George Michael Forum

TOP 10 GEORGE MICHAEL MOMENTS

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On the occasion of George Michael's first U.S. tour in 17 years, we look back on the accomplishments that helped him sell 85 million albums worldwide and made him one of the most exciting pop icons of our generation.

1. He met Andrew Ridgeley.

By all accounts, the bespectacled Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou was a total loser until he met his future musical partner Andrew Ridgeley at Bushey Meads School in Watford, England. Never mind that Ridgeley had absolutely no musical abilities and would have to pretend to play guitar and sing for the length of Wham!'s career. He wisely persuaded Michael to lose his glasses, go on a diet and pluck his eyebrows. That obviously made Ridgeley the real genius of the operation.

2. He wore white Speedos in the video for "Club Tropicana."

As incredible as he looked dropping verses and dressing like Fonzie in the promo for unemployment anthem "Wham! Rap," the real moment that Michael proved his weight as a proper pop star was in the clip for the early Wham! single "Club Tropicana." With a can't-fail combo of flea-market Ray-Ban knockoffs and real Speedos, the world at large got to watch him shower under rocks, ride a donkey, repeatedly dump Kool-Aid into a pool, pretend to play a trumpet and convincingly flirt with inexplicably hot backup singers Pepsi & Shirley. Clearly better than anything ropey old Led Zeppelin ever did. Watch it here: links.sfgate.com/ZDRT.

3. He chose life.

Have you seen the part in "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" where Michael wears a white T-shirt with the words "Choose Life" in 1,276-point Helvetica? He wasn't taking a stance on abortion or anything. He was literally choosing life over the opposite of life, which would probably be death. Death sucks. Michael did not die. In fact, he was so alive that he could make the whole band glow in the dark when he hit those glass-shattering high notes in the chorus. And the part where he keeps singing, "I'm not planning on going solo"? Psych! Watch it here: links.sfgate.com/ZDRU.

4. He started his solo career with "Careless Whisper."

This was the moment when everyone realized that Michael had his sights set on something greater than shoving shuttlecocks down his neon green shorts and jumping around like a complete idiot with Wham! The video for this super sexy-smooth ballad with one of the most definitive saxophone solos of the '80s, which happens to feature the singer making out with several shoulder-padded ladies, showed that Michael could easily replace Ridgeley with a piece of rope. Watch it here: links.sfgate.com/ZDRV.

5. He wanted your sex.

Twenty years later, the song title "I Want Your Sex" still doesn't make sense. What exactly does that involve? Swapping spit or swapping anatomical parts? Who cares? Michael kicked his solo career into high gear by undressing with his "girlfriend" and writing cool words all over her body in lipstick. Words such as, "explore," "monogamy" and, well, that's about it. But, still, those are some of the best words ever. Watch it here: links.sfgate.com/ZDRW.

6. He made "Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1."

We could dwell on the clip for "Freedom '90," which is packed with all kinds of near-naked supermodels, but we're going to take this opportunity to give Michael credit for finally realizing his dream of making a classic Motown record with his second solo release, a totally respectable collection of blue-eyed-soul songs mixing confessional lyrics with shuffling rhythms and soaring gospel choruses. Plus, it was way before Viagra was invented. Watch it here: links.sfgate.com/ZDRX.

7. He got arrested For "lewd conduct."

In 1998, Michael was busted by an undercover Beverly Hills cop for "engaging in a lewd act" at a public park. The singer had a better description for the incident: "I'll show you mine, you show me yours, and then when you show me yours, I'm gonna nick you!" Not only did he plead no contest to the charges, but he also celebrated the incident in the video for his not-so-great single "Outside" and used it as an excuse to clear up any lingering doubts about his sexuality. Over and over. Watch it here: links.sfgate.com/ZDRY.

8. He tried to marry a cheerleader.

Michael was set to enter into a civil partnership in 2005 with his longtime partner Kenny Goss, a former cheerleader from Dallas. But after the British tabloids freaked out, they decided to hold off for a while. Unfortunately, he said that if and when they do it, it will be "without the whole veil-and-gown thing." Boo!

9. He passed out in traffic.

Just when people were starting to forget all about him, Michael started doing interesting stuff again. No, he didn't release "Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 2." In 2006, the man who had gone on record saying he usually has five or six joints a day was arrested after he was found slumped over the steering wheel of his car fast asleep in the middle of late-evening London traffic. Twice. Cryptically, he shrugged off the whole thing by saying, "It is my own stupid fault, as usual." And then, right after that, he blamed Elton John. "Elton said he thought I was really miserable for some reason, and from that point on I've been trying to prove that I'm not," Michael said.

10. He shaved only once a week.

How could we possibly overlook Michael's greatest contribution to humanity: the incredible George Michael Beard? By popularizing the weeklong scruff, the former Wham! singer saved men everywhere at least 15 bucks a year on razor-related expenses.