'We don't take George Michael seriously enough'

George Michael is not taken seriously as a cultural figure despite being one of the biggest artists in pop history, an author and self-confessed super fan has said.

Sathnam Sanghera, who wrote Tonight the Music Seems So Loud: The Meaning of George Michael, paid tribute to his hero on the day of the release of The Faith Tour concert film.

The movie hit cinemas on Friday and features performances from the Careless Whisper singer during his 1988 tour to promote the number one album, Faith.

Sanghera, from Wolverhampton, said the film evoked a "powerful" era of live music with Michael's talent on full display.

"It was one of the biggest tours of the 80s and it was hugely significant that it was a British pop star doing this," he told BBC Radio 4's World at One.

"In the late 80s, George Michael was up there with Madonna, Prince and Whitney Houston. This was a white guy from Finchley and Faith was the biggest selling single in America in 1988."

Sanghera said Michael performed for about two million people during the tour and the impact was one of the reasons he chose to write his book.

"We don't take George Michael seriously as a cultural figure," he added, "but he was one of the biggest artists in the history of pop music."

The writer said people would often "take the mickey" out of him for being a fan when Michael was alive, but the teasing declined following the singer's death in 2016.

"No Friday night disco is complete without Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," he continued. "No wedding disco is complete without Careless Whisper.

"Last Christmas is Christmas. There's so much of his music that's become part of culture. This was not something he was given credit for in his lifetime, it's come afterwards."

He described Michael's voice as "extraordinary" and said he could sing for two hours without hitting a wrong note.

From watching the film, which includes footage from 1988 shows at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, Sanghera said there was a sense of Michael grappling with his sexuality.

He added: "He was increasingly becoming this straight sex symbol, there was all the heterosexual posturing in the videos and also on stage, but inside he knew he was gay."

This was something that came across in many of his song, said Sanghera, adding that they were often "about a man trying to connect".

"He was a very torn-up, sad man in many ways," he added. "What that gave us is beautiful art. He suffered but, in a really poignant way, we benefited."

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