George Michael honoured with a coin
In news from the UK, the Royal Mint has added George Michael to its Music Legends series, producing three collectible coins featuring his image.
Available in gold, silver, and silver, red and black, the coin shows Michael wearing the aviator sunglasses and cross-shaped earring from the video for his 1987 solo single Faith, along with a guitar fretboard. The back features an engraving of the song’s refrain.
Use of George Michael’s image on the coins has been approved by the late singer’s estate – George Michael died in 2016, aged 53.
Having a commemorative coin issued in this way is seen as a great honour – the only musicians that the Royal Mint has issued coins for are the Police, Shirley Bassey, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Elton John, Queen, and David Bowie.
A representative from George Michael Entertainment said it was “deeply honoured” by the tribute, and added that George would have been “enormously proud and genuinely touched that a national institution should have decided to pay tribute to his memory in this way”.
It’s worth remembering just how viciously vilified George Michael was by the conservative press and British establishment in the later stages of his career. I’m all for giving George Michael respect and recognition, but it feels like we are seeing the British media and cultural institutions attempting to rewrite history and erase the part that they played in the deliberate destruction of his reputation.
Sure, let’s put George Michael on a coin. Let’s celebrate his life and legacy. But let’s not forget that he was an outspoken gay man who didn’t play by the rules of the establishment that now seeks to call him one of their own.