EXCLUSIVE: George Michael: The Faith Tour, a restored and remastered feature based on long lost film, is being lined up for a worldwide big screen release later this year, Deadline can reveal.

George Michael Entertainment and Mercury Studios are behind the new and never-seen-before project, which will be accompanied by the release of an 18-track album of previously unheard performances by the pop icon.

Directed by longtime collaborators Andy Morahan and David Austin, the new film comprises footage shot at the famous Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy during the European leg of the Faith Tour in 1988. The movie is made up of footage assembled from a 14-camera shoot captured on 35mm over two nights, featuring the 24-year-old pop star at the height of his powers. Above and below are first-look images.

The film’s distributor and release dates are being kept under wraps for now but when it plays in theaters the plan is for it to open with an original short film by photographer Mary McCartney — daughter of Paul McCartney — contextualising the tour’s cultural significance. The short includes voiceover from an unheard interview given by Michael alongside unseen images captured by American photographer Herb Ritts and behind the-scenes footage of the Faith music video.

The 18-track live album, called The Faith Tour, heralds from George Michael Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment and will feature previously unreleased recordings from Michael’s Wham! and solo catalogues.

Universal Music Group-owned Mercury Studios has produced recent music films including One to One: John & Yoko, American Symphony, and Prince – Sign O’ the Times.

Andy Morahan is the prolific music video director who teamed up with Michael on a host of songs, as well artists including Elton John, Bryan Adams, Mariah Carey, Tina Turner, Paul McCartney, Pet Shop Boys, Cyndi Lauper, Aretha Franklin and more. David Austin, the singer’s longtime collaborator and friend, has managed his estate since his passing and co-directed and co-produced 2017 documentary George Michael: Freedom.

Written, arranged, produced, and performed almost entirely by George Michael, his Faith album earned the Brit performer a Grammy for Album of the Year and a record-breaking run of four U.S. No. 1 singles, including Faith, Father Figure, One More Try, and Monkey, making Michael the only British male solo artist ever to achieve four U.S. number-one singles from a single album on the Billboard Hot 100. The album sold more than 25 million copies worldwide, topping charts in ten countries.

The iconic singer rose to fame in the 1980’s as a member of the duo Wham!, selling more than 30 million records. He later embarked on a solo career and sold more than 125 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling musicians of all time, topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart eight times in the U.S. and hitting the No.1 spot on the UK singles charts seven times. He was the most-played artist on British radio between 1984 and 2004, and released his final studio album in 2004, followed by a last live album in 2014.

The much loved singer and philanthropist, who had a string of well-publicised legal skirmishes in later life, passed away in 2016 aged 53 due to heart disease.

George Michael: The Faith Tour, Mercury Studios