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Awards Last Christmas Wham!

George Michael Nominated for Ivor Novello Award for “Last Christmas”

40th Anniversary “Last Christmas” CD Single
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George Michael has been nominated in the category of PRS for Music Most Performed at the 2025 Ivor Novello Awards. He has received the posthumous nomination for “Last Christmas,” which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024 and was the Christmas #1 song in the UK .

Other nominees in the category are:

  • “As It Was” written by Kid Harpoon, Tyler Johnson and Harry Styles and performed by Harry Styles
  • “Houdini” written by Caroline Ailin, Danny L Harle, Tobias Jesso Jnr, Dua Lipa and Kevin Parker and performed by Dua Lipa
  • “Prada” written by D-Block Europe, Obi Ebele (Da Beatfreakz), Uche Ebele (Da Beatfreakz), Jahmori “Jaymo” Simmons and RAYE and performed by Cassö, RAYE and D-Block Europe
  • “Stargazing” written by Peter Fenn, Jesse Fink and Myles Smith and performed by Myles Smith

George Michael is no stranger to Ivor Novello awards. In 1985, he won Songwriter of the Year and Most Performed Work for “Careless Whisper.” In 1989, he won Songwriter of the Year and International Hit of the Year for “Faith.” In 1997, he won Songwriter of the Year and Most Performed Work for “Fastlove”.

When George Michael first won an Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year in 1985, he was visibly emotional, and according to the official site, George regarded it as one of the most significant achievements of his career.

“It was the first proper sign from within the industry that what I was doing was actually worthwhile. And that was the reason that I got so emotional,” George Michael said about winning his first Ivor Novello Award.

Read more about the 40th anniversary of “Last Christmas” in the following articles:

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Categories
Death Personal

George Michael’s 1997 Range Rover HSE up for Auction

George Michael’s 1997 Range Rover

George Michael’s 1997 Range Rover is up for auction at Bonhams. The current bid as of this writing is £20,250. Bidding ends at 1 p.m. on March 3, 2025.

It is my guess that George’s Range Rover is being auctioned off in tribute to Lesley Angold Harrison Panayiotou, George Michael’s mother, who died of cancer on February 26, 1997. The timing and that the proceeds go to MacMillan Cancer Support when she died of cancer is telling.

According to the overview:

The V5C tells us that this car had just one owner from new and that the owner in question was Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, better-known to all who loved him and his music as… George Michael.

The car has been brought to us by George’s father Kyriakos Panayiotou who, continuing his son’s spirit of generosity, has decided that the proceeds of the sale will go to MacMillan Cancer Support.

The car has been stored in a compound for many years and, although the chassis and bodywork look to be in pretty decent, solid condition as far as we can tell, the car now has project status.

Bonhams

Bonhams’ estimate for the auction is £10,000 – £15,000, which has already been exceeded, and with 5 more days of bidding is likely to go for double the auction estimate.

The car comes with the H11 YOG license plate. As any fan knows, Yog was George Michael’s nickname. The license is registered to George Michael’s birth name: Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou.

The vehicle sold for £34,417 at the end of the auction.

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Music

“Father Figure” Charts Again After Babygirl Dance Scene

Babygirl
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George Michael’s 1988 hit,”Father Figure,” is getting the attention it deserves in the new Nicole Kidman erotic thriller, Babygirl.

According to Spotify, streams of “Father Figure” have increased nearly 300% in the U.S. and searches for “Father Figure” have increased more than 1500% since December 25, 2024.

Writer/director Halina Reijn always intended for “Father Figure” to be in the movie.

I had the idea for the powerful woman running a robotics company and an intern dominating her sexually. That was it. I didn’t have anything on paper. But one thing I knew I wanted was ‘Father Figure.’ This song came before the full scripts, before the first page, before the first treatment, anything.

I wanted to use that song because I knew I wanted to make a comedy of manners about power and consent and sex and control. That song embodies, for me, the whole thing that I’m trying to do, which is put everything on its head and turn it inside out.

Halina Reijn

According to Forbes, “Father Figure” is on the Official Singles Downloads (No. 71) and Official Singles Sales (No. 73) rosters.

George Michael talks about the inspiration for Father Figure in this Entertainment Tonight circa 1988.

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Categories
Death Personal Wham!

George Michael Still Making It Big in 2024

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George Michael continues to make money, despite dying 8 years ago on Christmas day.

George Michael’s company, Nobby’s Hobbies Holding, reported a profit for the year, after taxation, of £1,125,467, compared to £16,198,128 in 2023.

The report is only for the year ending March 31, 2024. It would not include earnings from the 40th anniversary release of “Careless Whisper” and “Last Christmas.”

Dividends of £1,378,699 in 2024 (compared to £3,292,210 in 2023) were approved and paid by the directors.

Interestingly, under the future developments heading, the report states: “The activity of the group will broaden in the next one to three years to include live public performances.”

Earnings came from:

  • £2,992,964 from publishing income
    (compared to £20,623,079 in 2023).
  • £3,534,705 from record royalties
    (compared to £2,560,287 in 2023).
  • £6,260 from merchandise income
    (compared to 0 in 2023).
  • £0 for Class 4
    (compared to £275,000 in 2023).
  • £9,351 for Recharged income
    (compared to 0 in 2023).
  • £91,559 for the Wham! Netflix documentary
    (compared to £318,856).

Nobby’s Hobbies Holdings Limited is a private company, limited by shares, registered in England and Wales.

Subsidary undertakings of the company were:

  • Big Geoff Overseas Limited
  • Robobuild Limited
  • Wham Music Limited
  • George Michael Songs Limited
  • Infamy Inc.

Robobuild Limited, Big Geoff Overseas Limited, and Wham Music Limited paid donations to The Mill Charitable Trust in the amounts of £580,643, £1,410,000, and £340,000 respectively, which totals £2,330,643. The amounts donated in 2023 were £992,894, £375,000, and £500,000 respectively, which totals £1,867,894.

According to the report: The controlling party is the executors of the estate of G K Panayiotou by the virtue of its shareholding.

Nobby’s Hobbies Holding director’s report and consolidated financial statements is available here.

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Categories
Yours Only George

Thank You to the Spinning the Wheel Podcast

Spinning the Wheel podcast link

The Spinning the Wheel podcast, a podcast going through the catalog of George Michael track by track, recently posted Christmas memories from George Michael fans all over the world.

The host, Matt, was so very kind in saying how Yours Only George was his source of George Michael information in the 90s.

Matt said, in part, “I wanted to start, first and foremost, with my source of information, my source of George Michael news. In America … information was kind of hard to come by in the old days, and one of the beacons of light that really provided a lot for those of us here in America was the Yours Only George page.”

I’ll let you listen to the Spinning the Wheel podcast if you’d like to hear more about Matt’s thoughts on the site and my Christmas message for the podcast. It is around the 31-minute mark of the podcast.

The Spinning the Wheel podcast has more than 50 episodes about George Michael’s music. The podcast started back in March of 2023. Shirley Lewis, one of George Michael’s backup vocalists, provides insight into George’s music.

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