George Michael lives again in charts – with promise of more hits to come
Four more songs created when late singer was ‘at the top of his game’ will be released, says producer
THE first George Michael single to be released since his death will not be his last, it has been disclosed.
The song This Is How (We Want You To Get High), out today, is one of four songs by the late singer that will be made public, producer James Jackman told The Daily Telegraph.
Although the former Wham! star had been working on an album before his death in 2016, his family are said to be determined to release only those songs which the musician felt met his high standards.
Jackman, who worked with the pop star for 19 years as a programmer, engineer and co-writer, said: “There is fantastic material but it’s not finished.
“They were sketches, lyric ideas, parts of verses and choruses. His family want to honour George’s memory so they won’t be pulling half-finished demos out of the vault.”
The four tracks, he said, would have become “the backbone” of the new album.
Jackman said the songs will “all see the light of day, but in what form we don’t know yet”. He added: “They were made with great care, when he was at the top of his game, and it was incredible to be a part of.
“He was one of the greatest singersongwriter’s this country has ever produced. This stuff is as good as anything he ever recorded.” The new single, which will be played publicly for the first time on BBC Radio 2 today touches on issues surrounding cycles of drug addiction and violence within families.
The recording, written, produced and mixed by Michael, looks at how parents can unwittingly influence their children into adopting unhealthy lifestyles. It refers to a “daddy” who is a “drinker” and “toker” and touches on wife-beating and bullied children.
However, Jackman insisted that these were not autobiographical references.
Michael died at his home in Goringon-thames in Oxfordshire aged 53 on Christmas Day in 2016.
A post mortem examination found he died from natural causes, due to heart and liver disease.
The singer’s career was punctuated by a series of arrests for drug-related offences. He had acknowledged how he “self-medicated” to cope with grief from the death of his lover, Anselmo Feleppa, in 1993, and his mother, in 1996. He also had a series of car accidents, culminating in 2013 when he suffered serious injuries after falling from a moving car on the M1.
This is How which will be played on The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show, will also feature at the end of the forthcoming film, Last Christmas, starring Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding and Michelle Yeoh, which will be released on Nov 15.
Jackman said the four songs could have heralded a resurgence in Michael’s career.
“They are great songs,” he added. “George was in a good space, excited about the future, confident that he was going to come back with a bang. It would have been an upbeat positive album, a 21st Century Faith. It’s a shame it wasn’t finished.” Commenting on how Michael would discard lots of his material, he added: “He was a perfectionist, and he exerted a lot of control over every part of his career. You could work for weeks on something and then he’d can the lot and take a different approach. But the end results speak for themselves.”
The single released today was initially sketched out in 2012 over a rhythm track Jackman had created. “George called me one night, very excited, saying ‘I’ve written a fantastic hook’. You could immediately hear it was classic George, a slightly ironic take on drug and alcohol use.” However, Jackman rejected the suggestion recently made by Sir Elton John in his autobiography, Me, that Michael had turned down the offer of help with his addiction.
“I’d take what Elton says with pinch of salt,” suggested Jackman. “It’s well documented that George had troubles but it was not as serious as people might believe. It was a blip in his life. George sought the necessary help and he had a close group of friends and family who were very supportive.
“He had come out the other side, clean and free from problems with drugs and alcohol. Those of us who were close to him saw his hunger and motivation in those last months. “He was back in the studio working on new material.” He said it was a “complete shock” when he learnt of his death.