We don't just sing George's songs, we've lived them...

The George Michael Singers worked with the pop superstar for decades before his untimely death aged 53. Ahead of a new live show celebrating his hits, they reveal George's kind-hearted generosity, struggles with loneliness and fascination with soap operas

- By Sue Crawford

HIS 25TH anniversary tour saw him visit 41 different countries over two years and perform to an incredible 1.3 million adoring fans. But George Michael admitted to his friends that he would actually much rather have been at home on the sofa watching his favourite soaps Coronation Street and EastEnders.

The superstar, who clocked up more than 30 top 10 hits, was Britain's biggest pop star of the Eighties and one of the bestselling recording artists of all time.

But according to his friend and backing singer Shirley Lewis, George was actually a homebird, and rather than live the high life, he preferred sleeping in his own bed and enjoying a quiet drink in his local pub.

"He hated touring," says Shirley. "He'd rather be at home, watching EastEnders and Coronation Street, taking his dogs for a walk and going to his local for a nice glass of wine.

"He loved the soaps. When we were away on tour and he couldn't see them, he'd say, 'I can't wait to get home.' And when he got back there'd be a whole stack of videos and he'd sit there and catch up."

She adds: "He found touring lonely. There were 14 of us in the band and he couldn't hang out with all of us but he felt he couldn't pick out his friends and be with them because it would alienate the rest of the band.

"So, after the show, he'd just go back to his hotel room. One minute he was in front of 60,000 cheering people and the next he was in his room on his own."

Shirley, 65, was George's backing singer for 30 years and appeared on some of his most iconic hits including Father Figure, Fastlove and Freedom! '90. The two were close friends and George quickly became someone she could turn to in times of crisis. Shirley, who was married to Bros singer Luke Goss, says: "George was like an older brother to me, and he was the most generous person I've ever come across.