Just over eight months since George Michael died due to heart disease and a damaged liver, the iconic singer is back on the airwaves.
″‘Fantasy’ was originally meant to be on ‘Listen Without Prejudice’ and was intended to be one of the singles from the album, but somehow it got lost in the ether,” Michael’s manager David Austin told Radio 2′s Chris Evans, who premiered the single on Thursday.
The “vastly different” version of the upbeat track, was originally released as a b-side in 1990 and then as a bonus track on the 2011 “Faith” album deluxe re-release, the BBC notes.
According to Austin, Michael happened upon “Fantasy” while working on a re-issue of “Listen Without Prejudice” and found it single-worthy, so he discussed the track with legendary producer Nile Rodgers, who overhauled the song.
“George phoned up Nile Rodgers, his good pal, in early 2016 because the two of them have always spoken the same musical language, and Nile has reworked the record.”
Rodgers addressed the single’s release ― and the anxiety that some fans have about it ― on Twitter.
If “Fantasy” isn’t your thing, fear not, NME.com reports that Michael left three albums worth of unreleased material in his vaults. Though there’s no official word on when more new music might be released, but Michael’s sisters Melanie and Yioda have committed themselves to ”[carrying on] as we know [Michael] would have wanted, to share and enjoy his precious legacy and to continue to bring you joy ― through his extraordinarily beautiful music.”
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