Lumir bardon biography of george michael

---

Singer, songwriter

---

Although he began his musical career in 1980 as half of what some consider the lightweight pop outfit of Wham!, as a solo artist George Michael has been hailed as a leading creative force in popular songwriting and even mentioned as an heir to song-writing giants Paul McCartney and Elton John.

Faith, his 1988 album, rose to number one on the Billboard pop chart and sold 15 million copies. Though 1990's Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. I was not as lucrative for Michael as Faith had been, it was nonetheless applauded by critics as an important and accomplished work.

A contract dispute with the Sony record label led to periods of up to eight years during which Michael did not release albums of original work, but he reconciled with Sony in 2003 to release the chart topping Patience in Europe in 2004.

Michael was born Georgios Kyriakou Panayiotou in London on June 25, 1963.

The son of a Greek Cypriot restaurateur, Michael was the younge