George Micheal dies

George Micheal dies British pop star George Michael, who rose to fame with the band Wham! and sold more than 100 million albums in his career, died aged 53, under unexplained circumstances.

“It is with great sadness that we can confirm our beloved son, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home over the Christmas period,” his publicist said in a statement. Thames Valley Police said the ambulance service had attended a property in Goring in Oxfordshire, where the singer lived, at 13:42 on Sunday and a 53-year-old man was confirmed dead at the scene. “At this stage the death is being treated as unexplained but not suspicious. A post-mortem will be undertaken in due course,” the police said. Michael was due to release a documentary in 2017 after a period of living as a virtual recluse in which he hit the headlines for a series of bizarre incidents linked to drugs. Earlier this month it was also announced that producer and songwriter Naughty Boy, whose real name is Shahid Khan, was working with Michael on a new album for next year. Michael was best known for his 1980s hits Last Christmas, Freedom, Careless Whisper and Wake Me Up Before You Go Go but his career spanned more than three decades. He won a string of awards including two Grammies and three Brits.

His last album Symphonica (2014) rose to number one in the charts.



NAMPA/AFP