Amsterdam, 26 juni, Circle of Faith – x80 kostprijs,-

Werchter, 23 juni, Golden Circle – x80 kostprijs,-

Ja, je leest het goed. Ik verkoop mijn kaartjes. De Wembley-kaartjes zijn zo goed als weg; voor Amsterdam en/of Werchter mag je me mailen.

(later meer)

Het is zover: het eerste concert van het stadion-gedeelte van de 25 LIVE tour.
Ik ben best een beetje verdrietig dat ik er niet bij ben, maar ik heb al zo ontzettend veel geld uitgegeven, dat ik gestopt ben bij vier (concerten) dit keer.

En, om eerlijk te zijn, denk ik er hard over om deze vier te verkopen. Ik bedoel: waarom naar "slechts" vier concerten gaan en de rest moeten missen?

Nou ja, ik houd de blog hier zoveel mogelijk up to date, maar ik ben toch een beetje bang dat ik er niet zo bij betrokken ben als een paar maanden geleden…

Ik heb overigens nog geen nieuws en foto’s vanuit Coimbra gehoord/gezien…

Door goed team work (Herma, Nicole, Geraldine & moi) zijn we erin geslaagd om vier Circle of Faith kaartjes voor de 10 juni Wembley show te kopen.

Hoera

Ok,

dus 25 LIVE wordt vervolgd. Weten we sinds vorige week. En jawel, de eerste kaarten zijn alweer ingeslagen, voor waanzinnige prijzen. Maar ja.

Waarschijnlijk zal mijn bijdrage aan de komende tour ook wel minder zijn dan aan de vorige tour. In aantal dan, he? In geld zal het elkaar niet veel ontlopen.

Ok, dus dit wordt het (voorlopig) voor George:
klikken maakt groter

En dit wordt het (voorlopig) voor mij:
9 juni, Wembley Londen (Circle Of Faith)
23 juni, Werchter, Belgie (Golden Pitch)
26 juni, Amsterdam Arena, Nederland (Circle Of Faith)

Met dank aan Herma, Nicole en Geraldine voor het denken-aan!

Only half-recovered but very happy back home from her Wembley Arena week, J(ules)eannette *waves* at:

All people met, the ones she met and that she can’t name, due to memory loss caused by… oh well; Andy ‘burtiboy’, the one who shouted x93Youx92re bloody gorgeous, George!x94, making me half-deaf and then asked me x93You think he heard me?x94; Andy Stephens, the one who managed, put me on screen more than once and who almost tripped over my legs; Angelo, the one who proposed; Annemieke, the one with the extra x93ex94; Antonio, the one whox92s Biancax92s boyfriend, takes great me-and-my-tickets-pictures and brought me an umbrella in the middle of the night; Bianca, the one who was our great landlady and not adhd at all; Geni, the one with the pretty face and the great stories, and who adjusts her wardrobe to her necklaces; George Michael, the one who writes and sings and who started it all; Georgette, the one from Belgium; Geraldine; the one I finally met in the A-section on Dec 14th; Gina, the one who got to hug Andy Stephens; Herma, the one whox92s my best friend and who let me do her mascara; Holger; the one who was always there when I thought I was lucky; Janet, the one from California who came for the Sunday show; Jeff, the one who taught me how to mislead the stewards; Kerry; the one who said yes; Kris, the one whom I shared my moment during JTAC on Dec 12 with; Lady Misty, the one who mistaked me for Jewel; Marj, the one who attended the Dec 17th show after all and was up front even; Marlene, the one who took care of Roos, my cat; Nicole, the one whom I drank five cups of tea for 45 pounds at The Connaught with; Nikki, the one who could sleep for 12 hours on the plane back home on Dec 18th; Nuno Westwood, the one who let me button him up; Paulette, the one who conducted us singing Freedom84 at the Blue Check; Ramona, the one with the great Latvian expressions; Rob, the one who brought me micro-chip-with-mayonnaise-sandwiches in the middle of the night; Rolant, the one who thought he messed up but got in anyway; Rula, the one whox92s my "Hey DJ" and "Come On Ladiiieees!" dance/jump partner; Shannon, the one who let us use her bathroom for a whole week and partied along on Dec 15th; Steve Walters, the one who plays the bass and didnx92t know what to do next; Sue, the one who bought me Big Issue.

Zo.
Ik heb me vandaag met m’n zieke hoofd de stad in gewaagd om de Twenty Five DVD te gaan kopen.
Lekker handig: moest ik dit nou perse de laatste zaterdag vOOr kerst doen?

…

Uiteindelijk viel het best mee: 25 (ha! toeval…) minuten bij de kassa van de Media Markt.

En nu ga ik ‘m inpakken en onder de kerstboom leggen. Ja, er is hier een kerstboom binnen komen waaien. En hij is opgetuigd en al.
Goed he?
Anway, overmorgen mag ik m’n pakje openmaken.
Spannend!

Ah! Misschien vraagt u zich af of ik nog kerst-inkopen heb gedaan op Oxford Street in Londen?
Jawel hoor; met dit kwam ik thuis:

(word ik te cynisch? *uche* Misschien heb ik wel longontsteking!  *zielig-modus*)

Mijn "bronnen" vertellen me dat de concert voor de verpleegsters was best, nee: heel leuk. Erg klein en intiem. Erg "kort" ook, omdat George hier een aantal nummers liet vallen, en er was ook geen pauze.
Voor of na de show, hebben ze nog even gepraat met George’s basguitaar speler Steve Walters.
…
Waaaat?
Hm. Ze zijn vergeten hem m’n nummer te geven. Zeggen ze.

Ben vandaag ontwaakt uit m’n winterslaap. Dwz: ik heb van afgelopen maandag tot zo net in bed gelegen. Met een hoofd van beton (neeeee, niet dronken!) en kleine oogjes. En oh ja, zonder stem. Best waardeloos.
Nou ja, ik heb het allemaal wel "geleefd", laten we het er daar maar op houden

Ondertussen is het Round House concert geweest, je weet wel, die voor de verpleegsters. George mag nu ook z’n winterslaapje in…

RIDGELEY TOO NERVOUS FOR WHAM! REUNION
GEORGE MICHAEL was left disappointed on Sunday night (17DEC06) when his planned WHAM! reunion failed to materialise – because ANDREW RIDGELEY was reportedly too nervous to take to the stage. The former pop duo last performed together 20 years ago (86) and were due to be reunited at Michael’s concert at London’s Wembley Arena gig. But Ridgeley dropped out at the last moment, overcome with anxiety, according to British newspaper The Sun. A source says, "George had pleaded with Andrew to join him on stage to play a couple of Wham! songs. "But Andrew was so sick with nerves at the thought of appearing on stage after all these years, he backed out."

Contactmusic:

Nou. Her en ik zaten weer in A2, in het vliegtuig terug naar Rotterdam. En weer in rij 5. Damn. Moeten we ons weer naar voren "sneaken".

Before the show, Herma and I (well, Ix92m just waiting with her) try to get the Dutch "friends book" (to which I didnx92t contribute, except for the "Mr Stephens, here you go" note because of my good hand writing :p , just in case Herma would miss him x96 and why wasnx92t I pushed to contribute, girls? Oh, eh… ok… I know; I donx92t like to be pushed… sorry) to Georgex92s manager: Andy Stephens.

Ix92m stalling again, trying to get into the A4 section. Ix92m officially in A2, row 6, which isnx92t bad ofcourse, but I have fond memories of A4, and besides Rula, Bianca, Kris, Nico and Ramona are there. I know that Geni will try for A4 as well, and so will Herma. But the last onex92s main goal for now is handing over the book. So I pace up and down ("I belong here, I belong here, canx92t you see I belong here?") and when suddenly the crowd starts cheering (because of Paul McCartneyx92s arrival, I now know), some of the people sitting in the row 1-4 chairs stand up and run to the barrier. I walk a bit quicker and I end in front of a steward. "Please take your seat, where is your seat", she says. I say, waving back at me "Itx92s somewhere in row 6". "Then take your seat, miss, Ix92m not gonna have you standing right in front of me all night!", and I think "Thatx92s right!", and two seconds later, when she gets distracted, I sneak pass her.

I find Rula and shex92s my concert partner for tonight.

Set list of tonight:
Waiting
Flawless
Fast Love
Father Figure
Everything She Wants
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
Praying For Time
Too Funky
Star People
My Mother Had A Brother
Shoot The Dog
(pauze)
Faith
Spinning The Wheel
An Easier Affair
Jesus To a Child
Amazing
I’m Your Man
Outside

Careless Whisper

Last Christmas
Freedom 90

I have so much respect for George. On Friday he looked like he had a fever, and tonight he still has his cold, mentioning it even. And I can relate, as my cold definately arrived now and Ix92m feeling awfull. Canx92t even sing along or cheer as Ix92m slowly loosing my voice.

Now, Ix92m sure that Georgex92s cold is treated better than mine. That is, he doesnx92t go on night buses, so hex92s probably not standing in the cold for hours (assuming hex92s ignoring the Heath at these temperatures), takes his medicine and doesnx92t jump into fountains after attending a concert.

MMHAB is back. Hurray! I have goose bumps right from the beginning. And when Rula says, as the little roses pop up, "You know, this is the highlight for me of the night… always!", I look at her and start crying. Canx92t stop, really. Later, I find out that Kris looks at me crying and starts crying herself

Before the song, George speeches about his uncle and about "the fuckers from Fleet Street". Therex92s some annoying people however who think itx92s funny to draw attention to themselves by shouting silly things while George tries to make a point.

When George starts Too Funky my face is wet with tears. For some stupid reason I worry about that (and my make up, carefully applied within five, maybe six but definately no longer than seven hours ) and I hope that when George walks up to us he thinks itx92s sweat. (Why?)

Herma says shex92s pretty sure that tonight is being filmed. I think theyx92re filming every night, but Herma sees an extra effort from George. I do think, however, that the silence in between the songs is overwhelming. Not so nice for on tape, I think.

During one of the little breaks inbetween the songs I start talking to Kris, whox92s like four metres from me to the left and I donx92t (and I canx92t) even raise my voice! And as Georgex92s standing at his table (wiping his face and blowing his nose) Ix92m sure he can understand all wex92re saying… nothing interesting really… probably just talking abou this very same silence in between the songs

I must say that I find my side of the stage kind of boring. Later I hear Andy "burtiboy" and Herma fear their side (in A2) is boring and think our side is more alive.

George takes his time at the table again, and when he returns to the stage we see that he has taken off the sunglasses!
He has taken off the sunglasses!
He has taken off the sunglasses!
Etc
Etc
*jumping up and down, dancing in circles*
George is struggling with the lights and in the beginning he squeezes his eyes a lot. He avoids eye contact with the people at his feet at first, just looking at the crowd in general, but he gets more comfortable at the end of the song.

Everyonex92s filming ("He took off the sunglasses! He took off the sunglasses! Etc etc *sigh*) or just standing and clapping a bit (I honestly say that I see people around me not dancing, not clapping, not singing along! And believe me, I want all the pictures, but I canx92t really worry about my arms (that are quite long) or my hands (that have quite long fingers) or whatever limb blocking somebodyx92s camera view :p), except for Rula and me and ofcourse some people behind me I canx92t see. I do know that Rula and I have a lot of space to dance. People around us are probably scared and yes, I make contact with the girl-behind-mex92s toes on occasion Sorry about that.

Rula and I are very happy that at the "Hey DJ" part (glad to be able to do "the cangaroo") George comes walking up to us (two).

George picks up roses (but he put them on his table immediately) and someone almost knocks him over with a fluffy thing… it actually hits his glasses! I think that if George wouldnx92t have turned his head, it would have hit him right in the nose :~

I hate is when people throw things at him that distract him (ahem).

Rula is ahead of George with a very very loud Come On Ladiiiiiiieeeees!! right before Shoot the Dog starts

After George runs around with the leash of the puppy during Shoot The Dog, he drops it and raises his hands and shoulders, as if to say "what can I do?". He did it like this in Antwerp, I think, and it makes me laugh.

During the break we canx92t move. Ix92m really, really thirsty, despite Rulax92s kind offering of her water. She says that someone told her that everyone who moves, cannot come back in. So I stay put. I call Herma to see where she ended up, and Ix92m glad to hear shex92s up front with burtiboy in A2. I tell her I donx92t have my Sta Clause hat, but Ramona carries like 30 hats with her, every time (except for summer, Ix92m sure) and she has a spare for me.

Therex92s a long silence after Spinning The Wheel (George doesnx92t bother to ask to wear the batteries of our phones down like before) and as Ix92m close to Georgex92s little table I see him wipe his face and finish his water and energy drinks. He comes back into the lights and says "Sorry for the delay, I had to wipe my nose" which I think is very funny

He walks towards us (Rula and me) and says something I think "Gotta remember this!", and now ofcourse I donx92t (probably the wiping of the nose thingy). George thanks us for making the new album no 1 (eh… not me… still havenx92t bought it, Ix92m afraid) and announces An Easier Affair. And ok, I coulnx92t be bothered with this song before, but it really grew on my and I like it better every time. Too bad this is the last time :~

During Ix92m Your Man, George dances behind Shirley and then struggles with his feet to go stand in front of Shirley (from my point of view). They nearly trip over eachother and Shirley grabs him, making George LOL while singing.

Careless Whisper I spend hugging Rula whox92s hugging me back.

And ofcourse we definately expect Last Christmas tonight. Earlier, Herma had people pass on my Sta Clause hat that was in her purse. And as she was on the other side of the stage it took quite a few people to get it closer to me. But then Jeff got it and just tossed it my direction under a loud "JULES!". So thanks.

I think itx92s funny that George clearly does not know how to dance to this one. What is this? A slow song? A dance song? What do I do? He says: "I hated singing this song. I hated it, but I love you and itx92s my Christmas present to you!".

And then George says something about the tour coming to an end, and I canx92t remember his exact words, but he says, no more like promises, that this wasnx92t it. There will be more.

Hurray! What money do I use for more concerts? Hm..

George says something about the number of shows: 49 (ok, I canx92t count… Ix92ve been counting five times, or six, eh… no five, well, anyway, I canx92t count) and "This is the last official song of the 25 live tour!"

George starts Freedom90 with "very important word", and far less important: we get the shake ur ass

…

…

Well, itx92s been an amazing week. Concerts were great (favorite Tuesday, Friday, Monday, Thursday, Sunday). I managed to get upfront every concert. Well, on Tuesday we stayed in our seats, that were row three in A3. That night was just fantastic: the six of us together, looking silly in our Sta Clause hats when George didnx92t do Last Christmas.

The Sunday concert not being my favorite is probably because of the state Ix92m in: half sick and very tired. I didnx92t let my state spoil my evening so Ix92ve been jumping like a cangaroo anyway. Everything was perfect: perfect spot (right between Georgex92s legs, ahem), some of my friends around me (Rula!, although I really did miss Herma) etc.

I hear from other fans (especially Dutch and Belgium ones) that there has been a bit of dissapointment. I know of this travelling agency in Belgium that sold complete packages (travel, stay, concert) for a Wham! Reunion concert. Well, if you have been to the Dec 17th concert with that on your mind, yes, I can relate. Me, I didnx92t miss Andrew. Come on. Hex92s only been there for four years. Would have loved it though to just see in him in the crowd or maybe pop up on stage for Last Christmas. Showing his face.

Oh well. Didnx92t let it spoil my evening.

But even the after party in Blue Check was a bit down. The nights before wex92ve been dancing and singing, and on Sunday night everybody was probably saying their goodbyes. No time for partying…

I must say that this week I really missed You Have Been Loved btw. Glad to see My Mother Had A Brother was back for the last show, and secretely I hoped for A Different Corner, one more time. Oh well.

• when you have something on your nose: someone loves you
• drop a fork on the floor: a woman is coming

Btw, my thingy on my nose turned out to be a blister caused by burning. How about that?

…

I just called about my sweater: "sir" is what they called me (thanks to my cold, Ix92m sure) and the sweater wasnx92t there. Grrr… who stole my sweater ;((

…

Itx92s very cold all of a sudden btw. What happened? I gradually felt it getting colder in London (waiting for night buses, yeah) but it must be 10 degrees C colder here in Rotterdam since last week.

…

Hey! I read on the GM.com forums now that Don Johnson was spotted in the audience earlier in the week. Would have loved to have seen him.

…

Ah! I forgot, I think? George missed some lyrics in Too Funky. Again he lost track of where he was. Wonder what it was that distracted him?

Pics by Geraldine and Kris – thanks

… ga ik eerst eens even lekker en

Ik ben blij dat ik je niet vergeten ben.
Dat ik nog zoveel kleine dingen van je ken.
Omdat ik steeds ben blijven dromen.
Dat het toch zover zou komen.
Ben ik blij dat ik je niet vergeten ben.

- Joost Nuissl -

Nou. Daar zijn we dan: de laatste van de laatste. Ik geloof dat we zo ongeveer allemaal in A zitten vanavond; Her en ik in ieder geval in A2…

En even heel iets anders: ik ben beslist verkouden
Ik ga de boel hier waarschijnlijk weer updaten vanaf dinsdag; morgen zal wel niet gaan lukken…

…

…

Maar eerst:

Het lukt ons maar niet om bij elkaar te komen (behalve tijdens de concerten; dinsdag lukte het (bijna), omdat alleen Rula ergens anders zat).

Vandaag hadden we een dagje vrij. Relaxen. Shoppen. Afspreken (nou ja, in ieder geval voor "uit eten").
Iedereen z’n eigen gang gegaan en als we elkaar uiteindelijk ontmoeten is het 23:00 uur in een restaurantje in Duke St, na veel heen en weer ge-sms.
Met z’n achten. De Amerikanen shoppen nog wat door.

(The Connaught)

It’s Saturday and we have the day off. Thank god for that, as I took George’s cold… hope it’s gotten better for him then; well, it’s probably Bianca’s anyway.

I feel pretty fresh after another night of four and a half hours sleep. The sun is shining and my voice is gone. Oh well.

I’m wondering whether my throat problem has anything to do with me eating snow yesterday. Snow? Yes, you know: the little pieces of "thingies" (the word used the most in our house these days; couple of gals talking English although no one is actually English). Mind you: there was no Last Christmas, but I think they had to empty the blower-thingies for whoever-is-playing-Wembley Arena-tonight, as we got covered in thingies in between Careless Whisper and Freedom90. Ofcourse I had my mouth wide open and I had to swallow one thingy as it found it’s way into my mouth and I couldn’t get it back without gagging. I think it’s still there even. I might try to get it back during Last Christmas on Sunday and use it. Or maybe I’ll just have a coffee and digest the thingy.

So, we got covered in snow. Yes, upfront again. Herma and me at first, and after the break Rula (who didn’t feel well, poor girl) and Bianca joined us. Although I had maybe three people in front of me, someone (Geraldine? *waves*) told me I ended up on screen anyway. Damn. Wearing the same shirt again. I promise you I do own more clothes than just my white heart-with-wings shirt.

Set list: no My Mother Had A Brother, No A Different Corner, no You Have Been Loved, no This Is Not Real Love, no Last Christmas, yes An Easier Affair.

The First Time… was beautiful tonight. Cold or not. How does he do that? I can’t even talk here! Just got a phone call from Moog -wondering what we’re doing today… well… sleep in (except for me ofcourse) … and try to regain my voice.
But back to The First Time… I think it was a bit safe at first. It was definately different from the ones I’ve heard so far. In general tonight, I think I noticed that George has a cold. He played a bit safe from time to time, but then again he sang unexpected notes as if to cover it up (Who’s a cold? Who? Not me!). Why am I saying this? He was very good. Forget about what I said. (I could just delete it…hm…)

George does a little speech about snot.   Doesn’t really feel good. Head cold, he mentioned it.

George was our side of the stage a lot again (although he did the shake-your-ass during Freedom thing on the other side this time, oh, and he kneeled down during Outside on that side as well; lucky them!).
Standing next to burtiboy ("you’re bloody gorgeous, George!", but then in capital letters; he must have heard it; the people outside did…) trying to have eye contact with George. Well, I’m sure everybody tries to and it’s ofcourse a matter of George looking back at you.

Eye contact is an event when two people look at each other’s eyes at the same time. It is a form of nonverbal communication and has a large influence on social behavior.Frequency and interpretation of eye contact vary between cultures and species.

And he did. I do know "the Bianca feeling": you have this urge to look away. I’ve had this before. Well, I’m getting pretty good in suppressing my urges these days!

George was dripping. Herma said that she thought he must have a fever. Standing at the little table he kept on wiping his face and during Jesus To A Child he took of his sunglasses (he was standing in the dark at that moment; no-vocals-part) and wiped the sweat of his face and threw it on the floor.

There’s a long and very loud cheer before Freedom90. Our little group of about eight people started singing Last Christmas already in the little break, and when George came back and came walking to our side we (Bianca, Rula, Herma and me wearing our Sta Clause hats) sang to him, making him to turn around and ignore it. Well, he was just pacing, to be honest.

The girl in front of me had been throwing flowers before (but against his lower legs so he kicked them off from the stage by accident, looking down wondering "what’s that?’) and she tried again and this time they landed in front of his feet and he picked them up, waving with it. The girl was very happy ofcourse.

Lesson learnt: you really shouldn’t flirt with the cute bass guitar player (Steve Walters). It’s no use. He’s up there and you’re down here. Right at the stage or not.

—

…

Wow! It’s very nice outside! Sun shining and everything. The little bit of rain of last night did good! And eh… in general I can say that English guys, even if they originate from southern European parents (not just talking about George here), are very sweet. One was waiting me outside Bianca’s house with micro chip with mayonaise sandwiches for me me when I was really drunk on Tuesday. This one came to get me with an umbrella. Bianca herself wasn’t drunk btw. Just looking serene!

pics by Geraldine, Marj and Angelo – thanks

Dus. Dit zo ongeveer onze dag:

Haar, make up en kleding op en aan.

Naar een concert.

Feest..

Haar, make up en kleding af en uit.

Slapen.

Haar, make up en kleding op een aan.

etc

En dat is het wel. Het slaapgedeelte is het korste, normaalgesproken

Ik zit alleen vanavond. De meiden proberen nog te upgraden, maar ondertussen zit ik in A2, rij 19.

What can I say? I love the man. And although I’ve always fully enjoyed every concert, sometimes I wake up during a show and tell myself: "Hey! He’s right there! You love this man. He is your idol… Soak him up! Be a sponge!"

Yesterday was great.
George was great (although with a cold).
We were great (as we were upfront, grinning like idiots again: Rula, Bianca, Nicole, Geni, Herma and me).
And the after party was great.

Set list: no A Different Corner, no My Mother Had A Brother, no This Is Not Real Love, no You Have Been Loved, no Last Christmas, but yes An Easier Affair.

After the first three songs George walks around and starts sniffing in the mic. Then he announces he has a cold and that he might sound a bit odd (don’t blame the technicians).  He says: "In the old days I would have cancelled, but then I was just a boy, what did I know?!"………… and then he thanks us for 25 years. "It’s Christmas, do you know what I mean?!"

Herma and I, being in our seats before the break, get pointed at by George. That is: the girl in front of us thinks he’s pointing at her, Herma thinks George is pointing at her and ofcourse I think he’s pointing at me.

He’s at "our" little platform quite a few times (well, maybe five) and I think I herewith have to thank my grandfather from father’s sidde for being tall, as basically I have no people in front of me at all.

I love it when George grins when he hands us the mic and takes it back again.

(Herma is reading the title of this log while I’m writing and says that I should call myself spongejules square pants)

Herma and I are on front row at the bar again. We’re good at that. Three beers is our standard recipe for the second half and after the break we move up front (helped by a someone sweet), joining the others. The same someone sweet leaves us just before Careless Whisper to hold a banner for a friend who wants to propose to his girlfriend. It turns up on screen and later we find out that she said yes.

When he gets back on stage for Freedom90 (not Last Christmas despite our hats; someone told us later on that we may have jinxed it) he runs in a half-circle up front and takes his applause a bit shy: "I’m not doing bad for an old bloke."

George is clearly enjoying himself tonight again, grinning a lot, and yes he again favours his right side, just where we are. I’m sure it has nothing to do with us though
He bounces his heart again and makes a deep bow.

—–

And then we had our little after party. More and more people turn up at the Blue Check and last night it was crowded with people singing their lungs out to old Wham! songs (mainly). Us that is. I’m sure that the pictures will tell their own story (once I get them) but we were not drunk! *angel face*

…

Well. Another fantastic night. Bianca and Geni were very happy to be in anway, as I’m sure you know the thing when you’re checking your purse every ten seconds to see if your tickets are still there. Well, Bianca did although we told her "It’s there! Let’s go!" and good for her, because she left them at home!

This is it for now. I’m sure more things come to my mind later on. Gotta have some coffee first.

No drie van de laatste vijf: Her en ik zitten in A4, rij 6

Ik bied hierbij even m’n excuses aan voor de talrijke typfouten (ook alvast voor die nog gaan komen): excuus.

Dank je, George

… voor een fantastische avond.

Ik hoop dat je een lekker dagje vrij hebt

(jaja, alsof-ie Nederlands leest!)

Ik heb van de week nog meegedaan aan een George Michael-prijsvraag.

Ja.

Ik weet het.

Tien vragen moest ik beantwoorden en 1 ervan was "welk kerstnummer heeft George gezongen?" en mogelijkheid A was "Do they know it’s Christmas" en mogelijkheid B was "Santa Claus is coming".

Dus niet "Santa Claus is coming to town", maar "Santa Claus is coming"

There was no Last Christmas. And Ramona bought us all Santa Claus hats to put on after Careless Whisper, when we expected Last Christmas.

…

And we looked silly, because George went straight on to "do this for my band!" and then to Freedom90. I’m sure he saw us though, and he must have been lhao after the show
The thing is, that right from the beginning of the show I saw little pieces of snow, paper that is, falling from the sky. The thing was leaking. And yes, ofcourse we expected Last Christmas! :p  And Ramona had an extra hat and threw it on stage, but George kicked it on the side with his large feet (by accident, I’m sure).

(from left to right: Rula, Kris, Geni, Bianca, me and Herma)

Ok, setlist: no A Different Corner, no My Mother Had A Brother, no You Have Been Loved, no This Is Not Real Love, but he did An Easier Affair. Before, I thought that the second half was really short (yes, I’m spoiled) but now the first half was "short" as well

George didn’t talk much. Ehm. To think of it, I hardly remember one word he said. No MMHAB, so no speech.

Kris and I shared a good time during Jesus To A Child, holding eachother. We did the same, with the six of us (oh! Kris, Ramona, Herma and me were sitting next to eachother, and Geni and Bianca were just two seats away… but they changed with the guys sitting next to Herma, and so we were all together; except for Rula that is, who did manage to upgrade to S3) during Careless Whisper. And it’s not so easy to dance and hold eachother with a group of six!

George made this big pregnant belly gesture during Fast Love at the "my friends got their ladies; they all have babies" bit. Very funny. Apparantly he did the same on Monday, but I must have missed that.

Again, I think they’re filming the shows here. Yesterday George said "I want this on screen" at the window-washing-thing during Spinning The Wheel. The mobile phones were not as impressive as in Barcelona though. Tonight (well, that’s yesterday, as today it’s tomorrow…eh…still there? Yes, I was drunk last night) George asked for the mobile phones again ("let’s wear out those batteries") and at one point he even asked us to put them down to save energy for the end. And yes, at the end he wanted our arms and phones up again. I don’t know who I’ve been calling these two days   … as I have to keep on pressing the keys to keep the light on.

…

I worry a bit now as I know I was on the screen in close up for a long time and as I feel crazy during the concerts in general, I must have looked crazy, and maybe even possessed I admit that I peeked at the screen during Careless Whisper when we were all six hugging eachother, and yes the camera saw it and captured it. Hope we didn’t look too ridiculous
Herma, Ramona and me were on the screen quite a few times, btw…

Geni here remarks that "the beard" is getting slimmer and slimmer. Hardly a stubble at all. Much better, we think.

Before Everything She Wants: "So I want to start this evening, thank you everybody for 25 years of support". George promises that we’ll have forgiven him for his long absence by the end of the evening.

Tonight it was the first time that I really, really, really loved Father Figure. Can’t really explain, but it was beautiful, although I’m sure at the other shows it was beautiful as well. It got me this time. Wow.

Goose bumps: I had them at Waiting. Already. It’s just that we were so excited to have so good seats (section A3, row 16, which is row three), and to be together. This is my third best favorite show so far. Rotterdam, Nov 1st being no 1, Rotterdam, Nov 2nd being no 2.

The show in general was just amazing. George was enjoying himself. The people were enjoying themselves. And I felt like I was in a dream all night.

Kris, Ramona and I shouted our lungs out in between the songs and during the first encore. This really must have looked like we were possessed! We ended up in the Blue Check again.

(Bianca and Geni at the Blue Chick, eh Check; showing in the background are Rula’s and my very sexy Sta Claus hats… and after I just gave it another good look: it looks like I’m growing out of Geni’s head…)

…

The girls are laughing at me at the moment. Herma and Geni took pics in the bus last night when we tried to get back. All happy, drunk pics, and then there’s a pic of me: just looking serene (they call it "pissed" and "sick"; I think serene is a better word). Not drunk at all. (ahem). And they say I looked like a zombie!   

(Me, not looking drunk at all, but serene)

(Me, at the bus stop, not looking drunk at all, but serene)

And then we got on the right bus (yes, we learned) and as I was walking toward another bus stop (not drunk at all, just wanted to go for a walk), Herma and Bianca were very very happy to be on the first row… of the bus.

And then Herma did something spooky with her hands…brrrr

—- The next morning now, and we have the day off. I’ve sobered up and even my headache’s gone.

…

Oh, the girls want me to write that we did notice that Phil Palmer got a hair cut. And that one of the backing singers is wearing stockings.

Thanks to Bianca and Geni for the pics.

No twee van de laatste vijf. We zijn weer in A3, maar nu op rij 16; dwz rij drie. Bianca, Geni, Kris en Ramona zitten bij Her en mij en Rula is op dit moment aan het proberen om up te graden

Here’s my yesterday’s report, while I just woke up after four hours of sleep. *yawn* Ok, it’s more like a sum up of facts, quotes and thoughts. In random order.

Set list of the first Wembley: same as before except no A Different Corner, no An Easier Affair, no You Have Been Loved, no This Is Not Real Love, but yes: Last Christmas.

Like I said before, Herma and I upgraded our seats last night, and just before the show started, Ramona was waving at us to join them at the barrier in A2. First few rows of A2 and A4 section got to stand at the barrier. So when the lights went out, Herma and I struggled our way out of our seats and walked up to A2 where we were ofcourse stopped by a security guard. So we had to go back to our original seats, that were in A3, row 26, but as we couldn’t find it (in the dark) and neither could the security guard, we ended up in row 18, which is in fact row five, as A3 starts with row 14. We were just behind Geni, Rula and Bianca.

(Herma just woke up btw, and says that she feels like a truck ran over her)

Rula and I did our little "Hey DJ!" routine (with fond memories of Rotterdam, Nov 2nd) and Rula just turned around and turned her back to George and forgot all about George (well, a bit anyway) for that moment.

George asked us to use our mobile phones (if we had them) to use during the Spinning The Wheel routine. Very nice, but not as much as in Barcelona. George even turned to someone behind him, saying "I want this on screen". It took a few minutes though to film the crowd with the mobile phones.

At one point during Star People George started talking about something, and then when he wanted to continue with the song, he forgot where he was and he couldn’t pick up the lyrics   I saw him look at his autocue but he couldn’t figure it out.

I was wearing my pink 25live shirt and my heels, making me 6f3 (Im 5.11 that is 1m80) and yes, I was seen on the big screen. I didn’t wave ofcourse. I don’t do that. I’m cool :p

Because we had good seats and because I’m tall I had a clear view on George. Herma, who was not in heels and a lot shorter was very smart to leave her seat after Carless Whisper and walk upfront. Security let her (and some others) and when I tried to join her ("I just want to give her her purse!"… Herma btw, just ran off and forgot all about her purse!) they stopped me. In the end, during Last Christmas, I was on the first row level, with four people in front of me. Herma was on second row, at the barrier.

And then: Last Christmas
At first I was like "huh? what’s this?" when I saw little white things falling from the sky. Aaah! It’s snow!
…
…
Snow?
OMG! Last Christmas!
Andrew flashes through my mind. But George is there alone and I forget all about Andrew. The snow is falling down and makes a white stage.

There’s also two blowers with little silver thingies. In no time I have white and silver thingies all over me, and I have a lot of fun watching the snow on George’s head that sticks on and doesn’t come of.
I was roflol when we got home and I saw Bianca’s pictures: apparantly the backing singers were wearing Christmas hats and I hadn’t seen that at all during the show!

Btw, after the after party in Blue Chick (or so we thought: it’s actually Blue Check) we got really drunk (well, some of us…at that point I already jumped in the fountain at Wembley Arena because I thought it would make a nice picture, getting soaked, so that sobered me up a great lot).

George was not in a chattie mood yesterday. Again before My Mother Had A Brother. About his uncle and the press. "Why would I care about them fuckers, when I have you guys!" Some very annoying people were trying to be funny and ruin his speech by shouting "funny remarks".

George was wearing black first half, silver second half.

Although in heels, I’ve been jumping up and down (Amazing, Outside, Everything She Wants, I’m Your Man)… my feet were killing me!

After the first three songs, George said something like "going back on memory lane".

Ok, and here comes a bit of text that took fifteen minutes to write. Herma and Geni are interfering, as they weren’t happy with the way I wrote it the first time ("no one will understand that!"):
George said something about "we started full production rehearsals in Wembley in August… no! September and now forty five shows later, here we are again."

(me with Herma’s purse, covered in little pieces of snow )

————

And then we had to go home (after our little stop at the Blue Check where they kicked us out, but in a friendly way). Ofcourse we were unprepared and didn’t know which night bus to take. So we were standing at the bus stop (and another one, and another one, and then a taxi stop which wasn’t a taxi stop) being cold and in my case: still half-wet because of my adventure in the fountain, and eventually we got home.

(from left to right: Herma-with-snow-in-her-hair, Jules=me, Geni and Bianca)

Thanks to Geni and Bianca for the pics

(pff.. ben kapot; even geen zin in vertaling)

OMG, Last Christmas.
Didn’t expect that tonight at all.
And I was all covered in snow.
And I took a shower in the fountain outside.

And we upgraded last night and we upgraded again during the show , after we first failed to join Kris and Ramona at the barrier in A2, we moved up to the fifth row in A3… and Herma even ended up on second row at the stage, when people left their seats. Ofcourse, I was blocked by grumpy security people, but hey! I was right there… on fourth row; best spot to be after Rotterdam

(short report for now; really really tired…took us a long time to get home to Bianca’s from Wembley Arena)

Net aangekomen bij Bianca, in Londen…

Vannacht, terwijl ik al lekker lag te ronken, heeft m’n lieve vriendinnetje Her ons geupgraded voor donderdag de 14e… wat betekent dat ik m’n kangaroo en m’n nine nine nine gettin’ jiggy-dansje alle avonden in het A-vak kan doen

Ga me zo klaarmaken (zocht hiervoor naar een ander woord, maar Her vind dat ik me niet druk moet maken: "hebben we wat te lachen") voor vanavond… eh.. or niet? Hoe laat is het eigenlijk?

De eerste van de laatste vijf, vanavond in Wembley Arena. We zitten in A3 (dus midden-vooraan) op rij 26, wat eigenlijk rij 13 is, omdat A3 bij rij 14 begint

Even een tussenstand vwb "mijn" concerten (of zoals een collega zei: "zing je in een koor ofzo", op mijn opmerking dat ik naar Londen ging voor een aantal concerten):

Geweest:
Barcelona
Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Antwerpen
Londen
Londen

Nog te gaan:
Londen
Londen
Londen
Londen
Londen

Op 11 december gaan Her en ik lekker vooraan zitten (vak A3).
Op 12 december gaan Her en ik lekker vooraan zitten (vak A3)… samen met Kris en Ramona, die naast ons zitten.
Op 14 december gaan Her en ik eens lekker in de tweede ring zitten (vak S2).
Op 15 december gaan Her en ik blijkbaar ruzie krijgen, want dan zitten we apart. Ik mag voor veel geld – in m’n eentje – vooraan zitten (vak A2).
Op 17 december hebben Her en ik het weer goed gemaakt en zitten weer saampjes vooraan (vak A2).

(vanaf morgen)

Nico stuurt net een fotootje door.. een "oudje" van het eerste Earl’s Court-concert op 25 november…

Biertje? Nee? Twee dan?  

vlnr: moi, Herma en Rula.

klikken maakt groter

Nou, ok. Ik heb twee kaartjes te koop.
Herma is voor ons aan het upgraden geslagen en nu heb ik de mijne voor 12 december over.

Dus.
12 december.
Dat is dinsdag a.s.
Vak N5, rij R.
Twee stoelen naast elkaar.

Kosten: 120 pnd (2×60) + kosten, maar laat die maar zitten. Je mag ze hebben voor 105 pnd (2×52,50)

Of: x80 160,–

Ik vertrek maandagochtend-vroeg naar Londen. Dat betekent dat ik tot zondagavond thuis in Rotterdam ben.

Ik hoor ‘t wel!

Derde en laatste concert in Dublin, en Kris en Ramona staan vooraan (neem ik aan)

Deel II van de Dublin-triologie.

Geen zorgen bij Wembley’s loket volgende week. Vandaag de kaartjes voor 17 december binnen gekregen.

Hm. Heb nog steeds niets gekocht

De laatste paar concerten in "25 LIVE" vOOr de laatste Londen-concerten: Dublin, deel I

En voor mij nog xe9xe9n dag om te bedenken of ik toch niet naar het 9 december-concert in Dublin zal gaan…

Ok het is concert no 38 (dit keer weet ik het zeker): Birmingham, deel III

Ah! Nicole & Rula en Kris & Ramona waren er… ergens vooraan zelfs, geloof ik.

Het concert was weer fantastisch (pff… saai! ) en het publiek ook. Dit keer heeft George wel een knuffel van het podium opgeraapt (huh? knuffel? is-ie "into" knuffels tegenwoordig? Heb ik ‘m daarvoor bekogeld met m’n joint?  ).
En hij is weer op z’n knieen gegaan en heeft dit keer een aantal handen gegrepen (denk niet dat de eigenaars het erg vonden…) !

Quote via Kris: "Imagine in the 60s I could have been arrested for getting my end up?"

Mutya was vrij, ofwel: geen This Is Not Real Love. Weet (nog) niet of You Have Been Loved weer terug is.

Ik heb besloten dat het vanavond concert no 41 moet zijn. Birmingham nogmaals.

Iets is niet helemaal goed gegaan met de telling , maar vanavond is het eerste Birmingham-concert, en eh… volgens mij zijn er wat mensen van de groep bij… of niet? Hm… ‘s even denken…

Dus, George… even opletten. Dit is Birmingham. Niet Manchester.

… hier:
http://gm25live.web-log.nl/25_live/2006/11/ec_i_en_ec_ii_r.html

Ik ben druk aan de gang met het updaten van het nieuws en de concertverlagen van de afgelopen anderhalve week. Hopelijk staat het er zondag allemaal op.

Tot dan, even geduld ajb

En no 4 in Earl’s Court…

Foto’s van Earl’s Court, 28 november; met dank aan cav/antonio:

(klikken maakt groter)

(klikken maakt groter)

For some weird reason, writing the reports is getting more difficult. So here they are: November 25th and November 26th, but not as complete as you’ve becomed used to    And almost in complete random order. The order of my thoughts, I guess 
So here we go.

(November 25th)
We’re in first row! We’re in first row!

… at the bar during the break.

Our seats appear not to be as good as we thought. We (Herma, Sandra and I) are in block C1 in one of the "behind rows", and as the floor is flat, we’re at the same level as, say Rula, Nicole, Bianca and Geni who are in B1 second row, but close to the stage where they can actually see whant’s going on, and we’re not.
In Manchester, people left their seats to run up front as soon as the lights went off, so we have our things ready. But, security is very strict and one step in the gangway means you’re being pussed back in.

And then the lights go down.

Set list:

Waiting
Flawless
Fastlove
Father Figure
Everything She Wants
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
Praying For Time
Too Funky
This Is Not Real Love (with Mutya)
Star People
My Mother Had A Brother
Shoot The Dog

(break)

Faith
Spinning The Wheel
An Easier Affair
Jesus To a Child
Amazing
I’m Your Man
Outside

Careless Whisper
Freedom 90

Highligt of the show tonight is just Herma and I having fun. We don’t see much of the show, I have to do gymnastics to see George on stage (and I’m tall, go figure!) and during Jesus To A Child I’m caught in a laughing fit (very annoying to our neighbours, I’m sure) as Herma’s in with her chin on her knees, trying to get a glimpse and I’m laying on her back.
Another highlight is to hear George talking. Before the Rotterdam shows started I’d already put something about his absence of speech on the blog, but as of Manchester, George started talking.
And he talks tonight. A lot of which I don’t understand, and not (just) because of my English, but of his mumbling.
After he’d already spoken about the fat van driver ("I did not have sexual relations…") and Rupert Murdoch, he goes on about it tonight. He’s very happy to be able to communicate ("Ha!!" Mi Inglish iz werrrry kood!" ). I have another laughing fit when George confuses Manchester with Birmingham (still has to go to this one) during his speech about the press. George has this funny express on his face as if he’s very insulted by the press’ suggestion that he would shag an old, ugly, fat guy.

George says something like "you’re the loudest voices of the tour" *cheer*  "So far". I don’t agree. Ofcourse I want to believe that Rotterdam was and will be the best voices (he said it! he said it!), but I honestly think that this particular crowd is not it. At one point, during Star People, I think, George shouts "I wanna see you", and then the arms go up, because from what I could see, a lot of people were just standing there. Not knowing what to do with that seat behind them.

I loooooove the very long yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy in Too Funky. Never heard it so long before. And he’s on one knee at the left sids of the stage during one point. Those A1 people were lucky tonight.

George chats a bit about him being thirtheen and going to his first (Earl’s Court) concert.. his mum waiting for him outside. Very sweet.

Although, I’m not a fan of her type of voice, I’m surprised to hear Mutya sing (and to see her sit in that awfull dress on the stool… George was so much more relaxed  ). Her voice is quite clear and loud and sounds like her recordings.

Remembering our jumping during the "Hey DJ" part of Star People in Rotterdam and Antwerpen using the barrier, Herma and I try to jump to it, now using the chairs in front of us. It’s not as effective for some weird reason

I love his little speech before he starts My Mother Had A Brother. In very little and in cautious words he explains that there was someone in his family he wrote this song for and about. He ends his speech about that he lives in the best time ever to be gay and mumbles something like "especially if you’re me-e!".
Then he sings it beautifully and I think it’s better to close my eyes as I cannot see him after all. Herma even sends the security guards away (it’s a worls upside down) when they’re blocking the view. 

During Shoot the Dog, the puppy stays in (Bush).. doesn’t quite come out  . George stands next to it and raises his shoulders and underarms as if to say "I don’t know what to do then"   I’m very proud of my "nine nine nine gettin’ jiggy"-dance (copied from the lady-Georges in the video) that I’ve been practising and intend to show when I’m upfront at the Wembley-shows.

We hurry out when George walks away after Shoot The Dog. We’re on front row at the bar. Good work! Remembering the beers at the other concerts, we order four beers and they’re huge! We meet up with Bianca and Geni during the break before we get back to our seats.

At the second part of the show, the beers do their work. I get caught in a laughing fit more than once (like during JTAC, see above) and I find the ceiling to be very beautiful.

In Antwerp, all the arms were allready up during Spinning The Wheel, even before George did it. Here, apparantly there’re a lot of newbees in the crowd that don’t know the STW-gesture yet. So George shows them. That’s how he is. Never too good to show you. Even at show thirty-something.
My muscles in my arms are getting bigger and bigger after every show. I think at December 17th I’ll look like Popeye.

With shame I must admit that I don’t know all the lyrics to An Easier Affair yet. I’m not the only one, as the crowd is quietest of all evening during this one. I’ve said it before: it’s not my favourite.

I can imagine that’s difficult for the band when to start a new song, as George is in a talkative mood tonight. At one point, he finishes what he wants to say and then it’s quiet for a long (five seconds) time. I hear the band members think "something else? has he finished?" and then George starts talking again, now making a short introduction to the song, making a cue for the band members to start the song

Amazing is amazing, as always. Love that song more and more. Outside follows Amazing and George does his "helicopter-show" for us. During the little break before he comes back, Herma and I are very happy to be able to sit down for a while.
The thing with a floor-seating plan is, that people don’t sit down. Not even during the ballads. So we are doing our unheard cheers from our chairs.

At the end, I don’t remember which song, George sits on his knees and makes worshippy-gestures at center stage. God I wish I am upfront at that moment.

—

All in all, I enjoyed myself anyway, despite the bad view. Herma and I had a very nice "side show": watching eachoter a lot, the security guards and Kris and Ramona, who were in section 21. We actually had a better view on them than on George  . We’ve been playing "what? what?" a lot at his speeches, confirming his thought of non-communication with Europeans   (btw, I did miss a lot of what he said).
I had an elderly couple next to me and I loved seeing them enjoying themselves… singing along and everything. Apparantly they were given a gift by their son.

George replaced YYBL by TINRL, didn’t do ADC, but put in AEA as an extra.
No Idol as he did in Manchester though.
He dedicated Jesus To A Child to Anselmo and Amazing "I wrote this one for my partner Kenny" to Kenny.

Pics will follow a.s.a.p.

============================================================

(November 26th)
Don’t sound so glad!

… George says as people are cheering when he’s announcing an older song.

The day of EC part II starts slowly. I’m up before Kris and before Ramona and in the end we spend the day alone, running into eachother in the hotel room when one is leaving and the other is coming back to use the bathroom.
Man, I wish I could sleep like Ramona. The poor girl has had too much George the last few weeks and she decides to spend the London week(end) for getting some sleep.

After doing a little sight-seeing in London (what is this? maybe fifteenth time I’m here?) I return to the hotel and sleep a bit. Ramona’s just gotten up and is ready to have breakfast. Mind you, it’s about 4 pm. .

We have a lot of fun trying to come up with things for the banners Kris and Ramona will carry with them (they’re in A-section, third row): "IT WAS MANCHESTER, YOU FOOL!" and "I DRIVE A VAN NISSAN!". They decide on continuing the Everything She Wants-banner "we still work so hard 4 u" and "Shake ur ass 4 us (please)"

We leave the hotel to go to the Court thirty minutes before official start only. Kris and Ramona get in and I meet up with Herma. We’re in section 3 tonight and farther away from the stage but with a better view as we’re in first tier.

Set list:

Waiting
Flawless
Fastlove
Father Figure
Everything She Wants
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
Praying For Time
Too Funky
This Is Not Real Love (with Mutya)
Star People
My Mother Had A Brother
Shoot The Dog

(break)

Faith
Spinning The Wheel
Jesus To a Child
Amazing
I’m Your Man
Outside

Careless Whisper
Freedom 90

From the start, I notice this crowd is louder than yesterday.
When George announces Everything She Wants ("an old one") the crowd gives him a loud cheer, to which he replies "Don’t sound so gla-ad?!"   And talking about communication, George jokes "spank me!" because he’s sorry he’s been away for so long, but the joke gets lost in the cheers.

I just love watching his hands during this Praying For Time… "empty hands" shows his empty hands stretched toward the audience and "hold on to what you can" has his hand changed into a strong fist. I say to Herma that this must be the most beautiful song of the evening… all evenings, I mean.

I’m pretty sure that I hear him sing something different in the "Hey DJ" part of Star People. Can’t make out any word of it though.

Highlight of tonight is definately My Mother Had A Brother with the speech ("there’s a lot of love in the world") before it. George says that he couldn’t be complete the night before because there were members of his mother’s family in the audience. He gets pretty emotional during his speech (which he can’t start because the crowd keeps on cheering.. when he thinks the crowd gets silent, he tries, but the the cheers get louder again he’s just sitting there, on his stool, smiling, waiting for the cheers to diminish). Then he says something about being behind on schedule already and smiles.

At the start of Shoot The Dog, George messes up his lines, starting with "Mustafa…"   He realizes after his second line and picks it up at the right place with the right lyrics. At one point George gives a loud COME ON LADIEEEEEES! (and I’m a lady, I felt addressed to… blame me! )
While I’m practising the "nine nine nine gettin’ jiggy’-dance, the puppy comes out perfectly this time and before George leaves the stage he puts his middle funger up to the Bush puppet. No "wank-alike" thumbs down this time!

Herma and I hurry out again for our beers (three this time; the two very large ones of yesterday were a bit much for me ). We dawdle a bit to see what happens at the back stage lounce and we miss the whole of Faith and the beginning of Spinning The Wheel. George has a hug grin on his face, walking around, looking at the crowd’s arms. He’s wearing the silver suit with the aids-ribbon on it.

In between Jesus To A Child and Amazing George says "from a sad story to a happy ending", a variation on the "from a sad story to a happy story" version we heard before. Again Amazing is for partner Kenny ("I wrote this one…").

At one point, George shouts to the crowd something "who bought the album this week?!" The crowd cheers. Then he says: "what the fuck did the rest of you do?" The crowd laughs and I bow my head in shame, as I didn’t buy the album (yet)!

In between Careless Whisper and Freedom 90, when the hall is very dark, I have my binoculars fixed on the entrance/exit next to the stage. And yes, there I see George just pacing left to right. He’s easy to recognize as the silver suit gives him away. Waiting for the cheers to get louder and find the right moment to come back for Freedom90. George asks us to cheer for the band again and in our cheer he laughs and says "If you shout loud enough, they might get parole". Wonder what they did?

After Freedom 90, George makes a very long deep bow (probably stretching his poor back?) at center stage and a worshippy (but stays on his feet this time) gesture to the people on his right (our left).

At the hotel, Kris writes in her online diary (http://www.geocities.com/kglive25/)about everything that happens… like me talking about unexpected visitors the room (a fly) etc.
We finish the wine and chips quickly, watch some concert footage and call it a day.

—-

This Is Not Real Love seems to have replaced You Have Been Loved. An Easier Affair was left out tonight, as well as A Different Corner (should I still put this one as if it was ever on the set list?).

Pics and (more) quotes will follow a.s.a.p.

===============================

Monday, November 27th:
The next day Kris, Ramona and I have to check out the hotel at 11am and go on our way to Bianca’s to close our weekend in style. On our way to Bianca’s at the West Brompton entrance of the Earl’s Court station, I see this Smash Hits revival poster… carrying George and Andrew in 1985.. huge grins and all. I can imagine George himself not being as pleased with it as we are. We take a picture with it.

(Here we are, having fun at an old poster)

Janet and Emmy join the groep and we spend the day having breakfast/lunch/dinner before we go to the airport.

Back in Rotterdam at 11.30 pm.

En deel drie vanavond: Earl’s Court dus.

M’n enorme camera had ik niet bij me, dus ik heb xe9xe9n foto genomen (met m’n mobiel) in Londen.

En hier is-ie: de "service information" op het metrostation Earl’s Court, geschreven door iemand met gevoel voor humor.

I heb een geweldig weekend gehad. "We" waren er zo’n beetje allemaal (nou ja, behalve de Amerikanen) en alhoewel we op verschillende plekken in Londen sliepen, was het leuk om elkaar zo halverwege de dag te zien en te lunchen en te drinken (ahum). En naar het concert te gaan, natuurlijk  .

I arriveerde in onze Londen-hotelbuurt op zaterdagochtend (vroeg!) waar Kris al zat te wachten in een Starbuck’s… omdat er niets anders te doen was omdat het regende. Dus besloten we dat het een goed idee was om alvast Earl’s Court even te verkennen (een blok verder vanaf ons hotel; goede keuze  ), een beetje rond te lopen, terug te gaan naar het hotel om te kijken of onze kamer al klaar was, weer terug te gaan naar Earl’s Court, weer terug naar het hotel te gaan, weer terug naar Earl’s Court, wat boodschappen (ehm…  wijn en chips) te doen, op Ramona te wachten en hee! in te checken in onze hotel kamer.

En nu is het alweer dinsdag en ben ik weer thuis. Wat mensen achterlatend die naar de dins- en woensdag-shows gaan.

Zaterdag en zondag-reports volgen z.s.m.

As any seasoned stoner will tell you, the stuff they put in it these days can make any regular user prone to paranoia. Perhaps thatx92s why ten songs into his first London show for fifteen years, George Michael confessed that he was terrified of the reception he might receive from a home crowd. As the sound of 24,000 feet stamping out their adoration spread from the back to the front, the 43-year-old singer pondered: x93I should have known, shouldnx92t I? Ix92m from Finchley.x94 You can take the man out of Finchley, but this show offered an opulent reminder that beneath the x93troubledx94 George Michael of recent news stories lurks the same North London soul boy who landed his first Top 10 hit 25 years ago. Setting the tone, Fastlove saw three tiers of musicians lay down a fat, funky foundation that defied resistance x96 while, out front, a lone Michael showboated his way through the octaves with effortless aplomb. Lest we forget, this sung advertorial extolling the virtues of cruising your blues away came out two years before Michael did. Michaelx92s reluctance to apologise for his lifestyle stood him in good stead back then and it continues to do so. Tonight he seized the opportunity to hit back at his critics. Introducing My Mother had a Brother x96 a song about a gay uncle who committed suicide x96 he declared that x93there has never been a better time to be gayx94. Some of his Greek ancestors 2,500 years ago might have begged to differ, but this seemed like no time to pick nits. With those initial terrors overcome, Michael had the air of a man waking up to the notion that this evening might actually be quite enjoyable. As a child, going to see Elton John and Queen here, he said it seemed like x93the largest room in the world, but tonight wex92re going to turn it into a living room x97 just push the table awayx94. Doing her best impression of a melancholy princess, the former Sugababe Mutya Buena was more than a match for Michael on a new duet, This is not Real Love. The pre-millennial dread of Praying for Time sounded as strange and vast as it did when it was released 16 years ago. Here, it was instructive to note that, on the line x93Charity is a coat you wear twice a yearx94, a watching Bob Geldof could be seen singing along, while Naomi Campbell merely stared impassively. Both were more amused when a bulldog in Union Jack boxer shorts clamped its maws around an inflatable George Bushx92s privates for Shoot The Dog. x93Therex92s that George Michael going out on a limb again,x94 you thought to yourself, while wishing hex92d come up with a tune to match the gesture. On the occasions that he did though x96 a simply beautiful Jesus to a Child and a rapturously received Ix92m Your Man x96 you realised that you were in the company of the best soul singer this country has produced in the past three decades. If Michael had indeed succeeded in turning a hangar into a front room gathering, the encore signalled that it might finally be time for the cheese course. Three tiers up, a lone saxophonist delivered the intro that could only be Careless Whisper. A guilty pleasure for guilty feet. Even Naomi Campbell danced to that one.

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,14936-2473166,00.html

Jaja…

En hoera! Vanavond nog een Earl’s Court (no 34) en weer ben ik erbij!

Hoera! Vanavond ben ik bij concert no 33, Earl’s Court, Londen

Ik vertrek naar Londen for twee van de Earl’s Court-concerten. Morgen.

Maandagavond-laat ben ik terug en op dinsdag pas ben ik weer online. Hopelijk schrijf ik die dag ook m’n reports… maar waarschijnlijker is dat ik een groot gedeelte van de dag lekker zal

Phew.
Het heeft voor een boel stress, maar ook lol gezorgd… maar we zijn binnen.

(Pre-sale begon tegen 14:00 uur)

Extra concert.

In Wembley Arena.

Op 17 december.

Kaartverkoop begint zondag.

IK ZIT IN LONDEN A.S. ZONDAG… ZONDER COMPUTER!                                                              Hm. Bedenk wel iets. Hoop ik.

… vrijdag de 24e, op Capital FM radio, om 10:00 uur Nederlandse tijd.

George is vanavond in Schotland, voor concert no 33 in Glasgow.

      George Michael, MEN Arena, Manchester              

        By Chris Mugan      

      Published: 21 November 2006   

      Ads_kid=0; Ads_bid=0; Ads_xl=0; Ads_yl=0; Ads_xp=”; Ads_yp=”; Ads_opt=0; Ads_wrd=”; Ads_prf=’art=2002053′; Ads_par=”; Ads_cnturl=”; Ads_sec=0; Ads_channels=”;     function Ads_PopUp() {}

…voor de derde keer. Kris en Ramona zijn erbij.

Cinerama filmtheater

GEORGE MICHAEL: A DIFFERENT STORY

Maandag 13.30 22.00 Dinsdag 13.30 22.00 Woensdag 13.30 22.00

Documentaire over het weinig bekende maar spectaculaire leven van zanger en popster George Michael. Documentaire over het weinig bekende maar spectaculaire leven van George Michael. Voor het eerst wordt de fan een kijkje achter de schermen gegund, en alle feestelijk herkenbare beelden worden van persoonlijk commentaar voorzien door George en mensen uit zijn omgeving.

filmkeuring: alle leeftijden

meer informatie:

cinema.nl

IMDB

premiere: donderdag 9 november

1

NEW

(-)

George Michael Twenty Five (Aegean)

link BBC charts

Gefeliciteerd, George

Mooi nieuw pak met stropdas.

(credit naar georgemichaelforums.com want die vond de foto’s eerder)

En van Mark:

George reborn in the UK

Virgin Net

George Michael kicked off his first UK tour in 15 years in Manchester on Friday night.

The reclusive star appeared in front of 16,500 ecstatic fans at the MEN Arena in Manchester, performing hits from his glittering solo career as well as classics from his Wham! days.

The 42-year-old singer walked on stage to a version of ‘Waiting’, before opening with hit ‘Flawless (Go To The City’) to a rapturous reception from fans.

Speaking before the concert, Michael said he had decided to tour again "just because I have the courage to do it".

"To be perfectly honest, I’ve enjoyed it so much I wish I started again years ago," he said.

The star said the tour and the release of his ‘Twenty Five’ greatest hits album was an opportunity to put his recent troubles behind him.

"Most of the stuff that happens to me is partially my fault but some of it is definitely not," he added.

"All that stuff is relevant to people who read ‘red tops’ (tabloid newspapers), as we call them.

"I’m just very, very happy that I have a No 1 album out this week and that, along with coming back and playing to an English crowd for the first time in 15 years, is fantastic".

The singer will play two more dates in Manchester before playing concerts in Glasgow, London and Birmingham.

http://musicnews.virgin.net/Virgin/Lifestyle/Music/virginMusicNewsDetail/0,13556,1696185_music,00.html

George Michael kicks off UK tour

George Michael has opened his first UK tour in 15 years with a concert at the MEN Arena in Manchester.

The singer, who has rarely been out of the tabloids, had said as recently as last year that his career was over.

But soon after he announced a Europe-wide greatest hits tour which began in Barcelona in September to broadly positive reviews.

The 42-year-old singer said he was enjoying touring but felt his recording career was "all finished for now".

Free concert

The ex-Wham star has been the centre of intense media scrutiny over his private life and often outspoken opinions on drug taking.

But his popularity with the public seems as strong as ever with his concerts selling out within hours.

He said of the tour: "To be perfectly honest, I’ve enjoyed it so much I wish I started again years ago."

Asked how long he would keep on singing, he said: "There’s no restriction to how long I can do the live thing, now that I have decided I can do it.

"But in terms of releasing CDs and trying to get on the radio, I think that is all finished for now."

Michael will play two more dates in Manchester before further concerts in Glasgow, London and Birmingham.

He is also performing a free concert for nurses in London to thank them for caring for his mother.

The star is also marking his 25 years in showbusiness with an hour-long interview with BBC Radio 2, which will be broadcast on Saturday evening at 2000BST.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6161186.stm

IT was 15 years since he had last been on tour – but fans could have been forgiven for thinking George Michael had never been away.

He is one of the most enduring icons in world music and showed a 15,000-strong devoted crowd just why at the MEN Arena in Manchester last night.

Tickets for last night’s performance – the first of three on consecutive nights – were snapped up within hours of going on sale in April and were changing hands for as much as xa3150.

continued…

Anybody who paid top whack would have been entitled to think it money well spent. The 43-year-old rolled back the years with a string of hits from his long solo career and going back as far as the 1980s days of Wham!

Michael’s ability to switch from the down-tempo ballads like Jesus to a Child to the camp pop of Too Funky and Outside was impressive.

Dressed in a black suit and black shirt, he opened a near three-hour performance with Flawless and Fast Love before telling the crowd: "I have been nervous about this for months."

But any anxiety didn’t show as he delivered a mature performance.

The Londoner delivered favourites including My Mother had a Brother and Spinning the Wheel.

Michael pinned his anti-war colours to the mast when a huge inflatable of US president George Bush was unveiled on the stage during Shoot the Dog.

After a brief interlude, he returned to the stage and finished with an energetic string of hits including Faith, Amazing, Careless Whisper, Freedom, and the Wham classic I’m Your Man.

In February, 2005, Michael announced that his pop career was over.

His recording career might have peaked but few fans who saw him last night could argue that his current live form has ever been surpassed.

It seems that none of his very public misdemeanours have ever put so much as a dent in the singer’s popularity, which has snowballed since the days when he and Andrew Ridgeley had a string of 1980s hits as Wham!

With a performance like that, fans will be hoping they don’t have to wait another 15 years to see him again.

http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/display.var.1030266.0.hes_still_got_it_by_george.php

George Michael kicks off Euro-tour

George Michael wowed thousands of fans at the start of his first UK tour for 15 years.

The 42-year-old singer began the UK leg of his 25 Live European tour in front of 16,500 ecstatic fans at the MEN Arena in Manchester.

The multi-million selling artist walked on stage to rapturous applause at the end of a reprised version of Waiting, before opening with hit Flawless (Go To The City).

And fans sang and danced along as he ran through their favourite hits including songs from his chart-topping Wham! days.

Speaking before the concert, Michael, who last year swore that his career was over, said he had decided to tour again "just because I have the courage to do it".

"To be perfectly honest, I’ve enjoyed it so much I wish I started again years ago," he said.

He said he was looking forward to a long-planned free concert for nurses to be held in London, saying it was something he had always wanted to do.

"I had said to my friends and family that if I toured again I would do a special concert for nurses.

"We wanted to do it at Wembley Arena until they kindly pointed out to Mr Showbiz here that 12,000 nurses might be a lot to take out of the system – we had to do it somewhere else. But it’s still a in 3,000-seater venue and it will probably be the best night of the tour," he said.

The star said the tour was an opportunity to put his troubles behind him: "Most of the stuff that happens to me is partially my fault but some of it is definitely not. All that stuff is relevant to people who read ‘red tops’ (tabloid newspapers), as we call them. I’m just very, very happy that I have a No 1 album out this week and that, along with coming back and playing to an English crowd for the first time in 15 years, is fantastic".

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18112006/344/george-michael-kicks-euro-tour.html

STRUTTING on to stage in front of UK fans for the first time in 15 years, George Michael yelled "I’m back" – and on this evidence he’s better than ever.

The capacity crowd at Manchester’s MEN Arena, gave him a rapturous reception.

And the noise increased as he rattled through 25 years of classic pop, from Wham faves I’m Your Man and Careless Whisper through to his modern anthems Fast Love and Outside. Before his 25 Live tour kicked off in Europe in September, he worried: "I’m 43, it’s not natural for me to be a showman."

But any doubts were quickly dispelled – as the thousands who sang along to every word last night can testify.

After a week in which we cringed at Wacko Michael Jackson’s abject "performance" at the World Music Awards, at last this was a display to smile about.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/tm_headline=king-george-still-rules-&method=full&objectid=18115626&siteid=94762-name_page.html

(The Associated Press)

George Michael performs 1st concert in Britain in 15 years to 20,000 fans in Manchester

MANCHESTER, England (AP): It’s been 15 years since George Michael performed a concert in his homeland, but 20,000 fans screamed their approval Friday as the former Wham! frontman made a long-awaited return.

Michael, 43, began his "25 Live” tour in September in Spain, and opened a three-night set in Manchester, northwest England, by talking to a few journalists backstage about why he’s been gone so long.

"Most of the stuff that happens to me is partially my fault,” said Michael, who this year has been cautioned by the police for possessing cannabis and was found passed out in his car in London.

Asked whether his mental health was good, he said, "Judge for yourself. I’m going to show you how well I am really.”

But Michael sounded a paranoid note about life in modern Britain, saying its population was subject to excessive surveillance through police closed-circuit television cameras.

"If I was to quit the UK, it wouldn’t be to do with the press, it would be to do with the government,” Michael said. Asked why, he said, "The government, because we’re living in the most outrageously `Big Brother’ country, considering what England is supposed to be like. We’re supposed to value our privacy.

"I just hate the idea that they’re talking about watching us everywhere and all the time, which isn’t present in other parts of Europe,” he said.

Michael declined to specify why he avoided touring for so long, but said, "I have the courage to do it again. To be honest, I’ve enjoyed it so much I wish I’d started touring again years ago.”

He said, in fact, he was more committed now to live performances than to crafting any more top-40 hits.

"In terms of releasing CDs and trying to get on the radio and stuff, I think that’s all finished. We’re struggling as an industry, but the live thing is as it always was. If you can do it, it’s a very profitable thing,” he said with a beaming smile.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/17/arts/EU_A-E_MUS_Britain_George_Michael.php

Warm onthaal voor George Michael

Uitgegeven: 18 november 2006 13:48

AMSTERDAM – George Michael is door het publiek in zijn geboorteland warm onthaald, toen hij vrijdag na vijftien jaar weer een optreden voor de Britten gaf. De 43-jarige zanger begon zijn 25 Live-tournee in september in Spanje. Begin deze maand deed hij Nederland aan voor drie uitverkochte concerten in Ahoy’ Rotterdam.

De tournee is zijn eerste in vijftien jaar. Achter het podium in Manchester sprak hij kort voor zijn optreden met een groep journalisten. Onbeantwoord bleef de vraag waarom George zo lang is weggeweest. Wel gaf hij aan weer de moed te hebben om te toeren. "Om eerlijk te zijn, ik vind het zo leuk dat ik spijt heb dat ik niet jaren geleden opnieuw ben gaan toeren." Hij heeft nu meer interesse in optreden voor een publiek dan een hit scoren.

George suggereerde dat hij zo lang van het toneel is geweest vanwege persoonlijke problemen. "Het meeste wat met me gebeurt is gedeeltelijk mijn eigen schuld", zei Michael, die eerder dit jaar een waarschuwing kreeg van de politie vanwege het bezit van cannabis. Ook werd hij bewusteloos in een auto aangetroffen. Op de vraag hoe het met zijn geestelijke gezondheid staat, zei de popster: "Oordeel zelf. Ik ga jullie laten zien hoe goed het met me gaat."

Minder blij is Michael met de huidige stand van Groot-Brittannixeb. Het vele cameratoezicht op straat verontrust hem. "Als ik het Verenigd Koninkrijk zou verlaten, zou het niet komen door de pers, maar door de overheid." Volgens Michael is Engeland in een Big Brother-staat veranderd. "We zouden onze privacy moeten waarderen. Ik heb gewoon een hekel aan het idee dat ze erover praten ons overal en continu in de gaten te houden."

http://www.nu.nl/news/890328/62/Warm_onthaal_voor_George_Michael.html

George Michael @ M.E.N. Arena

Deanna Delamotta, 17/11/06

HE said it would never happen; that hex92d never sing Faith, Freedom or Ix92m Your Man again. And here he is, in Manchester, all slick, slim and shiny-suited, doing just that.

The packed Arena faithful couldnx92t quite believe they were seeing and hearing the 43-year-old on stage again, on the opening night of his UK tour. After all, wex92ve had 15 years of silence, and itx92s 25 years since he and fellow young gun Andrew Ridgeley started out.

How well we remember those heady Club Tropicana days. Punk was dead, but those frilly New Romantic blouses were starting to look a bit sissy. Like the soul boys who sang Wham! Rap, we were a bit confused style-wise and empathised with their search for street cred.

"The early Eighties was the last era where you could flip from being one thing to something else almost overnight," recalls George. "You could be a soul boy one day and a mod the next."

Yes it was embarrassing. Now like George, wex92re older, smarter and wiser.

Singing to a crowd who would happily have bungee jumped out of a helicopter and bathed in cockroaches, Ix92m a Celebrity! style, to win a ticket to this gig, George Michael was preaching to the converted.

Although given the mighty roar that greeted "Ix92m Your Man" there were many in the audience, like me, who were always going to be disappointed that he didnx92t sing the entire Wham back catalogue (no Wham! Rap or Wake Me Up Before You Go Go).

Little did we know at the time of that famous "Shuttlecock" tour of 1983 that George was struggling with his sexuality and would soon want out from the whole macho hetero-heart-throb thing hex92d willingly embraced.

Patience

For those whox92ve religiously followed George from that first Fantastic album to 2004x92s Patience, listening without prejudice as his solo career charted his emotional highs and very lows, the man is beyond reproach. Almost.

As the clock ticked past 8, when he should have been on stage, to 8.30pm, some started to worry that he might shuffle on in a drug-addled stupor.

We should have had more faith. Looking like an Armani model he sang Flawless flawlessly before urging us not to believe the hype. "You canx92t believe politicians and you canx92t believe what you read."

Then, laughing: "I did not have sexual relations with that van driver."

But if we had felt a sense of trepidation before George calmed our nerves with Fast Love, Father Figure, Everything She Wants, Too Funky, it was probably nothing compared to Georgex92s anxiety.

Trademark

He was nervous about facing the British public for the first time in so long and concentrated on his performance. And that trademark tenor sounds stronger and sweeter than ever especially when he sings ballads Jesus to a Child and Careless Whisper (yes, girls, he sings our favourite slow song).

And hex92s still got rhythm. Those ’80s-style dance routines donx92t look old hat when George does them although he seems pretty self conscious about his lack of Madonna moves, saying that the Queen of Pop has made it difficult for other 40-something music legends.

But Madonna needs to dance well because she canx92t sing like George.

He can rely on those fantastic vocals and a bit of shimmying. "So tell me, was it worth the wait?" he asked, sunglasses off, eyes wide, like a young soul boy, still keen for our approval.

Of course it was. The fact that George Michael can barely squeeze half the great songs from his illustrious past into a two-hour set just proves what a supremely talented young-looking gun he is.

Welcome back George.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/entertainment/music/livereviews/s/228/228534_george_michael__men_arena.html

George wows fans as he kicks off Euro tour

George Michael wowed thousands of fans at the start of his first UK tour for 15 years. The 42-year-old singer began the UK leg of his 25 Live European tour in front of 16,500 ecstatic fans at the MEN Arena in Manchester last night.

The multi-million selling artist walked on stage to rapturous applause at the end of a reprised version of Waiting, before opening with hit Flawless (Go To The City). And fans sang and danced along as he ran through their favourite hits including songs from his chart-topping Wham! days.

Speaking before the concert, Michael, who last year swore that his career was over, said he had decided to tour again "just because I have the courage to do it". "To be perfectly honest, Ix92ve enjoyed it so much I wish I started again years ago," he said. He said he was looking forward to a long-planned free concert for nurses to be held in London, saying it was something he had always wanted to do. "I had said to my friends and family that if I toured again I would do a special concert for nurses. "We wanted to do it at Wembley Arena until they kindly pointed out to Mr Showbiz here that 12,000 nurses might be a lot to take out of the system x96 we had to do it somewhere else. But itx92s still a in 3,000-seater venue and it will probably be the best night of the tour," he said.

The star said the tour was an opportunity to put his troubles behind him: "Most of the stuff that happens to me is partially my fault but some of it is definitely not. All that stuff is relevant to people who read x92red topsx92 (tabloid newspapers), as we call them.

"Ix92m just very, very happy that I have a No 1 album out this week and that, along with coming back and playing to an English crowd for the first time in 15 years, is fantastic".

Asked how long he would go on touring, he said: "Therex92s no restriction to how long I can do the live thing, now that I have decided I can do it. "But in terms of releasing CDs and trying to get on the radio, I think that is all finished for now".

Fans travelled from as far as Holland to watch the singer in action. One Dutch fan said: "I am here to see George coming home. This is my sixth gig out of 15 and I am very excited he is back in the UK." A fan from Newcastle said: "Ix92ve always loved George and this is the first opportunity I have had to see him. His songs are fantastic and he has amazing stage presence. It should be a fun night."

The troubled singer has been dogged by controversy since his days when Wham! stormed the charts in the 80s.  At the height of his fame, in 1998, the singer exposed himself to an undercover policeman in a Beverley Hills toilet. He avoided a six-month jail term but was arrested for "lewd behaviour" and sentenced to community service.

Michael confirmed long-standing rumours that he was gay and bounced back with the single Outside, which made light of the incident. The accompanying video depicted mock scenes from the arrest with Michael dressed as an LA policeman.

Earlier this year, he was photographed slumped at the wheel of his car and cautioned by police for possessing cannabis.

But his enduring popularity was confirmed after announcing he would tour again – which immediately became a sell-out. All tickets for his UK tour were snapped up within two hours, and three extra dates were added. The artist will play two more dates in Manchester before further concerts in Glasgow, London and Birmingham. His new album, Twenty Five, was released on Monday.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breaking/story.asp?j=232740365&p=z3z74yy8x&n=232741251

Vanavond, om 21:00 uur Nederlandse tijd, wordt er een uur lang een interview met George uitgezonden.

BBC Radio heeft een "listen live" link op deze pagina:

link naar BBC Radio

Tweede Manchester-concert vanavond.

Ok, de foto’s staan erin… ga nog maar eens kijken

1 en 2 november
4 november

Rula and Bianca berichten dat George in een praatgrage bui en erg grappig was. EN dat hij z’n zonnebril afdeed. EN dat hij vliegtuigje speelde.
Wordt vervolgd… (de meiden houden hun schoonheidsslaapje)

Vananavond is het eerste concert in de UK: Manchester (no 30). Rula, Bianca en Marj zijn erbij.

ManGeorge Michael announces a special free concert
for NHS nurses at the Round House
Wednesday 20th December 2006!

This exclusive concert will mark the end of George Michael’s sell-out European 25 Live tour which will have played at 49 venues across Europe.

George Michael says: Almost ten years ago, during the last week of my mother’s life, I told my friends and family that if I ever played my own concerts again, I would make sure to do a free one for NHS nurses. The nurses that helped my family at that time were incredible people, and I realised just how undervalued these amazing people are. And so I want to thank them with a Xmas concert, I can’t wait. Neither can the tour crew, for entirely different reasons.

If you are a National Health Service registered nurse and would like the opportunity of getting a pair of tickets to this very special event, click here to enter!

source: http://www.georgemichael.com/ticket_giveaway.php

(excerpt from Shoot The Dog, and in my head all the way back from Antwerp to Rotterdam, also thanks to Nicole)

We have seats in Antwerp today. Quite good, we think: section 113, which seems to be right next to the stage.
We (Herma, Nico and I) drive up from Rotterdam to Antwerp in a bit over one hour, arriving at 16:00 hrs. There’s a small crowd waiting in front of the entrance (under a little roof… lucky bastards) and after a quick chat

(thanks for the little Dutch "banners", Annemiek)

…we walk up to where we parked our car…

(convenienantly and by coincidence (sort of) …very close to the back stage lounge)

…and take some pics of the three of us, two cars (the black MPV and the black passenger car) pass us. I’m actually standing with my back to them, so that I notice them too late. Oh well, George’s in. Let’s start.

We try to hear a bit of soundcheck but the glass in the emergency exit doors don’t help.

We have a long dinner at a "snackbar" on the other side of the street: while George’s occupied with Evian and sushi, we eat Belgium "friet" and Belgium "hotchpotch".

We meet up with Lex (old friend of Her’s), chat a bit and go inside.
And then we see our seats!
Man!
They’re practically ON stage!
Oh well, a bit exaggerated, but definately the best seats we could get. I’m in row 9 and Herma, Nicole and Marj (who’s already there) in the in front of me, and there’re only two rows in front of them (so in fact the rows start at 6 in Belgium? *scratches head*). The only thing to complain is (hey! I’m from Rotterdam, that’s what we do!) is that we’re on the right side of the stage. George’s definately preferred the left side (his right hand) so far.

So, we begin. This is Antwerp’s setlist (and I made this one all by myself this time… well, almost that is ):
Waiting
Flawless
Fast Love
Father Figure
Everything She Wants
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
Praying For Time
Too Funky
You Have Been Loved
Star People
Shoot The Dog
– break –
Faith
Spinning The Wheel
Jesus To a Child
Amazing
I’m Your Man
Outside
Careless Whisper
Freedom 90

As we’re on the right side of the stage and very close to it, I wonder whether we’ll be able to see George standing behind the stage before it opens after Waiting. We don’t.
George’s doing some funny arm movements at the beginning of Flawless (that’s our boy: inventing his own "steps" all the time… we all know the feet movements, now we can practice the arm movements as well: hold one arm in front of you, make a fist and stretch the arm. Then, pull it back in and do the same with your other arm. Then, pull this one back in and stretch the first arm again. Repeat this a couple of times (three maximum), in time to the music of Flawless). Antwerp get its own "Antwerp! You gotta go to the city!"  Good thing George isn’t doing cities with thirty-letter-city-names .

Father Figure, although performed flawless with fancy foot work by George, is the song – I hate to say it – I’d like to see replaced by, for instance, One More Try. I’ve heard FF live so many times now, that I start noticing the Antwerp audience, that is not as enthusiastic as it should be, I think. It’s a lot of hard work for George tonight ("how’s everybody in the back on the floor?!" *waves* "How’s everybody in the back?!"  *waves*  etc). The people in the section next to ours (114) keep their seats during the bigger part of the show. The first half anyway. I look up during the first four songs, and I see one girl dancing. The rest seem to be grumpy (old) men. Tssjj. Win a contest and must-go?
Everything She Wants gets them on their feet a bit. The crowd is singing along loudly, but as the music seems to be much louder than in Rotterdam, I can’t really hear the crowd. To be honest: I cannot hear myself. Hope my neighbour thinks the same.   Honoring Kris and Ramona, we’re "that’s why I work so hard for you"-ing with our little Dutch banners, but I’m quite positive George misses that. Toward the end of ESW, George walks up to his table and gets a bottle of water, takes a zip, and finishes the song with the water bottle in his hand. Despite the large meal and diet coke just before, I’m already thirsty again and I envy George and his water. Again, during the song he dances with Shirley on the left side of stage.

The two following ballads are beautiful as always. But, because the mic is so loud, it sounds like George is standing next to me and shouting in my ear. Ahem. Maybe a bit too loud. But as Herma, I’m amazed by the strength of his voice, especially as he’s done Cologne yesterday.
I just love to watch George’s hands during Praying For Time.

And then. Too Funky. Maybe I’m completely wrong, but I do think George’s totally wrong (not off key!) there. It doesn’t even sound like his own voice (well, it does, but just like the dark "I think I’m done with the sofa" in Outside is his voice, but at the same time it’s not, know-what-I-mean?), but he sounds like a ventriloquist (yes, I had to look this one up), as if he changed from a falsetto (head-voice) to a chest-voice or the other way round. It isn’t that, I realize that, but something like that. Not even off key, but sort of different tone or so. Don’t know. At one point, George hands over the mic to the audience for a longer time, and when he takes it back he sounds ok for the first few words, but then he’s back again with the odd voice. I think I heard it as well during the first words of Waiting.
Herma and Nicole don’t hear it, so I’m really curious now. I can’t name it what it is, but it’s just odd.

George dissapears again at the start of You Have Been Loved. When he reappears he says a clear and slow "This is for Anselmo".
Star People and Shoot the Dog are the first-half-closers again, and while George "knees up" (really!) to our side to stand with the backing singers, he looks over his shoulder occasionally during the "I believe, I believe" part (of which I now hear he sings along to but not very loud). The Bush puppet doesn’t inflate. Again. George does his thumb-down thing again (but not as long as Nov 4 in Rotterdam; this time it’s clear he’s doing thumbs-down and not wanking ). George stands in front of it when Bush is inflated with the last bit of air (waiting as we know now) and quickly opens the zipper from which the puppy appears, that at his turn doesn’t inflate properly. It finally comes out, George stands there and the song is over. No running around it with the leash this time.
Btw, George has a very long drawing-out (word?) during STD… don’t remember which part though.

During the break, we struggle to get out to make our way back to the entrance/exit area for our drinks. When we make our way back to our seats, the crowd starts counting back from ten. Just as we take our seats, Faith starts.

To me the funniest and most memorable part of the evening is the beginning of Spinning The Wheel (which used to be my favourite by far, before I lost it a bit, and now I’m loving it all over again). Either everyone of this audience (15.000 maybe?) has been to other shows, or has seen the youtube videos or whatever, but even before George shows us how to do the Spinning The Wheel-arm gesture (window cleaning, but in time to the music of STW and ofcourse without sponge and wash-leather) the crowd is doing it. George smiles when he sees it.

Jesus To A Child.
Jesus To A Child.
The end of Jesus To A Child, when the stage darkens and George walks to the back of the stage, makes me want to be a child again and jump on his back and just hug him. George makes sort of a gesture with his head when he finishes the song, like a shake but not as in disapproval of his performance. More like an acknowledgement of this sad part of his life. . 
Ix92m Your Man and Outside being the songs to jump-dance on before, funnily enough this time, I am jumping and dancing like crazy during Amazing. Making me out of breath even before Ix92m Your Man starts. I am bouncing into the chairs in front of me and behind me and at one point, the guy standing next to me steps aside with a bewildered look on his face. And George is standing at out side of the stage during the part of "celebrate the love of the one you’re with" near the end of the song! Surprised that all the bouncing in front of him isn’t making him sea sick .
Before I’m Your Man starts btw, George says something "…. Wham!" which I cannot make out. George, always making a show at the part when the helicopter comes on screen, jumps up and down (as in old fashioned cheering) three times at the first tones of Outside. Just like Barcelona. This time his pants stay where they should be.

George leaves with a ‘Goodnight!" but is back for his encore pretty quickly, wearing the silver jacket on the black trousers and sings with us ("Ok, we’re gonna do this part together!") Careless Whisper. The second break until the last encore lasts a bit longer, but George gets back on stage before his band is back (putting his hand behind his ear as if he cannot hear us clearly, laughing), and asks us to give our cheer twice as loud for his band and ask us if we have energy for one more. Sure, George. George does the "when you shake your ass" thing on the platform on the left this time, and isn’t as shaky as in Rotterdam. We think.

The two beer in Rotterdam on Nov 2nd (together with my little talk with Her) made me cry; the ones of tonight make me a kangaroo

At the end of Freedom90 I leave my seat to stand at the steps of the first row which is row 6 to have a proper wave at George , who’s standing right in front of me. George finishes, bounces his heart twice, makes one deep bow at center stage (which makes his longer necklace – he was wearing two this time – fall out and dangle in open air).
As he leaves the stage he calls out "See you again!".

We’re having a lot of fun, driving back to Rotterdam, doing "one two one two one two", and recalling the night and making notes. The road’s empty (as we’ve been talking to Lex some more outside, after the show) and we’re home at 2:30 am. Btw, the stage trucks just drive inside the "sportpaleis" via the main entrance to load. Amazing!

…

According to Her and Nico, George’s enjoying it more and more, by the look of his movements and dance steps. To me, November 1 (first Rotterdam) was the highlight of the shows so far, but I must admit and I really don’t know whether George got to feel more comfortable during these weeks (although I do see a difference with Barcelona where he probably was a bit nervous) and the thing I enjoyed so much on Nov 1st was his total surprise by the crowd. Maybe he is getting into it more and more and will he leave us on a ventilator after December 15th.
Anyway, I saw one woman being carried away at the end of Freedom90. This one was in really bad shape, as she had to be carried out by four men (couldn’t even stand anymore).
A further remarkable thing was the media/photographers-section. Kris already told me this, but now I saw it for myself: the audience on the right, are behind a barrier. And before the barrier, there’s the media… that is, for the first fifteen minutes or so. As soon as they leave, the people behind them can move up, but as there’s only one gap, the people that are standing on the side, can move up first. Causing the people that were up front at first, having six rows of people in front of them all of a sudden. Not a very good spot to stand, I assume!

I had a lot of fun tonight, although I was sitting alone (Herma, Nico and Marj sitting the row in front of me) but it’s good to know that I noticed them to have a good time, and they certainly noticed that I did.
And ofcourse I missed quite a few things, like his little ballet manoeuvre (handing us the mic, one knee pulled and one arm stretched behind him; much like a stork, I imagine ) and like the aids ribbon he was wearing during the second half. I hardly watched the big screen so I missed that one.
I think the music and the mic were very loud tonight. In a way I thought the sound was better than in Rotterdam, and George wasn’t fumbling his ear and belly piece as much as he did in Rotterdam and Barcelona.

Thanks to Nicole for the pics; click to enlarge

Net thuis uit Antwerpen (verslag volgt morgen… eh… vandaag.. later dus), en even snel voor nu: ‘k heb weer een flinke hoeveelheid calorieen verbrand vanavond; bedankt George…

Hoera!

Vanavond Antwerpen. Niet te geloven dat ik dit kaartje bijna verkocht had .

…

Hm.

Herma en Nicole wijzen me er net op dat ik m’n paspoort maar mee moet nemen. Technisch gezien zitten we dadelijk in het buitenland.

Hm. Nou,

waar is dat ding?

En vanavond is Duitland’s laatste: Keulen. En tot zo ongeveer een half uur geleden heb ik geprobeerd staankaartjes te versieren, maar aangezien Keulen een van de eerste Duitse concerten was die uitverkocht was, is dat niet gelukt.

Terug in Skandinavie voor concert no 27: Kopenhagen. Kris en Ramona zijn erbij.

Vanavond om 21:30 gaat A Different Story in premiere in de Nederlandse bios. Als deze versie dezelfde is als die van de premiere in Londen een tijdje geleden, krijgen we ten opzichte van de DVD dus weer een beetje meer

Mannheim, Germany: concert no 26

Trxe4nen auf dem Schmuseteppich

Der 43-jxe4hrige britische Superstar George Michael feiert sein 25-jxe4hriges Berufsjubilxe4um mit einer seltenen Konzert-Tournee

**
Im Berliner Velodrom brachte er mit seiner hohen Kunst des Soul-Kitsches nicht nur Mxe4dchen zum Weinen.
**
Irgendwann zur Halbzeit des Konzerts wird man George Michael kurzeinmal bitterbxf6se sein. Der vom reiferen, an den Schlxe4fen ebenso wieder Kxfcnstler vom Frxfchherbst des Lebens aufgehellten und also sehrtreuen Publikum im Berliner Velodrom (pausbxe4ckig wie frxfcher imZeitalter der Neonfarben und der Legginghosen auch fxfcr Mxe4nner)bekreischte Mann hat schliexdflich einiges auf dem Kerbholz.

DieRede ist hier nicht vom etwas verunglxfcckten Coming-out auf einerHerrentoilette damals in den 90er-Jahren in Los Angeles. Und auch dieurarge Schandtat, dass George Michael gerade in einem Fernsehinterviewdas Rauchen von einer lustigen Zigarette dann und wann – dafxfcr aberregelmxe4xdfig – fxfcr fesch befindet, mag uns nicht wirklich erschxfcttern.Bloxdf danach Autofahren und mitten auf einer Kreuzung einbxfcseln, wiejxfcngst in London geschehen, das ist nun wirklich nicht besondersglamourxf6s.

Aber Schwamm drxfcber. So sind sie, unsere Kxfcnstler,wild, kreativ und nur mit schxe4rfster Anwendung des Strafgesetzbuchs indie Gesellschaft halbwegs integrierbar. Am besten in Steueroasen. Dasind sie unter sich und kxf6nnen sich nur gegenseitig Schaden zufxfcgen undverspotten.

Bxf6se muss man George Michael fxfcr etwas ganz anderessein. Dass es mittlerweile Horden und Generationen unbegabterer,uncharismatischerer und verzagterer Buben gibt, die ihm auf seinem Wegins Herz des ewig juvenilen Schmachtens nachfolgen wollen, das machteinen zwischendurch richtig sauer.

George Michael muss mit seinenwenigen Soloalben nicht nur zu den talentiertesten Songwritern seinerGeneration gerechnet werden. Das geht in den bombastischen und vorErgriffenheit xfcber die eigenen Gesangmanierismen oft xfcberbuchtenArrangements leider oft unter.

Mit seinem alten Duo Wham! undakustischem Kampfstoff wie Last Christmas, in dem er 1984 allen Mxe4dchender Welt sein Herz schenkte und gleichzeitig das Motiv der zxe4rtlichenSchneeballschlacht in die Videoclip-Geschichte einfxfchrte, grxfcndete erdas noch heute im Amt und in der Bravo befindliche, fxfcr xe4ltere Leutemeist wegen des ungeschickten Mischungsverhxe4ltnisses zwischen zu vielTestosteron und zu wenig Erfahrung wxfcrdelos erscheinende Genre derBoybands. Die befinden sich schmerzensreich und harmonisch mit demRefrain, aber nicht der Welt im Einklang und: leiden, leiden, leiden.Uuuuuh-yeah! Ach, ja: Danke, Gott, es gibt dich! Live in Berlin fehltLast Christmas. George Michael will uns unterhalten, nicht umbringen.

Dafxfcraber ist George Michael gxfctig mit den ganz alten Fans und schenkt ihnenaus der Wham!-Zeit gar nicht einmal so peinliche Titel wie EverythingShe Wants und I’m Your Man. Letzteres als Hxf6hepunkt vor den Zugaben.Ein Klassiker der Hemmungslosigkeit und Lebensfreude als Klimax einersonst von minimaler Ausstattung und Lebensreife geprxe4gten zweistxfcndigenShow. Auf einem dreigeschoxdfigen Turmbau zu Daddel rocken sich inklusiveschmal gefxfchrtem Gospelchor drei Hand voll Weltmeister an denInstrumenten dorthin, wo die Herzen schmelzen und die Wellen der Liebezum Weltuntergang im – wie der Franzose sagt – kleinen Tod fxfchren.

Ja,George Michael als noch immer unumschrxe4nkter Kxf6nig des weixdfen Soulschreibt unfassbar kitschige, an der Welt ebenso verzweifelnde wie sieumarmen wollende und deshalb natxfcrlich grxf6xdfer als das Leben selbstklingende Orgien als Weihespiele von Eros und Thanatos. Auf einer denhalben Bxfchnenraum einnehmenden und mit kosmischen Las-Vegas-Effektenbespielten dreidimensonalen LED-Leinwand steht ein Mann, der sich mitseinen 43 Jahren auf der Hxf6he seine Kxf6nnens befindet und live ganz aufdie Strahlkraft seiner Heldenbrust vertraut. Nur wenige Showeffektesind beim Konzert eingeplant. Eine zur Halbzeit auf vier Meter, nun ja,aufgeblasene George-W.-Bush-Puppe, an der sich vorne an der Hosentxfcreine britische Bulldogge zu schaffen macht, mag als beinhartepolitische Kritik an seiner Heimat zu deuten sein.

Dxe4mme brechen

Sonstjedoch regiert zwischen Phasen des verschwitzten Discotanzens (Waiting,Too Funky, Shoot The Dog …) der von einem Barhocker herabdargebrachte reine Schmelz. The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face(schluchz), You Have Been Loved (heul), Jesus To A Child (buhu). Allesnur Vorstufen. Am Ende lxe4sst George I., Kxf6nig der Ausschweifung imeigenen Gefxfchlshaushalt, endgxfcltig alle Dxe4mme brechen. Wir waten ineinem Tal der Trxe4nen durch die triefend nassen Flokatiteppiche der80er-Jahre: Careless Whisper. Das Leid der Welt, in drei Minuten. Aberhalt: dann doch noch – Freedom!!!

George Michael hat uns fertiggemacht. Restlos. Was kxf6nnen wir noch fxfcr ihn tun? Vielleicht drauxdfenein T-Shirt mit der Aufschrift "Too Funky" kaufen. Altes Herz wirdwieder jung!

Der britische Autor Martin Amis wurde jetzt gebeten,seine Eindrxfccke von Las Vegas in einem Wort zusammenzufassen:"Unislamisch." Diesen Ehrentitel hat sich auch Kxf6nig George verdient.Oh ja. (Christian Schachinger/DER STANDARD, Print-Ausgabe, 8. 11. 2006)

http://derstandard.at/?url=/?id=2650813

Ein Konzert wie ein opulenter Videoclip

Mit seiner Show "25 live" fxfchrt George Michael im Velodrom durch ein Vierteljahrhundert Popmusik

Hxe4tte er sich anstatt seines Marihuana-Konsums aufs Trinken verlegt,er wxfcrde – "oh my god" – aussehen wie Keith Richards. Doch er beliexdf esbei den Joints: George Michael ist mit seinen 43 Jahren der sexySunnyboy geblieben, als der er bereits aus der Zeit seiner Band "Wham!"bekannt ist. Seit 15 Jahren ist er in Deutschland nicht aufgetreten,seine Fangemeinde dadurch jedoch nicht kleiner geworden – imausverkauften Velodrom fieberten rund 10 000 Konzertbesucher demAuftritt ihres Idols entgegen.

"Here I am" – mit dieser Textzeile tritt er hinaus in den Beifall,in dezent-dunklem Anzug, mit korrekt frisiertem Dreitagebart undmattbrauner Sonnenbrille. Die Bxfchnenkonstruktion stellt allein ihn inden Vordergrund: Michael agiert auf einer Art riesigen Leuchttapete,die als Rxfcckwand herabhxe4ngt und sich unter seinen Fxfcxdfen hinweg vorn inden Graben wxf6lbt. Auf einem Gerxfcst mit drei Ebenen sind links undrechts die Musiker drapiert. Aufwxe4ndige Bildeffekte schlxe4ngeln sichxfcber die Leuchtflxe4che – knallig bunte Diskolichter oderballadentaugliche Farbflxe4chen, mal sitzt Michael vor einemSonnenuntergang im Wasser, mal dient ein Hubschrauberflug durchvirtuelle Stadtlandschaften als Song-Illustration.

Das Konzert ist perfekt – fast zu perfekt – durchchoreographiert.Die Szenerie wechselt bestxe4ndig zwischen aufputschend-funkigenDiskohymnen und einer Auswahl aus dem reichhaltigen Balladen-RepertoireGeorge Michaels. Nicht alle dieser Pop-Schmonzetten sind soberauschend, wie der Beifall, mit dem sie belohnt werden. Bei Stxfcckenwie "Jesus To A Child" oder "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"allerdings zieht der Stimmvirtuose die versammelte Zuhxf6rerschaft ineinen Bann, wie es nur wenige Sxe4nger schaffen.

Doch auf die schnulzigen Popsongs allein lxe4sst sich George MichaelsMusik nicht reduzieren. Im eingespielten Video zum satirischen "ShootThe Dog" beispielsweise wird Tony Blair auf deftige Weise alsSchoxdfhxfcndchen von George W. Bush verulkt. Im Jahr 2003 hatte sichGeorge Michael damit eindeutig zur Irakkriegs-Debatte positioniert.

Der Musiker George Michael scheut sich nicht, Stellung zu beziehen -Ungereimtheiten inklusive. Er singt an gegen die Doppelmoral – "charityis a coat you wear twice a year" – und gibt sein nach 85 Millionenverkauften Platten reichlich verdientes Geld selbst fxfcr jedwedeLuxusallxfcren aus: von etagenweise gebuchten Fxfcnf-Sterne-Hotels, wie fxfcrseinen Auftritt in Berlin, bis hin zum Privatjet.

Trotzdem wirkt er glaubwxfcrdiger als manch einer seiner Kollegen,nicht obwohl, sondern weil er sich den Anforderungen des Medienbetriebsnach stxe4ndiger Verfxfcgbarkeit nicht stellen will. Immer wieder hat ervermeintliche Rxfcckschlxe4ge erlitten: sein endgxfcltiges Coming Out, einenim prxfcden Amerika als "sittenwidrig" verurteilten Zwischenfall aufeiner xf6ffentlichen Toilette oder Festnahmen wegen Drogenmissbrauchs.Seinem Ruf hat all dies nicht geschadet – im Gegenteil: George Michaelist gerade wegen seiner nur allzu verstxe4ndlichen Ecken und Kanten einSympathietrxe4ger von erstaunlichem Format. 2004 war er trotz jahrelangerUntxe4tigkeit der meistgespielte Popstar im britischen Radio.

Mit dem Hit "Faith" liefert er den offensiven Auftakt fxfcr die zweiteKonzerthxe4lfte, mit drei seiner tanzbarsten funkigen Diskonummern denumjubelten Abschluss. Doch erst nach der Pflichtzugabe "CarelessWhisper", dem Song, der die Teenager-Trxe4umereien einer ganzenGeneration geprxe4gt hat, lassen sich die begeisterten Fans willig nachHause schicken.

Ob der als schxfcchtern geltende George Michael dem Musikgeschxe4ftwirklich wie angekxfcndigt den Rxfccken kehrt, wird man sehen. Er braucheweder das Geld, noch geniexdfe er seinen Ruhm, so Michael in einemInterview. Wenn ihm die Fans wie in Berlin zu Fxfcxdfen liegen, scheint erdas Bad in der Menge doch zu geniexdfen.

http://www.morgenpost.de/content/2006/11/08/feuilleton/864434.html

Triumph statt Abschied

Comeback eines Abgeschriebenen: George Michael im Berliner Velodrom

Von Frederik Hanssen
Wie konnte denn das passieren? Auf dem offiziellen Foto fxfcr seine x8425Livex93-Tour sieht George Michael aus wie Andrea Bocelli. Okay, dieSonnenbrille ist auch sein Markenzeichen. Doch dieser leicht zum Bodengeneigte Kopf, der beim Lachen gexf6ffnete Mund, der Stoppelbart, dasalles kopiert die Bildsprache des italienischen Schlagertenors.

Andererseits: x84Time to say good-byex93, das waren auch George MichaelsWorte, damals, im Februar 2004 im Kino International, nach derBerlinale-Premiere des bewegenden biografischen Dokumentarfilms x84ADifferent Storyx93. Ohne den Namen seines Erbprinzen Robbie Williams zunennen, erklxe4rte er, jetzt seien mal Jxfcngere dran. Er kxf6nne sich jaandere Beschxe4ftigungen suchen, beispielsweise Musicals komponieren. Eingroxdfer Abgang eines Groxdfen der Popgeschichte kxfcndigte sich an. Demxfctig,erhobenen Hauptes. Die Fangemeinde weinte Trxe4nen der Rxfchrung.

Jetzt steht er trotzdem wieder auf der Bxfchne, ohne sichtbarenComeback-Willen, ja selbst ohne aktuelles Album. Dass George Michaelseit 25 Jahren im Showbusiness arbeitet, muss Anlass genug sein fxfcr dieEuropatournee, auf der er am Montag im Berliner Velodrom haltmachte.Wer um alles in der Welt hat ihn da rausgeschubst? Seine Plattenfirma x96weil sich die Labels daran gewxf6hnt haben, mit dem Recycling vonx84Altstarsx93 noch einmal krxe4ftig Schotter zu machen? EineGreatest-Hits-Doppel-CD ist angekxfcndigt (obwohl es die mit x84Ladies& Gentlemenx93 eigentlich bereits gibt). Oder hat ihn sein Therapeutbedrxe4ngt?

Zuletzt hatte es jede Menge hxe4ssliche Geschichtenxfcber den Sxe4nger gegeben, peinliche Zusammenstxf6xdfe mit der Polizei, dieihn mal x84komatxf6sx93 hinterm Steuer seines Wagens fand, mal von einemKofferraum voller Sexspielzeuge xfcberrascht wurde. Und dann dieser Jointbeim TV-Interview. In der Branche jedenfalls gilt der Popveteran alsderart abgehalftert, dass sich schon Jungstars wie die Arctic Monkeystrauen, xfcber den Giganten mit 85 Millionen verkauften Alben und sechsNr.1-Hits allein in den USA herzuziehen. x84Wir mxfcssen jetzt wegx93, grxf6ltedie Band bei der Verleihung der x84Q-Awardsx93 vergangene Woche in Londonins Mikro. x84George Michael will uns mitnehmen, und auf dem Weg nachHause kommen wir an sechs Ampeln und drei xf6ffentlichen Toilettenvorbei.x93

So ein Auftritts-Marathon durch zwxf6lf Lxe4nderschlaucht, vor allem wenn die letzte Tour 15 Jahre zurxfcckliegt. Abersie hilft auch, sich zur Professionalitxe4t zu zwingen, die Gedanken zufokussieren, schmerzliche Erinnerungen eine Zeit lang zu verdrxe4ngen.Also hat sich George Michael aufgemacht, mit engem Terminplan, MontagBerlin, gestern Hamburg, am Donnerstag ist er in Mannheim, am 13.November in Kxf6ln, zum Abschluss dann vier Abende im LondonerWembley-Stadium.

Die Bxfchne ist spektakulxe4r: eine Welle, diesich aus dem Boden erhebt, eine Tanzflxe4che fxfcr den Kxfcnstler bietet, umdann im rasanten Schwung gen Hallendach aufzusteigen. EinHightech-Wunder, ein gigantischer LCD-Bildschirm, xfcber den unablxe4ssigComputeranimationen und Filmsequenzen flimmern. Im Hintergrund ist dieBand auf einer Art Hochlager-Regal platziert, Txe4nzer gibt es keine,manchmal dxfcrfen die Backgroundsxe4nger mit nach vorne. So bleibt die Showziemlich virtuell x96 denn ein Bxfchnentier ist George Michael nun wirklichnicht. Von dieser wunderbar warmen, menschlichen Stimme aber mag mansich immer noch gerne umarmen lassen: x84Faster Lovex93, x84Father Figurex93,x84Praying For Timex93. Bei x84Everything She Wantsx93 ruft er x84von 1984!x93 insMikro. Mein Gott, ist das wirklich schon so lange her?

Und dannwird George Michael politisch: Zu x84Shoot The Dogx93 wird eine riesigeBush-Puppe aufgeblasen, dem eine britische Bulldogge am offenenHosenstall hxe4ngt. Wohlfeiler Jubel. 20 Minuten Pause. Auch wenn dieStimmung im Innenrund bis dahin nicht wirklich bis zur Euphoriehochgekocht ist: Die Fans im restlos ausverkauften Velodrom sind bereitzur Silberhochzeitsparty. Die meisten haben ihren Treueschwur schon vor25 Jahren geleistet: in guten wie in schlechten Tagen. Zum Dank gibtx92sim zweiten Teil ausschliexdflich x84Weixdft du nochx93-Nummern, als Disco-Mixmit eingestreuten Balladen, x84Faithx93, x84Spinning The Wheelx93, x84Jesus To AChildx93 und, als Zugaben, x84Careless Whisperx93 und x84Freedomx93. Punkt 22.30Uhr beginnt der Abspann xfcber den Megascreen zu laufen, eine endloseNamensschlange wie im Kino. Ein Happy End?

http://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/archiv/08.11.2006/2883463.asp

Hier bin ich!

Comeback nach 15 Jahren: George Michaels Popkonzert in Berlin

ERIK HEIER

Das Unangenehme zuerst: DerMann auf der Bxfchne des Velodroms – schwarzer Anzug, Gelfrisur, getxf6nteBrille – sieht aus wie einer jener schmierigen Vermxf6gensberater, dienach der Wende in den neuen Lxe4ndern auf Werbeveranstaltungenarbeitslosen Zwangsumschxfclern zuraunten: "Mit Ihnen habe ich nochGroxdfes vor." Und sein Wiegetanzstil kxf6nnte auch das Resultat einesWiedergeburtsexperiments mit Costa Cordalis, Tony Marschall und DavidHasselhoff sein, die sich dabei leider einen einzigen Kxf6rper teilenmxfcssen.

George Michael war der beste Sxe4nger der 80er Jahre.Wham! hat damals wohl jeder mal gemocht; wolkigen Frisuren, weixdfenZahnleisten und bonbonfarbener Berufsbekleidung zum Trotz. Das istschon eine Weile her. Aber George Michaels Stimme ist immer noch einEreignis. Wenn es xfcberhaupt eines Grundes bedurfte, ihn nach 15 Jahrenwieder auf Tour zu erleben, dann diesen. "Hier bin ich", singt er beimOpener "Waiting (Reprise)" glockenhell: "Ist es zu spxe4t, es noch einmalzu versuchen?" Ist es nicht. Nie.

Man sieht sie George Michaelam Montagabend an, diese Gelxf6stheit, diese unbxe4ndige Freude, wenn vorihm all die Frauen noch einmal das Mxe4dchen in sich fxfchlen, das irgendwoin ihnen verschxfctt gegangen ist. "Lasst mich Hxe4nde sehen", ruft er,und: "1984!" Dann donnert er den Wham!-Klassiker "Everything she wants"heraus. Die einzigen, die jetzt noch sitzen, sind Journalisten oderEhemxe4nner, die eben mitmussten.

Und man gxf6nnt dem 43-Jxe4hrigendieses Comeback einfach nach all dem Dreck, der hinter ihm liegt: derTod des ersten Lebensgefxe4hrten und der Mutter, das dxe4mliche Coming Outin einem Klohxe4uschen in Los Angeles, der langjxe4hrige Zoff mit derPlattenfirma. Grxf6xdfenwahn und Groteske, Tragik und Drama, Ego undEinsicht.

Wohl liexdfe sich bekritteln, die Show laufe ohneSpontanitxe4t ab und ohne groxdfe xdcberraschungen. Dass zum kontroversen"Shoot the Dog" eine britische Gummibulldogge am Hosenlatz einesgroxdfflxe4chig aufgeblasenen George W. Bush knabbern wxfcrde, wusste manvorher. Aber sei’s drum: George Michael entsichert einfach eine gutgexf6lte, fehlerlos intonierte und altersgerecht choreographierteMaschinerie. In Viereinhalb-Minuten-Portionen verabreichteGlxfcckseligkeit. Da folgt dem zur schlichten Klavierballadeumarrangierten "Praying for Time" der dumpfe Stampfer "Too Funky" unddem herzergreifenden "Jesus to a Child" das mxe4chtige "Amazing". Undbeim markanten Saxophon-Intro kurz vor Schluss liegen sich Paare,Freundinnen, Zufallsnachbarn in den Armen. "Careless Whisper". Ach ja.

Letztendlichsind die zwei Stunden mit George Michael ein bisschen so wie dieVideowand, die in die Bxfchne xfcbergeht und an deren Seiten dieformidablen Begleitmusiker, der sechskxf6pfige Chor, auf einem Gerxfcstarrangiert sind: ein fluoreszierendes Wunder, eine Farbexplosion. Undam Ende ist es doch nur ein groxdfes, schwarzes Tuch, das makelloseIllusionen schafft.

So ist Pop.

http://www.maerkischeallgemeine.de/cms/beitrag/10813628/63369/

Der Armani-Mann

So wechselt man in Wxfcrde vom Vorstadtstechertum insCharakterfach. George Michael ist aus Anlass seines 25-jxe4hrigenBxfchnenjubilxe4ums auf Tour. Montag war er in Berlin

Wenn das nicht etwas Besonderes ist: ein Konzert, auf dem man seinenFriseur, seinen Dealer und seinen Vermieter trifft (und dafxfcr keinenseiner Freunde oder Kollegen). Vor elf Jahren war George Michael dasletzte Mal in Berlin: bei den MTV European Music Awards 1994, als dasBrandenburger Tor wunderbar fliedern eingefxe4rbt und damit hellsichtigder Berliner xdcbergang von dunkler deutscher Vergangenheit in dieheitere Popkulturzukunft signalisiert wurde. Und nun ist er wieder da.Ohne wirklichen Anlass zwar, auch wenn es die Tour zum 25-jxe4hrigenBxfchnenjubilxe4um sein soll und eine dazugehxf6rige Best-of-Doppel-CD aufden Markt gekommen ist. Diese unterscheidet sich allerdings nurunwesentlich von der Werkxfcbersicht aus den spxe4ten Neunzigern und einengroxdfen Teil der 25 Jahre ist George Michael wegen eines Streits mitseiner Plattenfirma xfcberhaupt nicht aufgetreten – doch das ist imGrunde auch unwichtig. Wer Musik auf aktuelle Statements hin hxf6rt, istohnehin zu Hause geblieben. Bei George Michael geht es um anderes.

Etwa um seine Stimme. Diesen wunderbaren George-Michael-Tenor, dieeinzige weixdfe Soulstimme der vergangenen zwanzig Jahre. Oder um dieseganz eigene Kxf6rpersprache, die er seit den Wham!-Tagen entwickelt hat.Diese Art, wie er die Hxfcften schwenkt, mit angewinkelten Armen in dieHxe4nde klatscht und dabei glxfccklich den Kopf zur Seite wirft. Und um dieHits geht es, selbstverstxe4ndlich. 25 Jahre Gefxfchl und Erinnerungen anGefxfchl. Vom "Wham Rap" xfcber "I’m Your Man" und "Careless Whisper" biszu "Fastlove".

Es sind zwei Genres, die George Michael mit gleicher Perfektionbespielt. Da gibt es die Uptempo-Nummern wie "Flawless" oder eben"Fastlove", die das Konzert auch einleiten. Sie funktionieren nach demPrinzip "House fxfcr alle", sind xfcber einen mxe4chtigen, rumsendenFour-To-The-Floor-Beat gebaut und holen das Publikum da ab, wo essteht: Eine Gruppe Jungs beginnt bei "Star People" zu tanzen, als seiensie Go-go-Txe4nzer und hxe4tten ein Podest.

Und es gibt die so bewegenden wie rxfchrenden Downtempo-Stxfccke wie"Jesus To A Child" oder Roberta Flacks "The First Time Ever I Saw YourFace" – George Michael gibt sie ganz alleine, einzeln angestrahlt imDunkel der Riesenbxfchne, als wollte er Ansprxfcche auf eine kommendeKarriere anmelden, die des Frank Sinatra fxfcr das Jahr 2015, des groxdfenEntertainers, der sich mit traumwandlerischer Sicherheit durch dasSongbook der populxe4ren Musik zu singen vermag.

Tatsxe4chlich ist George Michaels Karriere ja auch ein wunderbarerEntwicklungsroman: Zum einen jener von der blondierten Euphorie desTeeniestars mit Wham! zum Eisdielen-Machismo seines ersten Solo-Albums"Faith", als er sich gerne in verwaschenen Jeans, weixdfenFeinripp-Unterhemden und Tropfen-Sonnenbrille ablichten liexdf. Fxfcr"Listen Without Prejudice" xfcberliexdf er die visuelle Kommunikation dendamals gerade neu erschaffenen Supermodels, um schliexdflich mit "Older",einem der schxf6nsten Alben der Neunziger, wieder aufzutauchen: als derArmani-Mann mit offenem Hemd und goldenem Kreuz auf der Brust, der erseither geblieben ist und als der er hier auf der Bxfchne steht. Bis derSeidenanzug durchgeschwitzt ist.

Zum anderen erzxe4hlt George Michael aber noch eine andere Geschichte:wie man es mit Wxfcrde schafft, vom frxf6hlichen Vorstadtstechertum undMxe4dchenschwarmdasein in die Charakterrolle desjenigen xfcberzuwechseln,der seinen Lebensgefxe4hrten verliert. Wie man schwul wird, ohne damithausieren gehen zu mxfcssen – und wie man in dem Augenblick, als man fxfcrseine sexuelle Identitxe4t an den Pranger gestellt werden soll, allesrichtig machen kann. Indem man nxe4mlich ein libertinxe4resLieben-und-lieben-lassen-Utopia entwirft, in dem fxfcr alle Platz ist."Outside", das Stxfcck, in dem er den Skandal um seine Verhaftung aufeiner xf6ffentlichen Toilette in Los Angeles verarbeitete, war dann auchdas am stxe4rksten umjubelte Stxfcck des Abends.

Schxf6n auch, wie es ihm gelingt, dem amerikanischen Prxe4sidenten sogardas Cowboy-Image zu entreixdfen, indem er ihn als Comicfigur aus dem"Shoot The Dog"-Video in einer den Village People nachempfundenenPopgruppe tanzen lxe4sst.

TOBIAS RAPP

http://www.taz.de/pt/2006/11/08/a0205.1/text

George Michael hxe4lt Hotellerie auf Trab

Suitenin zwei Top-Hotels. Sushi, Gymnastikball und 406 Handtxfccher in derGarderobe. Bis in die spxe4te Nacht war jedoch nicht klar, ob derexaltierte Popstar xfcberhaupt in Berlin xfcbernachten wxfcrde.

                              Ein Mann, viele Sonderwxfcnsche. Der britische Popstar George Michael (43)sorgte gestern, kurz vor seinem Auftritt im Velodrom, fxfcr Irritationenin der Stadt. Im noblen Fxfcnf-Sterne-Hotel Concorde von Direktor Carsten Colmorgen an der Augsburger Straxdfe hatte Michael mehr als 100 Zimmer gebucht. Fxfcr seine Band, sein Management um Michael Lippman, seinen Masseur Ronald Jones undsich selbst. In seiner Suite (100 Quadratmeter groxdf, Panorama-Blickxfcber die Stadt, begehbarer Kleiderschrank, Kingsize-Bett, zweiFlatscreens) hatte er einige Extrawxfcnsche angemeldet. Wie man hxf6rt,bestellte er weixdfe Rosen, viele Flaschen Evian, eine ganze Schale mitfrischen xc4pfeln, zusxe4tzlich eine Obstauswahl (Erdbeeren undBrombeeren), die nicht mundgerecht geschnitten parat liegen sollten.

Wxe4hrend im Concorde die Mitarbeiter den hohen Besuch erwarteten,schlugen ihre Kollegen im Ost-Teil der Stadt die Betten fxfcr GeorgeMichael auf. Im Regent am Gendarmenmarkt von Wolfgang Nitschkehatte der Sxe4nger nxe4mlich auch Suiten gebucht, die er nach dem Konzertaufsuchen wollte. Am spxe4ten Nachmittag konnten wir einen Fahrer dabeibeobachten, wie er mit Limousine vom Regent aufbrach, um ein paarBesorgungen fxfcr George Michael zu erledigen.

Bis in die spxe4te Nacht war jedoch nicht klar, ob der exaltierte Popstarxfcberhaupt in Berlin xfcbernachten wxfcrde, oder – wie meist nach Konzerten- mit seinem Privatjet zurxfcck in sein eigenes Bett nach London fliegenwxfcrde, um heute von dort aus wieder nach Hamburg, zu seinem nxe4chstenKonzert zu jetten. Fxfcr Normalsterbliche ein nicht nachvollziehbarerUmweg, aber einer, der von George Michael schon mehrfach praktiziertwurde.

Fxfcr seinen Aufenthalt im Velodrom gab George Michael auch gleich nochSonderwxfcnsche an. In seiner Garderobe, die er "Dressing Room" nennt,drapierte der Tourveranstalter Sushi und frische Blumen, Dixe4t-Cola(dafxfcr macht Michael Werbung), Evian-Wasser und einen Gymnastik-Ball.Vor dem Auftritt gab’s ein Aufwxe4rmprogramm mit Massage und Einsingenmit den Background-Sxe4ngerinnen. Helferinnen hielten 406Frottee-Handtxfccher fxfcr Michael und seine 15 Musiker und denBackgroundchor bereit.

Der Mann mit legendxe4rem Dreitage-Bart und Sonnenbrille ist doch immerwieder fxfcr xdcberraschungen gut. Das Verwirrspiel und die Sonderwxfcnschein Berlin sind aber noch harmlos gegen das, was er sich jxfcngst inLondon erlaubt hat. Dort wurde er von der Polizei mitten auf einerStraxdfenkreuzung schlafend im Auto erwischt. Und bei einem Interview mitdem britischen Fernsehen rauchte er genxfcsslich einen Joint. Immerhin:Mit seinem Bxfchnen-Comeback und der Wiederbelebung seiner Hits aus den80ern wie "Faith" (1987), "Father Figure" (1987) und "Careless Whisper"(1984) wird Michael seine Fans in Deutschland berauschen. Sagenhafte 80Millionen Schallplatten hat er wxe4hrend seiner Karriere verkauft, nach15 Jahren ist er jetzt wieder auf Tournee. Sein geschxe4tztesPrivatvermxf6gen: 750 Millionen Euro. Da darf man sich schon mal Mxe4tzchenerlauben. Da kommt es auf ein unbenutztes, aber zu bezahlendesHotelzimmer mehr nun wirklich nicht an…

                              Berlins Regierender Bxfcrgermeister und bekennender George-Michael-Fan Klaus Wowereit,der sich wxe4hrend der Berlinale im Februar 2005 mit Michael zu einemprivaten Dinner beim Szene-Italiener "Bocca di Bacco" getroffen hatte,konnte gestern Abend aus Termingrxfcnden nicht zu dessen Konzert insVelodrom kommen. Wowereit war Schirmherr der Benefizgala "Kxfcnstlergegen Aids" im Theater des Westens. "Der Regierende wird um 19.15 Uhrerscheinen und sehr lange auf der Veranstaltung bleiben", bestxe4tigteuns gestern ein Sprecher des Senats.

Bliebe aber noch dieChance auf ein spxe4tes Treffen, beispielsweise in der Paris Bar, die vomTheater fuxdflxe4ufig leicht zu erreichen ist.

Artikel erschienen am 07.11.2006

http://www.welt.de/data/2006/11/07/1102162.html

Hamburg vanavond; concert no 25.

Kris en Ramona hebben een geweldige avond gehad, gisteren in Berlijn; George had een antwoord (of eigenlijk: hij was ze voor) op hun Everything She Wants-routine