THE original bass player with Wham! is to perform a tribute gig in Brighton.

Deon Estus, who also performed on George Michael’s first two solo projects, has been added to the line-up to the George UK Tour 2020 and will play at the Brighton Centre on May 7.

The gig will include hits spanning the days of Wham! and George’s solo career, such as Careless Whisper, Faith, Fastlove and Club Tropicana.

It will also feature George impersonator and singer Rob Lamberti.

George, 53, who was found dead on Christmas Day 2016 at his home in Oxfordshire, soared to success with Wham! in the 1980s.

He sold more than 100 million albums in a career spanning almost four decades.

Estus, who is American, was the bass player with Wham! and took part in the band’s infamous tour of China, as well as the Faith tour.

Estus also had a top five single on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1989 with Heaven Help Me, which featured backing vocals from George, who co-produced several tracks on Estus’s album Spell.

Impersonator Rob Lamberti became “a star in his own right” after appearing on the BBC’s Even Better Than the Real Thing in 2017.

The tour organisers said he “bears a voice worthy of performing George’s remarkable catalogue of hits”.

Lamberti has managed to establish a career paying homage to his hero and is also set to features in an upcoming Steve Coogan film called Greed.

He will sing alongside the National Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and a live band.

The tour is calling at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall before travelling to Liverpool, Dundee, Nottingham, Brighton, Sheffield, Birmingham, and Manchester.

Tickets are available online at the Brighton Centre website from £50.75.