WHAM ! GEORGE MICHAEL COMING BACK !

Having sworn only last year that his pop days were over, George Michael has started a 47-gig tour called "25 Live," celebrating a quarter of a century in the music business."Well it just goes to show, doesn't it? Never say never," the 43-year-old singer wrote in the tour program."I truly believed that tonight would never happen, that I would never sing these songs to you again. But then I'm a fool."As the lights dimmed on a bare set on Saturday evening, the strains of "Waiting" echoed through the packed San Jordi hall, Michael coyly crooning: "You once said there's a way back for every man ... Is it too late to try again? Here I am!"

Controversy is nothing new for Michael, who has won plenty of headlines for sex and drugs as well as for rock and roll.He was arrested in 1998 for engaging in a "lewd act" in a public toilet in Los Angeles, after which he ended years of speculation about his sexuality by announcing that he was gay. This year he was arrested on suspicion of possessing drugs.