George Michael

[Betty Boop]

has died, devastated!! my teenage idol has gone -1

[spot]

2016 is still stabbing people in the back then.

[Bruv]

Relatively very young to die peacefully at home ?

Tragic fellow with a sad end.

[spot]

I suspect the British tabloids are not going to be at all kind.

[LarsMac]

BBC claims he was a superstar.

With all due respect, I think that term a tad overused.

[FourPart]

To paraphrase a very appropriate lyric for the moment - "The very next day, he's taken away".

Has there been a week gone by this year when one of the greats hasn't been taken from us?

[magentaflame]

LarsMac;1504522 wrote: BBC claims he was a superstar.

With all due respect, I think that term a tad overused.


My kids even know who he is..... just because he isnt famous in america means nothing!

Sorry to hear this.

And status quo? Bloody hell !

I decided to put this year behind me, think its a good idea.

[spot]

LarsMac;1504522 wrote: BBC claims he was a superstar.

With all due respect, I think that term a tad overused.


The chap did sell 100 million CDs before Internet sales became significant, that's a lot of sales. I don't think any other British pop star managed that - the Bee Gees did, but they were colonial.

[Ahso!]

I think radio and other media did the selling. There are lots of people in entertainment that never got the exposure for various reasons.

None of that means GM wasn't talented. I thought he was, however his looks and whatever was offered to radio disc jockeys for the air time had a lot to do with his success too.

[Betty Boop]

Ahso!;1504548 wrote: I think radio and other media did the selling. There are lots of people in entertainment that never got the exposure for various reasons.

None of that means GM wasn't talented. I thought he was, however his looks and whatever was offered to radio disc jockeys for the air time had a lot to do with his success too.

[LarsMac]

I'm sure he was very popular. A lot of people liked his music. But that does not make someone a superstar

Elvis, Paul McCarney, Elton John, Michael Jackson. Those guys are "Superstars"

Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Sting, Freddie Mercury, these guys might qualify for the tag.

There are a lot of other artists out there who are very talented, and very popular, and I am not claiming that people who I failed to name are not deserving of recognition, but really, what defines a "Superstar" ?

There a lot of people on my list of great singers and musicians who are, IMHO, legendary, but Superstars?

I would offer that to qualify for Superstar status, a performer should be more than legendary. More than a great talent. Someone whose name instantly comes to mind worldwide.

[Ahso!]

Betty Boop;1504551 wrote: Speaking as an American in America, it is well known that songs, especially from newer artists, got radio airplay through bribes to the disc jockey. Vacations, free concert tickets, money, beer, drugs or what have you.

After an entertainer would become popular and in demand, the tables would turn. Newer artists had to rely on the good will of the radio personality to play their music to become known. Established artist's music would be the reason for listeners tuning into the station, so the newer artists were at the mercy of the station disc jockeys. After becoming established with the listeners the then now known artists would carry the listening audience.

So, you see, it was a cycle.

The Guess Who put a song to the process.

[Bruv]

Ahso!;1504555 wrote: Speaking as an American in America, it is well known that songs, especially from newer artists, got radio airplay through bribes to the disc jockey. Vacations, free concert tickets, money, beer, drugs or what have you.

After an entertainer would become popular and in demand, the tables would turn. Newer artists had to rely on the good will of the radio personality to play their music to become known. Established artist's music would be the reason for listeners tuning into the station, so the newer artists were at the mercy of the station disc jockeys. After becoming established with the listeners the then now known artists would carry the listening audience.

So, you see, it was a cycle.

The Guess Who put a song to the process.




Have you been drinking ?

[LarsMac]

Ahso!;1504555 wrote: Speaking as an American in America, it is well known that songs, especially from newer artists, got radio airplay through bribes to the disc jockey. Vacations, free concert tickets, money, beer, drugs or what have you.

After an entertainer would become popular and in demand, the tables would turn. Newer artists had to rely on the good will of the radio personality to play their music to become known. Established artist's music would be the reason for listeners tuning into the station, so the newer artists were at the mercy of the station disc jockeys. After becoming established with the listeners the then now known artists would carry the listening audience.

So, you see, it was a cycle.

The Guess Who put a song to the process.




It has been a long time since that was really the case. Now most pop radio stations are all owned by the same corporation, and the programming is directed by far higher up the food chain than any "disc Jockey"

[Ahso!]

Alan Freed, a disc jockey and early supporter of rock and roll (and also widely credited for actually coining the term), had his career and reputation greatly harmed by a payola scandal. **** Clark's early career was nearly derailed by a payola scandal, but he avoided trouble by selling his stake in a record company and cooperating with authorities.[7] Attempts were made to link all payola with rock and roll music.[8]

The amount of money involved is largely unpublished; however, one DJ, Phil Lind of WAIT (AM) in Chicago, disclosed in Congressional hearings that he had taken $22,000 to play a record.[9]

Payola to DJs is less of a concern today, as they are rarely involved in choosing the songs. Modern radio is widely based on company-delivered playlists, often scheduling every song, commercial break, and DJ talk time, and most shows are pre-recorded well in advance of their broadcast. Especially with shows that are voicetracked from elsewhere where an off-air assistant may choose the playlists rather than the DJ themselves, local radio staff have little to no input on a playlist outside of special but rare segments where a local artist might be spotlighted, or contests where local artists are offered the opportunity to open a concert or music festival for more well-known acts.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payola

ETA: I can't believe you guys censored a name.

[Bruv]

George Michael found success quickly in the US, briefly eclipsing even superstars such as Michael Jackson and Madonna at the tail end of the1980s..........................................................................But his experience and life in America were soured by a fight with his record label and arrest in a public bathroom that forced him to come out as a gay man.As the Rolling Stone writer Greg Pond noted that year: “He is only 24 – three years younger than Prince, five years younger than Michael Jackson, and outselling both of them. He is ridiculously famous; he has more money than he can spend. And for most of his brief career, he has had virtually no artistic credibility.”


I don't really know if he was a true superstar, but he was incredibly talented.

I personally thought the guy was a sad but talented individual with many issues in his life. Money and success didn't make him happy.................sad really.

[Ahso!]

LarsMac;1504566 wrote: It has been a long time since that was really the case. Now most pop radio stations are all owned by the same corporation, and the programming is directed by far higher up the food chain than any "disc Jockey"Yes, i was referring to when GM first became known. Payola was still an issue in the states then.

[Betty Boop]

Bruv;1504570 wrote: I don't really know if he was a true superstar, but he was incredibly talented.

I personally thought the guy was a sad but talented individual with many issues in his life. Money and success didn't make him happy.................sad really.


He did find it hard to cope with stardom and I agree with you he was incredibly talented.

Superstar is just a word, but he did an amazing duo with the legendary Elton John, he must have been of a certain status and talent to be allowed alongside Elton. He also fronted Freddy Mercury's band Queen after Freddy's death, he must have been fairly talented and of a certain status to have been asked. He dueted with lots of superstars within the music industry, none of our younger so called singers have.

For me Listen without Prejudice was an amazing album, my favourite track being Mother's Pride





I need lessons in embedding lol

[Bruv]

Cut web address, paste into add video box in post, delete the S in https at start of address............you just need more practice.

[Betty Boop]

oh my word I think I did it!! I just needed Faith! Thank you so much Bruv

[tabby]

While he wasn't one of my personal favorites, I was still sorry to hear the news of his death. He packed a lot of living into his 53 years!

[Snowfire]

George's rendition of Elton John's Tonight was a stonker of a song

[WonderWendy3]

I loved him in the 80's! My son didn't know him by his name, the minute I said "Wham" - he knew who he was and was saddened by the news, as I was. RIP George.

[Clodhopper]

You couldn't avoid him for a time. I was in Australia on a year out when Club Tropicana was released and it still evokes parties on Aussie beaches for me. Good memories.

Seems he was very unhappy though. A real shame.

[Betty Boop]

Clodhopper;1504869 wrote: You couldn't avoid him for a time. I was in Australia on a year out when Club Tropicana was released and it still evokes parties on Aussie beaches for me. Good memories.

Seems he was very unhappy though. A real shame.


Hello!!! Welcome back, good to see you I did a double take when I saw the name :-6

[spot]

spot;1504520 wrote: I suspect the British tabloids are not going to be at all kind.


George Michael's cousin speaks out: "Hard drugs had been back in his life" - Mirror

I believe he had suicidal thoughts... his mental health was all over the place - Express

George Michael's cousin blames ‘the people who dragged’ the reclusive star back into drugs for his death as he vows to ‘get to the truth’ - Mail

'miss my baby' George Michael’s boyfriend Fadi Fawaz opens up about the singer’s ‘tough’ two months at an Australian rehab clinic as he battled anxiety issues - Sun

'HARD DRUGS WERE BACK' - Sun

[Bruv]

His private acts of philanthropy have come to light too HERE