LISTEN: George Michael’s infamous ode to cruising is about to make a comeback

NOW That’s What I Call Proud, a new compilation album from NOW That’s What I Call Music!, promises a tracklist of 16 of history’s gayest songs ever. It’s kicking off with a strong start: the first track on the album is George Michael’s “Outside,” a song that put the British pop star’s controversial sex life front and center.

“Outside” is a disco-infused song made for the dance floor, but its backstory is what makes the track truly special. The track was Michael’s first release since his arrest for public lewdness on April 7, 1998, when an undercover cop baited Michael into exposing himself in a public restroom.

Michael recalled the arrest in an MTV interview later that year. “I got followed into the restroom and then this cop — I didn’t know it was a cop, obviously — he started playing this game, which I think is called, ‘I’ll show you mine, you show me yours, and then when you show me yours, I’m going to nick you,'” he said.

Just three days after his arrest, with his sexuality a hot topic for discussion, Michael officially came out of the closet in a CNN interview on April 10, 1998.

“I feel stupid and I feel reckless and weak for having allowed my sexuality to be exposed this way, but I don’t feel any shame whatsoever. And neither do I think I should,” Michael said.

In October of that same year, he returned to music with “Outside.” Its message wasn’t subtle. With lyrics like, “I think I’m done with the sofa / I think I’m done with the hall / I think I’m done with the kitchen table, baby / Let’s go outside,” the song was an unabashed love letter to public sex and cruising. It even included a lyric nodding to the 80 hours of community service Michael was sentenced to after his arrest: “I’d service the community, but I already have you see.”

If there was any confusion about the song’s subject matter, the music video made things crystal clear with a satirical take on Michael’s arrest. The video showed various couples, gay and straight, hooking up in public, all from the perspective of a police helicopter.

Meanwhile, in a fabulously ‘80s sequence, a public restroom transforms into a disco club, with mirror balls descending from the ceiling and plain white urinals being swapped out for sleek chrome. Michael himself struts between the toilets dressed as a police officer with a baton in hand, joined by a crew of disco dancers. High camp.

The video ends with two policemen arresting all the couples, until they think they’re alone. Then, the two police officers start to kiss each other. The final image of the video is a rooftop neon sign reading “JESUS SAVES,” followed by on-screen text adding, “all of us. all.”

“Outside” peaked at #2 on the U.K. Singles Chart. It was the lead single of Michael’s 1998 album Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael, which was #1 on the U.K. Albums Chart for eight weeks.

Michael opened up about his views toward cruising in a 2004 interview with Attitude. When asked, “Why do it?”, he didn’t beat around the bush: “When I was being furtive and was worried about being found out… God! It was such a turn-on. I can never be that turned-on again. Guilt is a massive turn-on,” Michael said.

Michael continued that it was important to him to show that he could be openly gay and still be a massive success.

“I felt that lightening the stigma around cruising was the most immediately beneficial thing I could do,” he said. “I know for a fact that when I was 16, 17, when I started cruising, that watching the ‘Outside’ video would have taken some of the weight off my shoulders.”

“Don’t knock a bit of guilt,” Michael added. “Catholics have the best sex on earth, I’m told.”

NOW That’s What I Call Proud also features music from Lil Nas X, Queen, Kim Petras, and plenty of other iconic queer artists. The album releases May 5. Watch the video for “Outside” below…