YOU'VE GOT YOGMAEL!

HI ladies and gents! And no, I don't know why I called yesterday's
list YOGAMAEL... An intro from the vaults for you:

OK, I've decided, it's time to start talking YOGMAEL Weekend '97,
seriously now. Here's the deal, 3 days in LA sometime during the
summer. What are we going to do? Well, meet each other, talk
some George, listen to some George, watch some George, drink
in honour of George, invade a Karaoke bar, do some touristy things
while wearing funky YOGMAEL baseball caps, and the like.
So here's what I need to know, I am going to offer a choice of 2
weekends. The whole point of my trip to California is to visit/meet
Alicia, and we have decided on 2 possible time frames for my visit.
Now if I fly out for July, YM Weekend '97 will be July 25th to 27th.
If August, then August 1 to 3rd. So here's what I need to know,
anyone who SERIOUSLY plans to join me, please vote for a
weekend. This will also tell me how many people to plan for.
More details to follow...

AND AWAY WE GO...
***************************
rose.gm-at-dascom.or.at (Rose Wagner) writes:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
To all members of the Panayiotou Family,

my heartfelt prayers to Geroge and his family to be strong.
I lost my mother 5 years ago. I loved her so much and I
know the pain. So, with love from Germany and Austria
from all friends and especially with love and prayers from

Rose Wagner
***************************
YOGD-at-aol.com (DeAnna) writes:
-------------------------------------------------
Thanks, Amanda, for this opportunity.

My love and prayers are with George and each member of his family.
I feel such a deep sadness. I think of the love Mrs. Panayiotou had for
her son...the pride she felt...the joy he gave her. I wish I had been able
to thank her for giving the world her son and his music. God bless them
all and grant them peace and understanding...De
***************************
BoydstonR-at-aol.com (Rosetta) writes:
-------------------------------------------------------
To the Panayiotou Family,
My thoughts and prayers go out to George, his family and friends.
God Bless,
Rosetta
***************************
FAITHMICHA-at-aol.com writes:
--------------------------------------------
Please send my deepest sympathy to George and his family for me.
I feel for all of them. If only there was some way he could know that
we all care.
***************************
ruffus1-at-camalott.com (ruffus1) writes:
--------------------------------------------------------
Hello

Just wanted to add my condolences to George and his family. I just hope
the press leaves him alone to grieve. It hard enough to lose someone
but to have newspaper reporters write about your every move must be
really difficult.

Teresa
***************************
Joshua_Hill-at-hqlink.cbsi.com (Joshua Hill) writes:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello,

My name is Joshua Hill and this is my first posting as I have only
been on the mailing list about four days or so. I enjoy it very much
and would like to say thanks to Amanda for such a creative and
informative effort!!

First off, it is very sad about GM's mother!! I was listening to
"Jesus To A Child" last nite and it took on a whole new siginificance
with this recent tragedy. I have lost a relative to cancer and, for
me, the "dying" is worse than the "death" so I can relate. I hope he
pulls thru okay and Im sure everyone's thoughts and/or prayers go out
to him and his family. I hope the media and everyone else gives him &
his family the proper respect they deserve and allow them to have
peace of mind in a time like this. And I'd like to second AG's notion
that noone disturb the hospital or the family in a time like this.
Musicians are still human and deserve respect just like we all do. I
would like to send my thoughts and hope for the family. Very sad
indeed.....

Now as I climb off my soapbox... I have a few questions....
First why is GM referred to as 'Yog'-- please excuse my ignorance but
I have no clue as to this....

 

(It's a nickname that is the result of the Greek pronunciation of his legal
first name of Georgios, it's not George-ee-os, it's Yorgos. AG)

Secondly, within a month's time I will be traveling from the US to
London, England on a trip. I was wondering if any Londoners (or anyone
else) can direct me to any good music stores in the area. Of course,
preferably, ones with GM merchandise. You can email me privately at
joshua.hill-at-juno.com
Thanks in advance for any and all help!!

Once again, sending my sympathy!!!

Joshua Hill

"....when you breathed your last breath you saved my soul
you smiled at me, like Jesus to a child...."
***************************
z715511-at-sbe1.uncfsu.edu (Fuentes, James) writes:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Amanda,

This is my first time writing to Yogmail, and I just thought I'd let
you know what a fantastic job I think you're doing. I always look
forward to reading Yogmail. I've been subscribed since issue 92, so
I guess it's time I contribute! I was looking through some old
magazines the other day for articles about GM, and I found an
interview that I thought everyone may want to read.

The following are exerpts from the May 20, 1988 issue of US.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
US: Are you surprised by Faith's success?

GM: You know, I've always thought it a stroke of luck that what I
like to do musically relates to an awful lot of people. Faith is a
fine collection of songs, and I knew it was going to be a very, very
successful commercial album. I don't think it depended on any sort
of gimmickry or imagery. I think it's a lot more genuine than a lot
of music that's selling now.

US: Any guess why Faith has done so well in America?

GM: I've always felt if I do what comes naturally, to the best of my
ability, then the public will react favorably.

US: How do you feel about being on tour?

GM: I like performing because it's the absolute zenith of anybody's
creative releases. There is no better feeling in the world. I often
think if I had to decide which was the better rush, and which I'd
give up first, walking onstage in front of thousands of people or
sex....I think I'd have to give up walking onstage, because I've
already proven that I can do that for a year. I can't imagine going
without sex for a year. But it's the only feeling that comes close.
I hate being on tour, though, and the whole process, because you're
surrounded by your own public persona 24 hours a day.

US: How sincere was the optimism that ran through Wham!'s music?
Were you always as up and your songs made it sound?

GM: Towards the beginning that optimism was totally, 100 percent
genuine. We were very, very young, very up. Even the ballad on our
first album(Nothing Looks the Same in the Light, from Fantastic),
about the first time you ever sleep with someone, was written from a
totally genuine, naive point of view. I was seventeen, but I'd
already written Careless Whisper. It was written about a balance of
emotions that I hadn't really experienced. Make It Big was pretty
genuine, but by the end of recording it, things were starting to
weigh on me a bit. It was tough to make something that up when
you're feeling like s----. With Wham!, that feeling of optimism was
imperative.

US: How calculated was the promotion of George Micheal as a sex
symbol during the Wham! days?

GM: The whole business of promoting me physically was something I
never considered, because I didn't see myself in that light as a
child. Once it started, I'm not saying I ignored it. I was the
instigator, but I was swept along in the sense that I was young, and
had no real perception of how big it would become and no perception
of how I would fight it later.

US: So no regrets?

GM: The whole Wham! thing was not a mistake, it was really a
blessing in disguise. So this is a new beginning, a rebirth. In
this country, that is done by letting people know more about you.
When I was percieved as all teeth and earrings, I didn't let people
know much about me. When we were selling loads and loads of
records, it didn't really seem there was going to be any problems.
Now I'm perfectly prepared to let people know what I'm about.

US: Until the release of Faith, you had been keeping a pretty low
profile. Why?

GM: I stayed out of the public's eye because I needed a rest. Then
I Want Your Sex came along. The song was written and the album
wasn't coming out until the end of the year, so I thought it needed a
vehicle. Along came the movie(Beverly Hills Cop II). Now I wish we
had nothing to do with it. I've always felt that songs used in movie
soundtracks were somehow cheapened, and though I've been asked
to put songs on soundtracks before, I always said no. This time I

said yes and wish I hadn't.

US: What's been the hardest part of this transition from poster boy
to solo artist?

GM: I've always resented that perception. At a certain point you
want to say, "Here's the album, now you can't criticize me for the
past. Give me a break." The only way to change perceptions is by
telling people what I'm really about. I'm not going to let this
opportunity pass me by and let people's prejudices keep on running.
So here I am.
-------------------------------------------------------
If anyone wants a full transcript of the interview, drop me a line.

(I would, I would... AG)

I have a couple of questions, if anyone can answer them. A Different
Corner(along with Careless Whisper) is my favourite song of all time.
But I can't understand one of the lines in the lyrics. In the second
part of the song:

I've never come close in all of these years
You are the only one to stop my tears
I'm so scared,_______?

("Of this love" AG)

Also, does George speak Portuguese? Everyone's been commenting
on how well he sings in it in Desafinado.

(Methinks a bit. AG)

Damn, this was a long letter!
Oh well. Peace, love, and happiness.

James Fuentes
***************************
JMac022-at-aol.com (Jason) writes:
--------------------------------------------------
Amanda, you're the best !!! When George invites you to his Hampstead
pad to parrr-ty!! you will have more friends than anyone in Ontario!!! :)

(LOL! AG)

What I don't understand is how could there only be one line voted for
twice in yogmael honours, thereby eliminating the best line category.

"The ones who resist/we most want to kiss/wouldn't you say?"

This is the best line I think (followed by 2nd place for "you brushed my
eyes with angels wings/the kind that makes devils cry"), and I just
wanted to see if I could drum up some support from people on the list
who might have overlooked that. Maybe it can be the honorary "special
line" or something like that if we get at least 25 people to write in
support of that. Whaddy'all say?

(You're trying to make more work for me aren't you? And so lost this
post got in the vaults...As you know, that line was voted for by you and
I only, hence, I really could just plain have acclaimed it... AG)

Do you know what categories George was nominated in for the Grammys
in '89, when he won album of the year? If not, could someone else tell me?

(I can't recall at the moment. I don't have a Grammy book handy. AG)

Thanks
Jason
***************************
FREE2BONE-at-aol.com (Rich) writes:
-------------------------------------------------------
I feel that George's emotions are comming to mature for all of us. There
has to be a reason for all of us to follow him the way we do. It only takes
one emotion to make a song our favorite. George just happens to be one
of the most sensative, emotional song writers to this day. I couldn't see
myself crying over anything written by the Smashing Pumpkins. I don't
know how to explain it, but everytime George changes, it seems to fill a
void in me, somehow. From Disco, to pop and now something with a
little jazz in it. He's utterly a genious.......

Rich (Free2Bone-at-aol.com)
Thank you........ MUSIC.MONEY.LOVE.FAITH
***************************
TO Wrap it Up:

Hey Nana connection? When did the ladies start to become more glam
and sexy in their presentation? A year would be helpful, it's to test a
theory.

"Never state, what you can't imply."

 
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