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Manchester M.E.N Arena 17th November 2006
HE said it would never happen; that he'd never sing Faith, Freedom or I'm Your Man again. And here he is, in Manchester, all slick, slim and shiny-suited, doing just that.
The packed Arena faithful couldnét quite believe they were seeing and hearing the 43-year-old on stage, on the opening night of his UK tour. After all, we've had 15 years of silence, and it's 25 years since he and fellow young gun Andrew Ridgeley started out.
How well we remember those heady Club Tropicana days. Punk was dead, those frilly New Romantic blouses were starting to look a bit sissy. Like the soul boys who sang Wham! Rap, we were a bit confused style-wise.
The early Eighties was the last era where you could flip from being one thing to something else almost overnight, recalls George. You could be a soul boy one day and a mod the next.
Now like George, we're older, smarter and wiser.
Singing to a crowd who would happily have bungee jumped out of a helicopter and bathed in cockroaches, I'm a Celebrity... style, to win a ticket to this gig, George Michael was preaching to the converted.
Although given the mighty roar that greeted 'Everything She Wants' and 'I'm Your Man' there were many in the audience, who wanted him to sing the entire Wham back catalogue. Alas there was to be no Wham! Rap or Wake Me Up Before You Go Go.
Macho
Little did we know at the time of that famous "Shuttlecock" tour of 1983 that George was struggling with his sexuality and would soon want out from the whole macho hetero-heart-throb thing he'd willingly embraced.
For those who've religiously followed George from that first Fantastic album to 2004's Patience, listening without prejudice as his solo career charted his emotional highs and very lows, the man is beyond reproach.
But as the clock ticked past 8, when he should have been on stage, to 8.30pm, some started to worry that he might shuffle on in a drug-addled
stupor.
We should have had more faith. Looking like an Armani model he sang Waiting and Flawless flawlessly before urging us not to believe the hype. You can't believe politicians and you can't believe what you read.
Then, laughing: I did not have sexual relations with that van driver.
But if we had felt a sense of trepidation before George calmed our nerves with Fast Love, Father Figure, Too Funky, it was probably nothing compared to George's anxiety.
Tenor
He was nervous about facing the British public for the first time in so long and concentrated on his performance. And that trademark tenor sounds stronger and sweeter than ever especially when he sings ballads Jesus to a Child and Careless Whisper (yes, girls, he sings our favourite slow song).
And he;s still got rhythm. Those '80s-style dance routines don't look that old hat when George does them although he seems pretty self conscious about his lack of Madonna moves.
But Madonna needs to dance well because she can't sing as well as George.
George can rely on those fantastic vocals and a bit of shimmying and arm-waving to wow a crowd. So tell me, was it worth the wait? he asks, shades off for the first time, eyes wide, like a young soul boy, still eager for our approval.
Of course it was. Welcome back George.
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WE all know about pop megastar George Michael's passion for the great outdoors - his smash hit single Outside said as much.
So when George couldn't find an outdoor oasis of calm at his preferred hotel in Manchester at the weekend, I hear he promptly checked out to find one that did.
George had been due to stay at the five-star Lowry Hotel after the opening night of his first UK tour in 15 years.
But I hear that when he realised the rooms had no outdoor terrace areas - and that the windows don't open - he made his excuses and left.
Cue a swift dash to the other side of town to The Lowry's bitter rival - the five-star Radisson Edwardian on Peter Street, where the venue's exclusive suites all have private outdoor "urban gardens".
My hotel mole tells me: "George wanted somewhere with outdoor areas so that he could chill out, rest and get some fresh air without being pestered.
"When he realised there weren't any terraces in rooms at The Lowry, he came over to stay at the Radisson Edwardian instead."
George is back in town today for his final Manchester gig before he continues his nationwide 25 Live tour.
And I hear he could be about to fulfil a special dream of treading the famous cobbles of Weatherfield while in the city.
Coronation Street
George is a huge fan of Coronation Street, and invited a host of cast members to his Manchester M.E.N. Arena concerts over the weekend.
Now, in return, he's been invited for a guided tour of the Corrie set - and the chance to maybe even appear in a scene on the show.
Soap bosses know it would be difficult to integrate world-famous George into the background of the average scene in the soap - but they have done it before, with the likes of pop king Cliff Richard and football hero Peter Schmeichel appearing as extras.
If George's hectic schedule permits, he could visit the set today, ahead of his last Manchester concert tonight.
His city gigs have certainly been a big draw for fellow showbiz figures over the weekend.
Among those spotted at the Manchester concerts were boxer Amir Khan, footballer Steven Gerrard's girlfriend Alex Curran, Happy Mondays frontman Shaun Ryder and Atomic Kitten babe Jenny Frost - who famously named her dog George Michael in honour of her pop hero.
Meanwhile, I'm sure George will be just thrilled to hear the news today that one of his classic Wham songs may make it to number one this year - thanks to that blinking Crazy Frog.
The annoying ringtone cartoon is to release Wham's Last Christmas in time for a stab at the chrimbo number one spot.
The original, of course, was held off the top spot in 1984 by the might of Band Aid.
