When George Michael rehearsed Queen's Somebody To Love as David Bowie looked on...

25 December 2023, 18:00

George Michael with David Bowie inset — George Michael at The Freddie Mercury tribute concert with David Bowie inset. Picture: 1. Nigel Wright/Mirrorpix/Getty Images 2. GARCIA/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

On the anniversary of George Michael's untimely passing we look back at this piece of music history from the archives.

The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for Aids Awareness took place on 20 April 1992 and featured everyone from Guns N' Roses to David Bowie. It served as a fitting tribute to the world class performer who tragically died due to complications of AIDS on 24 November 1991, while raising awareness and funds for the disease.

The concert itself is well known amongst music fans across the world, but do you remember this footage of George Michael rehearsing his take on Queen's Somebody to Love as the likes of David Bowie and Seal look on?

Watch his stunning and heartbreaking rendition of the track here:

Queen & George Michael - Somebody to Love (Rehearsal 1992) [HD]

As The Independent notes, George Michael referred to it as "the proudest moment of (his) career," but said it was "mixed with real sadness,” due to the fact he had still not gone public with his own homosexuality.

Tragically, his then-secret-boyfriend would also go on to die of an AIDS-related illness a year later.

The clip is even more poignant since George Michael himself passed away on Christmas Day 2016, just as his captivated onlooker Bowie also left us after losing his battle with cancer on 10th January the same year.

Watch George Michael and Queen perform the finished article at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness below: