Forget the perm and pot, just revel in George’s perfect pop
The hIPSTeR gods of pop were never kind to George Michael. however hard he tried, he was always the uncoolest star in showbiz.
his career split into three acts: the bopping pretty-boy with a dyed perm, the screamingly conceited prima donna and the embarrassing pot-head.
George was self-aware enough to understand that his image problems obscured his music. he wrote a stream of hits that ‘burst out of the radio’, he said, but all the public saw were bangle earrings and tight shorts.
The shock effect of George Michael: Freedom (C4), the autobiographical film he was still making when he died last December, erupted from the cumulative impact of all those hits. every song was instantly recognisable, and there seemed to be dozens — he made Madonna and Prince look like part-timers.
It was amazing to realise, too, how many superstars shared the mic with him for duets: Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, elton John, Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett and more.
The queue of famous fans lining up to praise him in the updated parts of the documentary was just as dazzling. Some were selfserving, such as comedians James Corden (who had a little weep for the camera) and Ricky Gervais, all platitudes and fake grin.
Others had real insights to offer, such as elton’s shrewd observation that the intro to the 1990 single Praying For Time sounded like John Lennon at his best. Record producer Mark Ronson eloquently described George’s theme song, Freedom, as ‘a funk groove masterpiece — it’s the Mona Lisa’.
Supermodel Kate Moss, artist Tracey emin and designer Jean Paul Gaultier all elbowed their way into the tributes. It would have been a sickening love-in, were it not that George died far too young, at 53, after his brilliant career had long since sputtered out.
his death on Christmas Day last year came before he was able to tape the voiceover for the documentary. A soundalike actor did the job. But no one could have matched his voice on the songs: as a well-chosen selection of clips and live recordings showed, George excelled at everything from soft soul to all-out rock.
Because this was a self-portrait, it skirted around George’s chronic drugs problems, and made no mention of the circumstances surrounding his death. But it also neglected to mention that he was an endlessly generous man, who gave away millions without asking for recognition.
No one could accuse Anne Robinson of failing to demand recognition. She was showing off her Cotswold home in Abortion On Trial (BBC2) as eight women gathered round her kitchen table to discuss their experiences.
It marked the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Abortion Act, making it legal for doctors to perform terminations. The women’s tales were heartbreaking — none more so than the 47-year-old who ended two pregnancies and still mourned the unborn sons she named Jude and Paul. Now she wanted all abortions banned.
Anne seemed more interested in stirring conflict than in listening to grief-stricken testimonies. One woman walked out, after the presenter urged her to confront an opponent.
A token man joined in, apparently picked for his incendiary views rather than his brains. exsoldier Lee said women should not have the right to an abortion without the father’s consent.
Anne ran rings round him, tricking him into saying judges should have the power to order an abortion, even if a woman didn’t want it. It was cheap and tasteless. This emotive subject deserves far better.