Long-Lost George Michael 'Faith Tour' Film and Live Album Set for Global Release This Year
A previously unseen film capturing George Michael's iconic 1988 Faith tour is scheduled for a worldwide cinema release later this year, accompanied by a new live album featuring unheard recordings from his Wham! and solo discographies. The project, titled George Michael: The Faith Tour, promises to deliver a powerful archival experience, showcasing the singer's peak artistry and ambition.
Cinematic and Musical Revival of a Pop Landmark
The film utilizes footage from a 14-camera shoot at Paris' Bercy Arena in 1988, billed as a tour de force in archival film-making. Directed by Michael's longtime collaborators Andy Morahan and David Austin, the release is a joint effort between George Michael Entertainment and Mercury Studios. Specific release dates and distribution plans are still under wraps, but anticipation is building among fans and music historians alike.
In addition to the main feature, a new short film by photographer Mary McCartney will be presented. This includes a voiceover from a previously unheard interview with Michael and behind-the-scenes footage from the making of his iconic Faith video, shot by American photographer Herb Ritts. The complementary 18-track live album, also titled The Faith Tour, will highlight unreleased Wham! recordings and solo material, offering fresh insights into Michael's live performances.
Legacy of the Faith Album and Ongoing Cultural Impact
Michael's Faith album is widely celebrated as one of the defining pop albums of the 1980s, with over 25 million global sales and four US number-one singles, including Faith, Father Figure, One More Try, and Monkey. The Guardian's Alan McGee praised it as Michael's masterpiece, noting its classic pop sound and his extensive involvement in co-production, songwriting, instrumentation, and vocals.
This project follows Morahan and Austin's 2017 documentary George Michael: Freedom, which explored the singer's initial fame and subsequent disillusionment with the music industry. Michael was finalizing that documentary before his death in 2016, and his legacy continues to resonate. Since then, his estate has collaborated with legendary producer Nile Rodgers on remixes, and his music featured prominently in the 2019 festive romcom Last Christmas, which included a previously unheard solo track.
Wham!'s song Last Christmas has become a seasonal staple, topping the UK charts in 2023 and 2024 before being dethroned by Kylie Minogue in 2025. Meanwhile, Michael's single Father Figure gained renewed popularity on TikTok last year after appearing in the film Babygirl. Further cementing his enduring appeal, art book publisher Rizzoli is set to release Celebrating George: Three Decades of George Michael through the Lens, a coffee table book with many unseen images from his career.
