George Michael king
of British airwaves

Former Wham! singer beats
out Elton John on survey

Steve Finn / Getty Images file

Singer and songwriter George Michael accepts the Radio Academy's PPL Award in London for the most played artist on the radio in the last 20 years. Elton John came second.

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updated 2:28 p.m. ET April 28, 2004

George Michael was named king of the airwaves Wednesday, topping a survey of the most-played artists on British radio over the past 20 years.

Michael, who began his career as half of Wham! two decades ago, beat Elton John to the top spot in the list, compiled by industry monitor Phonographic Performance Ltd.

Hits including “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” “Careless Whisper” and “Faith” helped give Michael the top spot. Former boy band member Robbie Williams was third, followed by Australian dance diva Kylie Minogue and Canadian rocker Bryan Adams.

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Michael was due to receive an award for his achievement from the Radio Academy later Wednesday.

“I can’t believe it,” the 40-year-old singer said. “I’ve only made six albums in 22 years so I don’t know how this happened. I’m the luckiest writer on earth.”