Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 is the second solo album from British pop star George Michael (on this album, it is spelled as George Michæl), released in September 1990. Following the massive worldwide commercial success of his first album Faith, this release found Michael awash in an identity crisis, with a sudden bid to quickly create a new image for himself as a serious-minded artist, while still generating sales.
Seemingly torn at first between his previous role as the camera-friendly media darling and his new role as abhorrer of all things visual, the album's title indicated his desire to be taken more seriously (although cameras were sometimes allowed into the recording studio, the results ending up on an MTV Rockumentary soon afterward). The album was deemed by many as a reverse-psychological tactic to generate renewed interest from an ever larger (and more adult) fan base, but ended up a commercial disappointment compared to Michael's time in Wham! and debut album Faith.
The album was Michael's final album of all-new material on Columbia Records until 2004's Patience. It was the album's disappointing sales in the U.S. that led to Michael's legal battles against Sony Music, in which he accused the corporation of not fully supporting him as an artist.Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 is the second solo album from British pop star George Michael (on this album, it is spelled as George Michæl), released in September 1990. Following the massive worldwide commercial success of his first album Faith, this release found Michael awash in an identity crisis, with a sudden bid to quickly create a new image for himself as a serious-minded artist, while still generating sales.
Seemingly torn at first between his previous role as the camera-friendly media darling and his new role as abhorrer of all things visual, the album's title indicated his desire to be taken more seriously (although cameras were sometimes allowed into the recording studio, the results ending up on an MTV Rockumentary soon afterward). The album was deemed by many as a reverse-psychological tactic to generate renewed interest from an ever larger (and more adult) fan base, but ended up a commercial disappointment compared to Michael's time in Wham! and debut album Faith.
The album was Michael's final album of all-new material on Columbia Records until 2004's Patience. It was the album's disappointing sales in the U.S. that led to Michael's legal battles against Sony Music, in which he accused the corporation of not fully supporting him as an artist.false2022-10-22 09:48:53Listen Without Prejudice, Volume 1620222022-05-242022-05-2448Contemporary R&BDance-PopDowntempoElectronicPopPop RockRockSoft RockSynth-PopDance-Rock111287211824125973047-cd1a-4894-af3e-3df0c05dce10ccb8f30e-4d71-40c4-8b1d-846dafe73e2ca0467615-94c3-3268-a425-9285273adb24/media/data/media5/Music/George Michael/Listen Without Prejudice, Volume 1 (1990)/folder.jpgGeorge MichaelAlbumArtist/config/metadata/People/G/George Michael/folder.jpgGeorge MichaelArtist/config/metadata/People/G/George Michael/folder.jpgGeorge MichaelGeorge MichaelGeorge Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musicians of all time, with sales of over 120 million records worldwide. Michael is known as a leading creative force in music production, songwriting, vocal performance, and visual presentation. He achieved seven number-one songs on the UK Singles Chart and eight number-one songs on the US Billboard Hot 100. Michael won various music awards, including two Grammy Awards, three Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, twelve Billboard Music Awards, and four MTV Video Music Awards. In 2015, he was ranked 45th in Billboard's list of the "Greatest Hot 100 Artists of All Time". The Radio Academy named him the most played artist on British radio during the period 1984–2004.Born in East Finchley, North London, Michael rose to fame as a member of the music duo Wham! and later embarked on a solo career. Forming the duo Wham! with Andrew Ridgeley in 1981, the band's first two albums, Fantastic (1983) and Make It Big (1984), reached number one on the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200. Their hit singles included "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" and "Last Christmas". Establishing themselves as a global act, Wham! toured China in April 1985; the tour was the first visit to China by a Western popular music act, and it generated worldwide media coverage.Michael's first solo single, "Careless Whisper", reached number one in over 20 countries, including the UK and US. Before embarking on the production of his first solo album, Michael went on to release two more number-one singles, "A Different Corner" and the Aretha Franklin duet "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)". Michael's debut solo album, Faith, was released in 1987, topping the UK Albums Chart and staying at number one on the Billboard 200 for 12 weeks. Globally it sold 25 million copies, and four singles from the album—"Faith", "Father Figure", "One More Try", and "Monkey"—reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Michael became the best-selling music artist of 1988, and Faith was awarded Album of the Year at the 1989 Grammy Awards. His second solo album, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 (1990), sold approximately eight million copies and was a UK number-one. It included the Billboard Hot 100 number-one "Praying for Time" and the worldwide hit "Freedom! '90". A 1991 live duet with Elton John, "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", was also a transatlantic number one. Michael went on to release two more multimillion-selling albums, Older (1996) and Patience (2004).
Outside music, Michael was an active LGBT rights campaigner and HIV/AIDS charity fundraiser. His personal life, drug use, and legal troubles made headlines during the late 1990s and 2000s, as he was arrested for public lewdness in 1998 and was arrested for multiple drug-related offences after that time. Michael came out as gay in 1998. The 2005 documentary A Different Story covered his career and personal life. Michael's 25 Live tour spanned three tours from 2006 to 2008. Michael fell into a coma in 2011 during a bout with pneumonia, but later recovered. He performed his final concert at London's Earls Court in 2012. On 25 December 2016, Michael was found dead of heart disease at his home in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.