Robert Steele - Careless Whispers: The Life & Career of George Michael

I n any unauthorised biography, its always a challenge for the author to find voices of authority to bolster authorial opinion. I must therefore express my gratitude firstly to Simon Napier-Bell, former manager of Wham! and many other artists (some of whose names continue to resonate). Simon declined to offer a new interview, having in his opinion already written or said enough - or too much - about George Michael. Instead, in an act of kindness, he offered carte blanche quotation rights from his works and interviews, which was gratefully accepted. It may come as a (hopefully pleasant) surprise to Simon to find how thoroughly his words have been utilised; rather than merely quoting from Napier-Bells books, however, your author has transcribed much of the material from the pop legend and bon viveur s TV interviews of the last 25 years, as well as quoting from email correspondence that relates to this books subject. Much of this wealth of material has never seen print before.

I also gratefully acknowledge Fiona Russell Powell, a very fine writer in her own right. As a contemporary of Georges who came on the London club scene at the same time, Fiona is well placed to recall the double life led by the young singer when he first started whammering. Im grateful for her recollections of the early-mid eighties and her observations and opinions relating to the years that followed. Her candour about those early days created a rift between her and Georges social circle after he was outed in 1998. The points she made in a controversial magazine article of the time are expanded here and inform several sections of this book. In the light of Georges subsequent admission that he first tried to leave the closet aged 19, I hope Fionas testimony will now be appreciated for what it is the missing piece in the narrative of George Michaels life.

In terms of the narrative spine, reference to the authorised (and highly recommended) bio-documentary George Michael: A Different Life proved invaluable in terms of comparing the relaxed, self-deprecating figure of the last decade with the more controlled (and controlling) young man described by his eighties contemporaries. Transcribing interviews from the film helped to give a more rounded, human view of his story, as did a number of other broadcast interviews (many of them produced by the BBC) most notably two lengthy sessions with Chris Evans for Radio 2 (1996 and 2011) and a Desert Island Discs interview with Kirsty Young for Radio 4 (2007), plus TV interviews with Kirsty Wark (2004), Michael Parkinson (1998 and 2006); Graham Norton (2003) and Tim Sebastian for BBC4s HardTalk (two interviews George Michael, 2003, and Simon Napier-Bell).

In obtaining a view of the younger George Michael and his importance to pop music in the eighties, Bare, co-authored by George with Tony Parsons, is still invaluable. It offers an authorised perspective of its subject quite at odds with those of the contributors to this book. In terms of the events of the nineties, the unauthorised George Michael: Older by Tim and Nicholas Wapshott provides a useful sequence of facts and figures (even if its on shakier ground with the subject of pop music). The ups and downs of the last decade have been well documented in the UK press both the broadsheets and the tabloid papers disdained by this books subject. (Where Georges account of events differs from that of the press, the author has acknowledged this.)

Lastly, an acknowledgement of the close acquaintances of our subject who were approached by the author including those who initially agreed to an interview but later withdrew. Your loyalty to George Michael is appreciated, as is the wish not to participate in competition with his long-mooted autobiography (awaited with interest by many, including this writer). I hope it will be conceded that the following work is merely a less subjective account, rather than some kind of enemy action. The author has sought to balance the more colourful or contradictory aspects of the man and his life with respect for him as a creative artist and a human being.