Schubert best biography on george michael

George Michael — or more precisely, Wham! — was my first concert as a kid. I had harbored a long-standing and passionate sixth-grade crush on George (whose full Greek name, Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, I also knew), and I was certain he would somehow see me in my lawn seat beside my father and our fates would intertwine.

(My father, who had mysteriously “volunteered” to take me to every George Michael concert of my childhood, had a lot more in common with George than I did, but I would not find that out for twenty more years.)

If my introduction seems personal, it is — and this book is too.

James Gavin does justice to the gifted, tortured, closeted, and magnetic life led by George Michael, with a very specific focus on what Michael’s life — and death — meant to the gay community. At times heartbreaking to read, the through line of the book is both George’s immense talent and his darker side — George’s discomfort in his own beautiful skin, h