Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Tributes flood in for singer George
The 53-year-old, who rose to fame as the front man of Wham! and had charttopping hits including Last Christmas, died peacefully at home, his publicist said.
The cause of the star’s death was heart failure, according to his manager Michael Lippman.
Michael — whose real name was Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou — sold more than 100 million albums throughout a career spanning almost four decades.
Big names from the world of entertainment have paid tribute to him after hearing about his death, which comes in a year that has seen the music industry lose some of its biggest stars including Prince, David Bowie and Leonard Cohen.
Sir Elton John posted a photograph of himself and Michael on Instagram, writing: “I am in deep shock. I have lost a beloved friend — the kindest, most generous soul and a brilliant artist. My heart goes out to his family and all of his fans.”
Michael’s former Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley said he was “heartbroken at the loss of my beloved friend”.
Friend Madonna paid her own tribute, posting an undated video on Twitter in which she embraced Michael on stage. In it she tells the audience: “He’s a great songwriter and he makes very classy videos, like me.”
POP superstar George Michael’s death at the age of 53 from suspected heart failure is being treated by police as “unexplained but not suspicious”.
Michael formed duo Wham! with Ridgeley in 1981, and went on to massive success, releasing a string of hit singles including Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do), Club Tropicana, Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, and Last Christmas.
They were the first Western pop act to visit China when they played there in 1985, before splitting in 1986, by which time Michael had already released a handful of solo singles.
Thames Valley Police said they were called to a property in Goring-on-Thames shortly before 2pm yesterday, adding: “Sadly, a 53-year-old man was confirmed deceased at the scene.
“At this stage the death is being treated as unexplained but not suspicious.”
The star’s publicist said: “It is with great sadness that we can confirm our beloved son, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home over the Christmas period.”