The film was directed by Andy Morahan, who shot the original footage during two performances at Paris’ Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy on May 30 and 31, 1988, and David Austin, Michael’s longtime friend and manager. Morahan had originally captured the concert for Michael’s video for Monkey, the fifth single from Faith.
“It was never designed to be a concert film. George had just wanted me to shoot the best bits from the show that he could pick out,” Morahan said. “It wasn’t until 40 years later that David came to me and said, ‘Have a look at this, we might have something here’.”
The footage proved a treasure trove. Morahan had approached the original job with a loose brief, with a director of photography and a 16-camera crew stationed throughout the arena. He had Michael’s permission to light the audience during certain songs. The audio for both nights had been recorded on a 24-track mobile studio for a French radio broadcast.
At the time of the concert, Michael was 24 years old and riding the wave of chart-topping success that was Faith, which had become a global smash months earlier. The tour took in 109 shows across 16 countries, including Australia, between February 1988 and July 1989.
“He’d served his apprenticeship with Wham!, and he knew how to write these songs that jumped out of the radio,” Austin said. “He was sparring with the greats – Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna, his three great contemporaries – and he was outselling them all. By the time he got to Faith, he was pretty polished and he knew what he was doing.”
In the film, Michael paces nonstop across three stages, performing classics such as Father Figure, Careless Whisper and I Want Your Sex, moving with a “glistening jackhammer” energy and MTV dance moves choreographed by Paula Abdul. The footage was edited by Ben Wainwright-Pearce, who edited Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft.
Opening the concert film is a short documentary, Finding Faith, by photographer and filmmaker Mary McCartney, eldest daughter of Paul and Linda McCartney. Her film uses previously unseen archive photos and unreleased clips from interviews Michael did with Tony Parsons between 1989 and 1990. McCartney, who knew Michael for years and became close with him around 2005, when his then partner was Kenny Goss, said she was drawn to how “casual and unguarded” Michael was in the interviews.
“He’s really young, 24 and just out of Wham!, and we see a very reflective George Michael. He’s thinking, ‘What’s my next move? I want to do this, but what am I willing to sacrifice for this?’ He’s a sensitive person at an interesting time in his life and career, and I think that comes across.”
The film’s release comes ahead of the 10th anniversary of Michael’s death this December, he died on December 25, 2016, aged 53. Recent documentaries such as Netflix’s Wham! (2023) have framed Michael as a tortured artist whose teen idol success forced him to conceal his sexuality until his arrest in a public bathroom in 1998. In the Faith concert, Michael emerges from a barred cage and returns to it at the show’s end. Austin said Michael was not tortured: “No, he wasn’t tortured at all! He absolutely owned who he was throughout his career. Everything was very calculated.”
Morahan agreed: “There’s a thing in Mary’s opening film where he says, ‘I consider myself one of my generation’s high achievers, but I want to be known as a musician and an artist,’ and I think that was his motivation.”
The film offers a chance to refocus Michael’s legacy on his craft. Austin said: “For me, it’s like, ‘Didn’t see the Faith concert the first time? Well, here’s your chance to see it.’ I hope young people can feel what George was doing and understand the excellence on show. Because this is the benchmark.”
‘George Michael: The Faith Tour’ is in cinemas now.