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Older: Unauthorized Biography of George Michael
 
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Older: Unauthorized Biography of George Michael (Paperback)

by Tim Wapshott (Author), Nicholas Wapshott (Author)
1.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Pan Books; New edition edition (13 Aug 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0330367544
  • ISBN-13: 978-0330367547
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 13 x 2.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 1.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 609,464 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Along with Prince, Michael Jackson, and Madonna, George Michael secured his place as a global rock superstar in the 1980s and needs little introduction. After breaking up teen-band Wham! at the peak of their success, Michael emerged as a mature solo artist aged just 24 with the album Faith and built on his status as a serious singer/songwriter with Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1" in 1990 and Older (1997). Add two decades of tabloid gossip and Michael's life should make for a fascinating biography. Journalists-turned-authors Nicholas and Tim Wapshott duly deliver a detailed portrait of a complex man, who craves fame and fortune but abhors the trappings that accompany them. However, the authors' obvious indifference to the subject give the impression that Older has been written purely for financial reasons and this cannot be hidden by the occasional positive adjective. Yes, this enhances objectivity and biographers should never blindly worship, but a natural love of music and the man himself would surely have enlivened the lacklustre text. Furthermore, the book's unauthorised status means that the material must be approached with caution as events tend to be coloured by way of artistic licence and various sources are listed as "anonymous by request" (strangely the Wapshott brothers show less concern for Michael's privacy).

So why read this instead of George Michael's autobiography Bare? Well, aside from the fact that this book lifts a number of the more interesting quotes from the aforementioned autobiography anyway, Older takes us through the years beyond Bare, namely, 1990-9. These cover the lengthy legal wrangles with his former record company Sony and the "toilet incident" of April 1998, which resulted in Michael's "outing" as a gay man. With hindsight, Bare was hardly brutally honest and provided a not altogether balanced view of his life, a criticism that cannot be levelled at Older. Thankfully, Michael's sexuality and relationship with Anselmo Feleppa are sensitively handled, as are the deaths of both his mother and Felappa. In contrast, Michael's arrest for "lewd conduct in a public place" and feud with Boy George are recounted, as they only can be, with tongue firmly in cheek.

Remarkably, for a biography of an established songwriter there's a distinct lack of musical criticism with little more than a couple of sentences of analysis about each song. Music aside, such an intensely private individual has led to a lack of quality information on the enigma that is George Michael, making Older a recommended choice out of necessity rather than of merit. --Robert Brookes



Product Description

The whole, complicated, troubled and triumphant story of a man who was once a Greek Cypriot fat boy, became an Eighties pin-up as the driving partner of WHAM!, danced with Princess Diana, perfected the art of designer stubble-culture and, incidentally, became a singer along the way. By painfully and expansively insisting upon his rights as a performer and taking Sony to and through the courts to establish this, Michael not only fought for his own artistic freedom but set an important precedent for every other recording artist in the world. His musical renaissance is a personal and cultural landmark. Always personally evasive, he has endured wilfully mischievous speculations about his private life. In this book the Wapshott brothers go far towards clarifying the importance of his relationship with mercurial South American playboy who died, after which Michael publicly supported AIDS charities. Private grief, coupled with professional frustrations has lead to both silences and scores of unanswered questions about this complicated, feisty and much-misunderstood man.

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (5)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
1.9 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
1.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your time or your money!!!, 19 Aug 2008
By A. Ioannou "Athens99" (Washington DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This is the first time I've ever written a review on Amazon and it's only because this book was so awful that I had to save others from making the mistake I made of buying this book! Having just seen GM in concert, I decided I wanted to learn a bit more about him, but this book offers nothing but rehashed information from his 1st autobiography, Bare, and not very good info at that. There are many small, unnecessary errors that the authors couldn't even take the time to correct, which was extremely annoying. The only thing you'll learn about in this book is how much GM made per album, and his contract negotiations, all not very interesting. The authors glaze over the death of Anselmo Feleppa and his mother, only to get right back to discussing the money issues, which I could care less about. I wanted to learn about GM the man, not how much he was earning per cd that he sold, or how long he was #1 on the top of the UK charts with "Father Figure". Don't buy this book, you'll regret it! He's supposed to be writing a 2nd and more comprehensive autobiography to come out sometime in 2009. Hold out for that, so you can hear from the man himself. I'm looking forward to it. As for this book, I think I will try and donate it somewhere, because surely I can't ask anyone to pay to buy it off me!!!
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5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, 30 Oct 2005
By A Customer
I disagree with the other readers. I thought this book gave a fascinating insight into the life of George Michael. I give it my full thumbs up, and I recommend with a 'careless whisper', this book to anyone who is, or is not interested in George.
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1.0 out of 5 stars poor, 16 Feb 2004
By A Customer
I concur with other readers. This is a dreadful book. It is a gauche hotch-potch of cliches and recycled information. Come off it Messrs Wapshott: the public deserve better.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars awful
i found this book when we moved into our new house and thought id settle down to enjoy it while we were waiting for the removal men to deliver our furniture. Read more
Published on 3 Sep 2003

1.0 out of 5 stars Poor
I bought this book because I think George Michael is the greatest singer in the world. I was disappointed by it. Read more
Published on 30 Sep 2001

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
As a lifelong fan of George Michael I devour everything about him. I was really looking forward to this book and set aside a weekend to read it. But I was disappointed. Read more
Published on 18 Sep 2001

3.0 out of 5 stars OK, but author's tendency to overdramatize is quite annoying
This is book is not bad. Bu only is you like biographies with sence of drama and very few good photos; otherwise it is not worth spedning money.
Published on 18 Nov 1999 by zara_azari

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