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George Michael's partner remembers 'a beautiful person'

Updated / Tuesday, 27 Dec 2016 17:46
George Michael passed away over Christmas at the age of 53
George Michael passed away over Christmas at the age of 53

The partner of George Michael has described the late singer as "a beautiful person" and says he wants the music icon to be remembered that way.

Fadi Fawaz found Michael dead in bed after calling to his home on Christmas Day. It is believed the 53-year-old star died from heart failure. 

"I went round there to wake him up and he was just gone, lying peacefully in bed," Fawaz told British newspaper The Daily Telegraph. "We don't know what happened yet."

Fawaz said "everything had been very complicated recently" but did not elaborate. He added that Michael was looking forward to Christmas. 

"Now everything is ruined," he said. "I want people to remember him the way he was - he was a beautiful person."

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Michael's former partner of over a decade, Kenny Goss, said he was heartbroken to learn of the death of his "dear friend and long-time love".

"He was a major part of my life and I loved him very, very much. He was an extremely kind and generous man," Goss continued.

"The beautiful memories and music he brought to the world will always be an important part of my life and those who also loved and admired him."

George Michael and Kenny Goss in Tokyo in December 2005

Michael - whose real name was Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou - sold more than 100 million albums throughout a career spanning almost four decades, first rising to fame as part of pop duo Wham! before becoming a solo artist. 

He had been set to release a documentary in 2017 and was recently reported to be working with producer Naughty Boy on a new album. His passing follows a long list of high profile celebrity deaths including David Bowie, Prince and Leonard Cohen.

Michael's former Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley was among those leading the tributes, describing himself as "heartbroken at the loss" of his friend, "the finest singer/songwriter of his generation".

Wham!'s Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael

Many of the tributes have drawn attention to Michael's generosity and previously unpublicised donations to charities and individuals. He was a longtime financialsupporter of British HIV charity the Terrence Higgins Trust, having lost his former partner Anselmo Feleppa to an AIDS-related illness in 1993. 

"George also often thought of us to kindly donate experiences and gifts that were used to raise vital funds to help us support people living with HIV," said the organisation's Jane Barron. "Along with other charities, we were grateful to benefit from the royalties of George's 1991 duet with Elton John, Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me."

UK Childline founder and president Esther Rantzen revealed that Michael had given "millions" to the charity through the royalties from his 1996 number one single Jesus to a Child.

"For years now he has been the most extraordinarily generous philanthropist, giving money to Childline, but he was determined not to make his generosity public so no-one outside the charity knew how much he gave to the nation's most vulnerable children," she said.

It was also revealed that Michael had volunteered at a homeless shelter and had asked for his involvement to be kept private.

Among the many friends paying tribute was Elton John, who took to Instagram to share his "deep shock" at the news of Michael's death. "I have lost a beloved friend - the kindest, most generous soul and a brilliant artist," he wrote.

Madonna posted an old video of her introducing Michael to the stage at an awards ceremony saying, "Farewell my friend! Another great artist leaves us. Can 2016 f*** off now?"

In a tribute on his website, Paul McCartney wrote: "George Michael's sweet soul music will live on even after his sudden death. Having worked with him on a number of occasions his great talent always shone through and his self-deprecating sense of humour made the experience even more pleasurable."

Presenter James Corden took to Twitter to share his sadness at the news, hailing Michael as an "absolute inspiration" and someone who was "always ahead of his time".

Michael was the first celebrity to take part in Corden's now-infamous Carpool Karaoke sketch, with the duo driving around together for Comic Relief in 2011. 

Check out Michael driving around with Corden's Gavin & Stacey character Smithy here (Contains some language of an adult nature):

As people reflected on Michael's life and work, Vogue magazine re-posted a recent tribute they produced for the 26th anniversary of his anthem Freedom! '90.

The original music video saw supermodels of the time Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford lip-syncing along to Michael's vocals.

To mark the anniversary of the iconic video, Vogue gathered a selection of the new generation of supermodels, including Adriana Lima, Taylor Hill and Irina Shayk for a modern remake.

A selection of the many tributes:

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