07 September 2017
Newsdesk
Producer Nile Rodgers has admitted to feeling "uncertainty" about working on George Michael's new single.
Fantasy, a remix of a 1980s outtake, which just premiered on Radio 2 this morning.
Rodgers' confession came in response to a fan who expressed "mixed feelings" over the song's release, eight months after Michael's death.
"You SHOULD have mixed feelings," he said on Twitter. "No one's heart was dragged through emotional ambiguity more than mine."
First recorded by the superstar in the late ‘80s, Fantasy was intended to feature on George Michael’s second solo album, the multi-platinum, worldwide smash Listen Without Prejudice Vol.1. George had also wanted to release Fantasy as one of the lead singles, but somehow the track got lost in the ether. Finally, Fantasy found its way onto the B-side of the US release of the single Freedom! ’90 and on the UK version of the single Waiting For That Day in 1990. But as one of his favourite tracks George always intended for Fantasy to be a single in it’s own right.
George Michael went on to perform Fantasy live during his hugely successful Cover To Cover tour in 1991 and rewarded his loyal fans with the track on free cassettes placed on every seat in the venues he played during the tour. George also later performed Fantasy during his 25 Live Tour over a decade later.
In early 2016, George was looking for the perfect single to launch the highly anticipated reissue of Listen Without Prejudice Vol.1/MTV Unplugged and Fantasy was his first and obvious choice. He contacted the hit-maker Nile Rodgers, the only man on the planet who could give Fantasy more funk than it already had. Both George and Nile spoke the same musical language, were on the same page and the rest is history.
In celebration of the album’s reissue, Sony Music together with Channel 4 and BBC Worldwide have commissioned Freedom, a stunning new film, narrated by George. The documentary features Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Liam Gallagher, Nile Rodgers, the Freedom ’90 supermodels (Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Tatjana Patitz and Linda Evangelista), Mary J. Blige, Tony Bennett, Mark Ronson, Tracey Emin, Jean Paul Gaultier, Kate Moss, Ricky Gervais, James Corden and many more. George was working on Freedom up right until Christmas 2016 and it is his final work.
Fantasy By George Michael featuring Nile Rodgers
Produced by George Michael
Written by George Michael
Re-worked and mixed by Nile Rodgers
Available digitally via download and streaming.
