How George Michael Changed Music Forever, with Sathnam Sanghera (Part One)

**Mia Sorenti** (0:00)
A brief content warning, this episode contains some mature themes and offensive language.
Hello, Intelligence Squared members, producer Mia Sorenti here. What can the life of George Michael tell us about music, identity, politics and modern Britain? Today's members episode is the full recording of our recent live event with award-winning journalist and author Sathnam Sanghera. Sanghera joined us at Union Chapel to reconsider the life and legacy of George Michael.
Drawing on his new book, Tonight the Music Seems So Loud, Sanghera looks beyond the pop icon to explore Michael's life as the son of a Greek Cypriot immigrant family and how his background shaped his music, politics and sense of self. He also examines Michael's activism from apartheid and the AIDS epidemic to his opposition to the Iraq War and dissects his legacy today. Let's join our host Jenny Kleeman now live at Union Chapel.

**Jenny Kleeman** (1:03)
Hello, and welcome to this Intelligence Squared event. I'm Jenny Kleeman and I am delighted to introduce our guest this evening. Sathnam Sanghera, author of several best-selling and award-winning works of fiction and non-fiction including Empire Land, which I'm sure you all know.
He won the British Book Award for Narrative Non-Fiction. He was made into a documentary for Channel 4 Marriage Material, which was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award and was adapted for The Sage in 2025 His memoir, The Boy with the Topknot, was shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award and was a BBC film. He's also a lifelong George Michael fan. So today we're going to be talking about his new book.
Tonight the Music Seems So Loud, The Meaning of George Michael. Of course, afterwards, after we're going to chat for about 40 minutes or so, then you're going to have a chance to ask Sathnam questions and he's going to be signing copies of his book on stage afterwards. So I guess my first question is, after five years of immersing yourself in the world of the British Empire, how does it feel to be on stage talking about George Michael?

**Sathnam Sanghera** (2:21)
Pretty weird. I've got to say I'm quite nervous because I've not learned to talk about the subject yet. And also in my head, George Michael is literally the most glamorous person in the world.
And I'm very aware that I am not. You know, I'm basically this mumbling Asian man from Wolverhampton. And I want to do him, I could feel the gap, you know?

**Jenny Kleeman** (2:45)
Well, I'm sure there are lots of people here who agree with you that he's the most glamorous person in the world. And we're going to be celebrating him in our conversation tonight. I want to know, how did you first discover him? Where were you?
When was it?

**Sathnam Sanghera** (2:57)
I've got a theory that actually you might disprove me. I've got a theory that no one can remember when they first heard George Michael, because he's just always been everywhere, you know? I played this game where if I'm ever walking through a shopping mall, anywhere in the world, I count how long it is before I hear a Wham or a George Michael track. It's never more than 90 minutes, you know? And I can't remember when I first heard George, because I feel like he's always been there. But my sisters were hugely into Wham, because they fancied George and Andrew in 1984 I was too young and straight.
And then they kind of lost interest, moved on to Bruce Springsteen, weirdly. And I probably got into him later, in 1990, with Listen Without Prejudice, you know? I think it was the kind of melancholia and sensitivity of his lyrics. And, you know, I grew up in a Punjabi world where the men were all very macho and had no feelings.
And so there was this man who sang with such sensitive lyrics and in such a beautiful way. He just seemed to represent a different model of masculinity, which really appealed to me as a depressed teenager.

**Jenny Kleeman** (4:15)
There was a review for one of your books that said, I'm going to read this, as for the author's love of George Michael's back catalog, some things are worth keeping secret.

**Sathnam Sanghera** (4:27)
Yeah.

**SPEAKER_4** (4:28)
But I want to ask you about that.

**Sathnam Sanghera** (4:29)
The first review I ever had.

**Jenny Kleeman** (4:30)
The first review you ever had. Yeah, very negatively.

**Gary Crowley** (4:32)
But then, is that fair?

**Jenny Kleeman** (4:33)
I want to ask you that. Is George Michael uncool or is he cool?

**Sathnam Sanghera** (4:38)
This is the thing, my whole life, my fandom has been a source of mockery, you know, in my life, my friends, at school, sometimes my family, my partners, and it's been consistent. It's a very strange thing to be a fan of George Michael in the 90s, you know, everyone was into Britpop and Oasis, and I was into Mariah Carey, George Michael and Prince. It's quite odd.