Hi!
Well, I did promise the cover was next. And for once, when it comes to this book, something has happened exactly when I said it would.
So, without further ado…here it is: the cover of
George Michael Inside Out – The Stories Behind the Songs.
I have been staring at various versions of this cover for quite some time now, so being able to finally share the finished one feels rather exciting.
And, because this is Inside Out, there is of course a story behind it.
From Wham! to Symphonica
The photograph on the front was taken during Symphonica, George Michael's final concert tour. He's wearing one of his favourite suits – and yes, there is a story behind it being purple, too. You'll find that one in the book. The dark stage and the George we see here, are deliberately contrasted with the turquoise-to-purple colours on the back. Those colours give a little nod to the energy and sheer exuberance of the early Wham! years.
And there's another reason I particularly like that contrast. Right at the beginning of Wham!'s story, in "Wham Rap!", George arrived with an exuberant Hey Everybody and an invitation to the world: Take a look at me.
Almost four decades later, one of the final tracks he worked on, "This Is How (We Want You to Get High)", leaves us with a rather different thought: It's hard to be more than we've seen, reflecting on how difficult it can be to see beyond what we think we already know. Quite a journey between those two lyrics.
That idea, to take another look and have another listen, sits at the heart of Inside Out. George spent a lifetime navigating the space between the image people had of him and the man behind it. While the world was trying to understand him through headlines, some of his deepest truths had already found their way into his songs. Only later did many of those songs begin to reveal another layer.
So here it is. An actual cover. On an actual book that is getting increasingly close to becoming an actual physical object.
After several years of research, writing, rewriting, editing, checking, designing and occasionally making life considerably more complicated for myself than strictly necessary, that feels pretty wonderful.
I hope you like it. And thank you, once again, for being here this early and for stepping Inside.
More soon!
Lonneke Langenberg
Author, George Michael: Inside Out