Editing George Michael (section)

===Politics===
{{Blockquote|"To call us [[Thatcherite]] was so simplistic, basically saying that if you've got a deep enough tan and made a bit of money then you've got to be a Thatcherite."|Michael, a [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] voter throughout the 1980s, distancing himself from Thatcher's [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]].<ref name="Lynskey">{{cite book |first=Dorian |last=Lynskey |year=2011 |title=33 Revolutions Per Minute |title-link=33 Revolutions per Minute (book) |page=1836 |publisher=Faber & Faber }}</ref>}}

Michael's father was a [[communist]]. At the age of fifteen, Michael joined the [[Young Communist League (Great Britain)|Young Communist League]], under his Greek name.<ref name="Rantzen">{{cite web |last1=Leonard |first1=Charles |title=Shoot the Dog – George Michael |url=https://www.newframe.com/political-songs-shoot-the-dog-george-michael/ |website=New Frame |date=13 December 2019 |access-date=20 March 2021 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420072302/https://www.newframe.com/political-songs-shoot-the-dog-george-michael/ |url-status=live }}</ref> During the time of [[Margaret Thatcher]] as the Conservative [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] throughout the 1980s, Michael voted Labour.<ref name="Lynskey"/> In September 1984, Wham! performed at a benefit concert at London's [[Royal Festival Hall]] for the [[1984–1985 United Kingdom miners' strike|striking UK miners]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stanley |first1=Bob |title=Why Wham! were positively the most misunderstood group of the 1980s |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/dec/26/george-michael-wham-most-misunderstood-group-1980s-thatcherism |website=The Guardian |access-date=4 January 2022 |language=en |date=26 December 2016 |archive-date=2 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102072109/https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/dec/26/george-michael-wham-most-misunderstood-group-1980s-thatcherism |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2000, Michael joined [[Melissa Etheridge]], [[Garth Brooks]], [[Queen Latifah]], [[Pet Shop Boys]], and [[k.d. lang]], to perform in Washington, D.C. as part of Equality Rocks, a concert to benefit the [[Human Rights Campaign]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1432143/george-michael-queen-latifah-rock-equality.jhtml |title=George Michael, Queen Latifah To Rock For "Equality" |last=Basham |first=David |date=28 February 2000 |access-date=12 June 2011 |archive-date=7 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107101724/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1432143/george-michael-queen-latifah-rock-equality.jhtml |url-status=dead }}</ref> an American LGBT rights group. His 2002 single "[[Shoot the Dog]]" was critical of the friendly relationship between the UK and US governments, in particular the relationship between [[Tony Blair]] and [[George W. Bush]], with their involvement in the [[War on Terror]].<ref name="Blair" /> Michael voiced his concern about the lack of public consultation in the UK regarding the War on Terror: "On an issue as enormous as the possible bombing of Iraq, how can you represent us when you haven't asked us what we think?"<ref name="Blair">{{cite news|title=Michael's video lampoons the Blairs|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2077598.stm|access-date=11 April 2015|issue=1 July 2002}}</ref>

In 2006, Michael performed a free concert for [[NHS]] nurses in London to thank the nurses who had cared for his late mother. He told the audience: "Thank you for everything you do — some people appreciate it. Now if we can only get the government to do the same thing."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6199229.stm |title=Michael stages concert for nurses |work=BBC News |date=21 December 2006 |access-date=27 December 2016 |archive-date=27 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227131833/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6199229.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2007, Michael sent the £1,450,000 piano that [[John Lennon]] used to write "[[Imagine (John Lennon song)|Imagine]]" around the United States on a "peace tour", displaying at places where notable acts of violence had taken place, such as [[Dallas]]' [[Dealey Plaza]], where US President [[John F. Kennedy]] had been [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|shot]].<ref name="steinway">{{cite news|title=Most Expensive Musical Instruments |url=https://www.forbes.com/2006/04/10/cx_mr_0411featslide_print.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060518103716/http://www.forbes.com/2006/04/10/cx_mr_0411featslide_print.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 May 2006 |work=Forbes |date=10 April 2006 |access-date=15 February 2008 }}</ref> He devoted his 2007 concert in [[Sofia]], from his [[25 Live]] tour to the Bulgarian nurses prosecuted in the [[HIV trial in Libya]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=81212 |title=Bulgaria: George Michael: Free Bulgaria's Nurses in Libya! |publisher=Novinite.com |date=29 May 2007 |access-date=27 April 2009 |archive-date=28 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628183316/http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=81212 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 17 June 2008, Michael said he was thrilled by [[Same-sex marriage in California|California's legalisation of same-sex marriage]], calling the move "way overdue".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2008-06-18-georgemichael_N.htm |title=George Michael sounds off on gay marriage |work=[[USA Today]] |date=18 June 2008 |access-date=12 September 2011 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |first=Natalie |last=Rodman |archive-date=28 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081028153917/http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2008-06-18-georgemichael_N.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>