George Michael, the British pop superstar who reached early fame with WHAM! dies at 53.
News of George Michael's death shook the world yesterday. The reverberations reached our little corner of the world where the pop star's former gardener and Otago Daily Times online journalist Paul Mooney calls home. He spoke to Timothy Brown about his recollections of the Careless Whisper hit maker.
It was the late '80s when a wide-eyed Dunedin lad landed in London chasing the big OE dream.
Paul Mooney, now of Millers Flat, needed work and didn't let a lack of experience get in the way.
"A young 19-year-old lands in London and doesn't know one end of a garden rake from the other, but ends up working for a large gardening company that serviced pretty wealthy clients,'' he says in summary of the early days of his OE.
Among the wealthy clientele was a half-Greek Cypriot, English singer in his mid-20s and at the height of his powers, whose "tiny, little property'' was near Hampstead.
"I was too young to really get stuck into things with him. They were fairly one-dimensional conversations.''
Mr Mooney remembered George as a "perfectly affable guy''.
"He was approachable and pretty happy to sit and chew the fat,'' he said.
However, he never developed a deep relationship with the man and "unfortunately'' was not invited to any parties or the like with the pop star.
"He kept all the service people and all the trades people at a certain distance,'' he said.
ODT's Paul Mooney.
"It was a fleeting eight-month brush with pop royalty, but I can't say anything bad about it.''
Despite tending his lawn for eight months, Mr Mooney said he was never a fan of Michael's music.
"It was kind of a kick being his gardner,'' he said.
"He did give me 100 in a Christmas card.''
It was his only memento of his time as a pop star's gardener, but despite its significance the card did not last long; it was accidentally left in his trousers' pocket and went through the wash.
