It was one of the most difficult songs he had ever sung, George Michael would later say. But in the video above, the singer – he died on Christmas Day 2016 at the age of 53 – does a spectacular rendition of I need somebody to love. Then 28, Michael was rehearsing the song with the remaining members of British rock band Queen as a tribute to the group’s frontman Freddie Mercury, who had died recently. The year was 1992.
“It was the proudest moment of my career, but mixed with real sadness,” Michael would later say of the performance.
After the singer’s sudden death, many fans have chosen this video to remember him by. It also features David Bowie – one of the other megastars of music to have died in 2016 – looking on as Michael sings. As the performance ends, Bowie claps enthusiastically.
Commented a fan : “I’d like to think Bowie and Mercury were standing in the pearly gates singing Somebody to Love as George Michael entered Heaven Christmas morning.”
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