Earls Court - Copenhagen - Abu Dhabi

Earls Court Shows

He's been on the road for two years on and off and will have performed 103 shows on his European and American tour, but at 45 George Michael seems to be entering some kind of semi-retirement.

His Earls Court concerts were billed as The Final Two — a nod to Wham!’s The Final at Wembley Stadium — although dedicated fans will be in Copenhagen for another last chance to wave goodbye on Saturday.

Michael has said he wants a “quieter life” and at the second Earls Court show last night he told us: “It’s been an amazing ride but there seemed to be too many moments when the compromises seemed too huge.”

Perhaps that was a reference to personal problems ending up in the media, or simply his age. “I’m an old man, I really need to sit down,” he said after nearly two-and-a-half hours strutting up and down the ego ramp.

Nevertheless , Michael’s voice was smooth and his dancing was defiantly funky for his age. And an early airing for Wham! hits I’m Your Man and Everything She Wants had people of all ages dancing, knowing they won’t get another chance any time soon.

Of course, Michael will be playing concerts again and he announced a free Christmas Day download, but he’s not planning big arena or stadium tours. Which is odd, because at Earls Court he was an easygoing superstar, eager to roll back the years for an adoring crowd.

Michael also had a commendable approach to his old songs, mocking the heterosexual lyric about “the perfect girl for me” in Everything She Wants (“yeah, right!”), and enjoying Careless Whisper as much as his fans, even though he must now loathe the lyric “guilty feet have got no rhythm”.

Still, much of this set showed his quality as a soulful pop songwriter, ranging from clubby tunes such as Precious Box to the sultry Spinning The Wheel and the disco-funk of Outside, for which he wore a police uniform.

I still couldn’t get on with Jesus To A Child and there were some dodgy rave moments and over-long ballads. However, it was hard to argue with Flawless and Amazing, while Freedom 90 was a perfect finale for his screaming supporters.

“Thank you for 25 amazing years,” said Michael, who appeared to be having a ball, too. Perhaps we won’t have long to wait for the comeback after all.

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