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MOSCOW - George Michael ended a mixed year by pocketing £1.5 million ($4.2 million) to perform at a Russian billionaire's New Year's Eve party.
Moscow's end-of-year parties are said to be among the most ostentatious in the world with gossip columnists ranking them according to the huge fees
paid to the main entertainer.
But the fee commanded by the former Wham star for an hour-long performance is said to have made him the country's highest paid act to date.
The populist newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda first revealed that the 42-year-old singer was rumoured to be among a host of stars flying in for private performances, invited by one of the country's top financiers whose identity remained a secret.
Yesterday a spokeswoman confirmed that Michael - who was recently charged with being unfit to drive - had in fact entertained 300 guests at a lavish party on a private estate 50km outside Moscow.
The past year has been mixed for the singer. He is due before Brent magistrates on January 11 charged under his real name - Georgios Panayiotou - with being unfit to drive. He was arrested on October 2 when police responded to complaints his car was blocking a junction and found him passed out, later cautioning him for possession of cannabis.
But the year also included sold out performances of his first tour in 15 years - Live 25. Bar the odd charity event - including a recent free performance for nurses prompted by the care given to his mother when she was dying of cancer a decade ago - the singer had been notably absent from the public stage.
But his return - a celebration of 25 years in the music industry - was triumphant and sources said his Russian extravaganza would have followed the same format, singing hits spanning from the early days of Careless Whisper to recent songs.
Michael was flown out to the billionaire's mansion with his 20-strong entourage of band and backing singers for a mere few hours.
"The businessman contacted George directly and asked him to perform," an insider said.
According to Komsomolskaya Pravda, other stars attending private events were former James Bond Pierce Brosnan for £1.3 million and the actor Danny DeVito for an equally impressive fee.
Beyonce was reported to be singing at another party for £760,000 while Natalie Imbruglia was commanding a third of that fee.
Paying customers
* Michael Spencer, chief executive of the currency trading firm Intercapital, paid Robbie Williams £1 million to sing at his 50th birthday party in St Tropez in 2005. Williams donated his fee to charity.
* Property developer Ray Smith and his wife, Lisa, hired the Sugababes, Will Young, Charlotte Church and Lionel Richie for a £1.5 million Christmas party at their Merseyside home last month.
* The steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal paid £30 million for his daughter Vanisha's wedding celebrations in Paris in 2004. Kylie Minogue was paid £200,000 for a half-hour set.
* John Cauldwell, founder of Phones4U, gave employees cheques of up to £15,000 at a party to mark his departure from the company. Will Young and James Fox performed.
- INDEPENDENT