this is bbc news. the headlines at 11:003m. 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. sir eltonjohn says he has lost a beloved friend. for the people here, he wasn'tjust a superstar but somebody they would see a rented home. the death has been felt profoundly. russia begins a day of national mourning for those who died when a military plane crashed into the black sea. the former governor of the bank of england, lord king, suggests the uk would benefit economically by pulling out of the single market completely when it leaves 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 the dateline london panel look ahead to 2017 and discuss brexit, migration and donald trump. that's in half an hour here on bbc news. good morning and welcome to bbc news. one of the biggest pop 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 in 1981. # and 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. he had a stint 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 prevent 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 was 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. 0n the line is the musician paul young. he performed on the band aid single, do they know it's christmas and also for the prince's trust — every time you go away — with george michael.

thank you forjoining us. i think when you sign up with george michael at that was completely impromptu, was it? absolutely. you just wanted to bea was it? absolutely. you just wanted to be a part of it. he wasn't on the list but she came and said, i'd love to do something, looking at what you've done. the only thing i know all the words to as every time you go away. he has no warm up but he sang like a bird. looking at the footage, it is a very different time. you are both in your heyday. what was he like and what was life like? life was crazy in the 1980s. it was a mad period for music. there was a load of innovation and

different styles. every band had a very identifiable sound. she had other ideas aside from wham! . he had written careless whisper way before it was released as a single. she always had the incredible pop sensibility. some people have a voice and you hear it and it cuts straight through to your heart. he seems to have that ability. did you get to know him? we used to meet each other on occasion, sometimes on stage, sometimes offstage. we spent some time together in the ib restau ra nt some time together in the ib restaurant in the 1980s. he was very smart and she understood poppies at better than me. i asked him a lot of questions about how he was getting through it. he was very eloquent and

i think he struggled with it later but when he was young he just seemed to drift into it very easily. did you get any sense of any sort of struggles inside him when you saw him on those occasions? no, i wish i'd known him a little bit better than maybe he would have opened up a bit more but we spent maybe half an hour any it others company with other people around so net never really opened up. i've been through the same thing so i could get an idea. around but the same time. you said that you have been through the same sort of things. you felt like you had some kind of empathy? yes. when we did band—aid, i think we we re when we did band—aid, i think we were the youngest stars and quite new. you could see she was more

prepared than i was. she seems to get a grasp on what was going on and understood the business really well. she was —— for so many, his music as well as yours was the soundtrack to important times of our lives. how did you see him because at the same time he was obviously this great pop star that was a soundtrack to your life as well? yes, i've heard it said before that he wasn't a fla m boya nt said before that he wasn't a flamboyant pop star. it was amazing the amount of success he had. i think he really struggled to keep his private life private. she managed to prolong them. —— he managed to prolong them. —— he managed to prolong them. —— he managed to for a long time. she has a very close family. to go back to

performing the band aid single, what do you remember about that particularly? just... i gravitated towards george on the day because he had met a couple of times. weaver on the same label. i was in awe of a lot of the other people so we spent a lot of time together. she was a lovely guy. very self—effacing and easy to talk to. —— he was such a lovely guy. people say that he was very generous. yes, he was so generous. i've got a lot of respect for him. what would your overriding memory be of him? either personal or related to his career. when i did every time you go away is opened my eyes to the kind of performer he

was. i don't remember that performance fondly. essentially, she took my head and sang it in his own way and she made its hand at is on song. it was amazing. thank you very much for your time. let's speak to ben ando who is outside george michael's home in goring—on—thames in 0xfordshire. we can see that there are some people there. either people going to leave tributes? yes, the alarm was raised just after lunch yesterday. news spread quite quickly through the village. people started to hear in the early evening that something terrible had happened to george michael. i think that his country is beautiful on the river side. it was a place where he could get some peace and quiet away from the frenetic lifestyle she had in

london. the kind of village where he knew the people would leave him alone. we've heard that he could go to the local popular and would stand behind the bar pulling pints. —— the local berkshire. somebody said that a furyk cigar he was looking very well. but certainly, he would have gotten procedure. having said that, people certainly had no doubt about his talent. —— he would have gotten frivolously. very surprised. she was around the village a lot. she was a very private person and we know that she used to go to the local pub frequently but she was very private. i was shocked. i didn't hear until late last night. but he was just so young. as the circumstances of his

death, george appears to have been found in better. his publicist says that he suffered from heart failure. what may have contributed to that may become apparent in the days to come. just had a statement through from universal records. we are in shock at the loss of one of the greatest singer songwriter ‘s. shock at the loss of one of the greatest singer songwriter 's. the brilliance of his music and the. 0ur deepest consultancies. —— our deepest consultancies. —— our deepest condolences. sir eltonjohn says he has lost a beloved friend. the former super model has posted a

that she is beyond heartbroken and is devastated by another loss. richard later told me about his reaction to the death of the legend. it was staggering to hear, i had no idea. i'd just spoken to shirlie kemp of pepsi and shirlie just recently and we talked about george and she said how well he was doing, and it was actually one of george's biggest fans, a big friend of mine coming over for christmas day. he walked in and he said, have you heard the news? and i said, what? he said, george michael's dead. i thought he was pulling my leg and unfortunately for us and for the music world it was true. he could not have been a nicer guy and i have to tell you the shock in southern california that such a great icon has gone is amazing, just another, a brilliant british act has gone and people have been posting on my facebook page, the year starts with bowie and ends with george michael.

the irony is that when wham! first came out their first single was banned by the bbc because they were talking about unemployment and hire purchase and then their second single was more poppy and then wake me up before you go—go was absolutely massive for them and last christmas. but then george became more serious and you could tell that he was transitioning from being a pop star to a serious artist with careless whisper. he actually gave a lot of the songwriting credit to andrew on that one but if you watch the video, it's all george and he's almost staging that the transition from wham! to becoming george michael, the solo artist, which he did and exceeded everyone's, including i think his own, expectations. when you look at the 1980s, the biggest stars for michaeljackson, madonna and george michael. that was it. 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. love this one, don't you? # call me good, ah—ha. # call me bad. # call me anything you want to, baby. george! # and i know, ah—ha. # that you're sad. come on! # and i know i made you happy. # with the one thing that you never had. # baby, i'm your man. i love it! # baby, i'm your man. # you better. # if you're gonna do it, do it right, right, do it with me. cheering and applause do it right, right, do it with me. right, i'm going in. do it right, right, do it with me. you wait here, 0k? do it right, right, do it with me. don't go wandering around looking for trouble. all right, where am i going to go?

be back in a bit. love you. don't be long! and there's more online. you can look back at george michael's life in pictures, music that defined his career — and celebrity tributes — that's at bbc.co.uk/news. 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. the first of the bodies have this morning been airlifted to moscow. 0ur 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. the headlines on bbc news: tributes to the singer george michael — one of the biggest stars in british music — who has died at the age of 53. the former governor of the bank of england said that britain should be more confident about leaving the eu. boxing day sales have begun. it has been said that early disc and events going to have an effect on the profits. time for the sport. 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. crystal palace are just one point above the bottom three. 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 won't be easy because it is a very good team. 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. hull city at the bottom of the table on goal difference. you can keep right up to date with the action on the red button. richard iii said. this land couldn't stop his

hurricane site from losing to melbourne stars. his compatriot hit 48 for melbourne. they overcame the other team's total of 148—4. the stars asjohn the hurricanes, winning by seven wickets in the end. steeple chasing is having a mid season championship. last winner is facing his up and coming stablemate thistlecrack. 12 days have been knocked off the world record for selling around the planet without stopping. it took 49 days, three hours and seven minutes and 38 seconds. the previous record was set bya seconds. the previous record was set by a frenchman. he set off from

france and has not slept for more than he was at the time. an amazing achievement. have a great boxing day. back in one hour's time. thank you, mike. millions of showers will hit the high street today 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. 0ur correspondent amy cole is at birmingham's bull ring shopping centre and has been speaking to the manager of selfridges. some people have been queueing here since have passed to this morning. they are hoping to write themselves a deal. i'm in selfridge's. you can forget the traditional boxing day, people are walking the aisles hoping to get the hands on something really

good. this is the manager of selfridge's. is boxing day still a big dealfor you? selfridge's. is boxing day still a big deal for you? absolutely. it's our biggest trading day of the year. the customer comes out as a matter of tradition. some of your competitors went into the cell block for christmas. has that impacted on the money they have to spend today? absolutely not. there are people that come here specifically for great bargains. we have some customers that, knowing that boxing day means that you can have the new must see items. with all seen the scenes of the mass crowds in oxford street, but in birmingham, what kind of customers do you have? is there a large international and out of people that come? absolutely. there has been a clause in customers the la st two has been a clause in customers the last two years. —— there has been a

growth. we have more mandarin speaking sales assistants now. we've seen earlier this year in leeds for example a new shopping centre. there are other big shopping laws. how do you compete on that kind of scale? —— shopping moles. it's really easy for everyone to get to you. just underan error for everyone to get to you. just under an error from london. for everyone to get to you. just underan errorfrom london. our first customer of the day was from essex. people come here because we to get to. we are all a bit surprising and amazing customers. we offer the things that others to respond over. thank you very much for joining respond over. thank you very much forjoining us. we have seen people with armfuls of handbags. a former bank of england governor says the uk should leave the european single market when it exceeds the eu. —— exit the eu.

mervyn king told radio 4's today programme that trading under the same conditions as countries on the continent could stop britain from taking full advantage of the opportunities of brexit. i don't think it makes sense for us to pretend that we should remain in the single market and i think there are real questions about whether it makes sense to stay in the customs union. clearly if we do that we can not make our own trade deals with other countries. let's go back to the news about 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. # wham! # bam! #iam! # a man! #job or nojob, you can't tell me that i'm not # do! # you! # enjoy what you do? # if not, just stop! # don't stay there and rot! # you put the boom—boom

into my heart # you send my soul sky high when your lovin' starts #jitterbug into my rain # goes a bang—bang—bang till my feet do the same. # club tropicana, drinks are free # fun and sunshine, there's enough for everyone. # all that's missing is the sea, but don't worry, you can suntan! # last christmas, i gave you my heart # but the very next day, you gave it away # this year, to save me from tears # i'll give it to someone special. # oh, and when that love comes down without devotion # well, it takes a strong man, baby # but i'm showing you the door

# cos i gotta have faith # i gotta have faith # cos i gotta have faith, faith # cos i gotta have faith, faith, faith. # to the heart and mind # ignorance is kind # there's no comfort in the truth # pain is all you'll find # i'm never gonna dance again. # but if you're looking for fast love # if that's love in your eyes. # let's go outside # in the sunshine # i know you want to but you can't say yes # let's go outside. # you smiled at me # likejesus to a child #. just some of the brilliance of

george michael. let's catch up with the weather. after a very mild christmas day, boxing day sees the temperatures back down to something new with the norm. a decent day for many. this is from derbyshire. this picture was taken not so long ago in aviemore. it's not just taken not so long ago in aviemore. it's notjust wintry taken not so long ago in aviemore. it's not just wintry weather in scotland. there are also strong winds. there is a gust of wind that will slow down over the next little while. further south, few showers and a lot of sunshine. temperature is around five or six in glasgow. clear skies for england and wales over the night. that is a good recipe for a frost to develop. major cities one or 2 degrees. lower in ribald areas. —— law in rural areas.

tomorrow, a pretty decent today. lengthy spells of sunshine from most. lighter winds. a loss of sunshine through the afternoon and temperature is around six or 7 degrees. —— a lot of sunshine. you're watching bbc news. our main headlines. george michael, one of the biggest stars of pop music in the biggest stars of pop music in the 80s and 90s, has died. his manager says the cause of death is ha rd manager says the cause of death is hard failure. russia is observing a day of mourning for the 92 passengers and crew who died. —— because of death is a hard failure. the former governor of the bank of england has said that britain should be more self confident about leaving the eu. he has suggested that

britain would be better placed to make trade deals with countries as that of the eu. millions ofjobs at heading the high street today as the traditional boxing day sales get underway. almost £3 billion are expected to be spent at the tills. hello and welcome to our year in review edition of dateline london. what a year it has been. brexit, donald trump's victory, the rise of populist movements, the migrant crisis, wars across the middle east