George Michael's kindness remembered: How Last Christmas star funded IVF hopeful's treatment, paid off stranger's £25,000 debt - and even changed a lady's car tyre in the rain!
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Legendary late popstar George Michael is back at the top of the charts - and newly-shared tales of his secret generosity show how he remains in fans' hearts. The former Wham! singer died on Christmas Day in 2016 and it was only then that many stories of his unpublicised acts of kindness and charity emerged.
![[Michael, pictured here performing at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert at Wembley Stadium in London in June 1998, died aged 53 on Christmas Day eight years ago]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/09/93224181-14200643-image-m-12_1734428660466.jpg)
Now many admirers are making a point of celebrating his efforts anew, as the anniversary of his death approaches - and with Wham!'s hit Last Christmas back at number one in the UK singles charts. The song missed out on the top spot when first released back in 1984, held off by Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas? - on which Michael featured too.
But in the modern age of streaming and online downloads, Last Christmas finally hit number one in 2020 and achieved the accolade of being Christmas number one for the first time last year. The track returned to number one last Friday and earlier this week was voted the nation's favourite Christmas song, in a poll by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Yet Michael - who went on to have solo hits such as Careless Whisper, Faith and Fastlove - is also being cherished for his charity acts. The singer, who was 53 when he died at his home in Goring-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, was revealed to have donated thousands of pounds not only to charities but also strangers after being touched on learning of their struggles.
![[Fans have been newly paying tribute on X, formerly Twitter, to George Michael's kindness]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/09/93224263-14200643-image-a-19_1734428715959.jpg)
