Here is the LA Times review: First look (and listen): George Michael’s ‘Faith’ gets the deluxe reissue treatment
(Okay, I just want to know why some of the fan sites can’t get these free copies way ahead of schedule and review them! I’d promote it far more if I had it ahead of time. Sorry, everyone, it just doesn’t make sense to me!)
According to the Daily Star, Simon Cowell has approached George Michael to be a judge on the U.S. version of X Factor, which premieres next September.
A source close to the music mogul said George would be ideal as he has a high profile in both the States and Britain.
He added: “Simon has always been a huge fan of George’s.
“His knowledge of the music industry is immense and he would be the perfect mentor for any up-and-coming artist.”
George could join UK judge Cheryl Cole, 27, on the show.
Speaking this week, Simon said: “I won’t be announcing the US X Factor line-up until January.
“No contracts have been signed yet. We are still in the discussion stages.”
Pepsi & Shirlie will be performing in June 2011. They will be part of the Here and Now tour. You can read more about it here.
Roman Kemp, the son of Shirlie Kemp (Pepsi and Shirlie) and Martin Kemp (Spandau Ballet), plays bass in Paradise Point. You can hear clips at MySpace.
Here are a few of the recent articles on George Michael’s statement:
From the BBC:
Pop star George Michael has said he “just wants to start again” following his release from prison in Suffolk after serving a sentence for drug driving.
The 47-year-old said it was “fantastic” to be free on “a beautiful day”.
“I just want to say thank you for everybody who has supported me in there,” the singer told reporters outside his north London home.
Michael served half of an eight-week sentence in jail for crashing his car while under the influence of cannabis.
He was arrested in July after being found slumped at the wheel of his Land Rover in Hampstead, north London.
From Michael taking legal action over prison claims:
“Much as I would prefer to rise above the usual rubbish that I’m reading day after day about my time here in prison, I think it’s only fair to my fans, family and friends to respond in some way, even though I will be home soon.
“Please believe me when I tell you that in the last three weeks there have been no tears, no anxiety, no bullying, in fact not so much as a sleepless night for me. On the contrary, I have been treated with kindness by fellow in-mates and prison staff alike and as far as I can tell, have received no special treatment of any kind whatsoever.
“Most of my days have been spent reading thousands of letters and postcards of incredible support from people around the world. I promise to repay their kindness with new music as soon as I possibly can, and as far as running around this place “naked” and “drunk” on “Hooch” with an inmate for a bodyguard, let’s just say that the Sunday Mirror will be hearing from my lawyers very shortly. With Love always, George Michael.”
From the Sun:
JAILED George Michael has received a hand-written letter from Sir Paul McCartney.
Macca wrote to the singer to lift his spirits while he serves time for his drug-fuelled car smash.
Pals said the Beatles legend, 68, “empathised” with the Wham! star’s plight after he spent ten days in prison in Tokyo in 1980 after being caught with cannabis.
George, 47, has served two weeks of his eight-week sentence and could be out on licence in a fortnight from Category C jail Highpoint in Suffolk.
A source said: “He got the letter on Monday and was really chuffed. Sir Paul said he would see him soon and told George to keep his chin up.
“The letter was two pages long and George read it over and over again.”
From Convicts’ fury at George Michael’s privileges:
Jailed George Michael has enraged inmates at his new jail by being given special privileges right away.
Convicts usually need to behave well for several weeks before rising to “enhanced” status, which allows them extra visits and a PlayStation in their cell.
Michael, 47 – who is serving two months for a drug-fuelled car crash – arrived at Highpoint jail in Suffolk on Friday.
Amel Sahbaz, 23, who was visiting his brother, said: “It’s not fair. The other inmates have to earn their way onto that wing but George is famous so he’s allowed in straight away.”
Visitor Amanda Hunt said: “My friend saw him playing pool with another prisoner and he seemed happy, but looks very haggard and quite old.”
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From Despite George Michael’s tawdry antics, his basic talent lets some keep the faith:
The image he established on Faith will outlast his fall from grace, because it has become a pop prototype, capturing not just a moment in time, but a whole idea of how a modern star can create a look and sound that crosses all the bases, risque without alienating the mainstream, sexy without being too trite or immature for adults.
Maybe what happened to George Michael afterward will make this artfully constructed persona seem more interesting, rather than less. You’ve got to have faith, as the man himself might suggest.
From George Michael is a national treasure, despite the funny fags:
Let’s face it, George Michael occupies a special place in the hearts of the British public. We are enormously fond of him and we hate to see him hit bad times.
Our fondness is partly rooted in the fact that he has made some phenomenally good pop music. Michael peaked as a solo artist with 1987’s Faith and you have to wonder how much his predilection for funny fags has affected him creatively.
But Wham! were a staggeringly good all-in pop proposition, easily one of the best this country has ever produced. They were cartoonishly pretty and upbeat, but also musically deft and inventive and lyrically inspired.
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From George Michael Gives Up on Escape:
The multi-millionaire had been due to appear via videolink for a conference with his lawyers yesterday before a bail hearing at Blackfriars Crown Court, London.
But the application was suddenly withdrawn. A clerk for his barrister, Mukul Chawla QC, confirmed the hearing had been pencilled in the lawyer’s diary, saying: “It was in the diary, but now there’s nothing in his diary today.”
A court spokesman said: “It’s been cancelled completely. There are no new dates for the hearing.’’
The climbdown came after Michael had a two-hour visit from his partner Kenny Goss, 50, in a private room at the jail.
Asked how Michael was doing, Kenny said as he left: “I think he’s doing OK.”
From George Moved to Soft Cell:
The former Wham! star – who bottled out of a legal bid for freedom yesterday – hid under a blanket as he was whisked out of Pentonville Prison, North London.
He had hoped to get bail while his lawyers launched an appeal against his “excessive” eight-week sentence for a drug-fuelled car crash.
But George, 47, was warned by his high-powered legal team he stood little chance of winning – and his sentence could have been nearly DOUBLED. A legal source said: “George was playing with fire. He was quite fortunate to escape with a two-month stretch.”
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From George Michael moved to Category C Highpoint Prison:
Jailed pop star George Michael has been transferred to a softer Category C prison.
The former Wham! star was moved out of Pentonville Prison on Friday after abandoning plans to apply for bail.
The 47-year-old, whose real name is Georgios Panayiotou, moved to Highpoint Prison in Suffolk. …
On Friday, a bail application on his behalf was cancelled.
Michael will serve four weeks in prison, with the rest of his sentence spent out on licence under the supervision of the probation service.
Pentonville Prison, where former inmates have included Oscar Wilde and fellow 1980s singer Boy George, houses close to 1,000 male convicts.
A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said the department did not discuss the movement of prisoners.
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From George Michael’s ‘Faith’ Reissue Postponed:
A source within Sony Music denied tabloid reports that the label was distancing itself from the star, who is no longer under contract to Sony.
“We’re very supportive of George,” said the source. “‘Faith’ was a culturally important album for Sony Music and we want to do the right thing by him. He may not be signed to us any more but he’ll remain important to us forever.”
“Faith,” initially released in 1987, was Michael’s debut album as a solo artist. It hit No. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic and went on to sell a reported 20 million copies worldwide.
From George Michael serenaded by sex offenders on his first day in jail:
Michael is expected to spend just four days at Pentonville before being moved to an open prison.
It will upset the jail’s cons – who were delighted at having a pop legend in their midst.
Convicted shoplifter Joao Sena, also released yesterday, said: “We were shouting ‘George Michael’s coming, bring him on!’.”
“He was where the paedophiles, grasses and sex offenders are all kept. It’s not a nice place but because George is a celebrity the prison bosses must have thought he’s vulnerable.”
The singer was locked up alone in cell 35 – known among other inmates as “The Ritz” because it’s the cushiest in the jail. One former inmate said: “It’s the best cell in the whole prison. It has duvets, cushions, even its own digital TV box.
“He’s being treated like a king and has guards swarming all over him. The last thing they want is something to happen to him.
“Pentonville is really tough and some people just can’t cope with being locked up.
George Michael’s re-release of the remastered, 2-Disc Faith has been canceled.
From More agony as relaunch is axed:
Sony planned a multi-million pound promotion for the world-wide re-release of his album Faith on September 27. A spokesman said the decision to cancel was “out of respect” for the star.
But an industry insider said: “They had set aside a large budget and wanted George to do a lot of work backing it up. They couldn’t promote it after what happened in court.
“There’s been a scramble to recoup all the effort and money that has gone into this.”
Faith will now be released on January 31, 2011. (Amazon Ad)
The 2-Disc Faith track listings are:
Disc: 1
Disc: 2
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From George Michael ‘facing demands for £10K a week as protection money’:
Singer George Michael has caused quite a stir at the prison in Pentonville where he is jailed, with prison heavies demanding he pay them £10,000 a week to protect him in the showers.
Michael, 47, has been warned he is a prime target for a beating, or worse, and prison gangs have told him he may already have had his Last Christmas.
Cheers greeted him when he arrived at the 1,250-capacity north London prison after being jailed for eight weeks for crashing his car while high on cannabis.
And while some taunted him with choruses of his massive hit Freedom, others shouted: “Where’s George Michael? Bring George Michael!”
Jail bosses want him moved to an open prison as soon as possible, as they fear inmates are already queuing up to snap the first photo of him behind bars, and if he is pictured he could sue the prison for a breach of his human rights.
“All celebrity prisoners are ‘problems’ because they attract more attention. But we have a duty to protect all inmates,” The Daily Star quoted a top level Ministry of Justice insider as saying.
According to George Michael loses last-ditch bid for Freedom:
But less than hour after District Judge John Perkins ordered him to be taken away to the cells, Michael was back in court lodging an immediate appeal against the sentence his solicitor described as “manifestly excessive”.
With all of the other TV news crews and reporters all camped outside the rear gates of Highbury Corner Magistrates Court waiting for the 47-year-old former Wham! star to be driven off to prison, Michael was in Court Three applying for bail, which if granted, meant he would be able to leave by the front doors of court and spend the night at home.
Announcing the swift decision to appeal, his barrister Mukul Chawla said: “We will be submitting that the sentence imposed is manifestly excessive and in view of the circumstances of this case, not warranted.
“Our appeal is going to take a little time to organise and to list and the prospect is that much of the sentence will already have been served by the time an appeal is heard.
Addressing the judge he said: “I appreciate it is always very difficult when you have made the decision and you are now being told in effect that you got it wrong.
“We say there are added factors in this case that give optimism for grounds of success and we submit that the matter can be fully ventilated on appeal.” But Judge Perkins dealt Michael a second blow by insisting he remain behind bars.
He said: “I have listened to the application for bail but I am not prepared to grant it in respect of this matter.
“You will therefore remain in custody and those who represent you can make an application to the crown court.”
On hearing this Michael, who was visibly angry, shook his head at his legal team and said ‘I told you’ as he was led away.
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Here are some articles on George’s last few days:
George Michael was just Georgios Panayiotou yesterday. I don’t know if this jail time is a good thing for him or not, but I think it’s the first time in a long time that he’s going to be Georgios Panayiotou and not “George Michael.” He’s been surrounded by “yes” people for so long that it will be difficult to be surrounded by the confines of the “no” world of a jail cell.
Yesterday cellmate Richard Hayes, 42, recalled the moment the shaken 80s pop legend walked into the court lock-up.
He said: “I couldn’t believe it was George Michael standing in front of me.
“When the door shut behind him, he didn’t know what to do. He was in pieces.
He kept repeating ‘I can’t believe this has happened to me’. I told him to come and sit down, asked him what happened and he just put his head in his hands.
“He was crying his eyes out, he was sobbing. He was like a little boy.”
“There were two other men in the cell. One appeared to be off his head. He was in another world.
“I told George to sit down. To be honest with you, he was s***ing himself. I tried to reassure him, but he just held his head in his hands and stayed in the corner.
“I was trying to be nice to him because I feel sorry for him going to jail with his status. But on the other hand, he was driving a big car while he was out of his brain. He could have killed someone.”
From George Michael jailed for eight weeks for drug driving:
The BBC’s Lizo Mzimba: ”He actually seemed shocked”
George Michael has been given an eight-week sentence for crashing his car while under the influence of cannabis.
He was also fined £1,250 at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court in London and given a five-year driving ban.