Freedom: A George Michael Documentary 26 Years in the Making
It was 1990 and George Michael had already solidified his place in pop music history with the release of his 1987 debut solo album, Faith, which garnered the singer/songwriter four no. 1 singles, the no. 1 album and the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Michael’s next venture, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, would be his biggest creative endeavor to-date, and it would also be one of the darkest periods in his life. The documentary, George Michael: Freedom, tells the story about this period of time, when he was on top of the music charts, in love for the first time, and battling his record company — and it’s all told in Michael’s own words. He is the narrator.
Originally scheduled to air in 2016, upon the 25th anniversary of his sophomore solo album, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, the release of the documentary was put on-hold for what fans thought would be indefinitely when the pop superstar died last year unexpectedly on Christmas day. Now, with the help of the musician’s family, and longtime manager and best friend, David Austin, the account of how one of the most successful pop artists went against the grain and still managed to remain beloved by his fans and his multiple musical collaborators — some of the biggest names in the industry — all come together in the documentary, which is the last major project left by Michael.
Ecstatic George Michael fans around the world anticipated the megastar’s second album and not just for the music, they wanted to see their favorite Brit — on the album cover, in music videos and in interviews — afterall, Michael was a bonafide sex symbol. The only problem was that the Faith singer didn’t want to appear anywhere on behalf of the album’s promotion. This stance caused quite the conundrum for the top brass at Sony.
Michael chose a black and white photo of a beach scene from the early part of the 19th century to be the cover of the album. When he presented a video for the first single, Praying For Time, it included only the song’s lyrics, on-screen, fading in and out with the music. The next single would be the groundbreaking hit, Freedom! ‘90, and again, Michael would defy the record label’s requests that he appear in his music videos, and cast the top-five supermodels of the time to appear in his stead; Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Tatiana Patitz, and Linda Evangelista.
While this may have baffled many, the 80s pop star knew exactly what he was doing and it all had to do with what was (at the time) the biggest battle with a record label in music history. Michael’s legal case against Sony Music to get out of his contract would have set a precedence that could have influenced every artist and every contract in the recording industry had he won his suit.
George Michael: Freedom focuses a sizeable amount on the court case. Through the lens of the iconic music video featuring five of the most sought-after female models, and circumstances surrounding many of the key moments of his career and personal life (at the time), viewers see a different side of the well-coifed, designer-clad singer behind the aviator sunglasses — albeit through old interviews and b-roll footage — Michael is not on-camera (even though this was mostly completed in 2016, while he was still alive). They see a vulnerability. A fragility that is perhaps the reason he is endeared by fans and his music endures.
“You feel like he’s got a layer or two of skin missing. Like he bruises easier,” said comedian and late night television host, James Cordon. “And because of that, he can write these amazing songs.”
The documentary also gives fans insight into what some of music’s biggest musicians, performers and producers thought about George Michael. Audiences hear from people such as Tony Bennett, Nile Rodgers, Clive Davis, and Stevie Wonder (among many others).
Liam Gallagher calls Michael the “Modern-day Elvis,” while Mary J. Blige, Elton John and Mark Ronson wax poetic about the singer/songwriter’s voice and musical acuity.
Stevie Wonder’s interview in Freedom is one of the most interesting as George Michael has probably covered more Stevie Wonder songs than Stevie Wonder himself. A huge fan of Wonder’s, Michael has presented his music throughout the years as an homage to the Motown legend; on albums, live in concert, on televised showcases, and even gifted a Stevie Wonder song to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on their wedding day.
Another large chunk of the film delves into his love story with Anselmo Feleppa. This was his first love and viewers get a peek inside their short-lived romance — Feleppa died from complications related to AIDS in 1993.
In the film, Michael reveals when he first saw Feleppa at the Rock in Rio concert (1991), and how he knew they’d be in each other’s lives.
“At the front of 160,000 people there was this guy over at the right-hand side of the stage that just fixed me with this look,” George reveals. “He was so cute. I was so distracted by him, I stayed away from that corner, because otherwise I thought I was going to get really distracted and forget the words. The moment I looked at him I got the feeling he was going to be a part of my life.”
There are certainly moments of the singer’s life that are absent from the documentary. His bout with pneumonia that nearly took his life in 2011, and his addiction struggles aren’t included in this film. Neither is his time in prison touched upon.
The film takes viewers through the early 90s and into the 2000s up to Michael’s performance at the closing ceremonies of the London Olympics in 2012.
Nile Rodgers, the most recent collaborator with Michael, worked on a remake of the 1990 (b-side) song, Fantasy, before the pop star died. It was released on Sept. 7 as a posthumous single. And now there’s also a video to go along with the remake. It plays like a remixed montage of all those great video images showing off that George Michael pop, soul and funky goodness his fans really love about him.
George Michael: Freedom airs in the U.S. on Showtime Oct. 21 (9 ET/PT). In conjunction with the documentary, Sony Music is re-releasing Michael’s groundbreaking second solo album, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 alongside his MTV Unplugged performance which was recorded in London in 1996. Both are available Oct. 20 as a 2CD Edition, Deluxe 3CD/DVD Box Set, and on Vinyl.
