Faith (album)

Faith
George Michael studio album
Publication (s)	October 30, 1987
admission	1986-1987
Label (s)	Epic Records
Format (s)	CD, record
Genre (s)	Pop , Pop-Rock , R&B , Soul , Adult Contemporary
Title (number)	9
running time	53:16 minutes
production	George Michael
chronology - Faith Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 (1990)

Faith is George Michael's debut album as a solo artist. It was released in October 1987 and was named after the song of the same name.

history

After Wham! Stuck together until 1986, George Michael expressed a desire to break up the band because he was tired of the style of the group. After the concert at Wembley Stadium , Michael began working on the album Faith . While the smallest part of the work was being made, the songs A Different Corner and The Edge of Heaven, recorded between 1984 and 1985, were released . Another impetus for success was the song " I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) ", a duet with Aretha Franklin that was created during the recording sessions in 1986 and appeared on her album Aretha .

Most of the album was recorded in 1987. Michael used a Synclavier 9600 for the recordings , and it was also his first digital recording. One part was recorded in PUK studios in Denmark and another part was recorded in Sarm West studios in London . George Michael wrote every song himself, except for the bonus track Look at Your Hands , which he wrote with David Austin. The album has sold over ten million copies worldwide so far. It was album of the year at the 1989 Grammy Awards .

After its release, the album stayed at number 1 on the US album charts for twelve weeks. It replaced the soundtrack album for the film Dirty Dancing twice and was replaced by both Tiffany's debut album and Van Halen's album OU812 .

Track list

1. Faith - 3:16
2. Father Figure - 5:36
3. I Want Your Sex, Pts. 1-2 - 9:17
4. One More Try - 5:50
5. Hard Day - 4:48
6. Hand to Mouth - 4:36
7. Look at Your Hands - 4:37
8. Monkey - 5:05
9. Kissing a Fool - 4:35
10. Hard Day - 6:30
11. A Last Request (I Want Your Sex, Pt. 3) - 3:48

Charts

album

year	title	Chart positions
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1987	Faith	3	3	4th	1	1

Singles

year	title	Chart positions
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1987	I want your sex	3	2	4th	3	2
1987	Faith	5	4th	4th	2	1
1988	Father Figure	18th	17th	13	11	1
1988	One more try	22nd	19th	4th	8th	1
1988	Monkey	24	22nd	5	13	1
1988	Kissing a fool	44	-	-	18th	5

Contributors

Musician

• George Michael: vocals, keyboards, electric bass, drums
• Robert Ahwai: guitar
• JJ Belle: guitar
• Roddy Matthews: guitar
• Chris Cameron: piano, organ, keyboard, backing vocals
• Betsy Cook: Keyboard
• Danny Schogger: Keyboard
• Deon Estus: electric bass
• Ian Thomas: drums
• Andy Duncan: percussion instrument
• Steve Sidwell: Horn
• Jamie Talbot: Horn
• Rick Taylor: Horn
• Paul Spong: Horn
• Malcolm Griffiths: Horn
• Mark Chandler: Horn
• Steve Waterman: Horn
• Shirley Lewis: Backing vocals

production

• Produced and arranged by: George Michael
• Sound engineers: Chris Porter, Paul Gomersall & Paul Wright
• Mixing: Shep Pettibone and Steve Peck

Critical reception

The album received mostly very positive reviews. For example, Steve Huey from Allmusic said:

"All of it adds up to one of the finest pop albums of the '80s, setting a high-water mark that Michael was only able to reach in isolated moments afterward."

and gave the album 5 stars out of 5.

Sales figures and awards

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
Argentina (CAPIF)	platinum	60,000
Australia (ARIA)	5 × platinum	350,000
Denmark (IFPI)	platinum	20,000
Germany (BVMI)	gold	250,000
France (SNEP)	2 × platinum	600,000
Hong Kong (IFPI / HKRIA)	gold	10,000
Canada (MC)	diamond	1,000,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)	platinum	15,000
Netherlands (NVPI)	platinum	100,000
Sweden (IFPI)	gold	50,000
Switzerland (IFPI)	2 × platinum	100,000
Spain (Promusicae)	2 × platinum	200,000
United States (RIAA)	diamond	10,000,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	4 × platinum	1,200,000
All in all	3 × gold 19 × platinum 2 × diamond	13,955,000

Main article: George Michael / Music Sales Awards

Web links

• Faith at Discogs

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} All publications with a release by George Michael on hitparade.ch
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Review  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at sonymusic.at with publication date  
3. ↑ Information about Wham! at laut.de
4. ↑ Wham! Slide show at ndr.de with additional information
5. ↑ References on Allmusic.com
6. ↑ List of titles from Faith at weltbild.de
7. ↑ ^{a b} Steve Huey: George Michael - Faith. Allmusic , accessed June 12, 2012 . 
8. ↑ Faith at charts.de
9. ↑ Faith at austriancharts.at
10. ↑ Faith at swisscharts.com
11. ↑ Faith at officialcharts.com (at Albums)
12. ↑ Faith at billboard.com
13. ↑ I Want Your Sex on charts.de
14. ↑ I Want Your Sex at austriancharts.at
15. ↑ I Want Your Sex at swisscharts.com
16. ↑ I Want Your Sex at officialcharts.com
17. ↑ US chart placements at allmusic.com
18. ↑ Faith (Lied) at charts.de
19. ↑ Faith (song) at austriancharts.at
20. ↑ Faith (song) at swisscharts.com
21. ↑ Faith (song) at officialcharts.com (for singles)
22. ↑ Faith (song) at billboard.com
23. ↑ Father Figure at charts.de
24. ↑ Father Figure at austriancharts.at
25. ↑ Father Figure at swisscharts.com
26. ↑ Father Figure at officialcharts.com
27. ↑ Father Figure at billboard.com
28. ↑ One More Try at charts.de
29. ↑ One More Try at austriancharts.at
30. ↑ One More Try at swisscharts.com
31. ↑ One More Try at officialcharts.com
32. ↑ One More Try at billboard.com
33. ↑ Monkey at charts.de
34. ↑ Monkey at austriancharts.at
35. ↑ Monkey at swisscharts.com
36. ↑ Monkey at officialcharts.com
37. ↑ Monkey at billboard.com
38. ↑ Kissing a Fool at charts.de
39. ↑ Kissing a Fool at austriancharts.at (no placement)
40. ↑ Kissing a Fool at swisscharts.com (no placement)
41. ↑ Kissing a Fool at officialcharts.com
42. ^ Kissing a Fool at billboard.com