A previously unreleased track by the late singer George Michael was released today, alongside a lyric video.
“This Is How (We Want You To Get High)” is the first original track from the much-missed British singer since 2012.
As his musical output was relatively sparse in the last few years of his life – 2004’s Patience was his last album of original material – fans are over the moon to hear a track they’ve heard before (the 2017 release, “Fantasy” was a re-recording and re-working of an old 80s track).
The upbeat “This Is How (We Want You To Get High)” was recorded during Michael’s final studio sessions, according to a press release from Universal Music Group (UMG) / Virgin EMI.
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In a statement about the release, Michael’s sisters, dad, and longtime-manager David Austin said: “We hope fans and lovelies! [the name adopted by his most devoted fans] everywhere rejoice in hearing this great new song written as ever with Yog‘s immense passion and pride.
“This new track we proudly send as his gift to you this season to bring you all love and festive joy….. Whoever you worship… Whoever you love….”
The track features on the forthcoming movie, Last Christmas. Like Mamma Mia and the music of Abba, the movie is ‘inspired’ by the music of Wham! and George Michael.
The seasonal romantic comedy has been co-written by Oscar-winner Emma Thompson, who also appears in the movie, and hits theaters in the US later this week. You can watch the trailer below.
George Michael, who shot to fame in the early 80s with his band Wham!, died on Christmas Day 2016. He became a global megastar in the late 80s with the release of his solo debut album, Faith.
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He was outed as gay when he was arrested by a cop in a public bathroom in Los Angeles in 1998. His later years were marked by personal problems, including substance abuse and erratic behavior. This included a short stint in jail in the UK in 2010 for driving under the influence of drugs.
However, his death – ruled to be due to ‘natural causes’ by a coroner – shocked the world and he remains a much-missed figure.
After being outed, he was unapologetically upfront about his sexuality and remains an iconic figure for many in the LGBTQ community.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
He was both imensely talented and troubled. He may have died of nature causes, but the demons of addictions certainly contributed to his passing ..
This Is How (We Want You To Get High), first postmortem release???
Vince
Loved this song and George. Just not interested in the movie. Maybe make a movie about George and I’ll be interested.
Brian
I wonder if this is the track as he recorded it, or if additional production was done on it? The obvious electronic vocal manipulation on the entire vocal is very trendy right now, but was not nearly as commonplace when this was likely recorded.