Sathnam Sanghera on the Life and Legacy of George Michael

Mon Jun 01 2026 at 07:00 pm to 08:30 pm UTC+01:00

Union Chapel | London

Intelligence Squared
Publisher/HostIntelligence Squared
Sathnam Sanghera on the Life and Legacy of George Michael
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Sathnam Sanghera on the Life and Legacy of George Michael
About this Event

George Michael wrote Careless Whisper, one of the biggest pop songs of our age in an hour in his childhood bedroom. Alongside his childhood best friend Andrew Ridgeley he founded Wham!, a revolutionary pop group which became one of the defining bands of the 1980s, selling over 30 million records. Yet behind the genius of George Michael was the complex personal story of Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou who grew up in a conservative Greek-Cypriot immigrant family and had a life shaped by shame, addiction, homophobia, tabloid scrutiny and extraordinary creative flair.

Ten years on since his tragic death on Christmas Day in 2016, George Michael’s cultural legacy is as strong as ever, with his unforgettable hit song Last Christmas still playing on playlists and radio stations every December. On June 1, Sathnam Sanghera, award-winning journalist who has long written about immigrant communities in Britain and the legacy of empire, joins us live at Union Chapel to discuss his new book, Tonight the Music Seems So Loud, and to explore the life, music and contradictions of the man behind the legend.

Join us for this rare portrait of a pop icon and put your questions to Sathnam in the audience Q&A.

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Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Union Chapel, Compton Terrace, London, United Kingdom

Tickets

GBP 19.99 to GBP 67.99

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