George Michael, the English songwriter and pop star who died at 53 on Sunday, was a reliably outstanding live performer, though after a world tour promoting his album “Faith” in 1988 and 1989, he turned away from the road. He never gave his 1990 album “Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1” a proper tour, instead performing a set of cover songs in 1991 before he took a lengthy break from the road. He returned to the stage in 2006, and reached the United States two years later with a show that demonstrated he had no intention of becoming an oldies act, as The New York Times’s chief pop, critic Jon Pareles, wrote at the time. Here are five performances from 1985 to 2008 that showcase Mr. Michael’s range as a live artist:

[ Why George Michael mattered | Read the obituary ]

“Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley with Elton John at Live Aid, 1985