Timur PANKOV
ALMATY, June24
(THE GLOBE)
Georgios (Yorgos) Kyriacos Panayiotou, 25 June 1963, Finchley, London, England. Michael first served his pop apprenticeship in the million-selling duo Wham!, the most commercially successful, teen-orientated group of the 80s. His solo career was foreshadowed in 1984�s �Careless Whisper�, a song about a promiscuous two-timer with the oddly attractive line: �Guilty feet have got no rhythm�. By the time Wham! split in 1986, Michael was left with the unenviable task of reinventing himself as a solo artist. The balladeering �Careless Whisper� had indicated a possible direction, but the initial problem was one of image. As a pin-up pop idol, Michael had allowed himself to become a paste-board figure, best remembered for glorifying a hedonistic lifestyle and shoving shuttlecocks down his shorts in concert. The rapid transition from dole queue reject to Club Tropicana playboy had left a nasty taste in the mouths of many music critics. Breaking the Wham! icon was the great challenge of Michael�s solo career, and his finest and most decisive move was to take a sabbatical before recording an album, to allow time to put his old image to rest. In the meantime, he cut the chart-topping �A Different Corner�, a song stylistically similar to �Careless Whisper� and clearly designed to show off his talent as a serious singer-songwriter. Enlivening his alternate image as a blue-eyed soul singer, he teamed up with Aretha Franklin for the uplifting �I Knew You Were Waiting�, a transatlantic chart topper. Michael�s re-emergence came in 1988, resplendent in leather and shades and his customary designer stubble. A pilot single, �I Want Your Sex� was banned by daytime radio stations and broke his string of number 1s in the UK. Faith followed, and was not only well-received but sold in excess of 10 million copies. The album spawned a plethora of hit singles in the USA, including the title track, �Father Figure�, �One More Try� and �Monkey�. Equally adept at soul workouts and ballads, and regarded by some as one of the best new pop songwriters of his era, Michael seemed set for a long career. In 1990, he released his second album, Listen Without Prejudice, Vol.1, a varied work which predictably sold millions. The first single from the album, �Praying For Time� reached number 1 in the USA. In the UK, however, the comeback single was merely a Top 10 hit, suggesting that his status as a singles exponent in his homeland had markedly declined. Still dissatisfied with his media image, Michael announced that he would cease conducting interviews in future and concentrate on pursuing his career as a serious songwriter and musician. In 1992 the Sunday Times announced his arrival as one of the richest men in the UK. However, a court clash with his record label Sony dominated his activities in 1993 and 1994 (and was estimated to have cost him $7 million), with Michael arguing that his contract rendered him a �pop slave� and demanding to be released from it. Mr Justice Jonathan Parker ruled in Sony�s favour and Michael stated he would appeal, and also insisted that he would never again record for the label. In July 1995 it looked likely that Michael had managed to free himself from Sony - but only at the cost of $40 million. The buy-out was financed by David Geffen �s new media empire, Dreamworks, and Virgin Records, who were also reputed to have paid him an advance of million for two albums. The first was Older, one of the decade�s slickest productions. Although the album became a huge success there was no great depth to the songs underneath the immaculate production. Michael announced the formation of his own record label Aegean Records, in February 1997. On April 7 1998 he was arrested for �lewd behaviour� in a toilet cubicle at the Will Rogers Memorial Park in Beverly Hills, California. Michael later confirmed his long-rumoured homosexuality and was sentenced to perform community service. He bounced back with an excellent single, �Outside�, which entered the UK charts at number 2 in October 1998.
25 June 1963 - George Michael (Yorgos Panayiotou) (singer: duo: Wham!: Wake Me Up before You Go-Go; Ivor Novello Songwriter of the Year Award [1985]; solo: Careless Whisper, Faith, A Different Corner, I Want Your Sex)
27 June 1955 - Isabelle Adjani (actress: Queen Margot, Ishtar, Subway, The Tenant, The Story of Adele H, The Slap)
25 June 1951 - The first commercial color TV program was seen on this night. It was a four-hour-long show presented on CBS and carried in New York City, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, D.C. Arthur Godfrey, Faye Emerson, Sam Levenson and Ed Sullivan starred in the TV milestone. An interesting side note to this event is that the public didn�t own any color TVs at the time and CBS, itself, owned only about three dozen sets.
25 June 1967 - The first global telecast was made this day. No, it didn�t feature Larry King, either.
26 June 1819 - The bicycle was patented by W.K. Clarkson, Jr. of New York City on this day.
26 June 1897 - An interesting coincidence in sports occurred on this day. Thomas Lynch and John Heydler were umpires in a baseball doubleheader in Washington, D.C. �Yeah, so?� you ask. Well, smarties, each of these umpires went on to become a president of the National League. So there.
26 June 1979 - Muhammad Ali announced that he was retiring as world heavyweight boxing champion. The 37-year-old fighter said, �Everything gets old, and you can�t go on like years ago.� The �Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee� act was no more.
27 June 1885 - Chichester Bell and Charles S. Tainter applied for a patent for the gramophone on this day. They received the patent which was granted on May 4, 1886.
From June 4 to July 3
The Kosteyev State National Museum. Exhibition of the works of Bakhytbek Talkambayev.
The Kosteyev State National Museum. Exhibition of the works of S. Kalmykov, I. Itkind, V. Eifert, and Rudolf Nuriev�s painting.
From 10.00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. Closed on Monday.
All Over the Globe is published by IPA House.
© 1998 IPA House. All Rights Reserved.