this is bbc news. i'm joanna gosling. the headlines at ten: # i don't want your freedom... tributes to the singer george michael, one of the biggest stars in british music, who has died at the age of 53. his death has shocked fans around the world, as flowers and candles are left outside his home. former wham! band mate andrew ridgley said he was "heartbroken at the loss" of his "beloved friend". russia begins a day of mourning for those who died when a military plane crashed into the black sea. the former governor of the bank of england, lord king, says britain should be more self—confident about leaving the eu. also this hour: shoppers head out for the boxing day sales. millions of bargain hunters are expected to hit the high street, although footfall may be down due to pre—christmas discounts. and in half an hour, and in halfan hour, i and in half an hour, i will be looking back at the past 12 months

for the royalfamily, looking back at the past 12 months for the royal family, dominated looking back at the past 12 months for the royalfamily, dominated by the celebrations to mark the queen's 90th birthday. that is review 2016, the royal year with me, daniela relph. good morning and welcome to bbc news. one of the biggest stars of the ‘80s and ‘90s, george michael, has died. he was 53, and is believed to have had heart failure. he rose to fame as one half of the group wham! and went on to have a successful solo career. he sold 100 million albums worldwide and had 11 uk number ones. nick quraishi looks back at his life. # you put the boom boom into my heart #... suntans, bleached hair and upbeat songs propelled wham! to number one around the world.

they even conquered china. # last christmas i gave you my heart # but the very next day you gave it away #... their most famous song heard every year will now have added poignancy. born georgios kyriacos panayiotou in north london, george michael was 12 years old when he met andrew ridgeley. they left school at 16 and set up wham! in1981. # time can never mend a careless whisper #... his biggest hit, careless whisper, came in 1984 but was written and produced when he wasjust 17. three years later, his solo album, faith, marked a shift from teen idol to serious singer—songwriter. # cos i gotta have faith #... with the success came brushes with the law. an arrest for lewd behaviour in a public toilet in los angeles. a driving ban in the uk.

and a spell in prison after crashing his car into a shop. george michael announced he was gay, later revealing he had been in the closet for years to stop his mother from worrying about aids. in 2011 he nearly died in vienna after a bout of pneumonia. but more work was in the pipeline. a collaboration with producer naughty boy and a documentary called freedom which had been due for release next march. when it came to pop music, george michael had it all — looks, voice and the ability to write a string of hits that will continue to be played for years to come. our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba says many people will be waking up in shock to the news this morning. for so many people, he was the sound of their formative years. he did that most difficult

of things come he went from being a pop singer, pop writer, to writing complex, emotional music is a solo artist, and it is sometimes easy to overlook what a good songwriter he was because he had that amazing voice, that amazing presence, people forget that he put the hours in, he had the genius to come out with some incredible songwriting over those three or four decades that he was in the music business, it isa it is a loss that will affect fans all over the globe. and when i say fans, i don't just mean members of the public. we have been hearing some from so many celebrities and those who really admired how good a singer and songwriter he actually was, so he had his issues and problems, of course, but it is something we should always remember, even though people can be blessed with talent, they are also just people and they have problems and issues that everybody has. sometimes the fame that their talent brings them can exacerbate it, sometimes it can help. he was often very open

about the issues and problems he faced, but overall he was an incredible talent who will be sorely missed, as we have heard so much. and chance brought him and andrew ridgeley together at school, and they formed that band writing perfect pop from a young age. absolutely. in the 1980s, when you think of pop music, you think of those wham! hits, freedom, the edge of heaven, wham! rap, wake me up before you go—go, they wanted to bring their music to the wider public, and they did, and they did so beautifully, and george went his own way with some incredible solo writing, and he was admired in the music industry the way he stood up for his rights as an artist, the way he fell out with his record label, sony, overthe marketing. he is somebody who is looked up to

and admired in the music industry. he didn't have the perfect life that he always wanted and that his fame and talent may have brought him, but his tunes will endure, his writing will endure, and at the end of the year when we have lost so many artistic talents, he is one that will hit people particularly hard. and as we have been saying, a very talented artist of the ‘80s, but the fact that last christmas is one of the tunes most played at christmas means he is known to all generations. yes, he has been in the charts year after year after year, and the many, it is a song sums up christmas, and of course, it is the song that was kept off the number one spot by another song he performed

in, band—aid, do they know it's christmas? yes, he has been in the charts year after year after year, and the many, in, band aid, do they know it's christmas? it is a song sums up christmas, and of course, it is the song that was kept off the number one spot by another song he performed in, band—aid, do they know it's christmas? in 1984. people will know him not least cos of songs like last christmas, every generation can admire his singing and songwriting talent. thank you, lizo. let's speak to the music journalist pete paphides, from an outside perspective, you could divide his life into two halves, the pop star and the talented but troubled singer songwriter who was on display in later years. there were definite separate acts to his creative life. it was his escape route to pop

stardom and he had the voice for it and obviously he was an incredible songwriter and one of the great things about wham! was that he didn't necessarily draw attention to his brilliance as a songwriter but that became apparent in the later years of the band's career, with careless whisper, but really with another song which is extraordinarily tender and was the first major indication that we have that this man was going to go on to become an amazing solo artist. the album faith, his debut album as a solo artist, wasjust... there were six worldwide hit singles on it and the great thing about faith was that it looked as though it could take him in all sorts of different directions. stylistically, it was a great album. stylistically, it was

diverse. obviously, he was conflicted as an artist and that realised itself more, especially in listen without prejudice volume one, an extraordinary record tip that haven't from? you talk about him wanting to escape early on. what did he want to escape? anyone who becomes a pop star and is driven ina anyone who becomes a pop star and is driven in a way once to escape, perhapsjust driven in a way once to escape, perhaps just having a driven in a way once to escape, perhapsjust having a properjob as much as anything. and just going for that dream. and he was a huge music fan, and that is easily forgotten in a way. in an era where people want to become famous without necessarily knowing what kind of fame they want, first and pharmacist for most —— first and pharmacist for most —— first and pharmacist for most —— first and foremost he was a soul boy, he liked queen and luther vandross and people like that, so he

knew exactly what she was doing. i think he saw a better... he just wanted to have a lot of fun and have people look at him for his amazing voice and songs. and because of the controversies in his private life, people were looking for that from him as well. how much do you think that caused him thanks to and defined him? and you wonder how he viewed his own music and the fact that his life was being played out in that very public way. that his life was being played out in that very public waylj that his life was being played out in that very public way. i think he was getting to know himself better all the time. he came out relatively late, and he was outed when he propositioned a plainclothes police officer, but then he did one of the most brilliant things anyone in the public eye really has done in the la st public eye really has done in the last few decades, and he came out and said, i have got nothing to be ashamed of, i wasjust having fun, i wasn't harming anyone, and not only did he do that, but then he wrote an

absolutely brilliant song about it with that fantastic video with the litter borlee glitterball. i don't like to speculate on the things like crashing his car into a shop or getting stoned or whatever. we all wished him well and felt very grateful for this procession of fantastic songs he wrote. he was such a great singer, it is easy to forget what a singer he was, but if you look at that footage of him at the freddie mercury tribute concert singing somebody to love in front of so singing somebody to love in front of so many people, such a brave, fearless performance, and he locates pockets of melody in a performance we didn't know were there, and to do that with a queen song is quite something. thank you very much. ben and oh is outside george

michael's home in goring—on—thames. people who saw him around here will be quite stunned by the news that emerged late last night about george michael's death. we have seen people coming down, laying cards and candles and flowers outside his front door which isjust candles and flowers outside his front door which is just down the lane behind me. it faces onto the river thames, and the view from the front of the house shows what a lovely home it was where george michael lived, certainly part of the village. people here have spoken of seeing him pulling pints in the local pub, he was a well—known character here, it was the kind of place where if you are a well—known

and famous, people will leave you alone, they won't trouble you, it is quite possibly why he chose to make his home here. one man i spoke to said he was fishing down by the river a few weeks ago and he saw george michael and thought he looked then that he looked unwell. he said he didn't look himself, he just looked a little bit ill, so make of that what you will. as far as george michael's death is concerned, police say they are treating it as unexplained but not suspicious. it may be that in due course, we will hear more about what caused it other than heart failure, which is what his manager said yesterday. thank you, ben. martyn ware is a producer and founding member of the human league and heaven 17. he worked with george michael on band aid and knew him personally. he joins us via webcam. thank you very much indeed for joining us. what are your memories of him? george was a very kind, warm human being. he always treated

people with respect. it wasn't about how famous you were, how he treated you. he treated everybody in the same way, and he wasn't arrogant like a lot of people are in the music business. for that reason alone, i loved him, but also, he came from a similar background to myself, a working—class background, and we got on well because we both loved soul music, we were both re cord loved soul music, we were both record producers in the 80s, and we had a lot of mutual respect for each other. he got himself into very public scrapes over the years. did those around him, people around him who loved him must have been really worried. well, obviously he found it ha rd worried. well, obviously he found it hard to deal with the fame aspect of what he did. also he suffered a lot from stage fright, and you know,

sometimes artists can lose their confidence. people go on about how he didn't really release that much in what turned out to be his final decade, but nobody could ever argue with the quality of the work that he released, the work that he did release, and i think he was very aware that he had to keep up and maintain this high standard that he achieved. but what was he most proud of? i think he was proud of the fact that he maintained an enormous fan base. he kept in contact with them via twitter and various other means. he was very proud of his live shows, i know that for a fact. i know some people who worked on his live shows and they all had maximum respect for his performing ability but also the way he treated everybody involved in the live production process. it's not a given that rock stars are such

kindly and thoughtful people. the time in wham! , obviously a very different time in his life and a different time in his life and a different public perspective on him, compared with what came later. how did he look back on his time in wham!? i think he was very grateful that he had such... people forget that he had such... people forget that he had such... people forget that he was 17 when he wrote careless whisper. the success he had was prodigious at a very early age and so people, if you like, forgave him the more fluffy part of his career him the more fluffy part of his careerand, him the more fluffy part of his career and, actually, people are still incredibly fond of it. but what he craved was musical credibility with his peers and the general public. i think the general public not only loved his performing and his songwriting but they also loved his charisma and performing ability. that is true. thank you

very much. while george michael will be remembered for his chart—topping hits, he was also able to make fun of himself, and appeared on the bbc‘s comic relief programme in 2011 with james corden. having some technical troubles but hopefully, we can show you. we will try to show you that clip with james corden. he had actually been involved in a film that was due to come out in march. james corden was due to be a part of that film, looking back over his musical career. we can't bring you that clip with james corden, unfortunately. we will try to rectify the issue and show you that a bit later. good morning.

sam allardyce will take charge of his first premier league match as crystal palace manager, at watford this afternoon. the former england boss took over at selhurst park last friday, just a day after alan pardew, was sacked. he's already got his eye on the january transfer window, and wants to keep his best players, as well as adding to the squad. rumours that may float around that people might be interested in our players is also of great concern when you are a manager because that is very disruptive and can put a player off his game, and we don't want any of that. we are trying to recruit and make the squad a little bit bigger and a bit more strength and depth would obviously be a key area for me but i think the players here are good enough but also, if we can add to that, let's try and do it. chelsea, who have a six—point lead at the top of the premier league, are at home to bournemouth. they'll set a new club record, if they make it 12 straight league wins against bournemouth, although they'll have to do it without n'golo ka nte and diego costa, who are suspended.

we have been working well this week to try to find a solution and continue to win, to take the points. we all know that against bournemouth it would be easy because it is a very good team. -- it —— it will not be easy. it's been nearly five years since arsenal lost three games in a row in the premier league and they're faced with that prospect today. after defeats to everton and manchester city, they have slipped nine points behind chelsea at the top and manager arsene wenger is determined to stop the rot at home to west brom today. we are ready for the fight and we want to respond. i think in 20 games, we lost the last two but our quality has been consistent since the start of the season and we want to respond in a strong way and in a determined way. i think everybody is focused to do that. david moyes will make his first

return to old trafford as a manager this afternoon, when his struggling sunderland side take on manchester united. moyes replaced sir alex ferguson in 2013. he was proclaimed the chosen one, but lasted only ten months as united struggled under his stewardship. in today's late game manchester city are away at hull city who are currently bottom of the table on goal difference. pep guardiola's side are still without the suspended sergio aguero, but travel to east yorkshire, having won their last two games, including a 2—1win over arsenal. i'm not expecting now, like we play against hull city, it will be easy. they are teams at the top of the league. it is quite similar. elsewhere burnley take on middlesbrough, champions leicester are at home to everton, relegation—threatened swansea are at home to west ham. you can keep right up to date with the action

on final score on the red button, as well as on five live and the bbc sport website. rain cut short the opening day of the second test between australia and pakistan in melbourne. before the weather intervened, a milestone for azhar ali. a half century saw him past the 1000 run mark for the year. his unbeaten 66 helped pakistan to reach 142—4. to make up for time lost to the rain, day two will get under way earlier than planned at 11 o'clock tonight our time. australia won the first test. and it's one of the highlights of the racing calendar — steeplechasing's mid—season championship, the king george vi chase at kempton. last year's winner, cue card, one of the sport's long—term stars, faces his up—and—coming stablemate thistlecrack for the first time. that's all the sport for now. thank you. just to say, i've tweeted

a link to that clip that we couldn't play with james corden. if you are on twitter, you can get it via my page. if you are not on twitter, we will be playing it in the next hour. russia is holding a day of national mourning for the 92 people who were killed when a military plane crashed in the black sea. authorities in russia say they've located the site where the plane came down yesterday, soon after it took off from sochi, heading to syria. our moscow correspondent steve rosenberg reports. this is one of the final images of the tupolev 154 jet. it was taken by a journalist before he boarded the plane. the flight would end in tragedy. the aircraft crashed into the black sea. the russians scrambled helicopters and ships, but the search became a recovery operation. there were no survivors. the plane had taken off from a military airfield near moscow. it flew south, stopping

in sochi to refuel. the final destination was syria, and russia's airbase, near latakia. but minutes after leaving sochi, it crashed. president putin offered his condolences to the families of the victims, and promised them his full support. on board were more than 60 members of the russian army's famous song and dance ensemble, once known as the red army choir. they had been due to give a concert at the russian airbase in syria. translation: well loved, this ensemble. we valued them. they are our brothers, friends, colleagues. may they rest in peace. also killed in the crash, the prominent humanitarian activist and medic, elizaveta glinka, known to millions of russians as dr liza. throughout the day, muscovites brought flowers to the headquarters of the russian army choir. this disaster has left

russia stunned and silent. millions of shoppers will hit the high street today as the boxing day sales get under way. the numbers are expected to be down from last year, with analysts saying that earlier discount events like black friday and cyber monday will affect post—christmas sales. an estimated £3 billion is to be spent at the tills today, with a further £900 million spent online. let's go to birmingham's bullring shopping centre and speak to amy cole. it looks quite busy. you're right. it looks quite busy. you're right. it really is. the doors here opened at 8am but that didn't stop some shoppers from queueing outside next at 9:50pm last night and i was told that some people are buying their children's close for the next year. savvy shopping! earlier, i spoke to the manager of selfridge's who said that despite some of their

competitors going into the sale is a few days earlier, it wasn't going to impact on their boxing day sales. we've got some really savvy sales shoppers so people are coming to us for some great bargains but also, we've got customers that come to us knowing that on boxing day they can come and get some of the first must see new season items so come and get some of the first must see new season items so it is not just about the sale shopper any more on boxing day. around 210,000 people are expected to come to this shopping centre today, made easier by better connectivity to the city. when i was in selfridge's earlier i saw a lady with probably about ten designer handbags but so far, there have been no fight over handbags! crikey! how many handbags do you need? ! crikey! how many handbags do you need ? ! let's crikey! how many handbags do you need? ! let's go back to the death of george michael. his publicist confirmed last night that he died of heart failure at his home in oxfordshire. he sold more than 100 million albums during a four decade

career which started as the front man of wham!. we can talk now to simon hattenstone, a guardian journalist who has interviewed george michael twice. he joins us via webcam from north london. he didn't give many interviews so you are privileged to have been able to meet him in that context. what was he like? george was really complicated. he was lovely, he was big headed, he was vulnerable, he was sweet, he was depressed, he was frustrated with himself, he was funny. and, like you say, he didn't give many interviews but when he did, hejust give many interviews but when he did, he just wanted to tell everything that he could about himself. there is something slightly weird that i thing happened in his life, in that it was almost as if his private life became public. he was happy to talk about drugs and his sex life and he almost found it more difficult to talk about music

because he'd had such bad creative block and he found that so frustrating. that's really interesting, all of the demons on display and he found it easier to talk about that than his struggles with his music. yeah, and he was ridiculously open about his sexual encounters on hampstead heath, about his drug problems. i remember the second time i interviewed him, it was at his house and, again, that was at his house and, again, that was unusual because most famous people don't want to let you into their lives but george thought, "if i'm giving an interview, i'll give it properly," and it was a very dark winter day and he ended up talking, i think it was for the first time, about smoking crack, which nobody had really known about. even though we we re had really known about. even though we were the same age, i felt like i was his dad. at 1.1 said to him, "tell me, where you smoking crack?"

in the end, he said, "yeah, on that occasion, i was". you said he was frustrated with himself. did he want to sort all that stuff out? what, the drug stuff? i think he was mixed about it. i think he wasn't... i think he thought he needed drugs to get through life but i also think he did want to sort it. i got an e—mail from him a few years ago. was an incredibly sweet e—mail. it was a few years after we did the last interview, and the last interview was very controversial because he taught about crack, about cottaging, he'd pitch about famous people who wa nted he'd pitch about famous people who wanted to help him and he said he didn't need help. and in that e—mail he said, "it's great, i've been in the studio and i've written some

songs are may really good and i've almost got an album and i think this is going to be a good year, which would be a lovely change," and in the event, that album didn't materialise and i think it was a source of huge frustration, almost embarrassment, for him. thank you very much indeed for sharing your moments with george michael. let's listen back to some of george michael's greatest hits, starting with his first appearance with wham!, on top of the pops. # i #iamaman #iamaman #job or nojob, you can't tell me that i'm not. #do that i'm not. # do you enjoy what you do? # do you enjoy what you do? #if # do you enjoy what you do? # if not, just stop, don't stay there and rot. # you put the boom boom into my

heart # jitterbug into heart #jitterbug into my brain #jitterbug into my brain #it #jitterbug into my brain # it goes bang, bang, bang till my feet do the same. # club tropicana, drinks are free # club tropicana, drinks are free # fun and sunshine, there's enough for everyone # all that's missing is the sea # all that's missing is the sea # but don't worry, you can suntanned. # last christmas, i gave you my heart # but the very next day, you gave it away # this year, to save me from tears # this year, to save me from tears # i'll give it to someone special # i'll give it to someone special #it # i'll give it to someone special # it takes a strong man, baby, but i'm