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Geri Horner announces George Michael tribute single ‘Angels in Chains’

By Will Stroude

Some big gay news to start the week: Geri Horner is making a return to music.

The former Spice Girl will release new track ‘Angels in Chains’ later this month in tribute to her late friend George Michael, who passed away on Christmas Day last year from natural causes.

The comeback single, produced by Michael’s long-time collaborator Chris Porter, will be released worldwide on Friday 23 June, just two days before what would have been the ‘Careless Whisper’ singer’s 54th birthday.

Written by Geri herself,  ‘Angels in Chains’ is said to be a “heartfelt ballad” peppered with lyrical references to some of George’s most-loved songs, and carries a “healing message for anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one.”

44-year-old Geri, whose second child Monty was born in January and who bears the middle name George in honour of the star, said of the song: “When I first heard the sad news of his passing, I was nine-months pregnant with my son Monty and I was full of emotions.

“I didn’t know quite what to do with my feelings so I put it in a song, which became ‘Angels in Chains’.”

The ‘Bag It Up’ singer who broke down on This Morning earlier this year as she paid tribute to the ex-Wham! star, continued: “I am first and foremost a George Michael fan, so to be in the same studio with these amazingly gifted artists who have put their stamp of so many of my favourite records was a real privilege for me.

“In the process I found how healing making this record had been not only for me but also for everyone involved. This is our way of saying goodbye to our friend and music idol, and I hope George’s fans enjoy this as much as we have making it.”

‘Angels in Chains’ marks Geri’s first worldwide single release since 2005. The artist formerly known as Ginger Spice racked up four UK Number Ones as a solo artist between 1999 and 2001, ‘Mi Chico Latino’, ‘Lift Me Up’, ‘Bag It Up’ and ‘It’s Raining Men’.

She’s releases three solo albums to date, 1999’s Schizophobic, 2001’s Scream If You wanna Go Faster and 2005’s Passion.

Geri revealed in 2011 that she had been working on material for a fourth studio album, though it has since failed to materialise. It remains to be seen whether ‘Angels in Chains’ will form part of a wider musical comeback for the girl power champion.

‘Angels in Chains’ is released on June 23.

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