Now I feel kind of bad about laughing at that "Careless Wispa" joke back in the day.
I was never a big fan of his, but I know he was huge in the 80s and had a lot of fans. What is it with all the iconic pop megastars of the 80s dying so young? Michael Jackson, Prince, now George Michael. Madonna better double up on her vitamins.
He was a fantastic songwriter with a beautiful voice. I agree with Miss Fury that Careless Whisper was an amazing song. "I'm never gonna dance again. Guilty feet have got no rhythm." Such a great lyric.
This is actually the celebrity death that has hit me the hardest. I've had a place in my heart for Wham! for a long time now, and it has always been part of my life in someway. For some reason, I've found it easy to associate Wham! songs with things that I like in someway and I just feel a sentimental attachment to them. George Michael himself was indeed very talented, and I love his solo music as well - "Careless Whisper" being my favorite George Michael song, which I actually only realized recently.
Something I always noticed about "Freedom" (my favorite Wham! song) is that it reminds me of "Final Fantasy" (the song, not the game). It was released before the Final Fantasy series was made, but the chorus of "Freedom" and a certain part of "Final Fantasy" (also known as "Main Theme") sound like they could easily be remixed in someway to be played together. In fact, when I first heard "Freedom" it was when I was in a pub or restaurant with relatives and I could barely hear what it was, but I thought at the time that someone had released a version of "Final Fantasy" with lyrics.
Listen to 0:01 to 0:39 of the "Final Fantasy Main Theme" video and the chorus of "Freedom". Keep in mind they are not an exact match, but hopefully with a bit of imagination you will hear it (try singing the lyrics to the chorus of "Freedom" to the aforementioned part of "Final Fantasy Main Theme" if it helps.