Hello hello all! Thanks for being patient and letting me focus on
mystudies.
Now as promised, I am now going to tell you why this is the special Jeanneedition. Jeanne is my older sister by 12
years, and she is directlyresponsible for my love of George. It was my big sister who first turned meon to Wham! Now this was in the
days before MTV and MuchMusic, so I firstsaw the guys on Solid Gold, miming along to Young Guns. But let it be said,I was a 9 year
old Durannie at this point. Now after hearing Wham!'s Make itBig album eminating from her bedroom for a few months, I couldn't help
butget to like the music. Well so one day I happen home from school and put onthe TV, and there on the afterschool video
show--Toronto Rocks--was the hosttelling us that a video for one of their songs was coming up. Thinking, OK,I like these guys, I
kept the show on. Well let me honestly tell you that mylife changed in the time it took for the "Wake Me Up Before You Go
Go" toplay. I laid eyes on George, and well, there you have it! Now being thegood big sister she was, she let me play the
living daylights out of hertape. A few weeks later, she returns home one day with a gift for me: myvery own CHOOSE LIFE sweatshirt!
As
luck would have it, Wham!'s Make it Big tour was set to pass throughToronto during the summer of 1985, and I can't recall who's idea
it was, butit was determined that she would take me for my 10th Bday. We got up at 4amto stand in line for tickets, and a few months
later, we were there! I thinkwe may have asked mom if I could go to the show while we were on our way outthe door. Yes, it was my
then 21 year old sister who had to lean over andask her little sister if she understood what George's question of "Isanyone
feeling horny tonight?" meant.
Now 3 years later it was also my sister who when I called her at the end ofJune and told
her I had tickets to George's Faith Tour show in Toronto,simply asked--despite the fact that she would have to endure a 4 hour
busride from her home in Kingston (no Canuck's, she wasn't in jail) whilst shewas 5 months pregnant--"Sure. When is it?" I
bought her the ticket and tookher out to dinner before the show, both of us being pretty aware that theonly way mom would let her 13
year daughter go to a show in the big city waswith her 25 year old sister.
So, since I didn't have time to get her anything,
and because this ishonestly the best tribute I could pay to her: Thank you Jeanne for leadingme down the path of George, and for
helping me to realize that you "Gottahave some faith in the sound." My eternal love and thanks for truly changingthe way I
listen to music.
Now having told all of the YM family who's responsible for my love George,it's time to hear what you have to
say.
Notes: 1. Anyone needing a copy of the Welcome Letter please e mail me so I cansend you one.
AND AWAY WE GO... "I
just want you to know..."
RHUNTLEY-at-catawba.edu (DALLAS) writes:
Hi Amanda, I (like just about everyone
else) think you are doing a fantabulous job. Iam actually on campus at 7 am (first class not until 9 am) on mail days tocheck out
what you have been up to. I am in Seventh heaven with this. (Inow have a reason to go out and buy my own computer. :) )
(Wow,
I don't even get up early to work on this anymore... AG)
This is my first posting, although I have been thinking about
writing for thelongest time.
I think I need to back this up with a story. I am a 27 (ouch that hurt)George fanatic that is
trying to do the school thing again. I went to USCfor a couple of years, left did the life thing for a few more years, didn'tlike
that either, and now I am back in school at Catawba.
(Gotta love the school thing dontcha? AG)
As strange as it may
sound the reason I am back in school has to do directlywith George. As I said, I have been a fan from the begining of time. Ithought
I was well informed and main question is why...I know Sony had a lot to do withLWP not doing as well as it should have done (which
even they should havegotten a clue when most of his "side-projects" did so well)...why the sort of indifference radio and
recordstores (not to mention MTV) have for the man and his music, yet they don'thave a problem promoting the gun carrying, drug
abusing, ungrateful littlepunks (sorry, it's kind of a sore subject with me) that seem to be all overthe place these days.
(Very
good point. I guess George simply has to pick up a drug habit--which,well, he seems to have kinda admitted to some stimulation in
helping himdance in the FastLove vid--and stop bathing and maybe then he can get alittle radio play?
I mentioned that I went
back to school because of George. It's true. If allgoes well, I will graduate with a double major in Music Management andEnglish and
a minor in philosophy sometime before the end of the century. Idon't want to perform any kind of instrument or anything like that. I
wouldlove to work with the people who do and help make what they do get out to thepeople who need/want to hear it.
(Need a
help with some Entertainment/Contract law? AG)
As much as I missed George during the Sony battles, I was so proud of him
forgoing to court, and my respect for him has grown that much more with thislatest album. I think a lot of the artists without
staying power seem toforget that when they get "Older" so do their audiences. The fact thatGeorge had the courage to
release LWP and OLDER proves (to me anyway) thatnot only does he have faith (sorry) in himself, but also the those of us outhere
that believe.
(I truly respect a man who stands up for what he believes, and let's face it,there aren't many such men around
anymore, but I'm grateful George is one ofthem. AG)
Wow, where did all of that come from? I think you are doing a fantastic
job,and I hope you keep it up for as long as possible. Good luck with your newjob. And if you have any answers for me (or any
suggestions (especiallybeing out here in "Smallsbury" N.C. I don't get a lot of George news) I amopen to them.
(I
don't know where it all came from, but I'd love to print more of it!!! Write anytime! YM will last until interest in it dies or
until I have anervous breakdown, whatever happens first. The new job sucks BTW, only one'sparents can order one to work two 16 hour
days in a row, and leave one nochoice but to "Shut my mouth and smile and you." AG)
L(ing)WP "Ooh
ooh baby baby..."
renestem-at-edge.net (Tina Stem) writes:
Hi Amanda,
Just thought I'd drop you a line to
tell you I just got my 1997 GMcalendar. (Friday Oct 11) It is great! There are some wonderful photos. Ihave to go along with the
majority though when it comes to his hair, I likeit short but not the George Clooney look. Don't get me wrong I wouldn't snubhim or
anything but I do prefer it a little longer. There are several shotsof him with the new do.
(OK, this is from Alicia and I:
IT'S NOT A CLOONEY!!!! Our George had itfirst! Would someone tell Mr. Clooney that he's actually sporting a"Michael". AG)
One
last little tid bit, (my husband doesn't even know the real story)...Iwas pregnant with my son in 1988. We had already picked out a
name for himseveral months before his arrival. Well, about 2 weeks before he was born I washaving a George Michael attack. My sister
& I put our heads together in renaming mynew arrival. In order not to draw too much attention to my love for George, wecame up
with Jeffrey Michael. We named him after his father & George. Jeff, myhusband, is none the wiser. :) :) By the way, we call him
Michael.
(Well, I hope you're husband doesn't read this then... AG)
Hi there, My name is Danielle Schmitt and
I am not going to start this letter off bysay make this possible, and as usual my thanks to JT for teachingme everything I
know--even though YOGMAIL is close to 3 times the size of hisBananarama list--and Tim for giving me my first link. AG)
One
more comment I have is that on the site, I read that someone considers"Move On" boring. I believe, to each his own, but I
just don't understandhow that is possible. It is such as great work, like all of his stuff, and I felt likesharing my opinion with
anyone who cares.
(We all have our opinions I guess. I'd be lying if I said Older was my favealbum ever, but it's still in my
top 10. AG)
Thank you, Danielle Schmitt "I wrote the song..."
dawnhunt-at-phoenix.Princeton.EDU
(Dawn V. Hunt) writes:
Hi gang!
I know that we all know what a great songwriter George is, but to prove thatwe are not
the only ones that know this--three different a cappella groups atmy school sing George Michael songs. The songs are (Wham!)
Freedom, Faith,and an abridged version of Heal the Pain. Of course they don't perform themas well as he does, but it's a nice
tribute anyway.
(Always nice to hear George in any form... AG)
Does anyone have any information yet on exactly when
next year George planson going on the road and where he plans on going?
(He changes his mind a lot... AG) "Keeps
me guessing..."
yogfan-at-adnetsol.com (Nancy) writes:
Hi Amanda:
Just read your posting on visiting LA.
May I offer my advice? If you wouldlike a chance at all to see GM, don't visit here in the month of June. He isnever in Los Angeles
during that time. I would go for August if it were me. I have spotted George in town during the month of August for the last
threeyears in a row (must like it here at that time of month!). Also, let's meetup if you want! I live just 45 minutes outside LA.
(August
huh? It's a consideration. Meeting him would be pleasant thought... I was thinking more in terms of convenience for me, knowing he
likes tospend June in Europe, especially the time around his birthday. But we'llsee. People have been asking me about this
YOGMAIL weekend a lot. Here's what Iknow for now: I know I want to be there, and so do about a dozen others. Asfor details on it?
I'll start worrying about them in February, so be patientall! AG)
"Looking for
some affirmation..."
ackoh-at-arbld.unimelb.edu.au (Ann Chai) writes:
Hey this is my first time mailing so just a
quick message and some questions.
I have a video of an interview of George in 1990. The interview is by MelvinBragg and the
vid covers George's career from Young Guns till Praying ForTime. And there's a part where we join George in the studio & he
tells Melvinhow he came up with the music for Waiting For That Day (The drum beat was aversion of Bobby Brown's song called Funky
beat or something like that). Andwe get to see him sing Praying For TIme in the studio. Can anyone tell me ifthis vid is very common
or do I have a limited edition vid kept in mycupboard?
(I have a copy, and I see them for rent all the time here in Canada.
Thefirst time I saw it, it was a special on TV, and I almost popped a bloodvessel I was so happy to see him in the studio setting.
The drum sample inquestion was actually James Brown's "Funky Drummer" by the way. AG) "(Offering)
some education..."
Hello, I've read several of the YOGMAIL
articles and have enjoyed them greatly.I'mstudying abroad in Geneva, Switzerland and George is so popular here. Inearly died when I
read an article in the USA Today Int'l newspaper aboutGeorge, it stated that George held a quiet 2 1/2 hour mini-concert in
EastLondon in a quiet warehouse. It included a large number of his family andfriends. A certain amount of tickets were distributed
to certain fan clubsand radio stations. I was upse because I dared to e-mail them to inquire whythey dont return my phone calls now
is that fair? Hmmm well anyway otherthan that rudeness of pooooooooor customer service and the nice slap in theface that company
decided to give me after I waited for 3 months for theorder I am a little uneasy about on line ordering but since there are so
manynice and friendly companies out there I guess I cant rate all online shops bythat one bad experience hence I NEED HELP please
anyone tell me how to buythe cd "EVERYTHING YOU WANT" it is a live CD from the Faith Tour I reallydont want a cassette
copy of it would really like to get the CD of it.
(I have the address of a company in Germany. I have to dig it up, but
I'llpost it in YM soon. AG)
If you could e-mail me I would be most greatful and By the way I also makeGeorge Michael Greeting
cards so if anyone is interested let me know (I haveFastlove STW, early wham like ESW and more that someone helps me make)
Anywayreally looking for EVERYTHING YOU WANT bootleg on cd my e-mail isbpearson-at-madison.tds.net THANKS for any help with this
since I thoughtI was getting it and now I am not due to those idiots at XZY company whocanceled my order for inquiring. To clear it
up it was NOT cdnow they areawesome (did I just use the word awesome? hmmmm)
(Can you warn us of the real company name
please? And yes Brent, you usedthe word "awesome" AG)
Oooooops Robert and others listen up if you want to chat in
real time likeaol but on the web LETS DO IT!!! just go to http://www.talkcity.com/irc/ so check it out everyone and lets pick a
channel to meet in and time anddate or make our own.....
(So someone set it up!!! AG)
CHEERS! BRENT ( wish I had aol
but too expensive :( )
(No, it ain't cheap, but I couldn't imagine life without it! AG) To
Wrap it Up:
To keep YM at a fair length, I'll end this now. Sorry for any postings thataren't on here yet. I'm really trying
to work through the back log and befair...
ANGEMAIL's next installment will be posted on the 29th.
Next issue will be
out for Sunday the 27th--work permitting...