LONDON (AP) — George Michael died of natural causes as the result of heart disease and a fatty liver, a British coroner said Tuesday.
Darren Salter, senior coroner for the county of Oxfordshire in southern England, said a postmortem has found that the singer died of “dilated cardiomyopathy with myocarditis and fatty liver.”
Dilated cardiomyopathy is a condition in which the left ventricle of the heart becomes stretched and weakened, limiting the heart’s ability to pump blood. Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle.
The former Wham! singer-songwriter was found dead at his country home in Oxfordshire on Dec. 25. He was 53.
An initial autopsy failed to determine the cause of death.
Salter said that because Michael died of natural causes, there will be no coroner’s inquest or further inquiries.
Police initially investigated and took witness statements in order to establish facts Michael’s death, which they called “unexplained but non-suspicious.”
Wham!, formed by Michael and his friend, Andrew Ridgeley, topped charts in the 1980s with exuberant pop hits including
“Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” and ”Young Guns (Go For It).” Michael went on to a solo career studded with major hits including “Careless Whisper” and “Freedom” and sold more than 100 million albums around the world.
He also suffered problems with drugs and alcohol, and in 2010 was briefly jailed after crashing his Range Rover into a shop front near his London home while high on prescription drugs and marijuana.
Michael had experienced health problems including a bout of pneumonia in 2011 that saw him hospitalized in intensive care. He said later it had been “touch and go” whether he would survive.
Michael’s former partner, Kenny Goss, has said he thinks the musician’s body “just gave up.”
Dilated cardiomyopathy can be an inherited condition, or can be caused by factors such as viral infections and high blood pressure. Myocarditis is usually caused by a viral, bacterial or fungal infection, while fatty liver disease can be caused by alcohol, or by other factors that cause a buildup of fat in the liver.
Michael’s death prompted an outpouring of recognition for his musical gifts as well as his charitable work in support of groups including AIDS groups, cancer charities and Childline, which offers confidential phone counseling for young people.
Paying tribute to Michael at the Brit Awards last month, Ridgeley said that with his death, “a supernova in a firmament of shining stars has been extinguished.”
Wasting away again in Margaritaville
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — You can’t get any more laid back than retirement. So perhaps it’s fitting that the king of laid-back music, Jimmy Buffett, is lending his vibe to a retirement community.
Latitude Margaritaville — named after Buffett’s best-known song, “Margaritaville — will open its first community in Daytona Beach for “those looking to live the Margaritaville lifestyle as they grow older, but not up,” according to a news release.
Current plans call for walkable neighborhoods, a fitness center, and food and drinks from Buffett’s Margaritaville restaurant.
Margaritaville Holdings and Minto Communities announced the partnership last month. Minto said the community’s focus will be on music and will include a band shell for live entertainment.
Construction has begun, and the village is slated to open this fall.
Harvard dropout Zuckerberg to address grads
CAMBRIDGE (AP) — Mark Zuckerberg is headed back to Harvard, but this time he’ll be giving the commencement speech.
The Ivy League school announced Tuesday that the Facebook CEO and Harvard dropout was chosen to address students at a May 25 graduation ceremony on the Cambridge campus.
Harvard President Drew Faust says Zuckerberg “has profoundly altered the nature of social engagement worldwide,” adding that she’s glad to welcome him back.
Zuckerberg went to Harvard as an undergraduate in 2002 but left after his sophomore year to pursue his company, which later became Facebook.
He had planned to return to Harvard later but changed his mind after Facebook became a quick success. The social-media giant now counts nearly 2 billion users around the world.
CMA stocks up on stars
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town and Maren Morris will perform at the 52nd annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas on April 2.
The first round of performers was announced Tuesday. The show will also feature a performance by pop group the Backstreet Boys and Florida Georgia Line. It will be the first time the Backstreet Boys have appeared on the country awards show.
Florida Georgia Line and the Backstreet Boys collaborated on Florida Georgia Line’s “God, Your Mama, and Me.” They will also perform together at three stadium tour dates this summer in Boston, Chicago and Minneapolis.
The show, which will air live on CBS from the T-Mobile Arena, will be co-hosted by Bentley and Bryan.