George Michael during his 25 Live tour in 2006. (Image courtesy: AFP)
Highlights
- George Michael died peacefully at home over Christmas
- In a three decade long career George Michael won two Grammys
- George Michael was due to release a documentary in 2017
New Delhi:
British pop star George Michael, died at his home near London on Sunday aged 53. The
Last Christmas hitmaker's publicist said in a statement: "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." Celebrities flooded Twitter with tributes for the two-time Grammy Award winning musician.
Andrew Ridgeley, the second half of George Michael's band
Wham! was heartbroken. George Michael was best known for his 1980s hits
Last Christmas,
Freedom,
Careless Whisper and
Wake Me Up Before You Go Go. He's won various awards over a career spanning three decades. His last album
Symphonica topped the charts in 2014.
"Farewell my Friend! Another Great Artist leaves us,"
Madonna wrote in a post on Instagram accompanied by a video of her presenting Michael with an award.
Elton John also published a picture of himself with Mr Michael:
In the United States, Recording Academy president
Neil Portnow said he was "deeply saddened" by the loss. "During an influential career that spanned nearly four decades, George became one of the most beloved pop craftsmen and respected entertainers," said Mr Portnow, whose organisation awards the Grammies. "From the enormous success he achieved with pop duo Wham! to his influential solo career, his extraordinary talent had a profound impact on countless entertainers worldwide, and his creative contributions will live on forever," he said.
Canadian musician Bryan Adams, Robbie Williams and others tweeted:
Duran Duran, who were 1980s contemporaries of
Wham!, said on Twitter:
Spandau Ballet, a British band which formed in the late 1970s, wrote:
Tributes came in from outside the music world too:
George Michael was due to release a documentary in 2017. For the longest time he lived outside the public glare and made news only for some drug related incident.
(With AFP inputs)