURLINGTON:
I remember David and George
working closely together.

733
00:47:53,974 --> 00:47:58,461
He was, you know, right there,
looking through the lens
at time.

734
00:47:58,599 --> 00:48:00,601
Everything suited each girl.

735
00:48:00,739 --> 00:48:03,673
So, I think it was just strong
and we were all so different.

736
00:48:05,399 --> 00:48:07,885
It's such a fun song.

737
00:48:08,023 --> 00:48:12,027
When you listen to the words
and kind of a statement,
it has much more meaning,

738
00:48:12,165 --> 00:48:14,339
and I feel, like,
that whole time

739
00:48:14,477 --> 00:48:16,583
George Michael
was about him saying,

740
00:48:16,721 --> 00:48:20,552
"Enough, like, you guys
tried to prepackage me
and sell me

741
00:48:20,690 --> 00:48:22,623
"in a way
that wasn't authentic."

742
00:48:22,761 --> 00:48:24,660
♪ ...true somehow

743
00:48:24,798 --> 00:48:27,974
♪ All we have to see

744
00:48:28,975 --> 00:48:31,253
♪ Is that I don't belong
To you

745
00:48:31,391 --> 00:48:34,912
♪And you don't belong
To me, yeah, yeah

746
00:48:35,050 --> 00:48:37,604
♪ Freedom
I won't let you down

747
00:48:37,742 --> 00:48:40,987
♪ Freedom
I will not give you up♪

748
00:48:41,125 --> 00:48:47,510
You can see the biker jacket,
which is burning like the fire,
so, it's like symbolic.

749
00:48:47,648 --> 00:48:50,168
RONSON: I got the impression
he's saying, like,
that chapter's closed

750
00:48:50,306 --> 00:48:52,860
and I'm done being
public figure pop star.

751
00:48:52,999 --> 00:48:55,725
MICHAEL:
The burning of the jacket,
the exploding guitar,

752
00:48:55,863 --> 00:48:59,212
the exploding jukebox
was me just saying
I'm sick of this.

753
00:48:59,350 --> 00:49:00,627
I really can't cope with it.

754
00:49:01,904 --> 00:49:04,010
♪ Freedom

755
00:49:04,148 --> 00:49:06,598
♪ You got to give
What you take

756
00:49:06,736 --> 00:49:09,498
Not only were we not going
to get him appearing
in promotional videos,

757
00:49:09,636 --> 00:49:12,639
but we weren't going to get
his image on the album sleeve.

758
00:49:12,777 --> 00:49:15,021
We won't get to get his name
on the album sleeve.

759
00:49:15,159 --> 00:49:17,955
Would I have chosen
the album sleeve that
wasn't the beach shot

760
00:49:18,093 --> 00:49:21,027
taken from 1940 or whenever
it was? Yeah.

761
00:49:21,165 --> 00:49:22,269
Would I have liked his name
on that?

762
00:49:22,407 --> 00:49:23,719
Yeah, of course I would.

763
00:49:23,857 --> 00:49:26,549
A lot of people are just pimping
themselves out 24/7.

764
00:49:26,687 --> 00:49:27,792
You know what I mean?

765
00:49:27,930 --> 00:49:31,520
There's a mystique
about George Michael.

766
00:49:31,658 --> 00:49:34,074
♪ But today the way
I play the game

767
00:49:34,212 --> 00:49:36,318
♪ Has got to change,
Oh, yeah

768
00:49:36,456 --> 00:49:39,562
♪ Now I'm gonna get
Myself happy♪

769
00:49:39,700 --> 00:49:41,426
JOHN: Making records, it's fun.

770
00:49:41,564 --> 00:49:45,051
And then you have to talk
about it,
which is not fun.

771
00:49:45,189 --> 00:49:46,949
Yeah, I thought it was bonkers.

772
00:49:47,087 --> 00:49:49,572
But then it all makes sense,
doesn't it?

773
00:49:49,710 --> 00:49:51,609
MICHAEL: When I spoke
to theLos Angeles Times

774
00:49:51,747 --> 00:49:53,818
about stepping back
from promotion,

775
00:49:53,956 --> 00:49:56,234
Frank Sinatra wrote me
an open letter

776
00:49:56,372 --> 00:49:58,271
that just said, you know,
"Get over it.

777
00:49:58,409 --> 00:50:01,619
"Be glad that God gave you
a gift and get out there
and use it."

778
00:50:01,757 --> 00:50:04,035
I don't think he wrote
the letter.

779
00:50:04,173 --> 00:50:07,970
I actually believed
that was the work
of a publicist,

780
00:50:08,108 --> 00:50:10,386
not the work of a genius.

781
00:50:10,524 --> 00:50:12,388
What a wonderful letter.

782
00:50:12,526 --> 00:50:18,222
Here, probably,
the greatest male singer
of all time is saying,

783
00:50:18,360 --> 00:50:23,123
"Embrace your talent,
enjoy the success.

784
00:50:23,261 --> 00:50:25,815
Don't be threatened by it."

785
00:50:25,953 --> 00:50:27,817
MICHAEL: Now, even though
he's the greatest singer

786
00:50:27,955 --> 00:50:30,268
that ever walked the planet,
as far as I'm concerned,

787
00:50:30,406 --> 00:50:32,960
I wasn't taking any advice
from Frank Sinatra.

788
00:50:33,099 --> 00:50:37,413
You can't put a gun to any
creative person's head and say,

789
00:50:37,551 --> 00:50:39,829
"Create, write, promote,
market, whatever."

790
00:50:39,967 --> 00:50:41,797
You just have to go with it.

791
00:50:41,935 --> 00:50:43,005
That's what we had to do.

792
00:50:54,741 --> 00:50:59,056
I had spent
six or seven years of my life,

793
00:50:59,194 --> 00:51:04,509
working, working, working,
writing, music, music, music.

794
00:51:04,647 --> 00:51:08,582
And then I had this desire
to escape.

795
00:51:17,177 --> 00:51:21,526
The basis for me
going to do the shows in Rio
was I wanted to see Brazil.

796
00:51:21,664 --> 00:51:26,497
And I think I made it
conditional that 30
of my friends

797
00:51:26,635 --> 00:51:28,119
would be flown out to Brazil.

798
00:51:29,638 --> 00:51:31,191
We had our own private island.

799
00:51:32,261 --> 00:51:33,504
Absolutely beautiful.

800
00:51:36,334 --> 00:51:37,887
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION]

801
00:51:38,025 --> 00:51:40,304
I'm actually wearing today...

802
00:51:40,442 --> 00:51:43,859
Some sweat pants. They're very
tight at the bottoms.

803
00:51:43,997 --> 00:51:48,277
This is because I don't want
to drop raw sewage over the city
of Rio.

804
00:51:49,313 --> 00:51:55,284
♪ So, you want to be free

805
00:51:57,321 --> 00:52:03,534
♪ To live your life
The way you wanna be

806
00:52:05,501 --> 00:52:11,749
♪ Will you give if we cry?

807
00:52:13,923 --> 00:52:21,138
♪ Will we live
Or will we die?

808
00:52:22,208 --> 00:52:28,110
♪ Tainted hearts
Heal with time

809
00:52:30,319 --> 00:52:36,636
♪ Shoot bad love so we can

810
00:52:36,774 --> 00:52:39,811
MICHAEL: In the front
of this 160,000 people,

811
00:52:39,949 --> 00:52:43,677
there was this guy over
on the right hand side
of the stage

812
00:52:43,815 --> 00:52:48,993
that has fixed me
with this look
and he was so cute.

813
00:52:49,131 --> 00:52:50,926
I was so distracted by him.

814
00:52:51,064 --> 00:52:54,585
But I stayed away from that
end of the stage for a while.

815
00:52:54,723 --> 00:52:57,277
Because otherwise, I
thought I was gonna get
really distracted

816
00:52:57,415 --> 00:52:59,245
and forget the words
or something. You know?

817
00:53:00,867 --> 00:53:04,457
♪ Is there still a part of you
That wants to live?

818
00:53:05,147 --> 00:53:08,702
♪ Solitary sister

819
00:53:08,840 --> 00:53:13,500
♪ Is there still a part of you
That wants to give?

820
00:53:13,638 --> 00:53:17,573
The moment I looked at him,
I got the feeling

821
00:53:19,368 --> 00:53:22,268
that told me I was going
to know him very well

822
00:53:22,406 --> 00:53:24,201
and that he was going to be
a part of my life.

823
00:53:25,547 --> 00:53:30,137
♪ Is there still a part of you
That wants to give?♪

824
00:53:35,177 --> 00:53:40,389
Anselmo was the first time
I think I really loved
someone selflessly.

825
00:53:41,563 --> 00:53:42,874
It was, kind of, immediate.

826
00:53:43,012 --> 00:53:45,187
Everybody, with the exception
of my family,

827
00:53:45,325 --> 00:53:48,086
was introduced to him
very, very quickly

828
00:53:48,225 --> 00:53:51,124
because I felt immediately
that everything had changed.

829
00:53:54,886 --> 00:53:56,888
DAVID AUSTIN:
All our friends knew,
of course.

830
00:53:57,026 --> 00:54:00,167
I remember seeing him
and just thinking

831
00:54:00,306 --> 00:54:03,032
how I just was feeling
so happy for him.

832
00:54:03,170 --> 00:54:06,829
The two of them met
and changed George's life.

833
00:54:55,878 --> 00:55:00,020
It's very hard to be proud
of your own sexuality

834
00:55:00,158 --> 00:55:01,574
when it hasn't brought you
any joy.

835
00:55:02,678 --> 00:55:07,545
Once it is associated
with joy and love,

836
00:55:07,683 --> 00:55:09,478
it's easy to be proud
of who you are.

837
00:55:13,724 --> 00:55:16,313
The first time you
actually believe somebody
loves you,

838
00:55:18,487 --> 00:55:20,040
that's a wonderful moment
in your life,

839
00:55:20,178 --> 00:55:22,422
and it was a wonderful
six months.

840
00:55:23,078 --> 00:55:24,631
What a poser.

841
00:55:24,769 --> 00:55:28,325
He was just
very full of energy,
very loving.

842
00:55:30,119 --> 00:55:33,468
I was happier
than I'd ever been
in my entire life.

843
00:55:34,986 --> 00:55:38,473
AUSTIN:
He didn't care who saw him
with Anselmo.

844
00:55:38,611 --> 00:55:39,957
He'd found something.

845
00:55:40,095 --> 00:55:41,855
He'd found what he was looking
for, you know?

846
00:55:43,063 --> 00:55:45,272
MICHAEL:
By the time I met Anselmo,

847
00:55:45,411 --> 00:55:49,069
I had made the decision
to jump
off the merry-go-round,

848
00:55:49,207 --> 00:55:54,937
and I was already
in the early stages of my
confrontation with Sony.

849
00:55:56,456 --> 00:56:00,978
Recording an album,
and then saying,

850
00:56:01,116 --> 00:56:05,120
"I'm not going to promote it
or I'm not going to market it.

851
00:56:05,258 --> 00:56:07,294
I'm not going to participate,"

852
00:56:08,813 --> 00:56:11,575
that's a serious detriment
to an album.

853
00:56:12,783 --> 00:56:15,613
I think we had
some personality issues

854
00:56:15,751 --> 00:56:20,756
between people in the UK and
people in the American company.

855
00:56:20,894 --> 00:56:22,896
Why wasn't this
"Faith Part Two"?

856
00:56:24,001 --> 00:56:26,383
We wanted
all those nice pop songs.

857
00:56:26,521 --> 00:56:28,143
What do you mean he's not
going to promote?

858
00:56:28,281 --> 00:56:30,387
We're not going to have
his image on it?

859
00:56:30,525 --> 00:56:33,424
It's like saying,
"I'll do a movie but I...

860
00:56:33,562 --> 00:56:35,357
I won't do one premiere.

861
00:56:35,495 --> 00:56:37,911
I won't do any interviews
for the movie."

862
00:56:38,049 --> 00:56:39,844
You know, you say, "Oh, my God."

863
00:56:41,639 --> 00:56:44,159
TRACEY EMIN:
The moment someone says
to a musician or to an artist,

864
00:56:44,297 --> 00:56:47,231
make more of them
or do more of that,
it kills you.

865
00:56:47,369 --> 00:56:51,131
And I think probably for someone
like George, especially,

866
00:56:51,269 --> 00:56:54,687
at certain times in his career,
he must've felt quite trapped.

867
00:56:54,825 --> 00:57:00,451
In England, they made an effort,
and Listen Without Prejudice
outsold Faith.

868
00:57:00,589 --> 00:57:02,315
And lots of places
it outsold Faith,

869
00:57:02,453 --> 00:57:04,490
because I think it
was actually a better album.

870
00:57:04,628 --> 00:57:05,905
But it wasn't about that.

871
00:57:06,043 --> 00:57:10,185
It was about the total and utter
lack of respect

872
00:57:10,323 --> 00:57:13,775
that the minute somebody doesn't
see themselves as a commodity,

873
00:57:13,913 --> 00:57:16,398
that they have the audacity
to think,

874
00:57:16,536 --> 00:57:19,677
"My God, I am actually
creating something

875
00:57:19,815 --> 00:57:23,440
and I must keep myself sane
in order to do that."

876
00:57:23,578 --> 00:57:26,788
The minute somebody does that,
they're over.

877
00:57:26,926 --> 00:57:30,136
We tried very, very hard

878
00:57:30,274 --> 00:57:34,485
to get the American executives
to come over

879
00:57:34,623 --> 00:57:38,765
and listen to why George felt
the way that he did

880
00:57:38,903 --> 00:57:41,665
from George, 'cause there
was no-one better
to put that forward

881
00:57:41,803 --> 00:57:45,462
than George Michael
telling them,
as he had told us.

882
00:57:47,049 --> 00:57:50,397
The reasons how he really
felt deep down.

883
00:57:51,606 --> 00:57:53,021
But they wouldn't come.

884
00:57:53,159 --> 00:57:57,888
MICHAEL:
There were executives that came
to London in 1989

885
00:57:58,026 --> 00:58:00,166
and we played them the record.

886
00:58:00,304 --> 00:58:05,620
I explained to them that
Faith had taken me
to the edge of madness,

887
00:58:05,758 --> 00:58:10,176
that I wanted to be
a long-term player
in this business.

888
00:58:10,314 --> 00:58:13,973
Now, any logical CEO, I think,
would have thought,

889
00:58:14,111 --> 00:58:16,078
"Okay, he's gonna do this.

890
00:58:16,216 --> 00:58:20,497
He'll get it out of his system
and he'll get back on board."

891
00:58:21,187 --> 00:58:22,740
George is very stubborn.

892
00:58:22,878 --> 00:58:26,054
He's incredibly one of the most
stubborn people I've ever met.

893
00:58:26,192 --> 00:58:28,228
But he was right to be stubborn
on this occasion,

894
00:58:28,366 --> 00:58:30,714
and I'm sure the record company
recoiled in horror.

895
00:58:30,852 --> 00:58:33,855
MICHAEL:
It was very much a clash
of cultures, really.

896
00:58:33,993 --> 00:58:36,858
In America,
there was definitely
a door that shut.

897
00:58:36,996 --> 00:58:39,585
♪ But losing everything

898
00:58:39,723 --> 00:58:46,937
♪ Is like the sun going down
On me♪

899
00:58:48,041 --> 00:58:50,009
Mr. Elton John!

900
00:58:50,147 --> 00:58:52,736
I managed to have a couple
of really big hit records
in the meantime.

901
00:58:52,874 --> 00:58:55,152
There was the track
with Elton,

902
00:58:55,290 --> 00:58:57,913
and, of course,
theRed Hot + Dance album
came out.

903
00:59:03,091 --> 00:59:06,957
♪ Hey, you're just
Too funky for me

904
00:59:07,095 --> 00:59:09,580
♪ I gotta get inside of you

905
00:59:09,718 --> 00:59:13,170
♪ And I'll show you heaven,
If you let me♪

906
00:59:13,308 --> 00:59:15,793
EVANGELISTA:
It was very difficult
to make that video.

907
00:59:15,931 --> 00:59:22,041
It all fell apart,
not for any
of George's reasons.

908
00:59:22,179 --> 00:59:26,390
It just fell apart,
and he saved it.

909
00:59:27,840 --> 00:59:30,152
Linda, bless her heart,
came back again.

910
00:59:30,290 --> 00:59:31,602
We got a bit drunk.

911
00:59:31,740 --> 00:59:33,086
I won't say any more
about that.

912
00:59:33,224 --> 00:59:35,572
It's your stupid, stupid song.

913
00:59:36,503 --> 00:59:38,367
This would look great on me.

914
00:59:38,505 --> 00:59:40,438
I think George definitely
should wear this.

915
00:59:40,577 --> 00:59:43,683
♪ If that's all right, yeah♪

916
00:59:43,821 --> 00:59:46,410
So, I realized at that
point that if a number
one around the world

917
00:59:46,548 --> 00:59:50,276
was not going to reinstate
any kind of
relationship with Sony,

918
00:59:50,414 --> 00:59:51,484
then nothing was.

919
00:59:54,176 --> 00:59:55,868
I don't want to pick a fight.

920
00:59:56,006 --> 00:59:59,078
I just wanted to work
with people who wanted
to work with me

921
00:59:59,216 --> 01:00:04,911
and who would have
some respect for the fact
that I was growing up.

922
01:00:05,049 --> 01:00:09,088
It was deeply,
deeply troubling times,

923
01:00:09,226 --> 01:00:13,851
because you could see this,
it's like trying to watch
a train wreck in slow motion.

924
01:00:13,989 --> 01:00:15,957
There is nothing you could
do to stop it.

925
01:00:24,828 --> 01:00:28,107
MICHAEL:
Anselmo and I were in LA when

926
01:00:29,522 --> 01:00:31,420
he was advised
to go for his test.

927
01:00:34,838 --> 01:00:36,667
He hadn't been tested
for a while

928
01:00:36,805 --> 01:00:38,945
and he was absolutely
healthy looking,

929
01:00:39,083 --> 01:00:41,603
more than healthy looking,
when I first met him.

930
01:00:41,741 --> 01:00:44,882
Within a month or two
of meeting him,

931
01:00:45,020 --> 01:00:48,714
he had a flu
that he couldn't get rid of,

932
01:00:48,852 --> 01:00:53,580
and some red marks
that came up on his chest.

933
01:00:53,719 --> 01:00:56,825
And I remember the kind
of terror of...

934
01:00:58,413 --> 01:01:00,864
me understanding
that this was possibly

935
01:01:02,175 --> 01:01:05,178
the beginning of, you know,
an illness.

936
01:01:05,316 --> 01:01:08,354
I remember him
leaving the house and...

937
01:01:11,012 --> 01:01:16,431
To this day, I remember
looking at the sky and saying,

938
01:01:16,569 --> 01:01:20,297
"Don't you dare do this to me."

939
01:01:20,435 --> 01:01:24,922
I mean, I was 20...
27 going on 28.

940
01:01:25,060 --> 01:01:26,752
But at that point in time,
you think,

941
01:01:26,890 --> 01:01:29,409
like, that's a lifetime
to have waited to be loved.

942
01:01:32,378 --> 01:01:34,104
Anselmo had the test

943
01:01:35,864 --> 01:01:36,969
in Brazil.

944
01:01:38,556 --> 01:01:45,702
I went home
to my family for Christmas
and sat at the Christmas table

945
01:01:47,807 --> 01:01:51,155
not knowing whether my partner,
whom the people

946
01:01:51,293 --> 01:01:53,364
sitting around the table
did not know about,

947
01:01:53,502 --> 01:01:58,024
not knowing whether
this man I was in love with
was terminally ill.

948
01:01:58,162 --> 01:02:02,719
And, therefore, not knowing
whether I potentially
was terminally ill.

949
01:02:02,857 --> 01:02:05,618
That Christmas was probably
the darkest,

950
01:02:06,895 --> 01:02:11,106
darkest, most frightening
time in my life.

951
01:02:14,903 --> 01:02:19,666
I remember my publicist
calling me to tell me
that Freddie Mercury had died.

952
01:02:21,668 --> 01:02:23,532
And he died of HIV obviously.

953
01:02:25,155 --> 01:02:30,022
And I remember I was...
I was crying and

954
01:02:30,160 --> 01:02:34,267
I actually just thought...
I mean, bless him,
I was really sad

955
01:02:35,130 --> 01:02:37,063
that Freddie had passed away.

956
01:02:37,201 --> 01:02:41,447
But, of course, I was crying
about something else entirely,

957
01:02:41,585 --> 01:02:46,728
which was the fact that both
my partner and possibly myself
were HIV.

958
01:02:50,490 --> 01:02:54,253
GERVAIS:
It was an incredibly difficult
period for George,

959
01:02:54,391 --> 01:02:58,913
because it was something that
he had to hold close
to his chest.

960
01:03:00,017 --> 01:03:01,916
MICHAEL: I was just
absolutely devastated

961
01:03:03,020 --> 01:03:05,782
to find out that he had
a terminal illness.

962
01:03:06,644 --> 01:03:08,129
I was just devastated.

963
01:03:12,098 --> 01:03:15,584
Even by the time
Freddie's tribute
had been put together,

964
01:03:15,722 --> 01:03:18,001
I was still sworn to secrecy.

965
01:03:20,866 --> 01:03:22,695
I just wanted perfection.

966
01:03:24,662 --> 01:03:26,457
Which is what I always wanted.

967
01:03:29,564 --> 01:03:33,948
So, I went for five days
to rehearse.

968
01:03:34,086 --> 01:03:36,502
Everyone else went
for an afternoon.

969
01:03:36,640 --> 01:03:39,954
I went for five days.

970
01:03:40,092 --> 01:03:42,611
Because it had to be perfect.

971
01:03:42,749 --> 01:03:43,785
[SINGING]

972
01:03:53,795 --> 01:04:00,457
Because I had to take
all those years
of standing in a bedroom,

973
01:04:00,595 --> 01:04:02,390
with I don't think
I had a hairbrush,

974
01:04:02,528 --> 01:04:05,462
but I would stand
and sing to the mirror.

975
01:04:06,946 --> 01:04:10,812
And that child
was going to take
all that knowledge

976
01:04:10,950 --> 01:04:16,645
all that subconscious
easing in
of music from that group

977
01:04:16,783 --> 01:04:20,477
and sing one
of Freddie Mercury's songs
to the world

978
01:04:20,615 --> 01:04:24,481
after his passing
in front of my lover.

979
01:04:31,729 --> 01:04:36,010
In my subconscious view,
this was, very probably

980
01:04:36,148 --> 01:04:39,185
the most important performance
of my life.

981
01:04:39,323 --> 01:04:44,466
♪ Somebody to love

982
01:04:47,504 --> 01:04:48,712
♪ He works hard

983
01:04:48,850 --> 01:04:50,472
♪ Everyday♪ Everyday

984
01:04:50,610 --> 01:04:53,820
♪ I try and I try and I try

985
01:04:53,959 --> 01:04:57,203
♪ But everybody wants
To put me down

986
01:04:57,341 --> 01:05:00,034
♪ They say I'm goin' crazy

987
01:05:01,449 --> 01:05:03,830
♪ They say I got a lot
Of water in my brain

988
01:05:03,969 --> 01:05:05,832
♪ I got no common sense

989
01:05:05,971 --> 01:05:09,146
♪ He's got
Nobody left to believe

990
01:05:09,284 --> 01:05:13,737
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

991
01:05:13,875 --> 01:05:20,917
I was so overwhelmed
by the sadness of singing
the songs of this man

992
01:05:21,055 --> 01:05:25,922
that I absolutely worshipped
as a child,
who had passed away

993
01:05:26,060 --> 01:05:32,066
in the same manner
that my first live-in partner
was going to experience.

994
01:05:33,205 --> 01:05:36,001
It was just overwhelming
to me.

995
01:05:36,139 --> 01:05:37,347
♪ Ooh, somebody

996
01:05:37,485 --> 01:05:43,456
♪ Anybody, find me somebody
To love

997
01:05:43,594 --> 01:05:49,462
♪ Can anybody find me

998
01:05:49,600 --> 01:05:50,877
♪ Someone to love?

999
01:05:51,016 --> 01:05:54,640
♪ I got no feel,
I got no rhythm

1000
01:05:54,778 --> 01:05:57,125
♪ I just keep losing
My beat

1001
01:05:57,263 --> 01:05:58,333
♪ You just keeping losing
The beat

1002
01:05:58,471 --> 01:06:00,059
♪ I'm okay, I'm all right

1003
01:06:00,197 --> 01:06:01,992
♪ He's all right,
He's all right

1004
01:06:02,130 --> 01:06:05,064
♪ I ain't gonna face
No defeat

1005
01:06:05,202 --> 01:06:08,481
♪ I just gotta get out
Of this prison cell

1006
01:06:08,619 --> 01:06:15,695
♪ Someday I'm gonna be free,
Lord

1007
01:06:15,833 --> 01:06:19,734
I'm very proud
of that performance,
but Anselmo was in the crowd

1008
01:06:19,872 --> 01:06:26,120
and I went out there knowing
I had to honor Freddie Mercury
and I had to pray for Anselmo.

1009
01:06:26,258 --> 01:06:27,949
Wanna hear every single person.

1010
01:06:29,606 --> 01:06:31,228
See every single hand.

1011
01:06:31,366 --> 01:06:35,129
And this
was the loudest prayer
of my life.

1012
01:06:35,267 --> 01:06:37,200
♪ Somebody to love

1013
01:06:38,580 --> 01:06:40,997
♪ Somebody to love

1014
01:06:41,859 --> 01:06:44,586
♪ Somebody to love

1015
01:06:45,311 --> 01:06:47,727
♪ Somebody to love

1016
01:06:48,625 --> 01:06:51,007
♪ Somebody to love

1017
01:06:51,869 --> 01:06:54,044
♪ Somebody to love

1018
01:06:55,356 --> 01:06:57,185
♪ Somebody to love

1019
01:06:58,635 --> 01:07:01,396
♪ Somebody to love

1020
01:07:01,534 --> 01:07:04,365
I mean, it was the most
incredible crowd
I've ever seen.

1021
01:07:04,503 --> 01:07:06,988
Everybody knew
every single word.

1022
01:07:07,126 --> 01:07:10,888
And there's a real, kind of,
spine-tingling moment for me

1023
01:07:11,027 --> 01:07:13,408
where I handed over the mike
to the audience, and they,

1024
01:07:13,546 --> 01:07:17,688
not only sang the note,
but they did the kind of
descending scale

1025
01:07:17,826 --> 01:07:18,965
that Freddy had done.

1026
01:07:19,104 --> 01:07:24,592
♪ Somebody to

1027
01:07:24,730 --> 01:07:25,834
Come on!

1028
01:07:25,972 --> 01:07:29,045
♪ Love

1029
01:07:32,358 --> 01:07:33,394
Yeah!

1030
01:07:34,705 --> 01:07:40,815
♪ Find me somebody
To-ooh love

1031
01:07:40,953 --> 01:07:43,197
♪ Ooh

1032
01:07:43,335 --> 01:07:47,649
♪ Find me somebody
To-ooh love

1033
01:07:47,787 --> 01:07:54,173
♪ Somebody, somebody, somebody
To love

1034
01:07:54,311 --> 01:07:59,420
♪ Find me, find me
Find me, find me, find me

1035
01:07:59,558 --> 01:08:05,011
♪ Ooh, somebody to love

1036
01:08:05,150 --> 01:08:09,085
♪ Find me somebody to love

1037
01:08:09,223 --> 01:08:14,745
♪ Find me somebody to love

1038
01:08:15,919 --> 01:08:18,508
♪ Anybody, anywhere, anybody

1039
01:08:18,646 --> 01:08:21,130
♪ Find me somebody to love,
Love

1040
01:08:23,064 --> 01:08:29,345
♪ Ooh♪

1041
01:08:42,014 --> 01:08:45,362
It's not an accident
that the performance

1042
01:08:45,500 --> 01:08:51,471
probably most well-known
in my career was sung

1043
01:08:53,783 --> 01:08:57,236
to my lover who was dying,

1044
01:09:01,137 --> 01:09:05,657
who was the reason I had
the strength to go
to battle with Sony.

1045
01:09:08,282 --> 01:09:14,149
I saw it as,
if I'm going to do
nothing but love this man

1046
01:09:14,288 --> 01:09:20,085
and care for this man,
if I could do nothing
beneficial as a musician

1047
01:09:20,225 --> 01:09:23,399
because I cannot even think
of a note,

1048
01:09:23,538 --> 01:09:27,473
maybe I have a chance to do
something truly special

1049
01:09:27,611 --> 01:09:31,995
and change the standard
record contract forever.

1050
01:09:32,133 --> 01:09:39,002
I didn't think that it would end
up in court, at the time

1051
01:09:39,139 --> 01:09:42,419
because I really thought
that sanity will prevail.

1052
01:09:42,557 --> 01:09:43,800
Well, I was wrong.

1053
01:09:44,249 --> 01:09:45,491
It didn't.

1054
01:09:45,629 --> 01:09:48,631
Our relationship broke down
because they said,

1055
01:09:48,770 --> 01:09:51,877
"No, you are this kind
of artist.

1056
01:09:52,014 --> 01:09:55,087
This is the kind of artist
that we sell.

1057
01:09:55,225 --> 01:09:57,469
This is the kind of artist
we know how to sell.

1058
01:09:57,607 --> 01:10:00,057
And if you don't want to sell
yourself that way,

1059
01:10:00,196 --> 01:10:01,852
and you want to go off
on this journey

1060
01:10:01,990 --> 01:10:05,925
and find this other audience,
we're not gonna support you."

1061
01:10:06,063 --> 01:10:09,722
The relationship
had completely disintegrated.

1062
01:10:09,860 --> 01:10:12,656
George flew out to New York
with his publisher

1063
01:10:12,794 --> 01:10:15,245
and basically,
it was at that meeting

1064
01:10:15,383 --> 01:10:17,764
that George told
the head people at Sony

1065
01:10:17,903 --> 01:10:21,527
that he'd wanted out
of the deal,
wanted a divorce.

1066
01:10:21,665 --> 01:10:26,601
What he was basically saying is,
"How can I stay
with a company...

1067
01:10:28,224 --> 01:10:32,952
who won't support me in any
way when I feel so strongly?"

1068
01:10:37,405 --> 01:10:39,442
We issued a writ
three days later.

1069
01:10:43,618 --> 01:10:49,866
MICHAEL: I will never know
if Sony and I
would have ended up in court

1070
01:10:50,004 --> 01:10:52,903
had Anselmo not become ill.

1071
01:10:55,803 --> 01:10:58,702
I was absolutely terrified
of losing him

1072
01:10:58,840 --> 01:11:01,947
and the prospect of watching
him die of AIDS.

1073
01:11:07,642 --> 01:11:10,058
I was in LA
and the phone rang,

1074
01:11:10,196 --> 01:11:14,407
and I was told that Anselmo's
best friend in Brazil
was on the phone.

1075
01:11:15,166 --> 01:11:16,202
And...

1076
01:11:18,032 --> 01:11:20,344
...then it all goes blurry
for a long time.

1077
01:11:51,168 --> 01:11:54,482
He still, 23 years later,
brings a tear to my eye.

1078
01:11:54,620 --> 01:11:57,243
He was... He was my savior.

1079
01:11:57,382 --> 01:12:03,457
It's still very hard
for me to explain how
finding a companion

1080
01:12:03,594 --> 01:12:07,978
at that stage in my life
changed me.

1081
01:12:08,116 --> 01:12:13,570
And such
a beautiful companion,
such an amazing person.

1082
01:12:15,400 --> 01:12:18,644
I think, to some degree,
the Sony court case

1083
01:12:18,782 --> 01:12:21,094
was a perfectly good place
to put my anger.

1084
01:12:21,233 --> 01:12:25,513
I used to go and run
on the treadmill everyday
and play squash

1085
01:12:25,651 --> 01:12:28,550
and do everything I could
to get rid of all of this
anger and fear.

1086
01:12:28,689 --> 01:12:32,106
But the best place for it
was court number one, really.

1087
01:12:33,969 --> 01:12:35,316
PRESSPERSON:
George, come on, George.

1088
01:12:37,594 --> 01:12:40,839
MICHAEL: There was the part
of my personality
that could say,

1089
01:12:40,977 --> 01:12:42,565
"Okay, fuck this!

1090
01:12:42,702 --> 01:12:44,981
This can't all be bad.

1091
01:12:45,119 --> 01:12:48,674
I've got to do something good
with this time in my life

1092
01:12:49,779 --> 01:12:54,646
and change the path
of artists' lives."

1093
01:12:54,784 --> 01:12:58,063
One of Britain's most successful
pop singers, George Michael,

1094
01:12:58,201 --> 01:13:00,341
is today asking a High Court
judge to declare

1095
01:13:00,478 --> 01:13:03,171
his recording contract null
and void.

1096
01:13:03,309 --> 01:13:06,382
He says the contract
with Sony Music
is too restrictive

1097
01:13:06,520 --> 01:13:08,901
and that the company takes
too much of the profits.

1098
01:13:09,039 --> 01:13:11,904
MICHAEL: The deal that I
was working from

1099
01:13:12,041 --> 01:13:13,975
was based
upon the original deal

1100
01:13:14,112 --> 01:13:17,358
which I had signed
with Andrew,
under duress.

1101
01:13:17,496 --> 01:13:23,985
And it recorded a demo
of "Careless Whisper",
"Club Tropicana", "Wham Rap".

1102
01:13:24,123 --> 01:13:27,161
The head of the record company
of Innervison

1103
01:13:27,299 --> 01:13:31,889
turns up with these contracts
and we went to this
greasy spoon cafe.

1104
01:13:32,028 --> 01:13:35,100
And he said "Look,
if you don't sign this now,
the deal is going away.

1105
01:13:35,237 --> 01:13:38,034
"You won't have finished demos
to take away,
you won't own them."

1106
01:13:41,037 --> 01:13:44,143
And we were on our own,
we had nobody with us,
and we signed them.

1107
01:13:46,180 --> 01:13:48,803
When you start a career
with a ridiculous contract

1108
01:13:48,941 --> 01:13:53,187
where someone is paying you
nothing on 12" records,

1109
01:13:53,325 --> 01:13:56,052
one and a half per cent
on the records
that you do sell,

1110
01:13:57,329 --> 01:13:58,813
when you start
from that point,

1111
01:13:58,951 --> 01:14:03,922
you know from that day on
not to trust the industry.

1112
01:14:04,059 --> 01:14:10,135
This was a worldwide,
major artist saying
to a record company

1113
01:14:10,273 --> 01:14:15,451
that the basic contract
which record companies used
was invalid.

1114
01:14:15,589 --> 01:14:18,764
RUSSELL:
If you really fall out
with the people

1115
01:14:18,902 --> 01:14:21,871
who control
your professional life,

1116
01:14:23,838 --> 01:14:25,737
you have a right to walk away.

1117
01:14:25,875 --> 01:14:28,360
I think that is the right
of every individual.

1118
01:14:28,498 --> 01:14:34,780
And the music industry
takes away that right
from every artist it signs.

1119
01:14:34,918 --> 01:14:36,230
George is very, very brave.

1120
01:14:36,368 --> 01:14:38,025
He's not afraid of anybody.

1121
01:14:38,163 --> 01:14:40,199
And he thought
he was being wronged

1122
01:14:40,337 --> 01:14:41,822
and he went out
and fought his own corner.

1123
01:14:41,960 --> 01:14:47,655
What we couldn't do was stand up
and say, "Yeah, you're right.

1124
01:14:47,793 --> 01:14:53,143
"These contracts are slavery
and they shouldn't be allowed,
Your Honor."

1125
01:14:53,281 --> 01:14:54,731
We weren't going to do that!

1126
01:14:54,869 --> 01:14:58,494
You would have artist
after artist queuing up

1127
01:14:58,632 --> 01:15:00,219
to take their record company
into court.

1128
01:15:03,119 --> 01:15:05,708
MICHAEL:
I can't think of one artist
that supported me.

1129
01:15:06,260 --> 01:15:08,193
Not one.

1130
01:15:08,331 --> 01:15:13,474
I know of a lot of artists
who sat back
and waited for the result.

1131
01:15:14,958 --> 01:15:16,339
But that's a different thing.

1132
01:15:18,755 --> 01:15:22,966
ANDY STEPHENS:
Artists like George Michael
come along, if you're lucky,

1133
01:15:23,103 --> 01:15:25,003
once-in-a-lifetime.

1134
01:15:25,141 --> 01:15:29,663
My feelings as the court case
went on were
that we'd lost him.

1135
01:15:29,800 --> 01:15:32,079
How could you ever patch
that up?

1136
01:15:32,217 --> 01:15:36,290
I'd never let on to George
of the problems

1137
01:15:36,428 --> 01:15:38,499
until after
he'd been in the witness box.

1138
01:15:38,637 --> 01:15:40,984
And I said,
"It's not going well."

1139
01:15:41,121 --> 01:15:45,610
And, you know, you shouldn't
raise your hopes at this stage.

1140
01:15:59,382 --> 01:16:02,419
The pop star George Michael
loses his High Court battle

1141
01:16:02,558 --> 01:16:05,112
to break away from
his record company, Sony.

1142
01:16:05,250 --> 01:16:08,253
In dismissing the claim,
the judge, Mr. Justice Parker,

1143
01:16:08,391 --> 01:16:12,084
ruled that the contract
was both reasonable and fair.

1144
01:16:12,222 --> 01:16:14,639
The 30-year-old singer
had argued
that the agreement

1145
01:16:14,777 --> 01:16:17,055
was stifling
his artistic development

1146
01:16:17,193 --> 01:16:20,714
and he threatened never
to record for Sony again
if he lost.

1147
01:16:20,852 --> 01:16:23,717
George Michael says
he'll appeal
against the judgment,

1148
01:16:23,855 --> 01:16:26,960
which he said condemned him
to "professional slavery."

1149
01:16:34,279 --> 01:16:38,973
Having received this judgment,
I would like to reiterate
the reasons why

1150
01:16:39,111 --> 01:16:40,871
I embarked
upon these proceedings.

1151
01:16:41,804 --> 01:16:44,392
I have no right to resign.

1152
01:16:44,530 --> 01:16:50,847
In fact, there is no such thing
as resignation for an artist
in the music industry.

1153
01:16:50,985 --> 01:16:55,714
Effectively, you sign a piece
of paper
at the beginning of your career

1154
01:16:55,852 --> 01:16:58,544
and you are expected
to live with that decision,

1155
01:16:58,683 --> 01:17:03,273
good or bad, for the rest
of your professional life.

1156
01:17:03,411 --> 01:17:06,414
I shall obviously take full
advice from my lawyers.

1157
01:17:06,552 --> 01:17:10,073
But the initial view is that
we have very strong grounds
for appeal

1158
01:17:10,210 --> 01:17:13,939
and we hope to have the appeal
heard as quickly as possible.

1159
01:17:14,077 --> 01:17:16,355
Thank you very much for your
time and for all the support

1160
01:17:16,493 --> 01:17:19,358
that I've received since this
action began. Thank you.

1161
01:17:22,085 --> 01:17:23,915
JOURNALIST: George,
will you sing for Sony again?

1162
01:17:33,889 --> 01:17:36,582
After the court case
was finished and I'd lost

1163
01:17:36,721 --> 01:17:39,550
and not just lost,
I lost completely.

1164
01:17:39,689 --> 01:17:41,208
I mean, I lost on everything.

1165
01:17:41,346 --> 01:17:43,175
Every count.

1166
01:17:43,313 --> 01:17:46,005
They then called up and,
you know, kind of said,
"Well, isn't...

1167
01:17:46,144 --> 01:17:47,559
Can't we patch things up?"
kind of thing.

1168
01:17:47,697 --> 01:17:49,803
But I knew in reality
that was like a formality.

1169
01:17:49,941 --> 01:17:51,148
They had to do that.

1170
01:17:52,702 --> 01:17:56,154
But ultimately, the whole thing
was a complete waste of time.

1171
01:17:56,291 --> 01:17:59,260
And I regret it to this day.

1172
01:18:01,297 --> 01:18:05,957
Looking back 25 years on,
my first thought is that
I just think it's sad.

1173
01:18:06,094 --> 01:18:09,512
When you win a court case,
you're normally out there
high-fiving

1174
01:18:09,650 --> 01:18:11,478
and putting the drinks in.

1175
01:18:11,617 --> 01:18:15,621
But I don't think anyone felt,
not on my team anyway,
a sense of euphoria.

1176
01:18:15,760 --> 01:18:17,831
Certainly, there
were no winners.

1177
01:18:17,969 --> 01:18:21,005
I mean, we won the court case,
but we didn't win anything.

1178
01:18:21,144 --> 01:18:25,735
You've actually lost
because you've lost the support
of that artist.

1179
01:18:25,873 --> 01:18:30,947
TONY: George said in passing,
"David Frost wants to do
an interview with me."

1180
01:18:31,085 --> 01:18:32,811
And I said,
"You've got to do it.

1181
01:18:32,949 --> 01:18:35,365
They know you're a man
of principle.

1182
01:18:35,503 --> 01:18:39,680
Now, you've got to be a man
of principle
who's totally obsessed."

1183
01:18:41,958 --> 01:18:43,063
Well...

1184
01:18:44,754 --> 01:18:46,791
What happens now
is that we go to appeal.

1185
01:18:46,929 --> 01:18:49,276
I can't see
any other way around it.

1186
01:18:49,414 --> 01:18:51,243
I mean, of course,
there is the ultimate option

1187
01:18:51,380 --> 01:18:55,489
that an appeal at the House
of Lords,
which would take forever.

1188
01:18:55,627 --> 01:18:57,111
It was all bluff.

1189
01:18:57,249 --> 01:19:02,392
I mean, they intended to take it
to the Court of Appeal
in the UK.

1190
01:19:02,530 --> 01:19:06,431
Never to the House of Lords,
never to the European Court
of Justice.

1191
01:19:06,568 --> 01:19:09,952
They can only lose
by going to appeal.

1192
01:19:10,090 --> 01:19:11,746
Everybody was watching,

1193
01:19:13,438 --> 01:19:15,302
including David Geffen.

1194
01:19:15,440 --> 01:19:18,925
No-one was going to let a talent
like that flounder out there
for very long.

1195
01:19:19,064 --> 01:19:24,690
So, David Geffen
contacts Sony
and said to them,

1196
01:19:24,829 --> 01:19:26,554
"Listen, guys,

1197
01:19:26,692 --> 01:19:32,698
he's never, ever going to make
another piece of music
for you ever."

1198
01:19:32,837 --> 01:19:34,252
"You might as well let him go."

1199
01:19:38,739 --> 01:19:41,327
I flew to New York,
had a very quick
meeting there,

1200
01:19:41,466 --> 01:19:44,987
where basically, you know,
we agreed that the contract
would be sold.

1201
01:19:45,125 --> 01:19:47,644
I was like in seventh heaven.

1202
01:19:47,782 --> 01:19:51,200
TONY: Sony said,
"We want
this transfer fee" and

1203
01:19:51,338 --> 01:19:53,754
it would've bought you
a top class footballer.

1204
01:19:53,892 --> 01:19:56,481
In fact, it most probably
even bought you Lionel Messi
in those days.

1205
01:19:56,619 --> 01:20:01,210
RUSSELL: In the end, he did
whatever he did
with David Geffen and Virgin

1206
01:20:01,348 --> 01:20:04,903
and basically
he bought himself
out of the contract.

1207
01:20:05,041 --> 01:20:07,906
Was it a good decision
in hindsight of history?

1208
01:20:08,044 --> 01:20:09,287
I'm not sure.

1209
01:20:09,425 --> 01:20:14,844
George unquestionably
lost the battle but won the war.

1210
01:20:14,982 --> 01:20:17,088
Because he got the freedom
that he craved for.

1211
01:20:17,226 --> 01:20:18,710
'Cause he felt he had
to get away.

1212
01:20:23,577 --> 01:20:25,130
Peace to George Michael.

1213
01:20:28,168 --> 01:20:29,272
Peace.

1214
01:20:35,139 --> 01:20:40,076
MICHAEL:
I think the whole experience
of losing Anselmo,

1215
01:20:40,214 --> 01:20:42,976
the period of grief,
roughly two years,

1216
01:20:43,114 --> 01:20:44,874
that I didn't write a note
of music...

1217
01:20:45,771 --> 01:20:48,636
And then,
the absolute knowledge

1218
01:20:48,773 --> 01:20:51,156
that the next album
I was going to write

1219
01:20:51,294 --> 01:20:54,159
would be about grief
and recovery.

1220
01:20:56,264 --> 01:21:00,234
Older is my greatest moment.

1221
01:21:00,994 --> 01:21:03,686
♪ Kindness

1222
01:21:03,824 --> 01:21:09,139
♪ In your eyes I guess

1223
01:21:09,278 --> 01:21:11,936
♪ You heard me cry

1224
01:21:12,074 --> 01:21:14,835
♪ You smiled at me

1225
01:21:14,973 --> 01:21:19,564
♪ Like Jesus to a child

1226
01:21:22,014 --> 01:21:24,465
I sat at a keyboard,

1227
01:21:28,262 --> 01:21:31,541
played a very simple
string part,

1228
01:21:34,475 --> 01:21:38,617
added a very,
very gentle guitar part.

1229
01:21:38,755 --> 01:21:41,897
And my way of making music
is very strange.

1230
01:21:42,035 --> 01:21:44,037
It's very strange.

1231
01:21:44,175 --> 01:21:47,937
Generally, I put
my backing tracks together
very simply on keyboards.

1232
01:21:51,320 --> 01:21:54,633
In this case, I think,
I've added a little guitar.

1233
01:21:57,188 --> 01:22:00,225
But the moment I think
there is something coming,

1234
01:22:00,362 --> 01:22:02,745
there is something
important coming,

1235
01:22:02,883 --> 01:22:08,061
I shove everybody
out of the room, I go in.

1236
01:22:09,925 --> 01:22:14,999
And then I just sing
on repeat, repeat,
repeat, repeat.

1237
01:22:17,277 --> 01:22:20,073
I sing, and I sing,
and I sing.

1238
01:22:20,210 --> 01:22:24,387
This whole total stream
of consciousness rubbish

1239
01:22:24,525 --> 01:22:29,875
that people would laugh
their heads off if they heard
what I was singing.

1240
01:22:32,671 --> 01:22:37,193
And then, I sang
"Like Jesus to a Child".

1241
01:22:40,196 --> 01:22:41,370
Simple as that.

1242
01:22:44,960 --> 01:22:48,308
And I thought, "Oh, my God.

1243
01:22:48,791 --> 01:22:49,895
That's him.

1244
01:22:50,034 --> 01:22:52,036
That's him and me.

1245
01:22:53,175 --> 01:22:55,004
Like Jesus to a child."

1246
01:23:00,216 --> 01:23:03,840
Then I was so excited
that I'd finally
been able to put my feelings

1247
01:23:03,978 --> 01:23:05,981
about Anselmo into words.

1248
01:23:08,673 --> 01:23:10,639
And within a week
of writing it,

1249
01:23:10,778 --> 01:23:13,228
I was singing it in front
of the Brandenburg Gate,

1250
01:23:13,367 --> 01:23:16,232
playing my first kind
of public tribute
to him there.

1251
01:23:18,476 --> 01:23:21,134
♪ Well, I've been loved

1252
01:23:21,272 --> 01:23:26,862
♪ So, I know just
What love is

1253
01:23:27,002 --> 01:23:32,282
♪ And the lover
That I kissed

1254
01:23:33,456 --> 01:23:38,427
♪ Was always by my side...

1255
01:23:38,565 --> 01:23:44,985
I guess, "Jesus to a Child"
is just the story of me being
rescued from myself

1256
01:23:45,882 --> 01:23:50,025
by someone
with an incredibly good heart.

1257
01:23:50,163 --> 01:23:55,823
♪ Oh the lover I still miss

1258
01:23:56,548 --> 01:24:00,344
♪ Was Jesus to a child

1259
01:24:00,483 --> 01:24:05,212
I just celebrate people
who are able to use their joys

1260
01:24:05,350 --> 01:24:10,286
and their pains
to really help people to heal.

1261
01:24:10,424 --> 01:24:17,017
MICHAEL:
I think I wrote the best,
most healing piece of music.

1262
01:24:17,155 --> 01:24:19,364
It was all systems go
from that point on.

1263
01:24:20,193 --> 01:24:22,781
♪ In the absence of security

1264
01:24:24,507 --> 01:24:27,371
♪ I made my way
Into the night♪

1265
01:24:29,409 --> 01:24:34,309
♪ Stupid Cupid keeps on
Calling me

1266
01:24:34,448 --> 01:24:36,692
♪ And I see lovin'
In his eyes

1267
01:24:36,830 --> 01:24:39,004
♪ I miss my baby

1268
01:24:39,143 --> 01:24:46,598
For anyone who had a clue
about any kind of symbolism,
I was coming out.

1269
01:24:46,736 --> 01:24:48,669
And you know,
"Fast Love" makes me laugh,

1270
01:24:48,807 --> 01:24:52,190
because it's all
about cruising
and covering my pain.

1271
01:24:52,327 --> 01:24:56,574
Blunting out that pain
with fast love.

1272
01:24:56,712 --> 01:24:58,093
Simple as that.

1273
01:24:58,231 --> 01:25:02,787
♪ I do believe that we are
Practicing the same religion♪

1274
01:25:02,925 --> 01:25:08,137
There's not one track
on that album
that is not about Anselmo,

1275
01:25:08,275 --> 01:25:11,657
about the risk of AIDS,
which was
"Spinning The Wheel".

1276
01:25:11,796 --> 01:25:14,971
♪ Watch you spinning

1277
01:25:15,110 --> 01:25:17,181
♪ That wheel for me

1278
01:25:17,318 --> 01:25:19,010
♪ You've got a thing
About danger

1279
01:25:19,148 --> 01:25:23,290
♪ Ain't you getting
What you want from me?

1280
01:25:23,428 --> 01:25:26,190
♪ You've got a thing
About strangers

1281
01:25:26,327 --> 01:25:28,053
♪ Baby that's what
We used to be

1282
01:25:28,192 --> 01:25:30,125
♪ That's what we used to be

1283
01:25:30,263 --> 01:25:33,335
♪ You've got a thing
About danger baby

1284
01:25:33,473 --> 01:25:37,339
♪ I guess the hungry
Just can't see

1285
01:25:39,719 --> 01:25:41,032
♪ One of these days

1286
01:25:41,170 --> 01:25:43,483
♪ You're going
To bring some home to me

1287
01:25:43,621 --> 01:25:48,487
I believe I
was destined to feel
that particular pain

1288
01:25:48,626 --> 01:25:53,838
so that I could do
the ultimate with my music
in terms of healing.

1289
01:25:53,976 --> 01:25:57,186
And the number of people
who come up to me and say,

1290
01:25:57,324 --> 01:26:01,052
"Oh, you don't know how much
you helped me withOlder

1291
01:26:01,190 --> 01:26:03,744
when I lost this person
or when I lost that person."

1292
01:26:03,882 --> 01:26:05,574
♪ Give me time

1293
01:26:05,712 --> 01:26:07,921
♪ And I'll lead you

1294
01:26:08,059 --> 01:26:10,130
♪ Back to...♪

1295
01:26:12,201 --> 01:26:16,101
I remember theUnplugged
really, really vividly.

1296
01:26:18,518 --> 01:26:21,624
Apart from the fact
that I felt
something magical happened,

1297
01:26:21,762 --> 01:26:24,317
I knew that everything
that came out of my mouth,

1298
01:26:24,455 --> 01:26:26,318
was going to be in tune,
I don't know why.

1299
01:26:29,770 --> 01:26:32,670
I suppose I wasn't used
to playing in small venues

1300
01:26:32,808 --> 01:26:35,466
and just the fact that I
could hear everything I
was doing

1301
01:26:35,603 --> 01:26:38,089
because there wasn't
a lot of amplification,

1302
01:26:38,227 --> 01:26:41,713
I just lost myself
in singing that night.

1303
01:26:43,715 --> 01:26:47,616
♪ She takes the back road
And the lane

1304
01:26:47,754 --> 01:26:51,999
♪ Past the school that has
Not changed

1305
01:26:52,137 --> 01:26:54,588
♪ In all this time

1306
01:26:58,420 --> 01:27:02,251
♪ She thinks of when the boy
Was young

1307
01:27:02,389 --> 01:27:07,429
♪ All the battles
She had won

1308
01:27:08,291 --> 01:27:11,467
♪ Just to give him life

1309
01:27:12,882 --> 01:27:14,712
♪ That man

1310
01:27:15,402 --> 01:27:19,130
♪ She loved that man

1311
01:27:21,028 --> 01:27:24,031
♪ For all his life

1312
01:27:27,725 --> 01:27:32,039
♪ And now we meet
To take him flowers

1313
01:27:32,177 --> 01:27:36,561
♪ And only God knows why

1314
01:27:36,699 --> 01:27:40,255
I came out to my parents
the day after Anselmo died.

1315
01:27:41,980 --> 01:27:43,706
My mother,
bless her, wasn't...

1316
01:27:43,844 --> 01:27:45,432
Wasn't...

1317
01:27:45,570 --> 01:27:47,607
She wasn't slightly fazed
by the gay thing,

1318
01:27:47,745 --> 01:27:50,541
which she probably
worked out years before.

1319
01:27:50,679 --> 01:27:54,959
She was just devastated
that I had gone through

1320
01:27:55,097 --> 01:27:59,446
a year and a half of terror,
you know, without her knowing.

1321
01:27:59,584 --> 01:28:02,068
Therefore, she couldn't
help me in any way.

1322
01:28:02,207 --> 01:28:05,625
And I think that was really
really painful for her.

1323
01:28:05,763 --> 01:28:09,905
The issue of me being gay
was nothing.

1324
01:28:10,043 --> 01:28:15,876
I wrote a letter that flowed
almost as though my hand
was moving itself, you know.

1325
01:28:16,014 --> 01:28:18,879
This letter telling them

1326
01:28:19,017 --> 01:28:24,437
how much I loved him
and how much joy
there was for me

1327
01:28:24,575 --> 01:28:27,025
in my sexuality
and not to worry for me

1328
01:28:27,163 --> 01:28:30,132
and not to feel like
I had suffered anything.

1329
01:28:30,270 --> 01:28:33,894
Trying to, really trying to

1330
01:28:34,032 --> 01:28:38,898
save my mum from any pain
that she thought
she could have saved me from.

1331
01:28:41,005 --> 01:28:45,423
♪ "Take care, my love,"
He said

1332
01:28:48,253 --> 01:28:53,914
♪ You have been loved♪

1333
01:28:57,193 --> 01:29:02,094
And I'm so glad,
I'm so glad my mom was there.

1334
01:29:02,233 --> 01:29:05,443
And I'm so glad, you know,
for the first time ever,

1335
01:29:05,581 --> 01:29:07,618
and definitely the only time
ever on film,

1336
01:29:07,755 --> 01:29:09,896
I actually said hello
to my mom in the audience.

1337
01:29:11,898 --> 01:29:13,762
Hello, Mum.

1338
01:29:15,695 --> 01:29:18,180
And it was the last time
she ever saw me play.

1339
01:29:21,114 --> 01:29:27,050
I had about six month's period
where things were okay,
and I was recording Older.

1340
01:29:27,189 --> 01:29:29,985
Then I found out
that my mother had cancer.

1341
01:29:37,268 --> 01:29:43,619
I was so spiritually crushed
after Mum died,
so crushed, and so...

1342
01:29:43,757 --> 01:29:46,933
Felt so bloody picked on
by the gods, you know.

1343
01:29:49,969 --> 01:29:52,973
For all of my adult life,
she was phenomenal,
absolutely phenomenal.

1344
01:29:53,111 --> 01:29:55,942
A terrible, horrible loss.

1345
01:29:58,254 --> 01:30:03,121
From the day that I found out
about my partner
to the day that I could say,

1346
01:30:03,259 --> 01:30:08,886
I actually felt that I was well
on the mend from my mother,
it was just constant fear.

1347
01:30:09,023 --> 01:30:13,994
It was either fear of death
or fear of the next bereavement,
you know?

1348
01:30:14,132 --> 01:30:16,825
And I just took it
very, very badly.

1349
01:30:16,963 --> 01:30:18,999
Very badly indeed.

1350
01:30:19,137 --> 01:30:22,209
I've never felt
that kind of depression.

1351
01:30:22,347 --> 01:30:24,867
I felt it was something
different to grief.

1352
01:30:25,005 --> 01:30:28,733
It was on top of grief
because I was grieving
for my mother still.

1353
01:30:28,871 --> 01:30:31,874
But it was something else.
It was...

1354
01:30:32,012 --> 01:30:37,673
I felt like a sportsman
that had had a terrible injury

1355
01:30:37,811 --> 01:30:41,193
in the middle
of an incredibly
successful career.

1356
01:30:42,228 --> 01:30:45,923
I'm so, so much more aware

1357
01:30:46,061 --> 01:30:51,342
of how intrinsic to my entire
being it is, to be able
to create music.

1358
01:30:51,480 --> 01:30:53,931
Having lost it for three
or four years of my life,

1359
01:30:54,068 --> 01:30:57,416
I really did, I lost the music
at the center of me,

1360
01:30:57,555 --> 01:30:59,350
which was like losing God
for me.

1361
01:30:59,487 --> 01:31:02,733
It really was.
It was the darkest,
darkest time.

1362
01:31:05,977 --> 01:31:09,084
But even when
I've lost control,

1363
01:31:09,222 --> 01:31:13,744
even when I've really hit
rock bottom,

1364
01:31:15,262 --> 01:31:18,680
I believe that the red line
is still there.

1365
01:31:21,752 --> 01:31:25,514
I'd just like to say
very genuinely,
I am really touched by this.

1366
01:31:28,241 --> 01:31:31,416
The first half of the '90s
was pretty crap for me,

1367
01:31:31,555 --> 01:31:36,076
and 1996 has, kind of,
made it all worthwhile.

1368
01:31:36,214 --> 01:31:37,250
Thank you very much.

1369
01:31:41,702 --> 01:31:46,570
MAN: I think people genuinely
adore George,
not just the music,

1370
01:31:46,708 --> 01:31:48,916
but they feel for him
and his struggles.

1371
01:31:50,919 --> 01:31:55,302
I hadn't actually planned
on being internationally
humiliated that day.

1372
01:31:56,441 --> 01:31:57,719
NEWSREADER:
Popstar George Michael

1373
01:31:57,857 --> 01:31:59,893
is arrested in a Los Angeles
public toilet.

1374
01:32:00,031 --> 01:32:03,000
Ladies and gentleman,
welcome, please, George Michael.

1375
01:32:03,138 --> 01:32:05,347
[AUDIENCE CHEERING]

1376
01:32:09,764 --> 01:32:12,630
MICHAEL:
I have to thank...
this is a great honor for me,

1377
01:32:12,768 --> 01:32:14,805
because my mum would
allow me to stay up

1378
01:32:14,943 --> 01:32:17,117
only to watch
theParkinson show.

1379
01:32:17,255 --> 01:32:19,326
So, I'm very, very privileged
to be here.

1380
01:32:19,464 --> 01:32:23,538
And she probably wouldn't have
been quite as thrilled

1381
01:32:23,675 --> 01:32:25,919
that I had to take my willy out
to get on here.

1382
01:32:26,057 --> 01:32:28,232
[AUDIENCE LAUGHING]

1383
01:32:29,751 --> 01:32:30,959
"What were you thinking?

1384
01:32:31,097 --> 01:32:32,098
That's what everyone
wants to know.

1385
01:32:32,236 --> 01:32:34,272
What were you thinking?"

1386
01:32:34,410 --> 01:32:39,623
I responded to something,
and I responded to, you know,
very handsome American cop.

1387
01:32:39,761 --> 01:32:41,866
You know, they don't send
Colombo in there to just...

1388
01:32:44,144 --> 01:32:49,218
Everyone had this go at him
because he didn't come out
when he was 18.

1389
01:32:49,356 --> 01:32:51,531
Loads of people didn't come out
when they were 18.

1390
01:32:51,669 --> 01:32:55,362
Especially when they've got
signed at some fucking giant
record label.

1391
01:32:55,500 --> 01:32:58,400
But boy, did he come out later
in a big way.

1392
01:32:58,538 --> 01:33:01,714
♪ And yes, I've been bad

1393
01:33:01,852 --> 01:33:05,269
♪ Doctor won't you do with me
What you can?

1394
01:33:05,407 --> 01:33:07,719
When he came out,
I wanted to go,
"George, you don't need.

1395
01:33:07,858 --> 01:33:09,273
We know!

1396
01:33:10,205 --> 01:33:11,965
Don't make a song
and dance about it."

1397
01:33:13,001 --> 01:33:14,898
And he did. He did a song
about it, didn't he?

1398
01:33:15,037 --> 01:33:16,901
Did a whole song and dance
about it.

1399
01:33:17,039 --> 01:33:21,561
♪ I never really
Said it before

1400
01:33:21,699 --> 01:33:24,529
There is one recurring theme
to my actions,

1401
01:33:24,668 --> 01:33:27,843
as a celebrity
or as a person, as an adult.

1402
01:33:27,981 --> 01:33:32,089
And that is if I am
pressured into anything,
I react against it.

1403
01:33:32,227 --> 01:33:34,609
My reaction to this
was I'm not gonna be like

1404
01:33:34,746 --> 01:33:36,472
another one of these people
that's peeking out

1405
01:33:36,611 --> 01:33:39,165
from behind the net curtains
a month later, you know?

1406
01:33:39,303 --> 01:33:41,443
♪ I think I'm done
With the sofa

1407
01:33:43,065 --> 01:33:45,378
♪ I think I'm done
With the hall

1408
01:33:47,344 --> 01:33:51,695
♪ I think I'm done
With the kitchen table, baby

1409
01:33:54,007 --> 01:33:55,630
♪ Let's go outside

1410
01:33:55,768 --> 01:33:58,218
One of my closest friend said
that his mother said

1411
01:33:58,356 --> 01:34:01,118
"He's not the first,
he won't be the last

1412
01:34:01,255 --> 01:34:03,638
"he's just the biggest."
And I thought I like that.

1413
01:34:07,296 --> 01:34:10,437
GERVAIS: He disarms the press,
'cause they think
they've got him.

1414
01:34:10,575 --> 01:34:12,923
They say, "Oh, you did this."
And he goes, "Yep."

1415
01:34:13,475 --> 01:34:14,545
"And?"

1416
01:34:14,683 --> 01:34:18,825
♪ And yes, I've been bad

1417
01:34:18,963 --> 01:34:22,587
♪ Doctor, won't you do with me
What you can

1418
01:34:22,726 --> 01:34:24,693
And then when they went,
"Ah, you're gay!"

1419
01:34:24,831 --> 01:34:27,040
He went, "Yeah.
Sorry, I didn't call you."

1420
01:34:27,178 --> 01:34:29,835
You know what I mean?
He didn't call everyone.

1421
01:34:31,735 --> 01:34:32,977
MICHAEL:
I think the truth is,

1422
01:34:33,115 --> 01:34:35,911
I'm just not afraid
of being laughed at.

1423
01:34:36,049 --> 01:34:38,949
GERVAIS: InExtras, George
played George Michael

1424
01:34:39,087 --> 01:34:41,261
on Hampstead Heath looking
for fun.

1425
01:34:41,398 --> 01:34:43,505
MICHAEL: Ricky came to me
with it written,

1426
01:34:43,643 --> 01:34:46,059
and I think I
made a few changes.

1427
01:34:46,197 --> 01:34:48,752
I only got 20 minutes, actually,
I'm on my lunch break.

1428
01:34:48,889 --> 01:34:50,270
He just nailed it.

1429
01:34:50,407 --> 01:34:55,931
He gave us
that sort of decadent,
almost bored rock star...

1430
01:34:56,068 --> 01:34:57,105
Lunch break?

1431
01:34:57,243 --> 01:34:59,141
Yeah, I'm doing
community service.

1432
01:34:59,279 --> 01:35:01,005
Are you still doing that?

1433
01:35:01,143 --> 01:35:02,662
Not that one.
No, I'm doing another one now.

1434
01:35:02,800 --> 01:35:04,008
I'm picking up litter now.

1435
01:35:04,146 --> 01:35:05,147
All right.

1436
01:35:05,285 --> 01:35:06,597
What did you do wrong this time?

1437
01:35:06,735 --> 01:35:07,771
Fly tipping.

1438
01:35:07,909 --> 01:35:08,978
Believe it or not.

1439
01:35:09,117 --> 01:35:10,496
All right.

1440
01:35:10,635 --> 01:35:13,603
Yeah, I was helping Annie Lennox
out with an old fridge freezer

1441
01:35:13,742 --> 01:35:15,606
and she said,
"Shall I call the council?"

1442
01:35:15,744 --> 01:35:17,090
I said, "No, don't bother
with that.

1443
01:35:17,228 --> 01:35:19,127
"There's a skip
at the end of my street."

1444
01:35:19,264 --> 01:35:24,648
So, 2:30 in the morning,
we're tipping it in there
and fucking police show up.

1445
01:35:24,788 --> 01:35:25,823
How did they get called in?

1446
01:35:26,859 --> 01:35:28,273
Well, it
was Stewart Copeland's Skip,

1447
01:35:28,412 --> 01:35:32,485
and he called Sting and Sting
called the fucking council

1448
01:35:32,623 --> 01:35:34,798
because he's
a fucking do-gooder.

1449
01:35:34,936 --> 01:35:36,800
Now me and Annie
are picking up litter.

1450
01:35:36,938 --> 01:35:39,216
It was great.
It was really, really great.

1451
01:35:39,353 --> 01:35:44,083
I was really, really knocked out
on how good of an actor he was.

1452
01:35:44,980 --> 01:35:46,223
And such a sport.

1453
01:35:46,361 --> 01:35:48,673
I think people have
a wrong impression of him

1454
01:35:48,812 --> 01:35:50,952
because they only see
what they get in the press

1455
01:35:51,090 --> 01:35:52,885
or in the newspapers
or whatever.

1456
01:35:53,023 --> 01:35:54,990
But he's hilariously funny.

1457
01:35:55,128 --> 01:35:57,821
Why can't I come
to Comic Relief?

1458
01:35:57,959 --> 01:36:00,651
Because you're a joke, George.
It's embarrassing.

1459
01:36:00,789 --> 01:36:03,102
I can't walk into Comic Relief
with you.

1460
01:36:03,240 --> 01:36:05,725
Comic Relief's about helping
people like you.

1461
01:36:07,451 --> 01:36:09,798
And I did laugh
at the headlines.

1462
01:36:09,936 --> 01:36:13,353
I did laugh at some
of the things that
were said, you know.

1463
01:36:13,491 --> 01:36:17,357
When it came to the car thing,
I did something wrong.

1464
01:36:17,495 --> 01:36:21,637
When it came
to the Hampstead Heath thing,
fuck off...

1465
01:36:21,776 --> 01:36:22,915
[MUSIC PLAYING ON STEREO]

1466
01:36:23,053 --> 01:36:24,054
Yeah?

1467
01:36:25,157 --> 01:36:26,677
Love this one, don't you?

1468
01:36:27,782 --> 01:36:28,886
♪ Call me good

1469
01:36:29,680 --> 01:36:31,475
♪ Call me bad

1470
01:36:31,612 --> 01:36:34,823
♪ Call me
If you want to, baby

1471
01:36:34,960 --> 01:36:38,171
♪ George and I know
That you say

1472
01:36:38,309 --> 01:36:39,448
Come on.

1473
01:36:39,585 --> 01:36:41,278
♪ And I know
I made you happy

1474
01:36:41,416 --> 01:36:43,521
♪ With wild day that
You'd ever had

1475
01:36:43,659 --> 01:36:45,005
♪ Baby

1476
01:36:45,661 --> 01:36:48,353
♪ I'm your baby

1477
01:36:48,492 --> 01:36:50,011
I love it.

1478
01:36:50,148 --> 01:36:53,428
MICHAEL:
James' little excursion
with me in the Volvo

1479
01:36:53,566 --> 01:36:57,742
has turned to something
world conquering, you know.

1480
01:36:57,880 --> 01:37:01,987
CORDEN: Without that sketch,
I don't think I'd have
a successful show in America

1481
01:37:02,126 --> 01:37:05,233
because there was something
so joyful about it.

1482
01:37:05,371 --> 01:37:08,857
There was something so brilliant
about being with him
that made us go,

1483
01:37:08,995 --> 01:37:11,273
"I wonder if we could do that
with other artists."

1484
01:37:11,411 --> 01:37:16,382
MICHAEL: Again, he came to me
with the basis of it,
and I made a few changes,

1485
01:37:16,520 --> 01:37:18,867
and I'm sure they would
have made them funnier,

1486
01:37:19,005 --> 01:37:22,664
but they weren't sure
how far I was going to go.

1487
01:37:22,802 --> 01:37:26,806
Whereas I was prepared
to go as far as it took.

1488
01:37:26,943 --> 01:37:28,808
Well, I better get going
because, you know,

1489
01:37:28,946 --> 01:37:30,258
I'm gonna have to get back
to work soon.

1490
01:37:30,396 --> 01:37:32,225
Come on, then, you.
I'll give you a quickie.

1491
01:37:32,362 --> 01:37:34,331
Boy, I'm not that desperate,
matey.

1492
01:37:34,469 --> 01:37:35,780
Cheeky bastard.

1493
01:37:35,919 --> 01:37:39,059
♪ I'll be
Your sexual freak...

1494
01:37:39,198 --> 01:37:44,237
GERVAIS: I think he's
challenged the stereotype
of the gay man as well,

1495
01:37:44,375 --> 01:37:46,688
and what was acceptable.

1496
01:37:46,826 --> 01:37:51,831
Because, you know,
even when people were out in,
like the 60s, the 70s,

1497
01:37:51,969 --> 01:37:56,663
they were a safe, sexless,
gay man.

1498
01:37:56,800 --> 01:37:59,321
Whereas George went,
I've got a cock.

1499
01:38:00,564 --> 01:38:04,464
And that frightened
some people.

1500
01:38:04,602 --> 01:38:06,984
Yeah, literally, I imagine.

1501
01:38:09,434 --> 01:38:12,334
You know something about George,
he's really sexy.

1502
01:38:12,472 --> 01:38:14,233
You know? Really sexy.

1503
01:38:14,371 --> 01:38:17,925
And living with that,
good-looking,
sexy, talented...

1504
01:38:18,064 --> 01:38:19,928
You know,
it's tough out there.

1505
01:38:20,895 --> 01:38:22,103
He's very hairy, isn't he?

1506
01:38:24,621 --> 01:38:27,418
♪ Doing it to me, to me

1507
01:38:27,556 --> 01:38:29,213
♪ I know that you're horny

1508
01:38:29,351 --> 01:38:32,630
♪ But there's something about
That Bush ain't right...

1509
01:38:34,736 --> 01:38:37,083
♪ Right, right, right...♪

1510
01:38:37,221 --> 01:38:39,291
JOHN:
There's so many different
facets to George.

1511
01:38:39,430 --> 01:38:41,329
And you can see him growing
as an artist

1512
01:38:41,467 --> 01:38:45,091
and moving away
from the original stuff
into a more

1513
01:38:45,228 --> 01:38:48,715
beautiful kind of Edith Piaf,
Frank Sinatra territory.

1514
01:38:48,853 --> 01:38:49,924
But it's George.

1515
01:38:50,062 --> 01:38:57,483
♪ I was the kid
With the drum

1516
01:38:57,621 --> 01:39:01,728
♪ Say, don't you remember?

1517
01:39:02,522 --> 01:39:05,767
♪ They called me Al

1518
01:39:06,594 --> 01:39:13,361
♪ It was Al all the time

1519
01:39:13,499 --> 01:39:17,572
♪ Say, don't you remember?

1520
01:39:18,434 --> 01:39:21,541
♪ I'm your pal!

1521
01:39:21,679 --> 01:39:28,824
♪ Brother, can you spare
A dime?

1522
01:39:29,722 --> 01:39:36,832
♪ Buddy, can you spare

1523
01:39:41,665 --> 01:39:48,879
♪ A dime?♪

1524
01:39:55,230 --> 01:39:59,130
AUSTIN: George can sing
with Stevie, Aretha or Elton.

1525
01:39:59,269 --> 01:40:03,273
And, as Tony Bennett said,
"You know,
everyone took two weeks.

1526
01:40:03,411 --> 01:40:04,860
George came in and did it
in a day."

1527
01:40:04,999 --> 01:40:08,416
♪ How do you keep
The music playing?

1528
01:40:08,554 --> 01:40:10,934
♪ When I feel for her

1529
01:40:11,074 --> 01:40:12,627
BENNETT: I just loved him.
He was very friendly.

1530
01:40:12,764 --> 01:40:14,559
We got along great.

1531
01:40:14,698 --> 01:40:18,495
He just walked in
very prepared
and he was so spontaneous.

1532
01:40:18,633 --> 01:40:20,496
We did it in one take.

1533
01:40:20,635 --> 01:40:25,226
I couldn't believe
how equipped he was.

1534
01:40:25,364 --> 01:40:27,228
♪ May not see...

1535
01:40:27,366 --> 01:40:32,059
And I remember saying,
"Boy, this guy is going to be
around a long time."

1536
01:40:32,198 --> 01:40:35,650
♪ Forever♪

1537
01:40:35,788 --> 01:40:39,447
I really am not
in the business
of selling myself anymore.

1538
01:40:39,585 --> 01:40:42,346
When I do it,
I want to do it properly.

1539
01:40:42,484 --> 01:40:47,386
Mostly I just said I respect
making music,
kind of like, I know, like,

1540
01:40:47,523 --> 01:40:49,526
How much are we gonna shout
at the end of the day?

1541
01:40:49,664 --> 01:40:52,391
It's the art form
that you love,
that you woke up that morning

1542
01:40:52,529 --> 01:40:54,151
and had to go to the studio
and record it

1543
01:40:54,289 --> 01:40:56,878
because it was like
bursting inside of you.

1544
01:40:57,016 --> 01:41:00,951
♪ It's like a conversation

1545
01:41:02,677 --> 01:41:06,577
♪ Where no-one stops
To breathe

1546
01:41:08,717 --> 01:41:12,135
♪ Is it my imagination?

1547
01:41:14,275 --> 01:41:19,693
♪ Or did God already leave
The table?

1548
01:41:20,557 --> 01:41:22,731
♪ Such destruction

1549
01:41:24,112 --> 01:41:26,528
WONDER:
Music is a funny thing.

1550
01:41:26,666 --> 01:41:30,705
You have to remember
the language
that's forever spoken.

1551
01:41:32,465 --> 01:41:38,437
And yet, it is that language
that we all understand.

1552
01:41:42,717 --> 01:41:45,892
♪ And the satellite says

1553
01:41:46,893 --> 01:41:50,483
♪ "Take a look
At all we have"

1554
01:41:52,796 --> 01:41:56,179
♪ But the old man says

1555
01:41:56,317 --> 01:42:03,531
♪ "You want my family,
For your liberty

1556
01:42:04,911 --> 01:42:09,019
♪ I can't do that"

1557
01:42:09,157 --> 01:42:12,643
BLIGE:
You're writing songs kind
of to set yourself free.

1558
01:42:12,781 --> 01:42:13,886
You're speaking
from your truth.

1559
01:42:14,023 --> 01:42:15,818
You're speaking from your life

1560
01:42:15,957 --> 01:42:19,650
and four million, five million,
ten million people are like,
"Me too."

1561
01:42:20,237 --> 01:42:21,928
That's the payoff.

1562
01:42:22,066 --> 01:42:28,866
♪ Whether they be amber,
Green or blue

1563
01:42:30,246 --> 01:42:36,702
♪ There's a piece of God
Staring back at you

1564
01:42:38,013 --> 01:42:39,153
MICHAEL: Funnily enough,

1565
01:42:40,568 --> 01:42:42,639
in the last five,
six years of my life,

1566
01:42:42,777 --> 01:42:47,368
I've finally come to terms
with the fact

1567
01:42:47,505 --> 01:42:49,300
that I'm not like other
people at all.

1568
01:42:50,577 --> 01:42:52,718
And maybe that is why
I'm a star.

1569
01:42:52,856 --> 01:42:56,755
Maybe that is the bit
that I've never actually been
able to accept.

1570
01:42:56,894 --> 01:43:03,625
And since I was outed,
I feel like I've genuinely
learned to respect myself.

1571
01:43:03,763 --> 01:43:08,975
I just believed I wasn't
a big enough a character
to support that kind of fame.

1572
01:43:09,112 --> 01:43:14,153
And actually, I understand
that I never
was like other people,

1573
01:43:14,291 --> 01:43:17,052
and I shouldn't have been
disappointed in myself

1574
01:43:17,191 --> 01:43:18,502
for not being
like other people.

1575
01:43:20,055 --> 01:43:24,128
♪ Children in his arms

1576
01:43:24,853 --> 01:43:31,066
♪ He turns his back

1577
01:43:37,659 --> 01:43:40,282
Okay. It's fine.

1578
01:43:40,421 --> 01:43:44,907
The moment I finished
the track "Patience",
I remember driving home,

1579
01:43:46,978 --> 01:43:48,222
you know,
listening to this album

1580
01:43:48,360 --> 01:43:49,637
that I never thought
would get finished

1581
01:43:49,775 --> 01:43:51,570
or made actually,
at some points,

1582
01:43:53,848 --> 01:43:55,850
and remember thinking
well, that is...

1583
01:43:57,679 --> 01:43:58,749
That's enough.

1584
01:43:59,785 --> 01:44:01,856
I finally thought,
you know what?

1585
01:44:02,925 --> 01:44:04,790
If a bus hit me tomorrow,

1586
01:44:06,964 --> 01:44:10,520
I would be happy
with the music I left
in the world.

1587
01:44:13,005 --> 01:44:18,389
♪ Duh-du-du-duh

1588
01:44:18,528 --> 01:44:21,669
♪ Duh-du-du-duh

1589
01:44:21,807 --> 01:44:23,360
♪ As around the sun

1590
01:44:23,498 --> 01:44:26,950
♪ The Earth knows
She's revolving

1591
01:44:27,088 --> 01:44:29,263
BLIGE: I absolutely,
definitely know

1592
01:44:29,401 --> 01:44:31,437
that George Michael
fits into the category

1593
01:44:31,575 --> 01:44:33,370
of a great artist,
a great performer.

1594
01:44:33,508 --> 01:44:35,338
♪ Just as hate knows
Love's the cure

1595
01:44:35,476 --> 01:44:38,099
♪ You can rest
Your mind assured

1596
01:44:38,237 --> 01:44:39,618
♪ That I'll be loving...

1597
01:44:39,755 --> 01:44:41,171
BLIGE: You could hear pain,
you could hear joy,

1598
01:44:41,309 --> 01:44:42,759
I mean,
you can hear everything.

1599
01:44:42,897 --> 01:44:45,865
♪ As now can't reveal
The mystery

1600
01:44:46,003 --> 01:44:47,728
♪ Of tomorrow

1601
01:44:49,697 --> 01:44:53,252
WONDER: Mary J Blige
and George Michael
doing "As", it was amazing!

1602
01:44:53,389 --> 01:44:55,254
The marriage
of the two of them

1603
01:44:55,392 --> 01:45:00,294
was just a magical experience
of that song.

1604
01:45:01,191 --> 01:45:03,227
And I was in awe
when I heard it.

1605
01:45:03,366 --> 01:45:05,609
♪ Until the rainbow
Burns the stars

1606
01:45:05,746 --> 01:45:07,231
♪ Out of the sky

1607
01:45:08,785 --> 01:45:12,684
♪ Until the ocean covers
Every mountain high

1608
01:45:14,169 --> 01:45:18,001
♪ Until the dolphins fly
And parrots live at sea

1609
01:45:18,139 --> 01:45:23,040
♪ Until we dream of life
And life becomes a dream

1610
01:45:23,178 --> 01:45:25,457
♪ Now ain't that loving you?♪

1611
01:45:25,594 --> 01:45:28,977
I know him
as an extremely gifted artist,

1612
01:45:29,115 --> 01:45:33,119
and I embrace the records
that he made

1613
01:45:33,257 --> 01:45:37,848
with Aretha and Whitney,
probably my two
greatest vocalists.

1614
01:45:37,986 --> 01:45:42,543
♪ If we take this chance♪ If we take this chance

1615
01:45:42,681 --> 01:45:46,823
♪ And extend
To each other romance

1616
01:45:47,513 --> 01:45:48,480
♪ And I hope

1617
01:45:48,618 --> 01:45:50,136
♪ Baby, I hope

1618
01:45:50,273 --> 01:45:52,173
DAVIS:
You want to watch him,
you're interested in him,

1619
01:45:52,311 --> 01:45:56,210
you want to listen to him,
you want to know
what he's got to say.

1620
01:45:56,350 --> 01:46:00,699
The impact that he's had,
you have to see
when you go to his concerts.

1621
01:46:00,837 --> 01:46:04,219
You have to really see it.
It is phenomenal.

1622
01:46:04,358 --> 01:46:06,394
So, would you like
one more song?

1623
01:46:07,532 --> 01:46:10,467
The word I think I'm hearing
the most is...

1624
01:46:11,123 --> 01:46:12,400
♪ Freedom!

1625
01:46:13,919 --> 01:46:15,438
♪ Freedom!

1626
01:46:16,404 --> 01:46:18,612
♪ Freedom!

1627
01:46:18,751 --> 01:46:21,166
♪ You've gotta give
For what you take

1628
01:46:21,892 --> 01:46:23,514
♪ Freedom

1629
01:46:24,516 --> 01:46:26,587
♪ Freedom

1630
01:46:26,725 --> 01:46:29,866
When you play somebody
a record likeFreedom,

1631
01:46:30,004 --> 01:46:34,629
that music is going to continue
to mean something to people,

1632
01:46:34,767 --> 01:46:36,459
like, as long as it's heard.

1633
01:46:37,494 --> 01:46:40,083
♪ Freedom!♪

1634
01:46:40,221 --> 01:46:42,326
And that's why you get
to have a three-decade career.

1635
01:46:43,189 --> 01:46:48,022
♪ All we have to do now

1636
01:46:48,160 --> 01:46:50,990
♪ Is take these lies

1637
01:46:51,128 --> 01:46:54,822
♪ And make them true somehow

1638
01:46:54,960 --> 01:46:58,066
♪ All we have to see

1639
01:46:58,204 --> 01:47:01,103
♪ Is that I don't belong
To you

1640
01:47:01,242 --> 01:47:03,313
♪ And you don't belong to me

1641
01:47:03,451 --> 01:47:04,452
♪ Yeah! Yeah!

1642
01:47:04,590 --> 01:47:05,936
♪ Freedom

1643
01:47:07,351 --> 01:47:09,008
♪ Freedom

1644
01:47:09,871 --> 01:47:12,184
♪ Freedom

1645
01:47:12,322 --> 01:47:15,290
♪ You've gotta give
For what you take

1646
01:47:15,429 --> 01:47:16,775
♪ Freedom

1647
01:47:16,913 --> 01:47:20,330
♪ Hold on to my freedom!

1648
01:47:20,468 --> 01:47:22,919
♪ Freedom

1649
01:47:23,057 --> 01:47:25,784
♪ You've gotta give
For what you take

1650
01:47:25,922 --> 01:47:28,476
♪ What you take

1651
01:47:28,614 --> 01:47:30,202
♪ Yeah

1652
01:47:32,273 --> 01:47:33,964
♪ Yeah!

1653
01:47:34,102 --> 01:47:36,657
♪ You've gotta give
For what you
Give what you

1654
01:47:36,795 --> 01:47:39,625
♪ May not be what
You want from me

1655
01:47:39,763 --> 01:47:42,076
♪ Just the way
It's got to be!♪

1656
01:47:58,023 --> 01:48:00,991
INTERVIEWER:
What would you be hopeful
for as a way to be remembered?

1657
01:48:01,129 --> 01:48:03,477
You mean what would I like
written on my...

1658
01:48:03,615 --> 01:48:04,581
INTERVIEWER:
Well, let's not go that far.

1659
01:48:04,719 --> 01:48:06,618
Okay.

1660
01:48:06,755 --> 01:48:08,861
INTERVIEWER: But I mean,
what would you hope the legacy
that's attached to your name is?

1661
01:48:11,968 --> 01:48:13,416
Great songwriter.

1662
01:48:14,108 --> 01:48:15,454
You know, and...

1663
01:48:21,564 --> 01:48:24,187
I think two things. One...

1664
01:48:24,325 --> 01:48:27,466
You know,
great singer-songwriter
from a period of time

1665
01:48:27,603 --> 01:48:31,746
which I don't think
will be seen again, you know?

1666
01:48:31,884 --> 01:48:35,267
I don't think youth culture
will produce people like

1667
01:48:35,405 --> 01:48:37,614
myself and Madonna and Prince.

1668
01:48:37,752 --> 01:48:39,684
I don't think it's going
to do that anymore.

1669
01:48:40,824 --> 01:48:42,585
I think it's too fragmented now.

1670
01:48:42,723 --> 01:48:45,864
So, I'd like to be remembered
as one of those last,

1671
01:48:46,002 --> 01:48:51,076
kind of big stars
in the sense that there
was a certain glamour to it.

1672
01:48:52,835 --> 01:48:55,459
But really,
it's just the songs.

1673
01:48:55,598 --> 01:48:57,531
And I hope that people think
of me

1674
01:48:57,669 --> 01:49:00,223
as someone who had
some kind of integrity.

1675
01:49:00,361 --> 01:49:02,950
And I hope I'm remembered
for that in a way.

1676
01:49:03,088 --> 01:49:05,400
Very unlikely. I think it's all
been a waste of time.

1677
01:49:06,193 --> 01:49:07,955
Waste of effort.

1678
01:49:08,093 --> 01:49:12,891
♪ I'd say love
Was a magical thing

1679
01:49:13,029 --> 01:49:17,343
♪ I'd say love would keep us
From pain

1680
01:49:17,481 --> 01:49:19,656
♪ Had I been there

1681
01:49:22,383 --> 01:49:24,868
♪ Had I been there

1682
01:49:28,044 --> 01:49:32,911
♪ I would promise you
All of my life

1683
01:49:33,049 --> 01:49:37,260
♪ But to lose you would cut
Like a knife

1684
01:49:37,398 --> 01:49:39,814
♪ So, I don't dare

1685
01:49:42,334 --> 01:49:46,614
♪ No, I don't dare!

1686
01:49:46,752 --> 01:49:49,721
♪ 'Cause I never came close

1687
01:49:49,859 --> 01:49:51,861
♪ In all of these years

1688
01:49:51,999 --> 01:49:57,245
♪ You are the only one
To stop my tears

1689
01:49:57,383 --> 01:50:01,559
♪ And I'm so scared

1690
01:50:01,698 --> 01:50:04,701
♪ I'm so scared

1691
01:50:47,157 --> 01:50:49,263
♪ Take me back in time

1692
01:50:49,401 --> 01:50:52,023
♪ Maybe I can forget

1693
01:50:52,162 --> 01:50:54,302
♪ Turn a different corner

1694
01:50:54,440 --> 01:50:58,859
♪ And we never
Would have met

1695
01:51:01,447 --> 01:51:05,831
♪ Would you care?

1696
01:51:07,074 --> 01:51:12,010
♪ I don't understand it
For you, it's a breeze

1697
01:51:12,148 --> 01:51:14,357
♪ Little by little

1698
01:51:14,495 --> 01:51:21,260
♪ You've brought me
To my knees

1699
01:51:23,952 --> 01:51:26,334
♪ Don't you care?

1700
01:51:26,472 --> 01:51:29,510
♪ No, I've never come close

1701
01:51:29,648 --> 01:51:31,719
♪ In all of these years

1702
01:51:31,857 --> 01:51:36,966
♪ You are the only one
To stop my tears

1703
01:51:37,103 --> 01:51:40,693
♪ I'm so scared

1704
01:51:41,452 --> 01:51:43,973
♪ Of this love

1705
01:51:46,353 --> 01:51:51,843
♪ And if all that there is
Is this fear of being used

1706
01:51:51,981 --> 01:51:55,536
♪ I should go back
To being lonely

1707
01:51:55,674 --> 01:51:58,642
♪ And confused

1708
01:52:01,404 --> 01:52:06,236
♪ If I could, I would

1709
01:52:06,374 --> 01:52:08,722
♪ I swear

1710
01:52:16,902 --> 01:52:21,010
♪ Oh

1711
01:52:21,148 --> 01:52:24,392
♪ Yes, I swear

1712
01:52:40,925 --> 01:52:43,411
♪ If I could

1713
01:52:44,102 --> 01:52:46,138
♪ I would

1714
01:52:46,276 --> 01:52:49,038
♪ I swear ♪