Tonight the Music Seems So Loud

The Meaning of George Michael

Sathnam Sanghera

The story of the life and music of a pop superstar and a kaleidoscopic window into fame, homophobia, the 80s and 90s, creative genius, and addiction, revealing why the love for George Michael has only grown in the years since his tragic death on Christmas Day 2016.

There is no shortage of earnest books about the cultural significance of musicians like David Bowie, Bob Dylan, and John Lennon. But George Michael does not attract such attention. The music he produced is not generally deemed worthy of serious analysis, the man considered more noteworthy as a celebrity than a cultural figure. Yet such dismissals overlook how Michael’s life and work broke extraordinary boundaries and, in so doing, helped define an era.

A second generation immigrant and child of a Greek-Cypriot restaurateur, Michael could barely read music, and was not trained on any instrument, yet would compose hit songs in a single afternoon and play nearly every instrument on recordings that have reached totemic status. He had the rare ability to master both rock and R&B; and was, following Freddie Mercury’s death, seriously considered as a replacement frontman for Queen.

For many he became a symbol of eighties excess, played benefit gigs for miners and nurses, and was a prolific secret philanthropist. He had massive pop hits sometimes without any promotion at all, even after launching one of the most aggressive court cases against a record company in pop history. He was a teen crush for millions of girls, and stayed in the closet due to intense homophobia from his father and the media, but then became an impassioned campaigner for gay rights. A large part of his audience was suburban, middle-aged, female, and white, yet some of his most famous tunes were essentially R&B pop songs about casual sex in the city. He was wildly popular, at times ridiculed in the press, and fêted by some of the toughest critics, often simultaneously.

A deeply personal engagement with the life and music of George Michael, Sathnam Sanghera’s groundbreaking Tonight the Music Seems So Loud offers a colorful, insightful story on immigration, homophobia, and fame; the glorious eras of the 80s and 90s; creative and musical genius; the tabloids; addiction; obsessive fans; and why the love for George Michael has only grown in the years since his untimely death.

Sathnam Sanghera entered the British education system unable to speak English but went on to graduate from Christ’s College, Cambridge, with a degree in English language and literature. He has been shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards twice, for his memoir The Boy with the Topknot and his novel Marriage Material. Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain was a Sunday Times (London) bestseller, longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, and named a Book of the Year at the National (UK) Book Awards. His latest book, Empire World, was a Sunday Times (London) bestseller. Sathnam lives in London.

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Endorsements & Reviews

Praise for Sathnam Sanghera’s Empireland:

"A fascinating reckoning with a history of empire.” The Guardian

“Should be on the compulsory reading list.” John Simpson, author of The Word Detective

"I only wish this book had been around when I was at school.” Sadiq Khan, mayor of London

"A balanced and insightful study of the British empire and contemporary attitudes towards it.” The Times (London)

"This immensely readable book is very timely. The account by Sanghera is simultaneously personal and scholarly. It addresses many of the questions that are now urgent subjects of public debate—such as Britain's role in the slave trade and the connections between empire and multiculturalism.” The Financial Times

"An important book and that's not a phrase to use lightly. It's an exposé and a reminder of how conveniently the British have rewritten the past and buried the bones of their shame. A necessary, uncomfortable and illuminating read.” Kit de Waal, New Statesman

"This remarkable book shines the brightest of lights into some of the darkest and most misunderstood corners of our shared history.” James O'Brien, author of How They Broke Britain

"Lucid but never simplistic; entertaining but never frivolous; intensely readable while always mindful of nuance and complexity. Empireland takes a perfectly-judged approach to its contentious but necessary subject.” Jonathan Coe, author of The Proof of My Innocence