Singer Sam Sparro joins a star-studded line-up of artists paying tribute to the recently-departed music legend George Michael.
George Michael’s music defined a generation. From his early hits in Wham! to his solo domination of the music charts with ‘Faith’ and ‘Freedom! ‘90’, George Michael matched catchy tunes with insightful lyrics. When George passed away, the shock and mourning for the pop icon was understandable. Rather than mourn, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra will celebrate the life and hits of the legend for ‘George Michael: Praying For Time’, a special tribute concert at the Sydney Opera House, joined by the likes of Diesel, Jade MacRae, Sam Sparro and more.
For Sam Sparro, this tribute is personal. The ‘Black And Gold’ hit-maker has been surrounded by music for much of his life, with most of his family involved in the music business. George Michael was someone Sam heard throughout his youth and connected to.
“I remember him, as a child, vaguely, I think through cultural absorption. I remember seeing the videos for ‘Freedom! ‘90’ and ‘Too Funky’ on TV. The first album of George Michael’s that I actually bought and really got into was ‘Older’. As I got a bit older I listened to all of his records and got into his catalogue. But ‘Older’ really grabbed me when I was 12; I’d listen to it constantly with headphones on. I loved the production, I loved his voice, and then I really got into the lyrics and discovered what an incredible songwriter he was.”
After Sam became a respected singer-songwriter in his own right, he briefly met his idol at Elton John’s house. “There were so many people around, and so much happening. I had all these things I wanted to say to him, but the timing felt wrong. It was a really brief conversation. But I was struck by how sad he seemed. Maybe it was an off day, I don’t know.
Image © Justin Elliot Lacher"I don’t know anything that was going on personally for him at the time, but I just sensed this sadness about him. At this point in his life he was really private and wasn’t making a lot of public appearances. I know if I was George Michael and I had had that kind of career and then being treated that way by the press or the media, I wouldn’t want to go anywhere.”
‘George Michael: Praying For Time’ was originally conceived to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of his seminal solo debut album ‘Faith’, but will now honour the pop icon gone too soon. “I was thrilled,” Sam exclaims about being asked to perform. “I love George Michael! And to do it at the Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra is going to be a huge thrill.”
Choosing which songs to perform was hard for Sam, but he is excited to pay tribute to his idol. “There were a couple I said I really wanted to do. A lot of them the organisers presented to me and said they’d love me to do, and a lot of them I was really on board with. I’m doing ‘Jesus To A Child’, which is one of my favourites. I’m doing a lot of the up-tempo songs I really love. There’ll be songs where we’ll all be singing together. It will be brilliant.”
