Outside (George Michael song)

"Outside" is a song by George Michael, released on 19 October 1998 as the lead single from his greatest hits album, Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael. The song was released on Epic Records and peaked at number-one in Greece, Hungary and Spain. In addition, it peaked at number 2 in the UK, number 3 in Italy and Scotland, number 4 in Denmark, number 5 in Iceland, number 7 in Ireland and number 8 in Finland. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Outside" reached number 3 in November 1998. Outside Europe, the song reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play in the US, number 11 in New Zealand and number 13 in Australia.

"Outside"
Single by George Michael
from the album Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael
B-side"Fantasy '98"
Released19 October 1998
FormatCD
Recorded1998
Genre
Length4:45
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)George Michael
Producer(s)
  • George Michael
  • Jon Douglas
George Michael singles chronology
"You Have Been Loved"
(1997)		 "Outside"
(1998)		 "As"
(1999)
Music video
"Outside" on YouTube

History

The song was Michael's first single since he was arrested for engaging in a lewd act six months earlier by an undercover police officer in the public lavatory of the Will Rogers Memorial Park in Beverly Hills, California – an incident that prompted him to declare his homosexuality, which had been rumoured for some years but never publicly confirmed.[1]

Michael took a swipe at the incident in the lyrics, claiming he wanted an alfresco sex life because he was bored with lovemaking behind closed doors. Reference to the Beverly Hills affair came with the line "I'd service the community, but I already have, you see" (he was sentenced to 80 hours of community service for the offense) and direct samples of radio reports of his arrest.

In a 2004 interview with Adam Mattera for UK magazine Attitude, Michael reflected: "I felt that lightening the stigma around cruising was the most immediately beneficial thing I could do. I know for a fact that when I was 16, 17, when I started cruising, that watching the Outside video would have taken some of the weight off my shoulders.."[2]

The song was recorded at Sarm West in London with a string section and arrangement by Andrew Skeet.

Critical reception

Roberto Friedman from Bay Area Reporter described the song as "a paean to public sex".[3] Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that "set against a jubilant disco beat awash with strings, cascading electronic beeps, and a vocal filled with simple joy, this celebratory track could be the one to return George Michael to the hearts of the masses. The track begins with a whip of strings, a chorus of voices chanting, "Let's go outside," and a funky little guitar lick, followed by Michael's instantly recognizable vocal, sounding liberated and loose. So much of his recent material has been heavy in lyric and short on hook; as a result, he's had a tough time getting on radio in the U.S. This should begin the next era for this keeper of an artist, who at last seems comfortable just having a little fun."[4] Sarah Davis from Dotmusic said that "Outside" "is every bit Fast Love’s twin with the singer at his most accessibly funky." She added, "Turning his arrest into musical inspiration, George Michael cheekily uses the sound of a police siren to welcome in his first new single in more than two years."[5] Beth Johnson from Entertainment Weekly described the song as a "retro-disco hoot" in her review of Ladies & Gentlemen....[6] Music & Media noted that "it's a superb slice of neo-'70s disco/funk, boasting tonguein-cheek lyrics and a strong hook."[7] Dave Fawbert from ShortList described it as "an amazing slinky disco track", adding that the song "is timeless and would still be a massive hit if was released today."[8]

Music video

The video, directed by Vaughan Arnell and filmed on 4 June 1998, was especially satirical. It features a police helicopter hovering over Los Angeles and shadowing a variety of people, gay and straight, kissing, having sex or engaging in foreplay, all in public. The scenes of public coupling are styled like real surveillance footage and interspersed with scenes of Michael and his dancers performing in a men's toilet. Michael is dressed as an LAPD police officer and clutching a nightstick, while the toilet is decorated like a disco nightclub, complete with flashing lights and disco balls. Two female dancers dressed in police uniforms are also seen dancing with Michael.

Before the song starts properly, the video begins with a parody of a 1970s European pornography film. As a sultry jazz saxophone score plays, the credits show "eine fulm bi Hüu Jarss", "mit Klaus Hoöd", "undë Heidi Kóchenblauer", "ars 'Cindy'", "direktum bi Marchelo Üffenvanken" – a collection of made-up names and words, most likely meant to resemble Swedish, Danish or Dutch, but with deliberate English puns, such as "Hüu Jarss" for Who Cares. "Cindy" is played by SI swimsuit model Melissa Keller.

A short passage of narration in Swedish: "Vem var hon? Var kom hon ifrån? Hade hon ätit? Då plötsligt kom jag ihåg, det var ingen dröm: jag var ... i Hollywood!", translates as: "Who was she? Where did she come from? Had she eaten? Then suddenly I recalled, it was no dream: I was... in Hollywood!."

In the video, apart from Keller, porn stars Rebecca Lord[9] and Brittany Andrews make their appearances, including actress Jeanne Carmen (as the Blonde Dominatrix).

At the end of the video, two male officers arrest numerous couples previously shown engaging in lewd conduct. The video concludes with the two police officers, thinking that they aren't being watched, sharing a passionate embrace and starting to kiss, the surveillance video focusing in on their public indecency. The video ends with a shot of a rooftop neon sign reading "JESUS SAVES", followed by the on-screen captions "... all of us. all."

In 1998, Marcelo Rodriguez, the undercover officer who arrested Michael, brought a $10 million court case in California against the singer who had amassed an estimated personal fortune of £70 million ($140 million) in his lifetime. The court dismissed the case, but an appeals court reinstated the case on 3 December 2002.[10] The court then ruled Rodriguez, as a public official, could not legally recover damages for emotional distress.[11]

Track listing
  1. "Outside"
  2. "Fantasy '98"
  3. "Outside" (Jon Douglas Remix)

Commercial performance

"Outside" reached number two on the UK Singles Chart; one of many songs to be held off by a seven-week run at the top by Cher with "Believe". It was not featured on a studio album, but was included on his solo hits collection Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael – the title of which was also a pun of his activity in the lavatory at the centre of the controversy, Ladies & Gentlemen being a British colloquial term for a gender specific public toilet.

Charts and sales

References
  1. Entertainment: George Michael faces $10m lawsuit, BBC News, 14 September 1999
  2. "George Michael's candid 2004 interview with Attitude". Attitude. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  3. Friedman, Roberto (19 November 1998). "OUT THERE". Bay Area Reporter. p. 38. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  4. "Billboard: Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. 7 November 1998. p. 25. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  5. Davis, Sarah (5 October 1998). "GEORGE MICHAEL - OUTSIDE (EPIC)". Dotmusic. Archived from the original on 1 September 2000. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  6. "Ladies and Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael". Entertainment Weekly. 11 December 1998. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  7. "Airborne" (PDF). Music & Media. p. 21. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  8. Fawbert, Dave (23 October 2018). "30 classic songs that are somehow 20 years old this year". ShortList. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  9. "Rebecca Lord - Adult Film Star" Archived 12 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine interview by JesseCapps, RockConfidential.com, 19 May 2007.
  10. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2005. Retrieved 15 February 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. "George Michael video case dismissed". BBC News | AMERICAS. BBC. 17 February 2000.
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  16. "Top 10 Denmark" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15 no. 46. 14 November 1998. p. 12. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
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  20. "Offiziellecharts.de – George Michael – Outside". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  21. "Top 10 Greece" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15 no. 47. 21 November 1998. p. 22. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  22. "Top 10 Hungary" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15 no. 45. 7 November 1998. p. 16. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
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  25. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15 no. 49. 5 December 1998. p. 12. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  26. "Nederlandse Top 40 – George Michael" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  27. "Dutchcharts.nl – George Michael – Outside" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  28. "Charts.nz – George Michael – Outside". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  29. "Norwegiancharts.com – George Michael – Outside". VG-lista. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
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  33. "Swisscharts.com – George Michael – Outside". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
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