Top quotes by George Michael

I never minded being thought of as a pop star. People have always thought I wanted to be seen as a serious musician, but I didn't, I just wanted people to know that I was absolutely serious about pop music. Votes: 11

You'll never find peace of mind until you listen to your heart. Votes: 10

I still believe that music is one of the greatest gifts that God gave to man. Votes: 8

It's absolutely essential that we have the same safeguards that straight couples do. But I want more than a 50 percent chance of success. I don't want to emulate that. Votes: 8

I've never done anything so political before. I've spent years shouting my mouth off about serious issues over dinner tables but never really had the confidence to express my views in a song. Votes: 8

Me, I don't want any children, I don't want responsibility. I am gay, I smoke weed and I do exactly what I want in my life because of my talent. I represent an ideal which others have had to let go and they blame me for that. Especially men. Votes: 7

I want to make a pop album - something more upbeat than my stuff was in the '90s. Votes: 7

I've written a whole body of work that I'm incredibly proud of. Votes: 6

Celebrity and secrets don't go together. The bastards will get you in the end. Votes: 5

With pop stars or film stars, we become the object of people's self-definition, as well as the object of sexual definition. Votes: 4

Even though it's become a really cliched thing to see musicians working for charity, it's still effective and it still has to be done. Votes: 4

I think for most of us, our biggest frailties are sexual. Votes: 4

Stupid cupid keeps on calling me, but I see nothing in his eyes. I miss my babe Votes: 4

I know I have a very self-destructive tendency since my mother died, I have got to be honest. Votes: 3

Your political system is actually too democratic. The fact that Americans vote on every bill and proposition can prolong bigotry indefinitely, especially where it is aimed at minority groups. Votes: 3

The truth is my love life has been a lot more turbulent than I have let on. Votes: 3

The fact I had my father as an adversary was such a powerful tool to work with. I subconsciously fought him to the degree that I drove me to be one of the most successful musician in the world. Votes: 3

Because of the media, the way the world is perceived is as a place where resources and time are running out. We're taught that you have to grab what you can before it's gone. It's almost as if there isn't time for compassion. Votes: 2

I'm the luckiest writer on earth. Votes: 2

There's no comfort in the truth, pain is all you'll find. Votes: 2

My ego is sated. Votes: 2

I am really not interested or excited by repeating former successes. Votes: 1

Only time will set you free, just like me Votes: 1

There is no such thing as a reluctant star. Votes: 1

The '90s were a bit of a disaster for me in so many ways. On a personal level, I don't think I could have toured. Also, I had some physical problems with my back that are now sorted and I just wasn't in the right state of mind. Votes: 0

I've achieved what every artist wants, which is that some of their work will outlive them. Votes: 0

I don't consider Americans bullies, but I do consider the American government bullying. Votes: 0

I can't bear Catholicism. Votes: 0

I think the media is a real demon. Votes: 0

It's almost required with major artists that there's some duality. And I've got duality everywhere. Votes: 0

I'm surprised that I've survived my own dysfunction, really. Votes: 0

English people have seen me get through scandals. Votes: 0

I have never felt any ethnic connection between the Greeks and me other than how hairy I am. Votes: 0

Everything was going my way. I was happily marching into the history books. Then it all just fell apart. Votes: 0

Of course, I want to sell this record - there's no point making it otherwise. Votes: 0

If someone really wants to hurt you, they'll find a way whatever. I don't want to live my life worrying about it. Votes: 0

I had to walk away from America, and say goodbye to the biggest part of my career, because I knew otherwise my demons would get the better of me. Votes: 0

It's only when the kids are in their late twenties that families really face up to what they are. Votes: 0

"Yog" is an abbreviation - my real name is Yorgos, which is Greek for George. Votes: 0

[Music From the Edge of Heaven] wasn't really an album at all. The band had made the decision to release an LP and then split up. We wanted to go out with a bang in Britain and the rest of the world by having a single that was four songs, not just one song. But we couldn't do that over here because we couldn't release a single without an album. Votes: 0

[My family] is one of the strongest families you're ever likely to see. Votes: 0

[My father] was more than apprehensive. He didn't think I stood a chance in hell. He had no confidence in me whatsoever and was convinced that I was going to be coming to him for money when I was 40. We argued about it constantly. Votes: 0

[My father] was not a musical man. Votes: 0

[My mother] is much more musical, and by the time I started writing songs - by the time I was about 17 - she started to believe in me, musically. Votes: 0

[My mother] pretty much used to go along with my dad in that she wanted me to get an education so that if this incredible dream I had didn't work out, I would have something to fall back on. Votes: 0

[Tabloids] could call you a child molester, I suppose, but they just go for the two things they think people are most likely to believe and that will most offend yourself and your popularity. My skin hardened to all that stuff years ago. Votes: 0

[Wham!] totally changed my life. It would be very difficult to know how it changed me as a person; you'd have to ask other people that. Votes: 0

50 percent of the people I perform for have come to scream at me and the other 50 percent have come to listen to the music. Votes: 0

A lot of people felt that I was just tying that into the "I Want Your Sex" theme because of the AIDS thing and the prospect of the song's being banned. I thought it was a relevant point to make because of the AIDS thing. I wanted to write a song which sounded dirty but which was applicable to someone that I really cared about. That was my point. Votes: 0

All we have to see is that I don't belong to you, and you don't belong to me. Votes: 0

As I became George professionally and everyone called me George, Yog became the name that people who knew me from before started to use. It became more valuable to me. Votes: 0

At a certain age I just stopped arguing. I realized that there was no way [my father] could see, because for him to approve of what I was doing, he would have to have some belief in me as a musician. Votes: 0

Basically I see that song as a bunch of images which I threw together to represent the fact that I was seeing one girl and then I started seeing another, and it was just the guilt in between those two periods. The ballads I've written since have been about things that really hurt me. Votes: 0

Both of us knew the band had run its course. We were both unhappy doing it, but I think the way Andrew [Ridgeley] was being treated as the less important half of the duo had finally taken its toll on him. Votes: 0

By the time I was in my early teens, we were able to move into a much more middle-class area. I had a comfortable adolescence. Votes: 0

Change is a stranger you have yet to know. Votes: 0

Everything was meant to wind people up [in Make It Big ]. I don't know why we had this great pleasure in winding people up, but we really did think they would get the joke. And it backfired on us. Votes: 0

For a while I took Ecstacy when it was not very available over here. I took it simply because it made me feel that everything was wonderful. Votes: 0

Freedom. I will not give you up. Votes: 0

Freedom. I won't let you down. Votes: 0

George was the easy part. As for Michael, I had always liked the name, and my father's brother is named Michael. I thought it was a good idea because there are a lot of Greeks in England with the second name of Michael; as a child I had a Greek friend whose second name was Michael. It was like getting the name that I wanted without having to get rid of the Greek element. Votes: 0

I also think I could probably repeat the commercial success; whether I want to or not is a different matter. I think there is still better work inside me. Votes: 0

I always knew I was attractive to girls just from the point of view that they liked me. Votes: 0

I am a political person, though not with a big P. Votes: 0

I can't believe that I've written my best work yet. If I believed that, then I wouldn't bother releasing music anymore. Votes: 0

I can't talk about Kathy [Jeung] anymore, because she doesn't want me to talk about her, and I'm not even sure that it's an ongoing relationship. Votes: 0

I couldn't change anything without changing the end position, and I'm perfectly happy now. So whatever I feel in some sense may have been a mistake in the past is, in another sense, not a mistake, because it's left me here. Votes: 0

I define my sexuality in terms of the people that I love. Votes: 0

I didn't expect to enter into tabloid trivia or anything like that. So I suspect my perspective and a lot of my ideas changed fairly drastically. It was also rather confusing. Votes: 0

I didn't really think that it would be as easy as this. I did believe that the album [Faith] had a chance, because I though the material was strong enough, but things have just gone like clockwork. It's been incredible. Votes: 0

I do think that Live Aid (1985) (TV) was a great thing, it focused people, I think it showed young kids the way in many respects and I think a lot of people are still inspired by what happened in the mid-Eighties. Votes: 0

I don't go for safe options. Romantically, I go for people who are a pain in the ass. Votes: 0

I don't have joy in watching myself, whereas, actually, I quite like listening to my own music. Votes: 0

I don't know what age the people who review my concerts reached puberty, I don't know if people in America reach puberty a lot later than they do in England or something like that, but the majority of those people are in their late teens and early twenties. Votes: 0

I don't like having my picture taken and I don't like looking at myself because I don't particularly like what I see. Votes: 0

I don't really feel I deserve something if I haven't had to fight for it. It's not a conscious attitude, and it's stupid and wrong. Sometimes you do deserve things without having to put yourself through agony. Votes: 0

I don't really think that there is anyone in the modern pop business who I feel I want to spar with. Votes: 0

I don't want to look at other people my age in leather. Why would I put it on? Votes: 0

I find it difficult enough as it is to keep some kind of normality in my life. I enjoy this experience, but I don't know where I'm going to take my career. Votes: 0

I find it too terrifying to go out in L.A. Votes: 0

I get along really well with [my father] now, but I had a terrible time with him in my teenage years. All we did was scream at each other, and when we weren't screaming at each other, we just wouldn't talk to each other. Votes: 0

I got to say hello to Snoop Dogg. I got to, I was being barged out of the way by his bodyguards but I got to say hello to him which was cool. Votes: 0

I guess I was about 15. I wore glasses at the time, and I remember [first girlfriend] sitting on the floor at a party, one of those school parties where everyone is getting off with each other. I remember her taking my glasses off and saying something very complimentary about my eyes or whatever, and I was just so pissed off because I was convinced she was taking the piss out of me. Votes: 0

I had my very first relationship at 27 because I really had not actually come to terms with my sexuality until I was 24. Votes: 0

I had surprisingly little money when Wham! ended. You'd be very surprised how little, really, because you don't realize how much money it takes to maintain a band. Votes: 0

I hate the actual traveling, but I like playing. Votes: 0

I have been taken for a ride a couple of times. I've been hurt by people who I've had a 90 percent possibility of being hurt by. Votes: 0

I have definitely reached the same level as Madonna in terms of sales. I'm really pleased about that. Votes: 0

I have no doubt that the music I release next will be better. Votes: 0

I have the audience I deserve. Or at least I have the audience that represents the kind of people that I like. Votes: 0

I have to believe that somebody up there thinks I've still got some work to do. Votes: 0

I have two sisters. My father is Greek and comes from a family of seven. My mother is English and comes from a family of five. Votes: 0

I hope it really comes off. It would make my dad really proud." (about the song for the coming 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece) Votes: 0

I just feel "One More Try" is better lyrically. "Careless Whisper" was written when I was 17 years old, and I had not really experienced anything that strong in my life, so it was a bit precocious. Votes: 0

I just hope that I'll stay around musically for as long as I can. I love to think that I will still be satisfying myself and other people as a musician until the day I die. Votes: 0

I left school at 17 and was a star by the time I was 18 - in certain parts of the world anyway. Votes: 0

I mean, it is the perfect situation to really love someone to death and to want to rip their clothes off at the same time, isn't it? Votes: 0

I never had a moral problem with being gay. Votes: 0

I probably owe an apology to fans that have been supportive and have not wanted to believe any of this was true. It takes a little bit of the sheen off of the mystique. Votes: 0

I really have no plans for any kind of career in TV or anything, but if I wanted to become good at it, I could. But I don't really think it's in the cards. Votes: 0

I seem to think that anything worth having in life has to be painful to attain. Votes: 0

I spent years growing up being told what my sexuality was. Votes: 0

I suppose maybe if I had been an attractive child, I would have had less inclination to push my physical presence. Votes: 0

I suppose romantically there are fantasies that can still be realized. But not professionally. Votes: 0

I think I'm getting there, but it's very hard to perform at my absolute peak when an awful lot of people come just to make their presence known, when the lights go down and all you can hear is people screaming. Votes: 0

I think I've gotten everything I want out of the last years, and I still feel like I have a lot of options open to me. Votes: 0

I think my idea of a perfect romance is when two people really belong to each other. Votes: 0

I think part of it has got to be compensation, yes, for the fact that when I was a kid, I wasn't particularly attractive. But at the same time I don't remember ever thinking, Oh, my God, I'm such a mess; I'm the ugliest sod in the class. Votes: 0

I thought [first girlfriend] was trying to make a fool out of me. Then I found out that she wasn't, and we went out. That's a very good example of how little confidence I had. Votes: 0

I thought I had fallen in love with a woman a couple of times. Then I fell in love with a man, and realised that none of those things had been love. Votes: 0

I truly believed that tonight would never happen, that I would never sing these songs to you again. But then I'm a fool, which you've probably worked out by now. Votes: 0

I want the people who came to listen to have a good time as well. So it's a matter of playing a control game when all I really want to do is go out there and sing. Votes: 0

I was at Live Aid the original, looking like Rolf Harris for some reason. I had a really long beard that day for some reason. Votes: 0

I was supposed to be a real Thatcherite. Just by dint of being a first-generation immigrant and having not had money, and then suddenly having it - and getting on planes and going to Ibiza and sitting around in thongs. But actually nothing I was writing or doing was even vaguely Thatcherite. Votes: 0

I went to prison, I paid my bill. Votes: 0

I would advise any gay person that being out in the real sense can never happen too soon. Votes: 0

I wouldn't marry until I was ready to have children. Votes: 0

I'd never touch anything. I think it's foolhardy to play around with the face that you've been given. To have a little snip or a tuck, I think, is really quite obscene. Votes: 0

I'm a perfectionist. It's a big pain in the ass and it takes a lot of my time, but it really is going well and I have to do my own things. Votes: 0

I'm basically a control freak. It's not because I want to be. I'm not at all into the power play that's involved in it. Votes: 0

I'm looking back to a period of my life when I was badly hurt and then looking at another time when I felt I had things going for me again, so I suppose there is a theme [of the Faith album]. Votes: 0

I'm never going to dance again. Guilty feet have got no rhythm. Votes: 0

I'm not a great collaborator, to tell the truth. Votes: 0

I'm perfectly happy to admit that insecurity. It doesn't bother me. It's there, just the same as the color of my eyes is there. I'm never going to get rid of it. I'm not going to wake up one morning and really like the way I look, but as long as other people like the way I look, that's fine. Votes: 0

In the rest of the world we had had two albums that were successful, so those two albums' hits and this new four-single package made up an album called Wham! The Final, which is basically greatest hits. We couldn't have done a greatest hits over here, because we'd only done one hit album. Votes: 0

It does bother me when they [tabloids] drag friends of mine into it and talk about them and lie about them. My friends have no part in it; they're not celebrities, so why should they have to accept the downside of celebrity? That worries me for a bit. Votes: 0

It was a very lucky set of incidents that led to Wham! getting a record contract - although we weren't Wham! when we got the record contract. We were nothing; we were just two friends who had written a few songs. Votes: 0

It's an incredibly limited sphere those tabloids have, isn't it? Basically, they can accuse people of being gay and they can accuse people of taking drugs, but they can't get any more sensational without entering into the realm of incredibly bad taste. Votes: 0

It's important to me that I should be free to express myself. Votes: 0

It's quite simple: I managed it by doing away with Wham!'s duo image. Obviously, the way I looked changed and that helped a little, but I still have a very pop image. It's a very video-friendly image. I find it a lot more real. It's a lot closer to who I am than the whole Wham! thing. Votes: 0

It's really difficult trying to find the line where you don't piss anybody off. Votes: 0

It's so easy to find someone who would walk around me like a shadow and do everything for me and never be tempted by other men, so obviously I'm not attracted by that type. Votes: 0

It's the ones who resist that we most want to kiss, wouldn't you say? Votes: 0

I've been approached many times by many different people, and most people want to do something that I write and produce, and I'm just not into that. Votes: 0

I've been very well remunerated for my talents over the years so I really don't need the public's money. Votes: 0

I've done too many stupid things for there not to be movies made about me when I'm dead, so I might as well write the script. Votes: 0

I've wondered what my sexuality might be, but I've never wondered whether it was acceptable or not. Anyway, who really cares whether I'm gay or straight? Votes: 0

Marriage still means a lot more in the country I come from than it does here. I don't think there's anything to be gained by it for the couple. But for children I think it's an important thing. Votes: 0

Mike Tyson has been accused of being a homosexual. What change do I have, you know? Everyone's in the same boat? Who could possibly care or believe anything after hearing that, really? Votes: 0

My American gay audience have continued to dance and sing to the music I make in a way that straight Americans haven't. I am grateful to them for that. Votes: 0

My dad worked in a very typical first-generation immigrant fashion - 24 hours a day for years. Votes: 0

My music is some of the most honest music that's been released and I think that's why people buy it. Votes: 0

My parents both came from very poor working-class families. Votes: 0

No fantasies, I don't think. Most of my fantasies have already been realized. Votes: 0

Obviously, [Wham!] made me a lot more comfortable as a musician. I was very confident that I would become a successful musician, but I had no idea I would be a celebrity. Votes: 0

People have speculated about my sexuality for years and years. They are obviously interested in my sex life. Fine. Let them speculate. I'm not going to put them right one way or the other. Votes: 0

People run on and off the stage, but usually they're removed before they get to me. It's not really frightening. There's always the possibility that someone's going to take a potshot at you; you take that risk when you perform in front of thousands of people. Votes: 0

People, you can never change the way they feel. Better let them do what they will. For they will, if you let them, steal your heart. Votes: 0

Playing with Queen was the biggest moment of my career. It was like living a childhood fantasy. Votes: 0

Satire is used for political purposes all the time, but obviously there's a time and a place. I think in the current climate, it can be very difficult to speak your mind, but sometimes, I believe, we're all in danger and I think this discussion needs to be widened. Votes: 0

Say what you want about America - thirteen bucks can still get you a hell of a lot of mice! Votes: 0

Sex is natural, sex is good/Not everybody does it, but everybody should Votes: 0

So you scream from behind your door, say what's mine is mine, and not yours I may have too much, but I'll take my chances Cause God's stopped keeping score And you cling to the things they sold you Didn't you cover your eyes when they told you that he can't come back Cause he has no children to come back for It so hard to learn, there's so much to hate Hanging on to hope when there is no hope to speak of And the wounded skies above say it's much too late So maybe we should all be praying for time Votes: 0

Still, the music was always there, and the lyrical capability was always threatening to show its head. Votes: 0

Take back your picture in a frame. Take back your singing in the rain. I just hope you understand sometimes the clothes do not make the man. Votes: 0

Teacher, there are things that I don't want to learn. Votes: 0

That feels natural to me, singing in a small group of people I just can't do. You'll never hear me sing at a dinner table or anything, but this feels kinda natural. I've done it many, many times. So, and also, the pressure's off me cos I'm not singing on my own. I'm just doing a few harmonies with my stuffed nose. Votes: 0

The main downside was that it [fame] happened so quickly and I didn't have time to establish what kind of person I wanted to be. Votes: 0

The most common misconception people have had in the past is about my own control and calculation of my career. Votes: 0

The only difficulty is that I'm playing to two audiences, and it's too bad the noise detracts from the show, because it's a great show. I've seen my own self out there, and it's a very good musical show. Sometimes the show gets lost in the hysteria and sometimes it doesn't. Votes: 0

The thing that's weird is that we thought it was funny. We expected people to get the joke - that we [with Andrew Ridgeley] were two guys really making asses of ourselves. Votes: 0

The Wham! thing was, as I said, very confusing, and much of our image was totally fake. Votes: 0

The word that pisses me off - "prepubescent." Votes: 0

The years between leaving school and actually becoming an adult are very important years. You make a lot of choices as to the type of life you want to lead and what type of person you want to be. There were so many people who had opinions of me, a lot of them very unflattering, that it was hard to make up my mind about who I was supposed to be. Votes: 0

There are very few things in my life that I can't have if I want them. So when I see something that I can't have, immediately I'm obsessed by it. Votes: 0

There's not another drug in life that I'm glad I took but grass. Votes: 0

There's something deep inside of me. There's someone else I've got to be. Votes: 0

Things that I was writing for Wham! were a strong indication of what my future album would be like. But most people got so lost in our image and found it pretty repulsive. Votes: 0

This is a very fickle business. It's really about how much you value the other things in your life. I still value too many other things more than I do fame. Votes: 0

This stuff [marijuana] keeps me sane and happy. I'd say it's a great drug - but obviously it's not very healthy. Votes: 0

This was absolutely an attack on [British Prime Minister] Tony Blair, principally, and the perspective which is really predominant in Europe right now that he's not questioning enough of Mr. Bush's policies." (about his latest song Shoot the Dog) Votes: 0

We [with Andrew Ridgeley] didn't expect people to take it seriously. But naturally they did, and they thought we were a couple of wankers. Votes: 0

We [with Andrew Ridgeley] were getting so much attention and achieving such success. It never really bothered me. Votes: 0

We always talked [with Andrew Ridgeley] about when it would happen - we always knew that I would go on to have a solo career. Votes: 0

We both [me and Andrew Ridgeley ] knew that splitting up was the right thing to do, and there was no animosity between us at all. Votes: 0

We had to create an album where there wasn't one. I never listen to that album [ Music From the Edge of Heaven] because it wasn't an album. Votes: 0

When Andrew [Ridgeley] first met my family, he heard my mom calling me "Yorgos." He just abbreviated it to Yog, and unfortunately it stuck. I hated it is a teenager. It was not the most glamorous-sounding name in the world. Votes: 0

When I open my mouth and sing, the truth comes out. When I write, the truth comes out. I can't lie. That, I think, is one of the strongest elements of my music. When people talk about my writing as though I'm doing it from an accountant's perspective, it really pisses me off. Votes: 0

When I write and produce something, I know exactly how I want it to sound, and I have a very strong interpretation of it. I can't really think of anyone at the moment I'd particularly like to play a duet with. You never know, though, I might receive an offer tomorrow and say, "Yeah, that'd be great." But it's not something that's on my mind. Votes: 0

When someone is always going to be there for you. I meet people like that all the time, but I have this unfortunate attraction to people I think I have to fight to become friends with. Votes: 0

When you shake you ass, they notice fast. And some mistakes were built to last. Votes: 0

Without despair, we will share, and the joys of caring will not be erased. What has been, must never end, the joys of caring will not be replace. Votes: 0

Yeah, I'm going to need a leather jacket for when I'm on my hog and need to go into a controlled slide. Votes: 0

Yet ["One More Try" ] really seemed to connect with people, which is a wonderful thing and a marvelous coincidence. Votes: 0

You can have my credit card, baby, but keep your red hot fingers off of my heart, lady. Votes: 0

You couldn't release the single on its own, because no one wanted it. Votes: 0

You'd be surprised how young 25-year-old girls can sound when they want to scream. It isn't that young an audience, and it really frustrates me when I read the word "prepubescent" in my reviews. Even the ones that started following me with Wham! are in their late teens by now. Votes: 0

Be good to yourself 'cause nobody else has the power to make you happy. Votes: 0

I had a very important personal point to make with this song [I Want Your Sex]. I just hated the idea that lust and forbidden excitement could only come with sleaze and strangers. Votes: 0

I lost my partner [Anselmo Feleppa] to HIV then it took about three years to grieve; then after that I lost my mother. I felt almost like I was cursed. Votes: 0

It was like I had a curse on me. I couldn't believe how much God was piling on. There was so much death around me. Votes: 0

Andrew [Ridgeley] and I had demoed a couple of our songs very cheaply, and we weren't expecting any kind of record deal. We just walked around with our demo tape, trying to find someone to give us the money to demo properly. Instead of that, we got a record contract. It was just an incredibly lucky break. Votes: 0

I think marriage is a good thing for children, because it gives them a feeling of security. Votes: 0

I just mean people who seem unavailable in the sense that they're not prepared to totally cling to anyone. I'm very attracted to people who are basically free spirits. Votes: 0

Top quotes by George Michael

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