George Michael and Elle Macpherson at Nobu, Mayfair, May 2006

Nobu Berkeley St, Mayfair, London · 2026

I am Charles Pycraft, a London photographer. George Michael: The Faith Tour, a concert film made from unseen 35mm footage of his 1988 shows in Paris, premiered in London on 27 October and opens in cinemas and IMAX on 6 November (Universal Pictures UK, https://www.universalpictures.co.uk/movies/george-michael-the-faith-tour/). An 18-track live album from the tour comes with it (The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/mar/10/new-george-michael-movie-live-album). So here he is in London from my archive, on a spring evening in Mayfair.

Who he was

George Michael found fame with Andrew Ridgeley in Wham! before going solo. His first solo album, Faith, sold more than 25 million copies and gave him four US number 1 singles (The Guardian). Careless Whisper, Freedom! '90 and Fastlove followed him everywhere.

Nobu Berkeley St, 3 May 2006

On the evening of Wednesday 3 May 2006 he arrived for dinner at Nobu Berkeley St, which had opened the previous August (The Caterer). Charcoal jacket, black T-shirt, grey jeans and tinted glasses. Elle Macpherson had arrived a few minutes earlier in a sheer black top and leather trousers, smiling under the restaurant sign.

It was a busy spring for him. Two weeks earlier he had announced 25 Live, his first tour in 15 years, marking 25 years in music (El País). It opened in Barcelona that September (BBC News).

Elle Macpherson, the Australian model known as The Body, had appeared on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue that year for a record fifth time (Sydney Morning Herald), and her lingerie label, Elle Macpherson Intimates, was well established (BBC News).

George Michael in tinted glasses, a charcoal jacket, black T-shirt and grey jeans, on a Mayfair pavement at night.
MAYFAIR, MAY 2006. George Michael arrives for dinner at Nobu Berkeley St on 3 May 2006.
Close view of George Michael in tinted glasses and a charcoal jacket, looking down as he walks into Nobu Berkeley St.
Two weeks after announcing 25 Live, his first tour in 15 years.
George Michael in a black jacket and jeans walking towards the camera past scaffolding on a London street at night.
Arriving in Mayfair for dinner.
Elle Macpherson smiling in a black lace top and leather trousers outside Nobu Berkeley St.
Elle Macpherson under the Nobu Berkeley St sign.
Elle Macpherson smiling under scaffolding on a Mayfair pavement, in a black top, leather trousers and heels.
Elle Macpherson arrives, the year of her fifth Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover.

What else was going on

Gnarls Barkley's Crazy was at number 1 in the UK, the first single to get there on downloads alone (Official Charts). The next day Tom Cruise was back as Ethan Hunt, with Mission: Impossible III opening in UK cinemas (BBC Films).

Two years earlier

The last frame is from 4 May 2004, when he arrived at Attitude magazine's 10th anniversary party at the Atlantic Bar and Grill, on a night that also brought out Elton John and Emma Bunton.

George Michael in a dark jacket and navy shirt stepping out of a car onto a pavement with double yellow lines at night.
TWO YEARS EARLIER. George Michael arrives at Attitude magazine's 10th anniversary party, Atlantic Bar and Grill, 4 May 2004.

Now

He died in 2016, and the songs have never gone away. Last Christmas was the UK Christmas number 1 in 2023 and 2024 (The Guardian), and next week the Faith Tour film puts him back on the big screen at 24.

My photography years ran from 1999 to 2014, and that archive is now licensed through Backgrid UK.

The pictures

Six frames: five from Nobu Berkeley St in 2006 and one from 2004.

Credit: Charlie Pycraft / BACKGRID. Licensing: Backgrid UK Sales, backgrid_uksales@shutterstock.com.