Michael Courts Wembley

Twenty-four hours before he becomes the first live act to play the new 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium, George Michael has another appearance booked three miles down the road to answer a "drugged-driving" charge at Brent Magistrates’ Court.

At an April 24th preliminary hearing at the same northwest London court, District Judge Katherine Marshall rejected an application for the musician to be allowed to skip the trial.

"He is around in the area because I believe he is appearing at Wembley Stadium. I do not think he will have any difficulty in being here on June 8th," Marshall told the court, although she also said she would be willing to bail him to reappear on the final day if he did not wish to attend the full trial.

The 43-year-old former Wham! frontman faces a charge of driving while unfit through drugs and an allegation of being in charge of a vehicle while unfit through drugs.

The charges relate to an incident October 1st when London motorists called emergency services after finding Michael slumped in his Mercedes, which was blocking a junction.

He was arrested on suspicion of being unfit to drive and for possession of what was thought to be cannabis. He was taken to hospital before being cautioned for carrying the drug.

In February 2006, he’d been found slumped at the wheel of his car near London’s Hyde Park Corner.

Two months later (April 16th), Michael made a call to the police to admit that he was the driver in a bizarre, four-car smash near his home.

According to reports in the Daily Mirror and the Daily Star, the singer rang to say he’d been behind the wheel when his £60,000 Range Rover Vogue hit three parked cars at 8 a.m. the previous day.

His performances on a 2006 tour put together by Marshall Arts, his first live outings for 15 years, were highly praised by all the European promoters who had dates and were reportedly the London company’s fastest-selling shows in its 30-year history.