“The Final Two,” announced banners for the last shows in George Michael’s world tour “25 Live”. Wham! fans would recognise the reference with sinking hearts: it was a nod to Wham!’s last gig at Wembley Stadium in 1986, “The Final”.

The singer, on the road for two years, has announced he will never tour again. “The compromises are too huge,” he sighed on stage as he prepared to bid farewell to his fans – if not forever, then at least until Saturday, when he plays a concert in Copenhagen called, with lawyerly nitpicking, “The Final One”.