George Michael: a concert film and live album on the way

Nearly ten years after his death in December 2016, George Michael remains one of the most recognisable names in international pop, even though in recent years his legacy hasn't been at the centre of the kind of major celebratory tributes given to other artists of his generation. The announced release of a new concert film could help bring his artistic legacy back into the spotlight.

By the end of the year, "George Michael: The Faith Tour" will arrive in cinemas worldwide, a film documenting the singer's first solo tour. The footage dates back to 1988, when Michael was consolidating his artistic identity after his time with Wham!. The previous year he had released "Faith", the album that definitively established him as a global superstar and set a template for many pop singers seeking to build a solo career after success in a band.

Shot on 35mm film with 14 cameras, the film reconstructs two concerts held on 30 and 31 May 1988 at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, now known as the Accor Arena. The footage has been restored and remastered. It is directed by Andy Morahan and David Austin, who were also involved in the documentary "George Michael: Freedom". The stated aim is to let audiences rediscover the singer's stage presence at the peak of his success.

The screening of the concert will be paired with a short film made by Mary McCartney, photographer and director, daughter of Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney. The short uses a previously unreleased audio interview with Michael and never-before-published photographs taken by Herb Ritts, along with behind-the-scenes footage from the "Faith" video, which was directed at the time by Morahan himself.

Alongside the film, a live album, also titled "The Faith Tour", is set for release. The record will feature eleven tracks drawn from both his solo repertoire and his time with Wham!. It's not yet clear whether the tracklist will match the film exactly or whether it will be an audio edit drawn from different concerts on the tour: the recording of the second Paris show already circulated at the time thanks to radio broadcasts by some stations.

Last February marked the (almost) fortieth anniversary of "Faith", the landmark solo debut by George Michael. The album, released in 1987 and regarded as one of the key titles of late-Eighties pop, has been reissued by Sony Music in a series of limited editions aimed at the vinyl market.

This is the first reissue in over ten years, and it includes several formats: the Red & Black Marble Limited Edition, the Picture Disc, single and double black vinyl versions with Blu-ray, as well as the CD edition. The aim is to celebrate an album that continues to exert a major influence on music, fashion and contemporary pop culture, confirming the artistic scope and vision of one of the most beloved and celebrated performers in the world.

Written, arranged, produced and performed almost entirely by George Michael, “Faith” marked the birth of a new idea of pop icon: an artist able to blend soul, R&B and rock into an elegant, personal language. Success was immediate. At just twenty-four, fresh off his run with Wham! alongside his friend Andrew Ridgeley, Michael was catapulted onto a global stage, outselling pop stars such as Michael Jackson, Madonna and Prince, and winning a Grammy Award for Album of the Year along with three American Music Awards.

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