Synopsis

In a neon-lit cyberpunk city, George Michael arrives as a shape-shifting avatar of sexual excess and commercial fantasy. Moving through futuristic streets filled with mechanical bodies, provocative dancers, barking Dobermanns, and giant digital displays, he appears in a series of exaggerated guises, from pinstriped salesman to leather-clad superhero. The journey builds toward a confrontation with a powerful red-haired dominatrix figure, turning the song's lustful energy into a campy, surreal spectacle about desire, technology, and the commodification of sex.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video debuted in March 2002 alongside "Freeek!", the first single from the album *Patience*, which was not released until 2004.

• Contemporary production coverage reported a budget of approximately $1.5 million, making it one of the era's most expensive music videos.

• The 4-minute-28-second clip contains around 180 visual-effects shots. The effects work was completed in roughly four weeks.

• The production used extensive computer-generated imagery rather than relying solely on conventional live-action sets. One notable effect is the nude cyber-woman whose internal circuitry glows beneath her skin as she activates herself by tilting her head.

• The clip's visual language draws heavily on science-fiction cinema, particularly the grimy, commercialized future associated with *Blade Runner*, while adding elements of fetish fashion, comic-book parody, and nightclub imagery.

• Its sexual content caused broadcasting disputes in several countries. In the United Kingdom, the BBC's airing of an edited version on *Top of the Pops* led to 68 complaints, with particular concern over erotic imagery, suggestive movement, and bondage scenes.

• The video's deliberately excessive tone was part of its provocation. Rather than presenting sexuality realistically, it turns advertising, pornography, fashion, and futuristic technology into an oversized piece of pop-art satire.

• The song's release campaign included several official remixes, while the video itself circulated in edited forms for daytime television and more explicit versions for late-night or specialist broadcasts.