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George Michael: Over half a million records have been sold since the superstar's death one month ago
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One month ago today, on Christmas Day, the world was in shock following the announcement of the death of George Michael.
Michael was one of the biggest pop stars of the 1980s, first with the pop duo Wham! and then as a solo artist, but he remained a prominent figure in the music industry right up until his death at the age of 53.
In the month since his passing, over half a million records have been sold across his Wham! and solo work, as fans reflect on the icon's impressive catalogue.
Singles
In the week following his death, George's timeless festive classic with Wham! Last Christmas returned to the Top 10 at 7 for the first time since its 1984 release, where it famously peaked at Number 2. His first solo offering Careless Whisper also hit the Top 100 for the first time in 32 years, re-entering at 44.
Wham! celebrating their first Number 1 single Wake Me Up Before You Go Go (Rex/Shutterstock)
Across all his work, just over 421,000 singles were sold across physical, digital and streaming equivalent sales, made up of 153,000 sales and 26.8 million track streams. Last Christmas was his most popular track (46,000 combined chart sales), followed by Careless Whisper (33,500).
An old re-issue of George's Freedom '90 also returned to the top of the Official Vinyl Singles Chart, logging two weeks at Number 1.
George Michael's Top 5 biggest tracks since his passing, based on sales and audio streams are:
| TITLE | ARTIST | YEAR | |
| 1 | LAST CHRISTMAS | WHAM | 1984 |
| 2 | CARELESS WHISPER | GEORGE MICHAEL | 1984 |
| 3 | FAITH | GEORGE MICHAEL | 1987 |
| 4 | DON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME | GEORGE MICHAEL FT ELTON JOHN | 1991 |
| 5 | WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GO GO | WHAM | 1984 |
©2017 Official Charts Company . All rights reserved.
Albums
In the days after his death, it was Michael's 1998 retrospective Ladies & Gentlemen that proved the most popular release on the Official Albums Chart, returning to the Top 10 at Number 4. His more recent 2006 hits album Twenty Five later reached a high of Number 19. His Wham! Compilation, The Final, has so far re-entered at 21.
Image: Rex/Shutterstock
A combined total of 147,500 George Michael/Wham! albums have been sold and streamed in the month since Michael's passing, with fans particularly seeking out the star’s physical records - CD and vinyl sales account for 54% of all purchases from his catalogue in the past month.
George's Top 5 biggest albums since his passing, based on sales and audio streams are:
| TITLE | ARTIST | YEAR | |
| 1 | LADIES & GENTLEMENT - THE BEST OF | GEORGE MICHAEL | 1998 |
| 2 | THE FINAL | WHAM | 1986 |
| 3 | TWENTY FIVE | GEORGE MICHAEL | 2006 |
| 4 | FAITH | GEORGE MICHAEL | 1987 |
| 5 | SYMPHONICA | GEORGE MICHAEL | 2014 |
©2017 Official Charts Company . All rights reserved.
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Sunshine Gal
over here in the u.s., there should be updated re-certifications (hopefully soon) of all his u.s. catalog. his biggest u.s. success was his 'faith' album...#1 album of the year for 1988 and went 10x plat. (diamond). he also had 6 top 10 hits off that album, still the all time record for any uk act ;)
ML
Mick Lynch
fair play lads. i was gonna mention that also what you said. i remember it being re-released in 1985 and going Top 10.
Goldj Kelly
George Michael, Prince, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston were murdered set up
Goldj Kelly
Best George Michael Wham albums thats a must have is " Faith" and Whams
Make it Big" which has all his biggest hits such as careless whisper,
everything she wants, Father Figure, One more try, I want your s,
Kissing a fool,
K
kdy
But it doesn't have the song "older" and I love that song.
Goldj Kelly
George Michael, Prince, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston were murdered
Steven Pickup
Did you do it?
Neil Prince
Last Christmas also went top ten in 1985, peaking at 6 that time around. You guys know this! :)
Also, the vinyl re-issue was Freedom 90!
D
Denise
It actually peaked at #2 like the article said
Neil Prince
It peaked at 2 in 1984 and 6 in 1985 thank you
Claire Woods
If you were a fan wouldn't you already have all his albums?!
Andrew
I had some on vinyl and tape which became old and obsolete. I had some on CD, then I moved country and and had to ditch them. Being a fan doesn't mean you own the entire back catalog of an artist or even listen to them religiously. For me, his death brought back many memories since childhood and therefore I purchased some of his music again. A true legend, the music is as good as ever.
Steven Pickup
Awe, remember tapes? lol