When Andrew [Ridgeley] first met my family, he heard my mom calling me "Yorgos." He just abbreviated it to Yog, and unfortunately it stuck. I hated it is a teenager. It was not the most glamorous-sounding name in the world.

[My mother] is much more musical, and by the time I started writing songs - by the time I was about 17 - she started to believe in me, musically.

I truly believed that tonight would never happen, that I would never sing these songs to you again. But then I'm a fool, which you've probably worked out by now.

My music is some of the most honest music that's been released and I think that's why people buy it.

I spent years growing up being told what my sexuality was.

It's quite simple: I managed it by doing away with Wham!'s duo image. Obviously, the way I looked changed and that helped a little, but I still have a very pop image. It's a very video-friendly image. I find it a lot more real. It's a lot closer to who I am than the whole Wham! thing.

I'm perfectly happy to admit that insecurity. It doesn't bother me. It's there, just the same as the color of my eyes is there. I'm never going to get rid of it. I'm not going to wake up one morning and really like the way I look, but as long as other people like the way I look, that's fine.