George Michaels forgotten acts of Christmas kindness: How Wham! star secretly funded womans IVF treatment after seeing her on TV, paid off strangers £25,000 debt - and even changed a ladys car tyre in the rain!
Legendary late popstar George Michael is back at the top of the charts - and newly-shared tales of his secret generosity show how he remains in fans hearts.
Legendary late popstar George Michael is back at the top of the charts - and newly-shared tales of his secret generosity show how he remains in fans hearts.
The former Wham! singer died on Christmas Day in 2016 and it was only then that many stories of his unpublicised acts of kindness and charity emerged.
Now many admirers are making a point of celebrating his efforts anew, as the anniversary of his death approaches - and with Wham!s hit Last Christmas back at number one in the UK singles charts.
The song missed out on the top spot when first released back in 1984, held off by Band Aids Do They Know Its Christmas? - on which Michael featured too.
But in the modern age of streaming and online downloads, Last Christmas finally hit number one in 2020 and achieved the accolade of being Christmas number one for the first time last year.
The track returned to number one last Friday and earlier this week was voted the nations favourite Christmas song, in a poll by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Yet Michael - who went on to have solo hits such as Careless Whisper, Faith and Fastlove - is also being cherished for his charity acts.
The singer, who was 53 when he died at his home in Goring-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, was revealed to have donated thousands of pounds not only to charities but also strangers after being touched on learning of their struggles.
Here are some of the moments which have left him lauded not only for his hit-making abilities but also his decency...
George Michael, one half of Wham! alongside Andrew Ridgeley, first hit number two in the charts in 1984 with Last Christmas but it has since reached the top in 2020, 2023 and 2024
Michael, pictured here performing at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert at Wembley Stadium in London in June 1998, died aged 53 on Christmas Day eight years ago
Fans have been newly paying tribute on X, formerly Twitter, to George Michaels kindness
Funding IVF hopefuls treatment
Writer James Bailey this week shared on X, formerly Twitter, an extract from James Gavins biography 2022 biography George Michael: A Life.
Mr Baileys post, which has received more than 10,000 likes, read: Since "Last Christmas" is back at number one, here’s a reminder of the time George Michael sent £15k to a Deal or No Deal contestant to pay for her fertility treatment, and gave £25k to a woman he saw crying in a café.
The £15,000 donation had initially been revealed by TV presenter Richard Osman in the hours following Michaels death on December 25 2016.
Osman told how the singer had called a woman who appeared on Channel 4 quiz show Deal Or No Deal to give her the money she needed for IVF treatment, after she fell short of winning the sum.
Osman, who had been a producer on the programme, tweeted: A woman on "Deal Or No Deal" told us she needed £15k for IVF treatment. George Michael secretly phoned the next day and gave her the £15k.
The contestant who benefitted was Jo Maidment, who later appeared on ITVs This Morning to talk about the donation in an appearance in January 2017 which reduced many viewers to tears.
The mother-of-two told how the star had wanted to remain anonymous, and only revealed his identity by sending her a huge bouquet of flowers with a card after she gave birth to her daughter Betsy in 2012.
His note read: Congratulations to you both, lots of love to Betsy. Love from Michelle and George Michael a.k.a anonymous.
George Michael (pictured left, with Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley right) made an anonymous donation of £15,000 to help a Deal Or No Deal contestant with IVF treatment
Jo Maidment, who received the anonymous donation from George Michael, paid tribute to him - she is pictured on ITVs This Morning in July 2012 before news of his involvement was known
He had watched her on Deal Or No Deal in 2010, when she had spoken of being desperate to have IVF but turned down by the NHS on the grounds her partner had already had a child.
It was reported at the time that a mystery businessmans PA had phoned into the show to donate the cost of treatment so she could have her longed-for baby.
When her first attempt at IVF resulted in a miscarriage the singer sent her flowers, but she still didnt know the mystery benefactors identity.
The couple saved up to pay for a second round of IVF, but used the frozen eggs from the first round made possible by George.
Their daughter Betsy was conceived, but it was only after she was born that they discovered the identity of the mystery donor.
Jo recalled in 2017: It was a couple of days after we came home with Betsy and we had loads of cards and flowers, and there was a massive bouquet of flowers that came and I read the card, me and my husband read it hundreds of times to believe it.
When news of the singers death broke she was left in shock, telling This Morning: It was hard, then I thought out of respect it was what he wanted and until this day I kept it secret.
She only went public with details of his donation after speaking to the late singers family and getting their blessing to share the story, with her appearance fee on the ITV show then going to Childline in honour of Michael.
She added: It’s just my way of saying thank you to George. I never got to thank him personally.
Paying off peoples debts
Other social media posts following George Michaels death included anecdotes about him spontaneously paying off strangers debts.
One person posted how he had overheard a distraught woman in a café discussing her financial woes, before writing a cheque for £25,000 and giving it to a waitress to hand over.
The staff member was reportedly given strict instructions only to present the cheque once the star had left.
And journalist Sali Hughes posted: I wrote in a piece ages about a celeb Id worked with tipping a barmaid £5k because she was a student nurse in debt. Was George Michael.
George Michael, seen here performing on stage in Vienna in September 2012, is said to have made spontaneous donations worth thousands of pounds to people struggling with debts
Social media users have been responding to the return of Last Christmas to number one, and the impending anniversary of Michaels death, by paying tribute online to such generosity.
One wrote: That’s what charity is about. Helping where you can, and remaining quiet. Charity is not about making you look good, but helping others.
Another posted: His generosity was on an equal with his songwriting. And I say that as not a Wham! fan. Its a huge shame hes no longer with us.
A different X commenter added: We should talk about George Michael far further than just reminiscing over Last Christmas and Careless Whisper every December and that’s before we talk about how much of a decent human he was.
Helping raise millions for charity
George Michael was also a committed charity fundraiser and volunteer, both in public roles and appearances as well as quietly behind the scenes.
During his lifetime he donated royalties from some of his biggest selling singles and has made hefty contributions to Childline, the Terrence Higgins Trust and Macmillan Cancer Support.
Michael, who spoke about losing his partner Anselmo Feleppa to HIV, personally supported the Terrence Higgins Trust for many years, Jane Barron from the organisation said following his death.
She said at the time: George also often thought of us to kindly donate experiences and gifts that were used to raise vital funds to help us support people living with HIV.
Along with other charities, we were grateful to benefit from the royalties of Georges 1991 duet with Elton John, Dont Let the Sun Go Down On Me.
His donations contributed to a vision of a world where people living with HIV live healthy lives free from prejudice and discrimination.
Meanwhile, Childline founder Esther Rantzen revealed how he had given the royalties from his 1996 number one single Jesus To A Child to the charity.
She said: For years now he has been the most extraordinarily generous philanthropist, giving money to Childline, but he was determined not to make his generosity public so no-one outside the charity knew how much he gave to the nations most vulnerable children.
Prolific charity supporter George Michael is pictured here performing at Pariss Opera Garnier in May 2013 at a gala in support of AIDS awareness and fundraising organisation Sidaction
He also backed the Elton John AIDS Foundations Elizabeth Taylor Memorial Fund - the two singers are seen here at an event launching it at Londons Royal Opera House in November 2011
I think all of us have memories of particular Wham! songs and George Michael songs which mean a great deal to us. Certainly, for Britains children, George Michael meant so much more.
Back when Last Christmas was first released in 1984, Michael and Ridgeley agreed that its proceeds would go towards Band Aids relief fund for Ethiopia - contributing £250,000 at the time, equivalent to more than £1million today.
And many organisations continue to benefit from the singers legacy.
This June, newly published figures disclose that the late stars businesses donated almost £2million to his charity last year.
Three of the companies which channelled his millions had given cash to the Mill Charitable Trust, which allocates donations to different voluntary organisations and is now run by his surviving sister, Yioda.
Robobuild Ltd gave just under £1million, Wham Music Ltd provided £500,000 and Big Geoff Overseas Ltd handed over £375,000.
The singer left the bulk of his £97 million estate to Yioda, 65, and other sister Melanie, who died on Christmas Day, exactly three years after his death, aged 55.
He also left a large amount to charity, including a piano worth £1.7million that had been owned by John Lennon.
Random acts of kindness
Another story shared following George Michaels death was how he stopped to help change a womans flat tyre when passing by in London in the 1990s.
Mary Ryan, who was leaving work when she noticed the problem with her car, told of being stunned when the celebrity came to her aid.
She recalled: Back in the early 1990s I was working on Edgware Road in London near the Sony Studios.
I came out of work to find my little 1974 Ford Fiesta had a flat tyre."
She remembered how Michael was coming out of the studios at the time and stopped in the rain to help her change it.
She added: Sadly, I didn’t have the nerve to ask for his autograph.
The writer James Baileys post this week remembering Michaels Deal Or No Deal generosity prompted others to share fondly-recalled encounters involving the star.
One told of how he showed kindness to a young girl who was in a coma in a hospitals intensive care unit at the height of his Wham! fame.
George Michael, seen here in the 1984 video for Last Christmas, agreed for the singles royalties that year to go towards Band Aids Ethiopia famine relief fund
The official X account run on behalf of the late George Michael has hailed the return of Last Christmas to the top of the charts, while charities and fans have also been acclaiming him
They posted: Working in ITU in 1984, young girl in a coma, family playing Wham songs as her favourite band.
Word got back to George via relative of another patient, he came to visit her - wonderful man.
It has also been shared how he would volunteer secretly at homeless shelters near his home in Highgate, north London.
Capital Radio DJ Mick Brown made public after Michaels death how the star would contribute £100,000 every Easter to the stations Help A London Child appeal.
The singer is also said to have paid £55,000 fpr a guitar auctioned for charity by Nordoff Robbins music therapy centre before handing it back immediately so it could be auctioned again and raise even more.
