George Michael celebrates his 50th birthday today, and to mark the milestone we thought we’d pick our favourite tunes from George’s long career.

From his start as a white boy rapper in 1982 out the front of Wham! (he was so way ahead of Eminem) to super stardom as a solo performer and his progression into being a serious singer songwriter, George has had a huge career.

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Here’s some of our favourites.

1. Wham Rap (Enjoy What You Do)

George first appeared in 1982 as one half of pop duo Wham! His side kick was Andrew Ridgely and when they first released this song it was a total flop. The follow up ‘Young Guns’ had more success though, and then ‘Wham Rap’ was re-released. An ode to the high levels of unemployment in Britain under the Thatcher government in the early 80’s. The bands debut album spawned a bundle of hit singles.

2. Freedom

In 1984 Wham! returned with their second album and a serious change in sound, the rap element was gone and smooth soul and pop took it’s place. ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’ is the huge hit from this period, but we love the second single ‘Freedom’. In 1984 the band were the first western band to be given permission to play in communist China.

2. I’m Your Man

In late 1985 Wham! put out the first song off what ended up being their final album. It’s super catchy and saw George start to embrace the bearded stubble look we’ve come to associate with the singer. The video was recorded at London’s famous Marquee club.

3. Edge of Heaven

At the height of their success Wham! announced they were calling it quits. The band finished things off with a massive concert at Wembley Stadium. Their final album “The Final’ had just a couple of new tracks and all of their hits to date. ‘Edge of Heaven’ though is certainly a case of saving the best to last.

4. I Want Your Sex

It’s really hard to appreciate how controversial this song was when it came out in 1987. He sang about sex! He was naked! He was promoting monogamy! The full 12inch version of this tune is a massive 30 minute, three part song that becomes a laid back jazz number.

4. Praying for Time

For his second solo album George shunned making videos, or when he did make one, he didn’t appear in it. ‘Praying for Time’ marked a change to much more serious song writing.  George’s second solo album is ‘Listen Without Predudice Vol 1’ – there never was a vol 2 though.

5. Too Funky

George scrapped his follow up album and instead donated three tracks to the AIDS fundraising compilation ‘Red, Hot and Blue’. ‘Too Funky’ saw a return to the world of dance music.

6. Outside

In 1998 after being caught cruising in an L.A. public bathroom, George came clean about his sexuality. He made light of the incident in this high budget video for ‘Outside’ – a song about his passion for having sex outdoors.

7. As

For his first greatest hits collection George added a few bonus tracks including this take on Stevie Wonder’s ‘As’ with Mary J Blighe. George often sings Stevie Wonder songs in concert. This video is super clever.

8. White Light

George’s most recent output has seen him back on the dance floor. Last year saw the release of ‘White Light’ a song about his brush with death when he was treated for pneumonia. Rumour is George is currently working on a new dance album.