Photographer Brian Aris will be publishing a compilation of George Michael photos in his book, Celebrating George, with photos ranging from the Wham! days with Andrew Ridgeley to George’s solo days.
This stunning collection of photographs features iconic George Michael images throughout his career—including many never before published.
The man born as Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou hated being photographed, and that makes this volume such an unusual and beautiful tribute to one of the music world’s most beloved stars. First meeting when he shot Wham!, Brian Aris gained George’s trust and subsequently enjoyed unprecedented access to document the complex and sensitive character behind one of pop’s most talented and consummate artists.
Dreaming of stardom from an early age, George achieved popularity first with Wham! and later reached heights of even greater success after re-creating himself as a serious solo artist with songs and music videos that remain iconic to this day. Tragically, he died on Christmas Day 2016 at just fifty-three.
With text documenting George’s life and Brian’s memories of his sessions and meetings with the star, together with iconic shots, contact sheets, and previously unseen images, this is an amazing, heartfelt tribute to one of the world’s most likable and talented performers who is one of the all-time immortal greats of pop music.
Brian Aris describes his time photographing George Michael:
“From the early days, when he first burst on the scene in 1981 as one half of Wham!, the pop duo he formed with Andrew Ridgeley, to the later years when he went on to enjoy even greater worldwide success as a sophisticated and glamorous solo artist, George was always fascinating to work with.”
Let’s take a trip back to 1988 when George Michael was the biggest star on the planet and the Faith Tour was “THE” concert everyone wanted to go to. I know … I stood in line for hours with my dad hoping to get tickets.
If you missed it or just want to relive those wonderful days as a George Michael fan, you’re in luck.
George Michael: The Faith Tour will be released to the big screen this year. As if that wasn’t enough, a live album with 18 previously unheard songs will also be available.
Here is the announcement from The Faith Tour account on Instagram:
“You’ve gotta have FAITH”… We’re incredibly excited to announce that ‘George Michael: The Faith Tour’ is coming to the big screen worldwide later this year! 👀 Shot in Paris in 1988, the never-before-seen, long lost film has been restored and remastered and will be introduced by an original short film from Mary McCartney.
“Wait for somethin’ more”… ‘The Faith Tour’, a previously unheard 18-track live album is also coming alongside the theatrical release 🎶 More info coming soon.
Official George Michael The Faith Tour Instagram Account
Andy Morahan and David Austin directed the film comprised of footage from a 14-camera shoot on 35mm over two nights. George Michael: The Faith Tour was filmed when the Faith Tour visited the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in 1988.
The film’s distributor and release dates are unknown at this time. When it is released in theaters, the film will be preceded by an original short film by Mary McCartney to discuss the tour’s cultural significance. The short film will also include an unheard interview of George Michael, as well as unseen images by photographer Herb Ritts and behind-the-scenes footage of the “Faith” music video.
The live album, entitled The Faith Tour, will include 18-tracks, featuring previously unreleased recordings from George Michael’s Wham! and solo catalogues. It will be available from George Michael Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment.
A few of you might remember my complaining last year that there was no 40th anniversary celebration of Wham!’s historic trip to China in 1985. Well, it looks like we might be getting a treat in 2026.
In 1985, George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley of the duo Wham! became the first Western pop act to perform in communist China. It’s a much talked about publicity stunt by Simon Napier-Bell to make Wham! a household name worldwide.
According to a press release, Zinc Media Group plc announced the completion of a new feature-length, 90-minute documentary produced for Sony Music Entertainment telling the story of WHAM!’s historic 1985 tour of China:
Wham! 10 Days in China uses newly restored and previously unseen archive footage alongside new interviews with Andrew Ridgeley to reveal the full story of the first Western pop act to perform in communist China. The concerts in Beijing and Guangzhou marked a significant cultural moment as Western pop music was introduced to Chinese audiences for the first time.
With the restored footage and exclusive interviews with Andrew Ridgeley and members of the touring party, the documentary will be a long-awaited look at the unseen footage.
The new documentary is directed by Mike Christie (Nick Cave’s Veiled World, New Order: Decades).
“The existence of this footage has been a mystery for years, spoken about in fragments but never truly seen. The story of the tour is intensely dramatic and finding a way to tell it in a form that the Wham! collective felt was finally worth pursuing has been a real honour.”
In the 1980s, a Wham! in China documentary was released. In fact, there are two versions of the original Wham! in China documentary. Oscar-winning filmmaker, Lindsay Anderson, was originally hired to create the documentary. Because of conflicts, Lindsay Anderson’s version has been rarely seen, except for a screening of Wham in China: If You Were There in May of 2024. More information on the conflict is available in the previous link.
I am not currently seeing any Faith Tour accounts for other social media, such as Facebook or X.
Since the anniversary of Faith’s release was in November of 1987 in the U.S., it seems an interesting choice to release the vinyl and CD 39 years after the release date instead of in 2027 for the 40th anniversary.
Another interesting choice is the creation of this new Instagram account for the Faith tour. Is this just the start of a celebration for the 40th anniversary of George Michael’s chart-busting, #1 Faith album?
The Faith tour account seems to be posting 2 posts a day and also appears to be posting from the first dates of the Faith tour in Japan in 1987.
Unlike previous years, George Michael’s company, Nobby’s Hobbies Holding, opted not to file the profit and loss account for 2025 “in accordance with provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime.”
The report is only for the year ending March 31, 2025.
Nobby’s Hobbies Holdings Limited is a private company, limited by shares, registered in England and Wales.
Subsidary undertakings of the company were:
Big Geoff Overseas Limited
Robobuild Limited
Wham Music Limited
George Michael Songs Limited
Infamy Inc.
The Nobby’s Hobbies Holding’s report is available here.
For information on previous on Nobby’s Hobbies Holdings, visit the following articles.
