David is one of Georges and Andrews oldest friends and he began his musical relationship with George Michael very early.
1984 was the year that saw their first work being released. David put out his debut single Turn To Gold. A second collaboration from that year was Are You Just Using Me which he had co-written with George. It appeared as the b-side of his Japan single Love While You Can.
Are You... has some typical parts of George Michael-writing skills and Austin tries to sound very much like his friend. But since George didn't produce the record it was not as much his style as Turn To Gold.
Very mysterious is another release of that song: Dutch singer Richenel released his version of the track in 1989 (which David Austin produced) and it even found its way into the Dutch charts. So one of the most asked questions regarding this song has its answer. Q: Did George write a song called Are You Just Using Me for Richenel? A: No, but Richenel covered a David Austin/George Michael song of that name. George chose the synonym R. Phillips for his credit for this release...
Ever heard of T. Roy Morris? Well, he's the featured artist on another release of the track by none other than Boogie Box High.
It appeared on the band's album Outrageous and who else could choose such a synonym again?
David Austin didn't have much success with his offerings but worked with George and Andrew on other songs in the years to come:
George Michael: Look At Your Hands, You Have Been Loved. Andrew Ridgeley: Shake, Flame.