British pop star George Michael has largely stayed out of the spotlight following his release from prison last year. The first rumblings to come from his camp came towards the end of last year in the form of a remixed holiday tune. This year’s Faith reissue has come and gone with next to no publicity from George himself. George, who releases and promotes material at his own damn pace, was largely MIA and fans (like me) have been chomping at the bit for new material.

Well, the wait is over. It was recently announced that on March 13th (less than two weeks from now), a new George Michael song will hit iTunes. It’s a cover of New Order’s 1987 classic “True Faith”, a song that featured heavily on the soundtrack to the Michael J. Fox movie “Bright Lights, Big City”, and, incidentally, was a huge hit just as George’s Faith was rocketing up the charts. It’s easy to see why George would pick this song to announce his comeback, as the lyrics seem to be coming from someone who’s been lost in a drug haze, and it’s no secret that many of George’s legal troubles in recent years have been attributed to his use of various substances. I can only hope that this song announces he’s (relatively) clean and sober and on the comeback trail…and that rumored autobiography is on the way!

Proceeds from the sale of “True Faith” (artist royalties on George’s behalf as well as songwriter’s royalties on behalf of the members of New Order) will be donated to the Comic Relief fund. George has always had his heart in the right place regarding charity, so this should come as no surprise.

For those of you who don’t remember how excellent the original version of “True Faith” was…