British pop singer George Michael dies at age 53

British pop singer George Michael, who rose to fame with the band Wham! and sold more than 100 million albums in his career, has died aged 53, his publicist said.

'It is with great sadness that we can confirm our beloved son, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home over the Christmas period,' his publicist said in a statement. 

'The family would ask that their privacy be respected at this difficult and emotional time. There will be no further comment at this stage.'

Michael was due to release a documentary in 2017 after years of living as a virtual recluse in which he hit the headlines for a series of bizarre incidents linked to drugs.

He was best known for his Wake Me Up before You Go Go, Last Christmas, Careless Whisper and Faith.

'2016: loss of another talented soul. All our love and sympathy to George Michael's family,' the band Duran Duran, which were 1980s contemporaries of Wham!, said on their official Twitter account.

Former BBC Radio One disc jockey Tony Blackburn said: 'Unbelievable, George Michael has died at the age of 53. RIP. This dreadful year goes on and on. So sad, a real talent.'

Several iconic British musicians have died in 2016 including David Bowie in January and Status Quo guitarist Rich Parfitt, who died in a Spanish hospital on Saturday.

Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou to a Greek Cypriot father and English mother in north London in 1963. He met Andrew Ridgeley at high school and the pair went on to form Wham! in 1981.

With their good looks, perma-tans, highlighted hair and hedonistic image, the duo captured the go-getting spirit of the age and fast became one of Britain's biggest pop acts.

In 2011, he spent several weeks in hospital in Vienna after contracting pneumonia, later saying he had been close to death.

Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters