Older: George Michael with Kurt North

5.10.2026

Pick A Disc

0:00

1:47:35

Since Kurt North was the very first guest of Pick A Disc, he and Matt have joint hosted a few different podcasts over the nearly 8 years since. It was about ruddy time Kurt returned to pick another disc! So this time, Kurt has picked George Michael's Older.

How Older soundtracked Kurt's teenage years, including picking up the bass guitar for the first time and using the album as a stepping stone for his own playing
How Fastlove hooked Kurt, the Forget Me Nots sample, and the dramatic change in George Michael's look
The lengthy Sony legal battle behind the five-and-a-half-year gap, and how it compares with other artist vs label fights
The album as a story, from grief on Jesus to a Child to moving on with Move On, and how it reads in hindsight
Spinning the Wheel, You Have Been Loved and Star People, plus a run through the UK number ones of 1996 that kept George off the top
The MTV Unplugged session, the golden age of CD single B-sides and reworked single versions, and Robbie Williams' cover of Freedom