His 25th anniversary tour saw him visit 41 different countries over two years and perform to an incredible 1.3 million adoring fans, but George Michael admitted to his friends that he would actually much rather have been at home on the sofa watching his favourite soaps Coronation Street and EastEnders.
The singing superstar, who clocked up more than 30 Top Ten hits, was Britain's biggest pop star of the 1980s and one of the best-selling recording artists of all time.
But according to his friend and backing singer Shirley Lewis, George was actually a homebird, and rather than live the high life, he preferred sleeping in his own bed and enjoying a quiet drink in his local pub.
"He hated touring," says Shirley. "He'd rather be at home, watching EastEnders and Coronation Street, taking his dogs for a walk and going to his local pub for a nice glass of wine.
"He loved the soaps. When we were away on tour and he couldn't see them, he'd say, 'I can't wait to get home'. And when he got back there'd be a whole stack of videos and he'd sit there and catch up."
She adds: "He found touring lonely. There were 14 of us in the band and he couldn't hang out with all of us, but he felt he couldn't pick out his friends and be with them, because it would alienate the rest of the band.
"So, after the show he'd just go back to his hotel room. One minute he was in front of 60,000 cheering people and the next he was in his room on his own."
Shirley, 65, was George's backing singer for 30 years and appeared on some of his most iconic hits including Father Figure, Fastlove and Freedom! '90.
The two became close friends and George quickly became someone she could turn to in times of crisis. Shirley, who was married to Bros singer Luke Goss, says: "He was like an older brother to me and he was the most generous person I've ever come across.
"I was in a terrible situation in my marriage. I was chatting to George on the phone one day and I burst into tears. I told him the whole story of how we had no money to pay the rent and we had sold a Rolex watch and got £5,000 for it. On the way back I lost my bag with the money in it.
"George went straight to his accountant and he deposited £50,000 into my bank account the next day. A little while later he asked me to go on tour, but I said I would only go if he took the money back out of what he would pay me.
"He said, 'Oh my God, don't be ridiculous.' I said I wouldn't go unless he agreed and he said, 'Oh you're such a pain in the a**e!'"
Fellow backing singer Jo Garland, who sang on a host of George's songs, including 1990s Top Ten hits Outside and Spinning the Wheel, also experienced the star's incredible kindness.
When she first began working for him, Jo lived in south London and George suggested she move closer to his home in north London to cut down on travelling time.
Jo recalls: "I found a beautiful place and took the deposit and a month's rent in advance in cash out of my bank to give to the estate agent. But I lost it.
"I was distraught and in tears as George walked in and asked what on earth was wrong. When I told him he said, 'It's only money! Please don't cry. Let's hope whoever found it really needed it'. He paid the estate agent the next day and told me, 'It's done'."
Such was their closeness to the former Wham! star that Shirley and Jo teamed up with fellow backing singer Jay Henry last year to form The George Michael Singers. Following a successful UK tour earlier this year, the trio will pay tribute to the much-loved star, who died in 2016, in a special London Christmas show in December.
Backed by a live band, they will perform some of the singer's most iconic songs, including festive classic Last Christmas, Everything She Wants and Faith, as well as sharing their stories and memories of working with him. Jay, who performed with George on several tours and also at the 2012 Olympics, says: "We play all his main hits - the songs that were dear to him. But we don't just sing George's songs, we've lived them."
Jay recalls how George would often put himself last to help out the singers. "He was once asked to do a private show in the Maldives for Top Shop owner Sir Philip Green," he remembers. "George didn't really want to do it, but he did it for us to give us a holiday. He knew if he did one show it meant he could take us lot to the Maldives for a two-week holiday."
According to Jay, George didn't even stay on for a break himself. He reveals: "He came out a day before and as soon as the show was done, he'd be off. We'd literally be doing the encore and you'd see his plane fly out - he wasn't hanging around!"
A notoriously late riser, George's working hours occasionally caused problems for the singers. Shirley laughs: "He used to get up really late and then randomly call you for a recording session. It would be any time after 4pm because he didn't get up until then, but when George called you, you'd go, no matter what."
However, the singer's erratic hours may have inadvertently helped him come up with the lyrics for Father Figure, which reached No 1 on the Billboard charts in America in 1988.
Shirley says: "He rang me at 4pm one day and said, 'Can you come to the studio?' I said, 'Well, I can, but I'm going to have to bring my baby'.
"He said that was absolutely fine and that she could sleep on the sofa. When I got there, he was writing Father Figure. There's one bit that says, 'Greet me with the eyes of a child, Heaven is a kiss and a smile'. And I wonder if my daughter Carli might have been the inspiration. When we recorded it, it was just George and myself on vocals."
George, who performed with Andrew Ridgeley in Wham! for five years before launching his hugely successful solo career in 1987, died suddenly on Christmas Day 2016, of natural causes due to heart problems and fatty liver disease.
Not surprisingly Shirley, Jo and Jay were hit hard by his death. Jay says frankly: "We were so close that it took me a good three years before I could hear any of George's music; I wouldn't listen to anything on the radio."
Shirley came up with the idea for The George Michael Singers as she unpacked her bags after moving back to Britain after living in America for several years.
"Something dropped on the floor as I opened one of my bags and it was the last card that George had sent me," she recalls sadly. "My birthday was in the May and he died that Christmas.
"When I read it, I was streaming with tears, but I felt he was trying to give me a sign and tell me to do something. Because I didn't know who I was after George died. I was lost. I'd been George Michael's backing singer for so long. I had no identity without him and I felt like he was saying to me, 'You can do something'."
After their London Christmas show, the group will perform at festivals and holiday camps around the country next year. And they have the backing of George's family. "They came to one of the shows and they're really supportive," says Shirley. "They give us content for the show - images and videos - we stay in contact all the time.
"This has been very healing for us," she adds with a smile. "We're the only people that know how to do the songs the way he would have wanted us to do the songs. I think George would have been really proud of us."
