Outside (George Michael song)

History

The song was seen as a fine self-deprecating public relations exercise by Michael, as it was the first single since he was arrested for engaging in a lewd act six months earlier by an undercover police officer in the public lavatory of the Will Rogers Memorial Park in Beverly Hills, California – an incident which prompted him to declare his homosexuality, which had been rumoured for some years but never publicly confirmed.

Michael took a swipe at the incident in the lyrics, claiming he wanted an alfresco sex life because he was bored with lovemaking behind closed doors. Reference to the Beverly Hills affair came with the line "I'd service the community, but I already have, you see" (he was sentenced to 80 hours of community service for the offense) and direct samples of radio reports of his arrest.

The song was recorded at Sarm West in London with a string section and arrangement by Andrew Skeet.

Music video

The video, directed by Vaughan Arnell and filmed on 4 June 1998, was especially satirical. It features a police helicopter hovering over Los Angeles and shadowing a variety of people, gay and straight, kissing, having sex or engaging in foreplay, all in public. The scenes of public coupling are styled like real surveillance footage and interspersed with scenes of Michael and his dancers performing in a men's toilet. Michael is dressed as an LAPD police officer and clutching a nightstick, while the toilet is decorated like a disco nightclub, complete with flashing lights and disco balls. Two female dancers dressed in police uniforms are also seen dancing with Michael.

Before the song starts properly, the video begins with a parody of a 1970s European pornography film. As a sultry jazz saxophone score plays, the credits show "eine fulm bi Hüu Jarss", "mit Klaus Hoöd", "undë Heidi Kóchenblauer", "ars 'Cindy'", "direktum bi Marchelo Üffenvanken" – a collection of made-up names and words, most likely meant to resemble Swedish or German, but with deliberate English puns, such as "Hüu Jarss" for Huge Arse. "Cindy" is played by SI swimsuit model Melissa Keller.

A short passage of narration in Swedish: "Vem var hon? Var kom hon ifrån? Hade hon ätit? Då plötsligt kom jag ihåg, det var ingen dröm: jag var ... i Hollywood!", translates as: "Who was she? Where did she come from? Had she eaten? Then suddenly I recalled, it was no dream: I was... in Hollywood!."

In the video, apart from Keller, porn stars Rebecca Lord and Brittany Andrews make their appearances, including actress Jeanne Carmen (as the Blonde Dominatrix).

At the end of the video, two male officers arrest numerous couples previously shown engaging in lewd conduct. The video concludes with the two police officers, thinking that they aren't being watched, sharing a passionate embrace and starting to kiss, the surveillance video focusing in on their public indecency. The video ends with a shot of a rooftop neon sign reading "JESUS SAVES", followed by the on-screen captions "... all of us. all."

In 1998, Marcelo Rodriguez, the undercover officer who arrested Michael, brought a $10 million court case in California against the singer who had amassed an estimated personal fortune of £70 million ($140 million) in his lifetime. The court dismissed the case, but an appeals court reinstated the case on 3 December 2002. The court then ruled Rodriguez, as a public official, could not legally recover damages for emotional distress.

Track listing

1. "Outside"
2. "Fantasy '98"
3. "Outside" (Jon Douglas Remix)

Commercial performance

"Outside" reached number two on the UK Singles Chart; one of many songs to be held off by a seven-week run at the top by Cher with "Believe". It was not featured on a studio album, but was included on his solo hits collection Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael – the title of which was also a sly dig at his activity in the lavatory.