# Father Figure (George Michael song)

"Father Figure" is a song by English singer and songwriter George Michael from his debut studio album, Faith (1987). It was released on 28 December 1987 as the album's fourth single by Columbia Records. The song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 11 on the UK singles chart. Additionally it was a top five hit in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain.

## Background

Michael had this to say on the genesis of "Father Figure":
   The initial concept was totally different from the way the song turned out. In fact, the initial concept for 'Father Figure' was to make it a kind of mid-tempo dance track. And what happened was I wanted to hear something in my mix so I happened to cut out the snare on the board and suddenly it changed the whole entire mood of the track. Suddenly it seemed really dreamy. And this was halfway through writing it because I was writing the song as I was going along in the studio. And I just thought, well, hey, this is actually much better! So I worked the rest of the feel of the track around this spacey type sound. And it ended up, in my mind, being the most original-sounding thing on the album.

## Composition

The song is an R&B ballad, and also features elements of Egyptian music and gospel. On the tracks origins Michael said:
   It started off with a rhythm track with a snare, and when you play it like that it sounds a bit like Prince. But I must have been listening to it without the snare and gone, "Oh my God, that totally changes the record!" It suddenly becomes a gospel record.

## Chart performance

Released in the United Kingdom in December 1987, "Father Figure" reached number eleven on the UK singles chart – the first time Michael had failed to reach the top ten in his home country.
In the United States, "Father Figure" debuted on 16 January 1988 at number 49, while "Faith" was still prominent (at number nine) in the top ten of the chart. "Father Figure" reached number one on 27 February 1988, staying at the top for two weeks. Altogether, the single spent 17 weeks in the chart.

## Critical reception

Sue Dando from Smash Hits wrote, "Once again, George unveils a blinding talent for wonderful sentiment and swoony lovesome lyrics, all elegantly swathed in pristine 'epic' production and the usual echoey voice-oice which trails-ails off almost every note-ote...It's in a similar 'vein' (though not nearly as good) as 'A Different Corner', it's perfect Radio Two fodder, and it will doubtless be a top ten hit." In 2017, a Billboard article about the song described it as a "smoky ballad" which alluded to his status as a gay man who had not yet declared his sexuality and was operating during a homophobic time in the music industry and wider society, with journalist Barry Walters saying it "established Michael both as a nuanced grown-up and as a skilled singer-songwriter, able to intertwine racy innuendo and romantic steadfastness". He added that "on the surface, it's a traditional love ballad, the particularly passionate kind George mastered when he wrote 'Careless Whisper'", but that "like his idol and contemporary Prince, George searched for something 'sacred' in sexuality; a healing balm that will protect both him and his beloved. He aims to provide it, both with his reassuring words and steadfast delivery – whispery and intimate during the verses, commanding and declamatory during the chorus." He concluded that the song "allowed George to celebrate forbidden desires without drawing explicit attention to his own [...] Without the elements that nudge the lyric toward off-limits territory, 'Father Figure' would be a far more conventional and much less compelling song. They serve as crucial metaphors that brought George as close as he could to writing from the heart, without alienating much of his audience and the industry."

## Music video

The accompanying music video for "Father Figure" depicts a relationship between a cab driver (Michael) and a high-fashion model (Tania Coleridge). Various intercut flashbacks tell a backstory. Michael and Andy Morahan won "Best Direction of a Video" at the 1988 MTV Video Music Awards for the video.

## Track listing

* UK single (7")
* "Father Figure" – 5:40
* "Love's in Need of Love Today" (live at Wembley Arena, 1 Apr '87) – 4:42
* US single (CD and cassette)
* "Father Figure" – 5:40
* "Look at Your Hands" – 4:37
* International single (CD and cassette maxi single)
* "Father Figure" – 5:28
* "Love's in Need of Love Today" (live at Wembley Arena, 1 Apr '87) – 4:42
* "Father Figure" (instrumental version) – 5:28

## Certifications

| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| Australia (ARIA) | Gold | 35,000$^‡$ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Gold | 400,000$^‡$ |
| $^‡$ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |||

## Sampled in

* P.M. Dawn – "Looking Through Patient Eyes" (1993)
* LL Cool J – "Father" (1997)
* Destiny's Child – "Winter Paradise" (2001)