You know that feeling when a song sounds like a party, but it’s actually a funeral? That is exactly what’s happening with Fastlove George Michael. Most people remember it as this slick, G-funk-inspired dance track from 1996. It’s got that heavy bass, those buttery vocals, and a video featuring virtual reality chairs that looked like something out of a sci-fi flick. But if you look closer, the glitter is hiding some serious scars.
The Dark Reality Behind the Dance Floor
Honestly, it’s kinda wild how we all danced to this without realizing George Michael was essentially crying for help. When "Fastlove" dropped, it had been six years since his last album. People expected the guy who gave us "Faith." Instead, they got a man who had just lost the love of his life, Anselmo Feleppa, to AIDS.
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While the track feels like a celebration of one-night stands, it’s really about using sex as an anesthetic. It’s a song about grief. When George sings about making a little room in his BMW, he isn't just looking for a hookup. He’s looking for a distraction from the "absence of security" he mentions in the lyrics. The world saw a playboy; George was actually a widower in mourning, hiding in the back of a luxury car.
Why Fastlove George Michael Sounded So Different
George was a perfectionist. Everyone in the studio knew it. The engineer Dave Clews actually recalled that George was the only singer he ever worked with who refused to let his vocals be pitch-corrected. He didn't want the "Auto-Tune" of the 90s. He wanted the raw, human imperfection of his own voice, even on a high-gloss pop record.
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The track was produced alongside Jon Douglas. They met at Sarm West in London while Douglas was working with Lisa Moorish. The collaboration turned into "Older," an album that ditched the bubblegum synthesizers of the 80s for live instrumentation and a jazzier, moodier vibe.
The coolest part? That "Forget Me Nots" interpolation.
- George didn't just sample Patrice Rushen’s 1982 classic.
- He and his team spent two weeks recreating the bass and vocal hook from scratch.
- The result was a sound that felt nostalgic yet completely futuristic.
The Video That Mocked a Giant
If you look at the "Fastlove" music video, you'll spot a dancer wearing headphones that say "FONY." It wasn't a typo. It was a massive middle finger to Sony Music Entertainment. George was in the middle of a brutal legal battle to get out of his contract, and he used his biggest comeback single to call them out.
Directed by Vaughan Arnell and Anthea Benton, the video was way ahead of its time. It basically predicted the "swipe right" culture of Tinder decades before it existed. You have these characters sitting in chairs, using a remote to "flip" through potential partners like they’re cable channels. It’s a visual representation of how disposable love had become in the information age.
The Chart Stats and Legacy
Despite being a "red herring" on an album full of slow ballads, "Fastlove" was a monster hit. It spent three weeks at the top of the UK charts. In the US, it hit number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. It was his seventh and final number-one single in the UK during his lifetime.
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Even today, the song holds up. It doesn't sound dated like a lot of mid-90s Eurodance because George leaned into that timeless R&B groove.
What You Should Do Next
If you want to truly appreciate the depth of "Fastlove George Michael," you need to stop treating it as a club track. Do these three things to change your perspective:
- Listen to the "Part II" Fully Extended Mix. It stretches out the groove and lets the instrumentation breathe, making the melancholy undertones much more obvious.
- Watch the "Making of" footage. It was recently released for the Older box set, and it shows the technical wizardry that went into the "FONY" video.
- Read the lyrics to "Jesus to a Child" right after. That song is the heart of the album; "Fastlove" is the armor he wore to protect that heart.
The song isn't just about fast love. It’s about how fast life moves when you’re trying to outrun the pain.