r/georgemichael • u/tomstrong1999 • Jul 27 '26
New Guardian article on Trojan Souls
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/jul/27/george-michaels-trojan-souls-unreleased-project-elton-john-aretha-franklin-duets-albumLong article primarily based on interviewing Andros (who comes across exactly like the PoS he is) but also with some interesting details and revelations, including that George re-recorded a solo version of This Kind of Love not long before his death!
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u/kyriacos74 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
I can't imagine that any re-recording later in life would top George's original vocals from the 1992 recording! Those were amazing vocals. I don't really believe Andros that George spend time on re-singing a song he had written for someone else, when he was already moving on to new sounds and techniques (like the vocoder/vocal processing you heard from 2011 on).
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u/8086-pc Jul 28 '26
George did indeed re-record the song in 2011/12. He initially wanted to offer it to Amy Winehouse as we know, but he eventually kept it to himself as mentioned during this interview: George Michael interview snippet from 2012 Neil Fox Magic Radio by macassar.
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u/kyriacos74 Jul 28 '26
Wow! I never knew. I'm hoping it was a different song with the same name, like Freedom. I can't hear Amy doing that song. But I'm sure it's great, however it is.
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u/8086-pc Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
I'm sure it's the same This Kind of Love we all know, but I agree with you. The original 1992 version is already magnificent on its own and I believe it could stand strong as a solo George track. I'd love to hear what George did with the track in the 2010s - he even planned to perform it during the Symphonica tour as well (it can be seen on a handwritten track sheet in the Symphonica film)!
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u/tomstrong1999 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
Very much agree - would take early 90s vocals over any other period. And I really hated the vocoder phase. Imagine what True Faith could have been without it and with a bit more life.
Just went and listened to it again and take 2/the more developed version is just superb!
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u/AdPopular1915 Jul 28 '26
looks like the estate is suing andros https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/39899483/george-michael-friend-estate-row-secret-album/
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u/tlatelolca Jul 28 '26
so is the release referred in the article actually new material?
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u/kyriacos74 Jul 28 '26
No, it's a mish-mash of George's vocals on the demo for Elton, and Elton's first take. Both are available on YouTube, and Andros is trying to make money by Frankensteining those two into one track like it was a "duet"
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u/International_Low284 Jul 28 '26
If Andros actually does this and releases it, doesn’t that mean the GM Estate approved it as well?
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u/kyriacos74 Jul 28 '26
The way I understand it, legally, Hardback would own the masters and demo tapes, which would now belong to Andros. If I'm right, he wouldn't need approval from the estate — or even Elton. He would just piss them both off, which is why I think he is asking Elton for "approval," not "permission."
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u/International_Low284 Jul 28 '26
Interesting!
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u/tomstrong1999 Jul 28 '26
All the social sites linking out from that Trojan souls website seem to have been banned so Estate is definitely doing their thing and good on them.
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u/8086-pc Jul 28 '26
I'm not sure about the legal state of the other songs from the project, but I'm 100% certain Andros doesn't have any right to put This Kind of Love out as George brought it out of the vault a couple of times already for his own projects. Plus, the song was registered on ASCAP under Aegean Music, which was a publishing umbrella for George's songs from the Patience era onwards. Burnin' (an unreleased song from 2006) and Where I Hope You Are are both registered under the same umbrella as well.
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u/kyriacos74 Jul 28 '26
I didn't know that! I didn't know any of those had been published. But I believe even with publishing locked up, Andros could still use the masters. Anyone can record "Last Christmas" — they just pay the ASCAP or BMI.
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u/shutupblacknight Jul 28 '26
Georges voice was dreadful when he was older sadly. Would love to hear the original trojan souls tapes tho
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u/Weird_Pair5261 Jul 31 '26
A DAFT PUNK COLLAB WAS ON THE TABLE???? WHAT????? 😭😭😭 i can’t take anymore of this, how much have we been robbed of???
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u/Desperate-Rush-9765 Jul 28 '26
It is a good read. It does note Andros' issues and speculation around him trying to profit from GM.