Ladies & Gentlemen: The Songs of George Michael

Ladies & Gentlemen: The Songs of George Michael
Live album by Anthony Callea
Released	1 August 2014 (Australia)
Recorded	16 May 2014, Melbourne
Genre	Pop pop rock acoustic
Label	ABC Music
Anthony Callea chronology
This Is Christmas (2013) Ladies & Gentlemen: The Songs of George Michael (2014) Backbone (2016)

Ladies & Gentlemen: The Songs of George Michael is a 17-track live DVD/CD recorded by Australian singer Anthony Callea. The album serves as a tribute to the songs of George Michael; the title refers to Michael's 1998 greatest hits collection, Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael. It was recorded and filmed live with a 9 piece band at The Palms at Crown in Melbourne on May 16, 2014.^[1]

The concert saw Callea perform with a number of artists, including a duet with Casey Donovan, whose appearance on stage to sing "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" became a crowd favourite and marked the first time the pair had sung together since the Australian Idol finale in 2004.

Background and release

In 2013, Callea released the albums Thirty and This Is Christmas, performed in the hit musical Grease and sold his house. He then decided the time was right to take a risk and stage the show that would become Ladies and Gentlemen: The Songs of George Michael 30 years after the release of "Careless Whisper", Michael's first solo single away from Wham!. Originally intended to be a one-off show, the show sold out quickly and his record label, ABC Music, wanted to record and release it, to which Callea agreed.

Callea extended the life of the "one-off" show with not only a theatre performance in each capital city but also a screening of the concert DVD on Foxtel in September as part of the "Athony Callea Presents: Music Legends" series.^[2][3]

Anthony said, "Like many of us, the music of George Michael has influenced me from a young age. As a singer, his vocal ability is undoubtedly one of a kind. The fact that his music catalogue is full of memorable hits that the audience absolutely embraced and loved on the night makes it even more exciting to now hit more stages around the country and celebrate one of the finest musicians of our time".^[4]

Callea lists his top five George Michael songs as; "Patience", "Amazing", "As", "Fastlove" and "Careless Whisper".^[5]

Track listing

CD

1. "Amazing"
2. "Father Figure"
3. "Patience"
4. "Fastlove"
5. "I Can't Make You Love Me"
6. "Jesus to a Child"
7. "Kissing a Fool" (featuring John Foreman)
8. "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (featuring Casey Donovan)
9. "Freedom"
10. "Too Funky"
11. "One More Try"
12. "Faith" (featuring Tim Campbell)
13. "Somebody to Love" (featuring Tim Campbell)
14. "As" (featuring Susie Ahern)
15. "Careless Whisper"
16. "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go"

DVD

1. "Amazing"
2. "Father Figure"
3. "Patience"
4. "Fastlove"
5. "Jesus to a Child"
6. "Kissing a Fool" (featuring John Foreman)
7. "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (featuring Casey Donovan)
8. "Freedom"
9. "Too Funky"
10. "One More Try"
11. "Faith" (featuring Tim Campbell)
12. "Somebody to Love" (featuring Tim Campbell)
13. "As" (featuring Susie Ahern)
14. "Careless Whisper"
15. "I'm Your Man"
16. "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go"

Charts

The DVD/CD debuted at No. 1 on the Australian Top 40 Music DVD Chart for the week commencing 11 August 2014.

Weekly charts

Chart (2014)	Peak position
Australian Music DVDs (ARIA)[6]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (2014)	Position
Australian Audiovisual (ARIA)[7]	47

Tour

Date	Location	Venue
One-off show
May 16, 2014	Melbourne	The Palms at Crown
Additional dates for "The Ladies and Gentlemen" concert[8][9]
September 19, 2014	Perth	Astor Theatre
September 20, 2014	Adelaide	Her Majesty’s Theatre
October 3, 2014	Sydney	Enmore Theatre
October 4, 2014	Melbourne	The Palms at Crown
October 11, 2014	Brisbane	Convention Centre

References

1. "Ladies & Gentleman The Songs Of George Michael: Live CD + DVD". JBHiFi.com.au. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
2. "Anthony Callea presents music legends". www.studiotv.com.au. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
3. "Former Wyndham resident Anthony Callea will sing the hits of George Michael in upcoming national tour". SARAH ANDERSON. www.heraldsun.com.au. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
4. "Anthony Callea News". www.anthonycallea.com. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
5. "Anthony Callea - Ladies & Gentlemen: The Songs of George Michael". www.au.timeout.com. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
6. The ARIA Report – Issue #1276. Pandora Archive. Retrieved 10 January 2015
7. "ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 50 Audiovisual 2014". www.aria.com.au. January 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
8. "Anthony Callea hits road performing Ladies & Gentlemen songs of George Michael". www.abcmusic.com.au. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
9. "ANTHONY CALLEA TOURING THE SONGS OF GEORGE MICHAEL IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER.". Sosefina Fuamoli. www.theaureview.com. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2015.