Джордж Майкл: Альбом «Older» и борьба за свободу творчества.

Older is the third studio album by English singer songwriter George Michael, released on 13 May 1996 in Europe by Virgin Records and Aegean Records. The American release, which occurred one day later, was the first album released by DreamWorks Records. It was Michael's first studio album since 1990's Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 – the five and a half year gap was due to the legal battle that Michael experienced with his former record company Sony Music. Michael dedicated three years to the recording of Older, and the album found him exploring new musical territories in a more serious fashion compared to his previous work. At the time of release, the album was a huge commercial hit, particularly in Europe. In the UK, the album was particularly notable for producing a record six top three hit singles in a two year span. The high sales of the album prompted a re issue of the album, titled Older & Upper, eighteen months after the original release.

Following the release of Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 (1990), George Michael accused record label owners Sony Music of failing to promote the album as well as lacklustre support for his charity recordings (particularly contributions to the Red Hot AIDS Benefit Series) and requested to be released from his contract. A bitter legal battle ensued through the courts, ultimately resulting in a loss to Michael. During the court battle, Michael stated that he would refuse to release any new material through Sony under his name should he lose the lawsuit. Whilst essentially holding true to his word, Michael was not completely absent from the recording world during the six years between Listen Without Prejudice and Older. After a huge hit with a live duet with Elton John on "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (that reached number one in both the UK and the US), Michael contributed several tracks to the charity album Red Hot + Dance in 1992 (with one song, "Too Funky", being released as a single and reaching worldwide top 10 positions). The same year, he performed live at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium (in 1993, an EP of Michael's performances with Queen and Lisa Stansfield, entitled Five Live was released, and reached in the UK).

Older found Michael experimenting with new musical styles and expanding his artistic horizons. Particularly notable was the jazz flavour of the album's sound. The album marked a departure from the synthesised production of his previous projects, delivering a more organic sound with the inclusion of brass and strings. Michael was particularly inspired by the music of Brazilian composer Antônio Carlos Jobim, who died in 1994. Another big influence was the album's producer, Jon Douglas, who has mixed several George Michael songs as B sides. They first met when Douglas produced Lisa Moorish's version of "I'm Your Man" in 1995, to which Michael provided backing vocals. They both began to work together soon after, and they co wrote "Spinning the Wheel" together and also co wrote and produced "Fastlove". Douglas also played keyboards on those tracks. The album is dedicated to Anselmo Feleppa, Michael´s lover who died from AIDS before the release of the album. Overall, the style of the album was melancholy, dark and sad. Michael complemented this departure making a dramatic change of his clothes, hair style and overall appearance. The long blonde hair, beard and jeans that Michael was known for during the late eighties were replaced with a buzz cut black hair and mostly leather clothes. Michael commented, on The Oprah Winfrey Show about that new appearance:
"The way my image changed in Europe was that I looked very different, I had very short hair—I had really a kind of gay look in a way. I think I was trying to tell people I was okay with it [being gay], I just really didn't want to share it with journalists. The album I made in the middle nineties called Older was a tribute to Anselmo, really; there was a dedication to him on the album and fairly obvious male references. To my fans and the people that were really listening, I felt like I was trying to come out with them." Michael grew back a longer hair style during 1998, as was first shown on the video he recorded for "Outside", premiered near the end of that year.

Older was particularly notable for the release of its six singles. All of them reached the UK top 3, hitting a record for the most singles in the British top 3 released from a single album. At the time of release of the fifth of them, "Star People '97", chart specialist James Masterson noted George Michael's success on the UK Singles Chart, writing: "Ironically enough denied by the very man who some say he is trying to emulate (Gary Barlow), George Michael nonetheless makes an impressive top 3 entry with this single. The Older album has now proved itself to be far and away his most commercially successful recording ever. Five singles now lifted and every single one has been a top 3 hit. Compare this with the two top 3 hits produced by Faith and Listen Without Prejudices scant total of one top tenner and one single which missed the top 40 altogether. This sustained single success has, of course, been achieved with a little help from marketing tricks such as remixes – or in this case a new recording of the album track which gives it a much needed transformation into a deserved commercial smash." "Jesus to a Child". The song had already debuted at the MTV European Music Awards in 1994, and was used to raise £50,000 for the charity "Help a London Child" with George matching every listener's pledge on a pound for pound basis. It was first performed on Top of the Pops just four days before the release date of the single in the UK. After its official release, the song debuted at number one in the UK in January 1996 replacing Michael Jackson's "Earth Song" after six weeks at the top. "Jesus to a Child" was Michael's first number one single in the UK as a solo artist since "A Different Corner" reached the summit back in 1986. The single was certified Silver in the UK by the BPI, recognising over 200,000 copies sold. In the US the song was a hit, reaching number 7 in the Billboard Hot 100. (The RIAA awarded the single with Gold status just as the follow up, "Fastlove", was released.) Two formats of the single were released, both including an instrumental version of the track "Older" (the sung version wasn't revealed until the release of the album five months later). Also the music video for the song found Michael lip synching lyrics in front of a camera for the first time since the video for "Kissing a Fool" from 1988. "Fastlove". It was released in the UK on 22 April 1996 and debuted straight at number one, where it stayed for three weeks. It was certified Gold for over 400,000 copies sold. This was the first time that a George Michael album included two singles released before the album itself. The song includes a riff from the 1982 hit "Forget Me Nots" by Patrice Rushen (in this case sung by Jo Bryant). The track earned Michael the Ivor Norvello Award for most performed work in 1996. The single was also released in two formats in the United Kingdom, and both included a revised dance version of "I'm Your Man" (entitled "I'm Your Man '96"), that was produced by Michael and Jon Douglas. The single also premiered a "Fastlove Part II", linking the original song and the new version of "I'm Your Man" into one mix. The video for the song was also one of Michael's most memorable, and won the MTV Europe International Viewers Choice Award at the MTV Music Video Awards in September 1996. Michael also performed the track on Top of the Tops, on 18 April 1996. The song reached number 8 in America, where it was certified Gold by the RIAA, and became his last single to appear on the Billboard charts to date. "Spinning the Wheel". It was released in the UK on 19 August 1996. It debuted at number 2; the single was kept off the top spot by Spice Girls' "Wannabe". It reached also Silver status. Also released in two formats, it was particularly notable for including (and being promoted for) two brand new studio recordings of previously unknown George Michael songs (namely "Safe" and "You Know That I Want To"), that were exclusive to the first CD. "Spinning the Wheel" was first performed on Top of the Pops on 16 August 1996. "Older" / "I Can't Make You Love Me". It was released in the UK on 20 January 1997. Due to its only one format release, it was the poorest seller of all the Older singles, and also the one with the lowest chart position (number 3) (this poor commercial performance was despite being released after the post Christmas session and the inclusion of new material). It stayed in the top 10 for one week, and slipped out the UK top 40 just three weeks later. The single was promoted as a double A side with a previously unreleased recording of "I Can't Make You Love Me", and was counted that was in the UK Singles Chart. The song received airplay and was also available as a promo CD issued to British radios and clubs. The track was recorded live at Michael's MTV Unplugged performance at Three Mills Island Studios in London, on 11 October 1996 (the applause was edited out of the track, apparenting to be a studio recording). The single also included a live version of "The Strangest Thing", recorded live at the BBC Radio Theatre on 8 October 1996. The song "Older" was performed on Top of the Pops on 31 January 1997. "Star People '97". It was released in the UK on 28 April 1997. It reached number 2 there, kept off the top spot by Gary Barlow's "Love Won't Wait". "Star People '97" was a re recording and remixed version of the album version of "Star People". The vocals were recorded soon after George Michael lost his mother. The new recording incorporates extensive sampling from "Burn Rubber on Me" by The Gap Band. The single was released in two formats, including MTV Unplugged performances of Wham's "Everything She Wants" and "Star People". The single is noted for being the last official George Michael single to be released in the US, but it did not reach the charts there. "Star People '97" was performed on Top of the Pops on 9 May 1997. "You Have Been Loved" / "The Strangest Thing '97". It was released in the UK on 8 September 1997. The final single issued from Older, it reached number 2 in the UK, where it was kept off the summit by Elton John's blockbuster charity single "Candle in the Wind '97". It was also released as a double A sided single, with a remixed version of "The Strangest Thing". The song "You Have Been Loved" was a tribute to Anselmo Feleppa, Michael's lover who died from AIDS in 1993. The song was first performed on Top of the Pops on 5 September 1997. Michael dedicated Older to both Feleppa "who changed the way I look at my life" and Jobim "who changed the way I listened to music."

In 1996, George was voted 'Best British Male', at the MTV Europe Awards and the BRITs; and at The Ivor Novello Awards, he was awarded the prestigious title of 'Songwriter of The Year' for the third time. At the beginning of October 1996, George performed his first live shows for five years with a gig for Radio 1 FM followed by an Unplugged Session for MTV. The Radio 1FM audience consisted of just 200 people and the MTV Unplugged session slightly larger at 500. Both audiences included competition winners, some of whom had flown to London from all over the world, as well as various specially invited guests.

All tracks written and produced by George Michael, except where noted.