George Michael announces "last ever" arena gigs
LONDON (Reuters) - British singer and former Wham! frontman George Michael announced what his spokeswoman called his last ever big-venue gigs on Wednesday.
The 44-year-old recording star said he would play two extra concerts at Earls Court in London on August 24 and 25 to mark the end of his "25 Live Tour," which started nearly two years ago in Barcelona.
The concerts will be called "The Final Two," which a statement on his Web site explained was a reference to his sell-out Wembley Stadium show in the same city in 1986 that brought down the curtain on Wham!.
Since then the artist has forged a successful solo career, and his overall global record sales are in excess of 100 million.
"He's not going to play any more big arenas," said a spokeswoman, when asked to clarify whether Michael planned to stop touring after the gigs.
"He will never do arena shows again from my understanding, so this is the final two shows of this kind that he will do," she added.
But the spokeswoman could not confirm a report on the BBC Web site that the singer planned to retire from touring altogether.
Michael, whose hits included "Careless Whisper" and "Last Christmas," told Reuters in 2005 that he planned to "disappear" from the world of pop altogether.
Reuters/Nielsen
