An ode to 25Live

George Michael doesn't do things by halves, does he? When he takes a break from going on tour, he stays away for some 15 years. Of course there was a lot going on in his personal life at the time (too much death), but maybe he had just a touch of stage fright as well?

Anyway, in 2006 he finally returned to the stage, and once there didn't want to leave again, much to the delight of all his fans. 25Live started out as a celebration of his 25 year career but quickly turned into a way of life for George and the fans. The show 'ran' for three years (2006-2008), plus 3 shows in Australia in 2010.

25Live was a terrific show. It sold very well in Europe. (It wasn't quite as big a success in America, but the American crowds made up for poor ticket sales with sheer enthusiasm. Man, those guys were loud!). The show was selected to open Wembley Stadium in London in 2007. All in all, 25Live was very succesfull for team George Michael.

Somehow I bought tickets for 20 concerts in three years, I’m not quite sure how that happened. I certainly didn’t start out with the idea of going to as many concerts as that. In fact, for a while I couldn't even get tickets for one concert!

I didn’t know about 25Live until a few days after the tickets went on sale in the Netherlands. Of course, tickets for all three shows in Rotterdam had sold out within minutes, and I was heartbroken.
When I was looking for tickets on the secondary market, a nice lady contacted me and advised to buy tickets for the not yet sold-out show in Oberhausen, Germany, instead of buying potentially dodgy tickets for Rotterdam. Excellent advise which I’m still thankful for. So off to Oberhausen we went.
 
And of course I was blown away by the show, 25Live is pure magic. I wanted to see more of 25Live and moved heaven and earth to get my hands on tickets for the concerts in Rotterdam. I was well on my way of becoming a serious 25Live aficionado.

 

In 20 shows I saw some great things. I saw Last Christmas performed live! I fell in love with all of the excellent backing singers; those guys are the best..I saw George Michael open Wembley. I saw him wow the audience in Madison Square Garden. I witnessed him flubbing I don't know how many lines (heh). I saw him have so much fun on stage. I saw his genuine emotion at the ecstatic reaction of the crowds (aww).

 
George Michael called it "an amazing, amazing ride" at the end of the Final Two. Well, right back at you George! Seeing the 25Live shows was an amazing experience and I felt so privileged to be there. Other people buy beautiful things for their homes, expensive things. I've bought some beautiful memories of 25Live and - as the ad says - they're priceless.