George Michael News from July-September 1998
September 25, 1998
Ladies and Gentlemen - The Best of George Michael
AEGEAN.NET has finally announced the names of the winners of the Greatest
Hits contest for Members Online. Actually, no one came up with the exact
greatest hits listing (big "DUH!" there), and therefore no one
won the trip to London for a day.
Since George is having a double CD, he's going to have one CD with ballads
and the other with up-tempo tracks. Four Members chose songs in this format.
Two Members who chose 20 correct songs in this format were awarded a signed
CD of the Greatest Hits collection, a Recordable Mini Disc Player, and
a bunch of other stuff that Andreas Georgiou is going to scrounge up.
Congratulations to the two people who won!!! (And if the other person
who guessed it would be one ballads CD and one up-tempo CD would like
to commiserate and complain, feel free to write to me!)
Of course the track listing in the United States is different than the
rest of the world, so those of you fans who have to have everything will
have to shell out money for the Greatest Hits twice -- for both the CDs
and the cassettes. Oh, yeah, I'm excited. :-(
International CD (excluding USA)
CD 1
- Jesus To A Child
- Father Figure
- Careless Whisper
- Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me (with Elton John)
- You Have Been Loved
- Kissing A Fool
- I Can't Make You Love Me
- Heal The Pain
- A Moment With You
- Desafinado (with Astrid Gilberto)
- Cowboys And Angels
- Praying For Time
- One More Try
- A Different Corner
CD 2
- Outside
- As (with Mary J. Blige)
- FastLove
- Too Funky
- Freedom '90
- Star People '97
- Killer / Papa Was A Rolling Stone
- I Want Your Sex (Part 2)
- The Strangest Thing '97
- Fantasy
- Spinning The Wheel
- Waiting For That Day
- I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)
- Faith
- Somebody To Love
(The international cassette version will also include "Older,"
"Waltz Away Dreaming," and "Hard Day.")
The U.S. CD version
CD 1
- Jesus To A Child
- Father Figure
- Careless Whisper
- Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me (with Elton John)
- You Have Been Loved
- Kissing A Fool
- I Can't Make You Love Me
- Heal The Pain
- A Moment With You
- Desafinado (with Astrid Gilberto)
- Cowboys And Angels
- Praying For Time
- One More Try
- A Different Corner
CD 2
- Outside
- FastLove
- Too Funky
- Freedom '90
- Star People '97
- Killer / Papa Was A Rolling Stone
- I Want Your Sex (Part 2)
- Monkey
- Spinning The Wheel
- Waiting For That Day
- I Knew You Were Waiting
- Hard Day
- Faith
- Somebody To Love
(The U.S. Cassette version will also include "Older," "Waltz
Away Dreaming," and "The Strangest Thing '97.")
At the request of Mary J. Blige's record company, "As," the
Stevie Wonder cover, will not be included on the U.S. version of the Greatest
Hits. It really doesn't take much brain power to know why.
The worldwide release date for "Outside" is October 19th. Ladies
And Gentlemen... The Best Of George Michael will be released on November
9th.
September 18, 1998
"Outside"
If you still haven't heard the funky dance track "Outside,"
check out the sounds section of the newly redesigned G-Michael.com
site. You can also read the lyrics there. PA
News also has a short article on the new single.
PA
News also reports that George will be interviewed by talk show host
Michael Parkinson. The interview will aire on the BBC in November. It
is part of a huge promotional campaign for Ladies and Gentlemen The
Best of George Michael.
September 11, 1998
Reminder
AEGEAN.NET says George's next single,
"Outside," will premiere worldwide on September 17, 1998.
September 8, 1998
To Tour or not to Tour, That is the Question!
It's funny how one little article can have such an effect on the world
press. Will George tour? The headlines pretty much say it all: "George
Michael Tour Cancelled," "George
Michael cancels tour," and "George
Michael Not Likely to Tour."
On a related note, Sonicnet's "George
Michael Nixes Benefit Show Idea" quotes Josephine Green, an assistant
to George's publicist, as saying that a benefit concert isn't being considered
as part of his required 80 hours of community service. According to the
article, Green said, "At this stage, he's not planning to do it (benefit
concert); he does not want to do it." The community service must
be completed by November 10, unless an extension is filed.
September 4, 1998
George, a "no show"??
Reuters
and PA
News have picked up on an article from the British tabloid, The
Sun, stating that George won't be touring next year as had been planned.
AEGEAN.NET has not responded to these
rumours. (Special thanks to Tara of the Hippy newsletter and Angelo!)
"alfresco sex," anyone?
PA
News also reports that George's new single, "Outside," is
about "alfresco sex." AEGEAN.NET
says the single will premiere worldwide on September 17, 1998.
September 2, 1998
"Outside"
YOGMAEL reports that George's
new single, "Outside," premiered on Capital
FM.
August 27, 1998
George's community service
A Sonicnet
article says that George may be performing a benefit concert for his community
service. George has not served any time of the 80 hours of community service
he was ordered to fulfill in May, according to the article. He has only
until November 10 to complete his community service, which is also the
date his Greatest Hits CD will arrive in stores.
August 22, 1998
Ya Gotta Have Faith, George
According to a Sonicnet article
(
"Limp Bizkit Video Challenges George Michael's 'Faith'"),
George is none too happy about Limp Bizkit's new rendition of "Faith."
In fact, Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland says he's heard that George
"really despises" the new rendition of "Faith."
August 21, 1998
CapitalFM premieres "Outside" - Not!
CapitalFM in London was scheduled
to premiere George's new song, "Outside," today; however, due
to some unknown circumstances, the one-time airing was canceled. It sounds
like it will be played at some time on CapitalFM, but no date has been
scheduled yet.
On a totally unrelated note...
The movie, Dance
With Me, starring Chayanne (one of my other favorite singers)
and Vanessa L. Williams has its U.S. premiere today. I haven't had a chance
to see it, but I'm promoting it anyway, like any good fan would! :-) And,
gasp! I'm promoting a Sony artist and a Sony-related movie! Sorry, George!
:-( Also, if you like Chayanne, you might want to look at my very small
tribute site called Solamente
Tu Amor.
August 14, 1998
ĘGEAN.NET Editor's Letter Updated
Andreas Georgiou, the president of ĘGEAN.NET,
says:
- George is back in London, finishing the three new songs for his Greatest
Hits. The first single (and video) will be released in October 1998.
August 11, 1998
Trojan Souls and Greatest Hits
MTV
has a more detailed article about the Trojan Souls project and
the Greatest Hits. (Thanks, Angelo! :)
Naomi Campbell: Behind the Music Videos
For those of you who missed it, VH-1 will be airing Naomi
Campbell: Behind the Music Videos on Wednesday at 1:30
a.m. She will talk about the making of "Freedom '90."
August 4, 1998
Trojan Souls
DotMusic
quotes Andreas Georgiou, president of ĘGEAN.NET,
as saying that the Trojan Souls project is 50 percent completed
and will be released “early in the next millennium.” Trojan
Souls is an album that George began in the early 90s. It was supposed
to include new songs with various artists.
July 25, 1998
Chat Articles
In case you missed them, there are articles about the chat at CNN,
Jam, Wall
of Sound, DotMusic
(thanks, Angelo!), and SonicNet.
ĘGEAN.NET Editor's Letter Updated
Andreas Georgiou, el presidente de ĘGEAN.NET,
says:
- George Michael's first online chat was the biggest music-related online
chat ever. It wasn't as big as the X Files chat though.
- George will chat again exclusively for Members Online in September.
- If you'd like to become a member of Members Online, the official George
Michael/ĘGEAN.NET fan club, membership is now available at the site.
George Michael Greatest Hits
PA
News has a very short article on the upcoming Greatest Hits collection.
ĘGEAN.NET
ĘGEAN.NET premiered its new website.
However, if you don't have Shockwave
Flash, all you see is a blue screen with an advertisement. The non-Flash
site is located at http://www.aegean.net/noflash.
Andreas Georgiou Chat
For those of you who missed the pre-chat with Andreas Georgiou of ĘGEAN.NET,
here are some of the high points:
- The George Michael Greatest Hits will be released in time for Christmas
1998. (The new single will be out in September, according to the site.)
- A Greatest Hits home video will be available.
- The tour dates aren't finalized. (Tour starts in March 1999.)
- George will be doing promotion on North American television.
July 17, 1998
Chat Articles
If you were there, you know all this stuff already. In case you weren't,
you might want to read the transcript
or articles at the BBC (July
16th article / July
17th article), Teletext,
Reuters,
and PA
News.
July 16, 1998
Chat and More Chat
George elected to stay for more than two hours for his first online chat.
George did his own typing and kept getting booted off the system, which
caused a lot of delays. ĘGEAN.NET
will probably have a transcript of the chat on their site.
Chat!
In case you've forgotten ;), the chat will take place today at 8 p.m.
GMT (although there are contests starting at 7 p.m. GMT). It will be held
at http://onlinetonight.msn.com/george.
From there click on Online Tonight.
A Teletext
article says that more than 25,000 questions were collected from 6,000
e-mails. From those questions, they chose 150 questions for George to
answer. The majority of the questions dealt with George's arrest in April
and subsequent court case.
There is also a brief article at PA
News.
July 15, 1998
Reuters News Story
According to a very reliable source, Reuters news service has interviewed
various people for a story on George's first online chat.
July 14, 1998
"Cool Event" at Yahoo!
The upcoming chat with George Michael has been named a "Cool Event"
by Yahoo!
George's Longest Interview Ever
According to a letter from Andreas Georgiou, ĘGEAN.NET
president, they have received more than 25,000 questions. These questions
have been given to the Microsoft Network, which will put the questions
into categories.
July 13, 1998
ĘGEAN.NET Editor's Letter Updated
In his weekly editor's letter at the ĘGEAN.NET
site, president Andreas Georgiou says:
- He would like for everyone to look for local coverage of the George
Michael chat. If you do see something, please send it to Andreas Georgiou
by e-mail editor@aegean.net or
by post at ĘGEAN, PO Box 11879, London N6 5YD, England.
- Members Online members will soon be able to see part of Georgiou's
private "collection of home movies, including rare studio footage
and private moments from the past."
- For those of you who are not yet members of Members Online, the only
official George Michael fan club, ĘGEAN will be reopening membership
on Friday, July 17, 1998.
Java George
ĘGEAN is now using new audio technology called Hyperceive from Insigma
Technologies. You can now hear George welcome you to the site and
invite you to the upcoming chat.
Naomi Campbell: Behind the Music Videos
After chatting with George, rest and relax while watching VH-1's Naomi
Campbell: Behind the Music Videos on Saturday at 11
p.m. She will talk about the making of "Freedom '90."
July 6, 1998
Chat with George
The ĘGEAN.NET site links to http://onlinetonight.msn.com/george,
which includes more details about the chat. From what I can determine,
George arrives at the chat at 8 p.m. GMT, but the chat starts an hour
earlier (7 p.m. GMT) for those who want to participate in chat games with
special prizes.
The Microsoft Network says that the chat will be on July 16, 1998, at
9 p.m. BST, 1 p.m. PDT, 4 p.m. EDT, 10 p.m. CET, 8 p.m. GMT -- and 6 a.m.
on July 17, 1998, for Japan and Australia.
And does anyone think this is an example of irony? There are also competitions
to win Sony Mini-Disk players and George Michael CD's and t-shirts. Details
are available at the link listed previously.
July 4, 1998
ĘGEAN.NET Editor's Letter Updated
In his weekly editor's letter at the ĘGEAN.NET
site, president Andreas Georgiou says:
- He thanks everyone for the e-mails and gifts for George on his birthday
last week.
- George thanks everyone for their support over the last few months.
- He asks all unofficial pages to link to the ĘGEAN.NET site to help
promote the chat.
- Questions from members of Members Online will be put at the top of
the list of questions that George will answer. There is a special e-mail
address for these questions.
The ĘGEAN.NET site also has a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
about the chat; however, I know the time is wrong for at least one of
the time zones listed so I would suggest visiting that page a few days
before the chat to double check on the time for your area.
Also please be aware that the chat will use ActiveX technology. The newer
versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape can use this technology;
however, you might have to download ActiveX for the chat. The Microsoft
Network also has instructions on how you can attend this chat through
IRC if your browser does not support ActiveX.
July 2, 1998
A Two- to Four-hour Chat with George???
Yes, it could happen. A Radio
1 Newsbeat article quotes Andreas Georgiou, president of ĘGEAN,
as saying that the chat could be two to four hours in length if George
is enjoying himself. He has also agreed to be very open about the questions
that are being asked. Georgiou is projecting that 20,000 to 30,000 people
will attend the online chat.
Here's the quote from the article since I think these articles disappear
rather quickly:
"We know a hundred per cent all these questions will come up and
George is perfectly willing to answer them all. I mean, after the arrest
he went on CNN and gave probably one of the best interviews he had given
. He was very honest in what happened. We expect anything between 20
and 30 thousand people on the actual night. It could go on between 2
and 4 hours depending on if George is having a good time or not."
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