George...I think YOU'RE amazing!

So Monday arrived and it was another busy day. The sun refused to make an appearance at all; well what more can you expect of a bank holiday? It was breezy too, not really barbecue weather but being British and all, you just carry on and brave the elements with plenty of layers! My friend Suk was the host but with Elena away and Sunita having an apparent better offer (?), the guests were just John and I, Ellie, Simon and the boys, and Ellie's niece also tagged along. I had a light lunch but asked Suk if I could have a bite later as well, as I was going to see George Michael at Earls Court that evening, leaving straight from hers. I wouldn't survive without an evening meal of some description; as my eating habits are as regular as clockwork.

Alice, my gigging partner in crime, arrived at 5:15 outside the house to pick me up, despite me giving her a bogus house number! Intuition or what?! We drove to Rayleigh station and picked up a train to Liverpool Street. I can't remember the last time I was on the Victoria line, but man it's slow! We cocked up slightly on the tube taking a circle line train instead of district and so had to change twice instead of once, but we got there in the end. I was glad we took the 5:34 train instead of the one half an hour later as it took longer than anticipated. We just had time to buy a drink, have a wee, take a quick look at the merchandise before taking our seats (which were better than expected) ready for the 8pm 'prompt' start according to the ticket. However, we should know by now that it's a ploy to get bums on seats before it actually kicks off, which in this case, was 20 minutes later.

And then the lights went down and George's voice was heard. One minute went by before he emerged from a door in the middle of the stage, to an uproarious reception. He opened with Fast Love which led into a funky version of I'm Your Man. George then said "you don't think I'd do that to you, do ya?" and the intro to the old and great version of I'm Your Man' was instantly recognisable. Whoop whoop! Wham was my era; I loved them in the 80s and I still love their tunes to this day. It's a great sing-a-long party song. However, George only went on to perform one more Wham song (Everything she wants), to my slight disappointment. I'm sure the fans would have gone wild for a bit of Club Tropicana, Freedom and Wake me up before you go-go. A lot of the songs he chose were mellow and moody, and although fantastic, I would always prefer to be up clapping and boogieing to an upbeat tune. I couldn't possibly name all the tracks George performed; there were a couple I didn't recognise but of those I can recall, these included:

Fast Love
I'm Your Man
Jesus to a Child
Amazing
Too Funky
Father Figure
One More Try
Faith
You Have Been Loved
Roxanne
My Mother had a brother
Outside
Careless Whisper
Freedom 90

I don't know what track he was singing at the time, but in the first half of the show, a very large inflatable George Bush appeared with a British bulldog sucking his dick (sorry to be so direct!). George isn't known for exactly being shy about views and issues, political or otherwise and this said it all. (See pic below)

He announced during the show that he was doing a Christmas single which would be available to download free on Christmas Day. He performed the accompanying song, Nina Simone's Feeling Good.

After he came on for his first encore, he did Careless Whisper as a duet with the fans. I don't mind saying so myself, but we sounded pretty darn good! That song has been in my all time top 3 since forever. I was hoping and praying he would perform any of my other favourites of his which are A Different Corner, Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me, Praying For Time and Queen's Somebody to Love, but it wasn't to be :( I shall have to have words with Mr Michael.

After the second encore he performed an upbeat song which I didn't know and then finished the evening with Freedom '90 (as requested by the majority of fans), but I guess he was expecting that response. Not the one I would have requested (see previous grievances above!) but nevertheless, it was still very enjoyable.

George did say that the reaction of the fans and the atmosphere in there that final final night had absolutely made it for him, and thanked everyone for their support over the past 25 years. What an incredible career. To have longevity in music these days is an amazing achievement. At the end he said this had been the longest gig of all of them which was 'great for us [fans] but fucking knackering for him'! lol

We got out of the venue at 11:10, and were shepherded like sheep through the gates of the tube station opposite. It was a bit unnerving being pushed along by the crowd; if someone had fallen over, they would've been trampled on. It's a hell of a trek to and from Earls Court, and Alice and I eventually got back to Shoebury at 1:30 in the morning. Lucky Alice had the next two weeks off work so no worries, but I had to be up. I got to bed just before 2am, tossed and turned for ages, woke at 4:30 to go to the loo, then managed a solid 3 hours sleep. I was so knackered this morning; I just don't function without sleep. I've gotta say it was so worth it though. It's a one off. I wouldn't have had to go through the sleep deprevation if it hadn't been for the false advertising on ebay when I bought the tickets. It said in big bold black letters SUNDAY 24TH AUGUST but when I received the tickets, it had Monday 25th printed on them! I contacted the seller telling him how aggravating that was, how arrangements had to unmade and rearranged for that weekend and that I purposely chose Sunday as I wouldn't have to get up for work the following day. He profusely apologised and after my suggestion of suitable compensation he offered £30, which I accepted.

Couldn't resist this pic. Look at the hair George! Aah, the good ol' days of Wham. I only wish I'd seen them in concert