Deon Estus

Deon Estus
Birth name	Jeffery Deon Estus
Born	1956 (age 60–61)
Origin	Detroit, Michigan, United States
Genres	R&B, pop
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, bassist
Instruments	Bass guitar
Years active	1975–present
Labels	PolyGram, EMI, Columbia, Epic
Associated acts	Wham!, George Michael, Boogie Box High, Andrew Ridgeley

Deon Estus (born Jeffery Deon Estus, 04.07.1956, Detroit, Michigan) is an American bassist and singer, best known as the bass player of Wham! and as the bassist on George Michael's first two solo projects. Estus' single "Heaven Help Me," with additional vocals by George Michael, reached Number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1989.

Estus was born in Detroit and graduated from Northwestern High School in 1974. He sang second tenor in the choir at Northwestern under the direction of Brazel Dennard. His bass (guitar) teacher was the late James Jamerson of Motown's The Funk Brothers.

Estus joined the R&B band Brainstorm as a teenager, recording two albums with them and scoring a hit with "Popcorn". During the early 1980s, he moved to Europe and lived in Belgium and Ireland, before settling in London. He turned down the chance to play bass on Marvin Gaye's 1982 comeback album, Midnight Love, because he was so busy recording and he says that he was not aware that it would be Gaye's last album released during his lifetime. After his bass talents were recognized, he was invited to join the UK pop group, Wham!. He went on to tour China with Wham! and later backed Wham! frontman George Michael on his Faith tour. He also participated in the late-1980s collective Boogie Box High, which was spearheaded by George Michael's cousin, Andros Georgiou, and featured Michael along with other high-profile musicians; Estus appears on the group's only album, Outrageous, released in 1989. Estus later performed with Michael at Rock in Rio and has continued to play bass as part of Michael's backing band.

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