Like something straight out of the Village People, George Michael dresses as a cop in his new video that makes light of his arrest last spring in a park bathroom.
The six minute video for the top three UK single "Outside" - the first single from his forthcoming hits collection - opens with a grainy, cheezy Swedish soft-porn parody ('eine fulm bi Hüu Jarss', according to the credits) set in a toilet. The male lead (Klaus Hoöd), goes to kiss 'Cindy' (Heidi Kóchenblauer), and when he pulls away 'Cindy' has turned into a police officer.
The scene then switches to Hollywood - the city where Michael was busted earlier this year.
The actual video features a barrage of images of police in helicopters descending on couples performing sex acts in public places, including a ship, a truck and a rooftop.
The video is rife with homo-erotic imagery and has been released in two slightly different versions: censored (aka 'pixellated version') and uncensored.
The uncensored version features a brief glimpse of a woman receiving oral sex in an office, two male police officers kissing passionately, and two males rolling around in a dumpster. These clips are pixellated in the censored version.
There's also a brief re-enactment of Michael's arrest April 7 - this time it's a straight couple going at it. Futher playing on Michael's well-publicized 'bust', one scene has a public restroom hilariously morphs into a disco, where Officer Michael and dancers perform most of the song.
The video ends with a shot of a 'Jesus Saves' neon-sign and the words 'all of us. all'.
The video makes its exclusive debut Wednesday on MTV. The video will reportedly be introduced by Michael. It should begin airing on MuchMusic and Musique Plus soon after.
The British pop star pleaded no contest this past summer to committing a lewd act in a Los Angeles public bathroom. He paid an $810 fine and was ordered to undergo counseling and community service. It's unclear at press-time whether the 'Outside' video will be considered 'community service'.
'Outside', a strings-heavy, 'sound of Philadelphia' funk tune (think 'Fastlove' from 'Older'), is one of three new tracks Michael recorded for 'Ladies and Gentlemen... The Very Best Of George Michael', out November 10 on Sony. The other two new tracks are 'A Moment With You' and a cover of Stevie Wonder's 'As' (with Mary J. Blige). 'A Moment With You' is included on the new hits CD - possibly a second single from the collection. Release information on 'As' is yet to be determined as Blige's US label has barred a North American release of the track.
The album - a 2CD hits collection that stretches all the way back to the days of Wham! - is the final nail in Michael's contractual woes with his former label Sony.
His new album is due out some time in 1999 on Dreamworks/Universal (for North America) and Virgin (for the rest of the world).
