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I’m Your Biggest Fan: George Michael lookalike who gets asked for selfies and even performs with Last Christmas star’s original band


It’s quite the likeness, right?

Dripping with sweat, fresh from performing Freedom to a packed venue of cheering George Michael fans, the screams raising the roof, you’d think you’ve been transported back to 2012. It’s electric!

In fact, you’re watching Rob Lamberti – who is so good at impersonating the singer the actual, real deal, was once mistaken for him.

True fact.

The 46-year-old has been one of the leading George Michael tribute acts for over two decades, with a likeness (and voice) so accurate to the late superstar the Faith singer once joked he was ‘mistaken for Rob Lamberti’.

After leaving a job as a builders’ labourer when he found a short burst of fame on 90s show Stars In Their Eyes, he soon found himself touring up and down the country performing hits like Faith and Freedom.

Rob loves life as the tribute act (Picture: Stephen Heliczer)

The bangers.

Now, ahead of the second year of a tour that features the National Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, plus members of George’s original band, the tribute act has dished on his George Michael act.

So, tell me, how did you find yourself impersonating George Michael?

The truth of it was I left school at the age of 15 and I went out and worked on building sites, and I enjoyed it and got a lot of out of it. It was never boring; I wasn’t stuck in an office.

There would be 30/40 blokes on site and we’d go out for a couple drinks each night. At the time, I was trying to save up for a flat or mortgage with my partner and if you sang karaoke you’d get a free drink.

As the weeks went by it would be a regular thing and I would be getting up in the pub and people were expecting it. It then led to a karaoke competition, whoever won it got £50 and a trophy. At the time George Michael was #1 with Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me and I tried it. I ended up winning it, so I’ve got this tape of me singing.

He definitely shared a likeness (Picture: roblamberti)

Behind my back, my mum and partner sent this tape off to Stars In Their Eyes as a joke. In 1994 I got the call and in the audition they asked me to sing Faith, but to try and look like George Michael as much as I could.

I immediately got the buzz and excitement from performing as him. I had the look about me anyway, so I went into the room and did Faith and I then really wanted to win.

After losing out in the final, soon you were touring, right?

For a short period of time, the TV company would ring with any inquiry for me, and things would come through each day. It slowly started to take over that I could get gigs here or there, so I had to put a show together as George Michael.

This is the real deal (Picture: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

I went into doing hotels and cabarets and 27 years on I’m still doing it, which has been amazing.

When did you realise it was a full-time gig?

About six months in; I ended up joining a band on the university scene called Wham Duran, when their lead singer went off. By Christmas I was on the road as a professional tribute act and no longer working on the building site.

How long did it take you to perfect the look?

It’s the singing which is the difficult thing. You might have a voice, but using it night after night is a massive thing to learn and I’m still learning every gig.

The looks were sort of there, you just had to tweak them – add maybe a bit of makeup, have your eyebrows plucked a little bit for the shape, dye your hair. There’s a similarity already there. It didn’t take too long, but I found learning how to really sing properly is what was most important.

George once said he’s been mistaken for you, which is brilliant…

It was an interview in 2014 when he was still around. I was absolutely amazed. He was asked if he was ever accused of looking like anyone else and he said ‘People are always mistaking me for Robert Lamberti. He’s a George Michael lookalike.’

What’s the craziest thing you’d get away with as a lookalike?

I used to really have some fun with it. A friend of mine who used to be an actor, used to come to some of my jobs and say ‘get ready early and we’ll walk around London’. I’d get fully done up and we’d walk around the West End and get dragged into restaurants; we’ve had police cars stop and ask for pictures, we used to have some real fun. We’d been dragged into restaurants near Harrods, and if they’d found out, we’d probably get killed.

He delights audiences (Picture: Stephen Heliczer)

I also did a promotional job for him, which was bizarre. Sony rang me and said they wanted me to promote his album in store, and off the back of that it got the album to #1.

I’ve had some real good fun when he was around but I wouldn’t do that now he’s dead [he died on Christmas Day 2016], it’s changed.

How has your tribute show changed since his death?

As soon as he passed away, literally, within two days I had different promoters contacting me saying they wanted to put together a theatre show and they wanted me to front it. I was in a bad place, it was almost like a family bereavement. The last thing I wanted to do was do a show, I turned them all down. I didn’t feel like I could go out and celebrate, even though I had to keep working.

Then Derek, the promotor for my show, approached me and I said I’d do it now two years had passed. I had to keep paying the bills, but the gigs changed, the whole feeling. It became a different gig.

I go about it with more respect. I still enjoy it and we do the Wham songs, but at the time [of his death] if you did a ballad I’d be in tears myself.

Some people come up to me and say I reduced them to tears, I don’t mean to do that but it’s the power of the music.

Did you ever meet George?

I once went backstage at the new Wembley but I wasn’t dressed as him then. I spoke to his management and said I would have liked George to see me done up, and they said ‘don’t worry, he’s seen you at your gigs’.

In the 90s, it was 96 or 97, I remember singing in Harrow and looking at the back of the room and seeing this guy with a cap on and I thought, this guy looks just like George Michael.

It was an interesting thing, he’d come to see my show. I had George as my own stalker, my secret stalker!

Be honest, do you ever get sick of singing Wake Me Up Before You Go Go?

If I’m honest, that is the song [I like performing least], but if I don’t feel like doing it, I don’t do it. There’s so much work to go on, wake me up is the classic; if you’ve got a dancefloor and you’ve just done Club Tropicana and I’m Your Man, you do have to follow it up with Wake Me Up.

But I don’t get a lot out of it and I researched it and George only sang that song live once. I’m 46 and that was make for a 20-year-old, the energy you have to put in does take it out of you. You’ve got to do the moves!

Rob goes on tour with his orchestra in May, 2020.



What even is a superfan?

We all want to care about things, but the superfan goes to lengths that far surpass the regular fan.

For eons we’ve worshipped at the altars of sports stars, pop stars, actors, fictional characters, collectables, art, cars, and just about anything else we can relate to, that we can buy, that we can love and share with others.

Also known as a ‘fanatic’ (but, let’s face it, ‘fan’ is much more sexy), these superfans have travelled the globe to support their chosen love, spent hundreds of thousands on merchandise, altered their body in dramatic ways, some have even changed their names – and we’ve tracked down the most die-hard and dedicated to telling their story.

Each week we’ll bring you the story of one keen punter who has dedicated their life and time (and money, so.much.money) to supporting someone or something – simply because it brings them immeasurable joy.

And that’s what life’s about, right?

Say hi to Metro.co.uk’s super fun superfan weekly series, I’m Your Biggest Fan.



Want to get involved in I’m Your Biggest Fan?

If you’ve got a rather brilliant obsession – from Game of Thrones to My Little Pony – and want to share the reasons why, get in touch!

Covered in tattoos of your favourite soapie star? Perhaps you sold the house to satisfy your obsession with Christmas.

Whatever it is, we would love to know your story.

Email us celebtips@metro.co.uk, call 020 3615 2145 or visit our Submit Stuff page with a bit about what you’ve done, with some pictures to back it up. You’ll have to be prepared to be interviewed and deep dive into the fandom – but that’s the fun part, right?

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