UPDATED Tributes Flow for Soulful British Pop Idol George Michael, Dead at 53

LONDON (Reuters) – Madonna, Elton John and Paul McCartney paid tribute on Monday to British pop idol George Michael, who has died age 53 after a career of soulful ballads and dance songs that provided a soundtrack to much of the 1980s and 1990s. (Scroll to bottom for stories of George Michael’s incredible generosity and Update.)

Michael burst to stardom with Wham!, one of the most successful pop duos ever, with singles like “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” and “Careless Whisper”, before reinventing himself as a solo artist with sexually daring lyrics and multimillion-selling albums like “Faith” and “Listen Without Prejudice”.

He passed away peacefully over Christmas, according to a statement from his publicist. British police said his death was “unexplained but not suspicious”. His manager, Michael Lippman, said the singer had died of heart failure, according to the BBC.

“Heartbroken at the loss of my beloved friend Yog (nickname). Me, his loved ones, his friends, the world of music, the world at large. 4ever loved,” said former Wham! partner and school friend Andrew Ridgeley on Twitter. “Cleft with grief.”

“Farewell My Friend. Another Great Artist leaves us,” Madonna tweeted.

“George Michael’s sweet soul music will live on even after his sudden death,” said McCartney. “Having worked with him on a number of occasions his great talent always shone through and his self-deprecating sense of humour made the experience even more pleasurable.”

Michael was highly regarded by fellow musicians as a singer and songwriter – in addition to pop phenomenon – and was a 2017 nominee for the Songwriters Hall of Fame, but he was troubled for years by substance abuse and a topsy turvy private life.

With flowing blond hair and handsome smile, Michael won legions of fans as a teenage pin-up in the early 1980s before going solo with “Faith” in 1987, among the more than 100 million albums he sold with Wham! and under his own name.

While still in Wham!, Michael became the first Western pop act to perform in communist China, in 1985.

He was publicly outed as a homosexual when he was arrested in 1998 for “engaging in a lewd act” in a public restroom in Beverly Hills, California. But he parlayed that tabloid tale into a successful revamp of his career with the hit single “Outside,” accompanied by a video featuring LA police officers which showcased his sense of humour.

“I feel stupid and reckless and weak for letting my sexuality be exposed that way,” Michael told CNN at the time. “But I do not feel shame [about my sexuality], neither do I think I should.”

“I can try to fathom why I did what I did,” he continued, “but at the end of the day, I have to admit that maybe part of the kick was that I might get found out,” he told CNN.

Though he had relationships with women and once told family members that he was bisexual, Michael, then 34, said he was gay.

“Rest with the glittering stars, George Michael,” said Star Trek actor and LGBT rights activist George Takei. “You’ve found your Freedom, your Faith. It was your Last Christmas, and we shall miss you.”

On Monday, fans laid flowers and candles at his homes in London and Oxfordshire.

“I have grown up with him – he was a songbook to the good times, the bad times. And he’s brought me here today just to say thank you, George, for the music,” said Kavita, a fan outside his home in London’s affluent Highgate district.

Michael’s friend and fellow musician Elton John, with whom he collaborated, said: “I have lost a beloved friend – the kindest, most generous soul and a brilliant artist. My heart goes out to his family and all of his fans.”

Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou on June 25, 1963 in London to a Greek Cypriot family in a flat above a north London launderette. He played music on the London underground train system before finding global fame with Wham!.

Michael’s death comes at the end of a year that has seen the passing of several popular music giants, including David Bowie, Prince and Leonard Cohen. Rick Parfitt, the guitarist of British rock group Status Quo, died on Saturday at 68.

(Writing by Elisabeth O’Leary; editing by Mark Heinrich)

***

George Michael’s Incredible Generosity Revealed

Fans, journalists and charities have come forward to reveal the incredible, and often anonymous, generosity of the late former Wham! singer. George Michael donated large amounts to charity, good causes and people whose stories touched him. For instance he gave a woman he saw on TV £15,000 for IVF treatment she needed; and tipped a barmaid £5,000 to pay off her student debt.

He supported several charities, often donating all the royalties from his songs to a chosen charity. Beneficiaries included charities for HIV, Cancer and Children. Childline’s president, Dame Esther Rantzen, said that he gave all the royalties from his 1996 hit ‘Jesus to a Child’ to Childline. The Daily Mail today quotes Rantzen saying: “For years now he has been the most extraordinarily generous philanthropist, giving money to Childline, but he was determined not to make his generosity public so no-one outside the charity knew how much he gave to the nation’s most vulnerable children.

“Over the years he gave us millions and we were planning next year, as part of our 30th anniversary celebrations to create, we hoped, a big concert in tribute to him – to his artistry, to his wonderful musicality but also to thank him for the 100s of 1,000s of children he helped through supporting Childline.

“And it is particularly tragic that Christmas, which was when he released Jesus to a Child, would also be the time when we lost him.

“I think all of us have memories of particular Wham! songs and George Michael songs which mean a great deal to us.

“Certainly, for Britain’s children, George Michael meant so much more.”

UPDATE 00h59, 27 December 2016 – Tribute from Boyfriend who found George Michael:

George Michael’s boyfriend, hairdresser Fadi Fawaz, tweeted Monday evening: “ITs a xmas i will never forget finding your partner dead peacefully in bed first thing in the morning.. I will never stop missing you xx”

His ex-boyfriend and long time partner Kenny Goss, from whom he split in 2011, said he was heartbroken to lose his “dear friend and long-time love. He was a major part of my life and I loved him very, very much.”

The Daily Telegraph claimed a source said he had been admitted to hospital in the past year for heroin addiction. His manager insisted however that there was “no foul play whatsoever”.

Neighbours said George had looked tired, bloated and unwell in recent months; and that he had been noticeably absent from midnight mass on Christmas Eve, an event he usually attended.

ITs a xmas i will never forget finding your partner dead peacefully in bed first thing in the morning.. I will never stop missing you xx

— Fadi Fawaz (@fadifawaz) December 26, 2016

MORE

Singer George Michael of Wham! Fame Dies at 53

George Michael Had His Own Cultural Revolution in China

Watch George Michael Music Videos here.

George Michael Tribute at Kirstenbosch Gardens in South Africa today