Father Figure
Encyclopedia
"Father Figure" is the U.S. number-one song written and performed by George Michael
and released on Columbia Records
in 1988 as the third single from the album Faith
.
.
The song was actually supposed to be an uptempo dance track, but whilst checking his mix of the song, Michael turned off the snare track and realized he liked the song better without it.
- the first time Michael had failed to reach the top ten in his home country. The song remained a live favourite at Michael's concerts for many years and is also one of his most frequently aired songs on the radio in the UK.
In the US, "Father Figure" became George Michael
's sixth number one single (counting #1 singles garnered as half of Wham!
). "Father Figure" debuted at #49 on January 16, 1988, while "Faith
" was still prominent (at #9) in the top tier of the chart. In the subsequent weeks, "Father Figure" was a surefire hit, reaching #1 by its seventh week, February 27, 1988, staying at the top for two weeks. Altogether, the single spent 6 weeks in the Top 10, 9 weeks in the Top 20, and 14 weeks in the Top 40.
). Various intercut flashbacks tell a backstory that, like the song, can be interpreted in various ways.
One possible interpretation is that it depicts the breakdown of a relationship. At some point in the past a cab driver and model began an unlikely but passionate relationship. The model, however, had an affair with her photographer, which she quickly regretted. The cab driver suspected the affair, followed her, and discovered the truth. At some point in the future—perhaps the next day, perhaps months later—he appears at a runway show in which she is performing, either to forgive her or to let her know he is aware of the affair.
Another interpretation is similar to the first, except that the cab driver is the one with whom she is cheating, but he is unaware of it and his discovery of it ends the relationship.
A completely different interpretation is that the cab driver is a stalker. In this interpretation, there was never a relationship between the cab driver and model in the first place, except in the cab driver's imagination. The cab driver was obsessed with the model (cutting out pictures of her in magazines and putting them on his wall, following her, etc.) and discovered that she was in a relationship with her photographer. In his mind, the cab driver substituted himself in place of her real lover, and convinced himself that they were in love. The stress of this obsession took its toll on the model. The final scene with the cab driver in the audience thus takes on a far more disturbing connotation.
George Michael and Andy Morahan won "Best Direction of a Video" at the 1988 MTV Video Music Awards for "Father Figure".
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
and released on Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
in 1988 as the third single from the album Faith
Faith (George Michael album)
Faith is George Michael's first solo album, released in October 1987 via Columbia Records/Epic Records. The album has won several awards including the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1989. To date, the album has sold over 25 million copies worldwide, and received diamond certification from...
.
History
"Father Figure" is a sharp and sensual tale of seduction which is more than five minutes long and epitomized the sexual nature of Michael's writing which he had adopted since the latter years of Wham!WHAM!
Wham! were a short-lived British musical duo formed by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley in the early 1980s. They were briefly known in the United States as Wham! UK due to a naming conflict with an American band....
.
The song was actually supposed to be an uptempo dance track, but whilst checking his mix of the song, Michael turned off the snare track and realized he liked the song better without it.
Chart performance
Released in the United Kingdom in January 1988, "Father Figure" reached number eleven on the UK Singles ChartUK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
- the first time Michael had failed to reach the top ten in his home country. The song remained a live favourite at Michael's concerts for many years and is also one of his most frequently aired songs on the radio in the UK.
In the US, "Father Figure" became George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
's sixth number one single (counting #1 singles garnered as half of Wham!
WHAM!
Wham! were a short-lived British musical duo formed by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley in the early 1980s. They were briefly known in the United States as Wham! UK due to a naming conflict with an American band....
). "Father Figure" debuted at #49 on January 16, 1988, while "Faith
Faith (George Michael song)
"Faith" is a #1 song, written and performed by George Michael, released as a single on Columbia Records, from his 1987 Faith album. According to Billboard magazine, it was the top-selling single of the year in the United States in 1988....
" was still prominent (at #9) in the top tier of the chart. In the subsequent weeks, "Father Figure" was a surefire hit, reaching #1 by its seventh week, February 27, 1988, staying at the top for two weeks. Altogether, the single spent 6 weeks in the Top 10, 9 weeks in the Top 20, and 14 weeks in the Top 40.
Charts
| Chart (1988) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Singles Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
17 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
2 |
| Dutch Singles Chart Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
2 |
| French Singles Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
37 |
| German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
18 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
2 |
| Italian Singles Chart Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
14 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
7 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
10 |
| Spanish Singles Chart | 4 |
| Swiss Singles Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
13 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
11 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
1 |
| US Billboard Adult Contemporary | 3 |
| US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs | 13 |
| US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
6 |
Music video
The music video depicts a relationship between a cab driver (George Michael) and a high fashion model (Tania ColeridgeTania Harcourt-Cooze
Tania Rosamund Harcourt-Cooze is an English model and actress. -Biography:The daughter of Major William Duke Coleridge, 5th Baron Coleridge of Ottery St Mary, a Major in the Coldstream Guards, and his first wife Everild Tania Hambrough, she is directly related to the poet Samuel Taylor...
). Various intercut flashbacks tell a backstory that, like the song, can be interpreted in various ways.
One possible interpretation is that it depicts the breakdown of a relationship. At some point in the past a cab driver and model began an unlikely but passionate relationship. The model, however, had an affair with her photographer, which she quickly regretted. The cab driver suspected the affair, followed her, and discovered the truth. At some point in the future—perhaps the next day, perhaps months later—he appears at a runway show in which she is performing, either to forgive her or to let her know he is aware of the affair.
Another interpretation is similar to the first, except that the cab driver is the one with whom she is cheating, but he is unaware of it and his discovery of it ends the relationship.
A completely different interpretation is that the cab driver is a stalker. In this interpretation, there was never a relationship between the cab driver and model in the first place, except in the cab driver's imagination. The cab driver was obsessed with the model (cutting out pictures of her in magazines and putting them on his wall, following her, etc.) and discovered that she was in a relationship with her photographer. In his mind, the cab driver substituted himself in place of her real lover, and convinced himself that they were in love. The stress of this obsession took its toll on the model. The final scene with the cab driver in the audience thus takes on a far more disturbing connotation.
George Michael and Andy Morahan won "Best Direction of a Video" at the 1988 MTV Video Music Awards for "Father Figure".
Track listings
- U.S. single (CD/cassetteCompact CassetteThe Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
)
- "Father Figure" – 5:40
- "Look at Your Hands" – 6:43
- International single (CD/cassette maxi singleMaxi singleA maxi single or maxi-single is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an a-side song and a b-side song.-The first maxi singles:...
)
- "Father Figure" – 5:40
- "Father Figure" (Deep Remix) – 4:43
- "Father Figure" (Handrix version) – 3:13
- "Father Figure" (Cinema Remix) – 4:11