George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley in Beijing in 1985.
Photograph: Martyn Goddard/Overseas Ltd/Robobuild Ltd/George Michael Ent/Andrew Ridgeley/Big Geoff

The documentary ‘Wham! 10 Days in China’ (2026, directed by Mike Christie) focuses on the pop duo’s 1985 visit to the Far East.

George: It was historic. I mean, there are very few things you can do as a pop band that haven’t been done before.

The idea for the brief tour, which made Wham! the first western act to play in communist China, was cooked up by their veteran manager Simon Napier-Bell. With 3 top 10 hits in 1984, Wham! were arguably Britain’s biggest band. The natural next step was to succeed in America.

Andrew: To break the States was a huge ambition for any UK act, and George’s ambition overrode everything.

However, lead singer George Michael had voice problems, with undiagnosed polyps on his vocal cords. And he was reluctant to spend months touring small venues. Napier-Bell calculated that a groundbreaking trip to China would earn phenomenal media coverage in the United States, and that this would fast-track their American aspirations.

Napier-Bell: The entire, single, only purpose of playing China was to break them in America.

To this end, over an 18-month period, Napier-Bell made 13 visits to the People’s Republic, meeting communist officials, and arguing that a tour would attract foreign investment and publicity for the regime’s modernisation. Eventually it was agreed that Wham! would play two concerts, in Beijing and Guangzhou.

Andrew: Wham! in China was more than just the shows. A show had to be made of Wham! in China.

'Every day it seems my smile's a little harder,
And every day I seem to laugh a little less.
Living this way it seems my sky's a little darker,
You went away and left me lonely in success.
Can't you see I'm falling apart?
Can't you see what's happening to me?’
‘Blue’ (G Michael)

We join Wham! as they arrive at Beijing Airport, accompanied by a tabloid press corps eager for interviews and pictures. Regarding the journalists as a necessary evil, their relationship is somewhat strained.

George: It’s a dichotomy that I think a lot of stars have in common: an obsession with success and recognition; at the same time, a real need for privacy.

The adventure is filmed by a documentary crew led by celebrated director Lindsay Anderson (‘This Sporting Life’, ‘If’). Again, there is tension in the air, since the cerebral filmmaker clearly regards the project as beneath him.

Anderson: We’re reversing history in this scene, and showing how China has been seduced from the path of progress by people like ourselves.

(Anderson’s film was never released. But his footage formed the basis for ‘Wham! 10 Days in China’ 40 years later.)

Wham! are picked up from the airport in a Red Flag 770 limousine, a sign that the authorities are taking the visit seriously. We see a country on the cusp of change.

US News Reporter: The problem is not merely that we cannot look in. But that the Chinese will not, or cannot, look out.

The roads, flanked by low utilitarian buildings, are filled with bikes and the occasional horse-and-cart. Tiananmen Square is populated by people in dark Mao suits and military uniform. Nonetheless, the band is put up at a newly built luxury hotel in steel and glass.

Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael at the Great Wall of China, from Wham! 10 Days In China

Andrew: We know exactly why we’re here.

Wham! look every inch the ‘80s pop stars. With big hair and big smiles; white socks and cut-down loafers; earrings and shades. In faded jeans, loose fitting tartan jackets and open-neck shirts. They have compelling personalities and a charming friendship.

Reporter: What do each of you bring to the partnership?
Andrew: Well, I always bring the tea. He brings the cakes and sandwiches.

The duo attend a State Dinner and visit the British Ambassador’s Residence. It’s striking how patient, positive and courteous they are. In the car on the way to the honorary banquet, they write their own short speeches.

Andrew: I think I speak for everyone when I say that, although this may be but a small step for the youth of China, it is a giant step for the youth of the world in bringing our cultures closer together.

Out in a public park, groups of young people are asked about their interest in pop.

Reporter: Do you like Western music?
Fan: Yes.
Reporter: Have you heard of the Beatles?
Fan: What means Beatle?

Curious teenagers queue to buy tickets, without quite knowing what they’re in for. In a cunning move, Wham!’s management has ensured that every ticket is sold with a free cassette of the band’s repertoire. A couple of youths take their tape to the electrical goods section of a department store, so that they can give it a listen. Along with the bystanders, they seem somewhat bemused by ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.’

Cheng Fangyuan, now a Pop Star: I have never heard such a rhythm. Very heavy bass, very heavy drums, that kind of… groove.

'Wake me up before you go-go,
Don't leave me hanging on like a yo-yo.
Wake me up before you go-go,
I don't wanna miss it when you hit that high.’
'Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’ (G Michael)

Andrew Ridgeley with Chinese soldiers at the Great Wall of China, from Wham! 10 Days In China

Before the first gig, in Beijing, the audience waits patiently.

Wang Di, now a Musician, Producer: They seemed to be running seriously late. Back then this was unheard of. We thought, maybe all foreigners are like this.

When the group finally takes the stage, the concertgoers are uncertain how to react. Some sit in silence. Some clap and tap their feet. Others stand up and dance, but they are discouraged by the authorities. A few fans are taken away. Michael’s bandmate Andrew Ridgely makes a slight diplomatic misstep.

Andrew: Our next song has been Number 1 in our home country. We hope one day it will be Number 1 here in China. With your help. It’s called ‘Freedom.’

'I don't want your freedom,
I don't want to play around.
I don't want nobody, baby,
Part-time love just brings me down.
I don't need your freedom,
Girl, all I want right now is you.’
Wham!, ‘Freedom' (G Michael)

With its muted response, the first concert does not seem a success. But it does garner the hoped-for media coverage in the States.

Napier-Bell: It really didn’t matter. Because whether the audience reaction was a good reaction or a bad reaction, the main thing is, in America, on NBC, CBS, ABC News, 24/7, every hour, there was Wham! The gig was just a mechanism.

For the second performance, the band travels to Guangzhou, which, being closer to Hong Kong, has been more exposed to western influences.

It is a triumph.

DJ Paul, now a Radio DJ: My eyes were on George Michael. He’s so different. He’s so sexy. I can see glowing and halo around him. I was hypnotized.

Wang Di, now a Musician, Producer: It was very impressive. I questioned if it was real.

Four months later, Wham! embark on a sell-out tour of the United States.

Napier-Bell: What we wanted was to break them huge in America, and that’s exactly what it did. By the end of that week, everyone in America knew who Wham! were. It had succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.

Back in China, Wham!’s tour inspires a generation of creative talent, who go on to become artists, musicians, DJs.

Cui Jian, now a Rock Star: Before that, I knew nothing. And suddenly there were so many things. It was like a window. From that moment, you open the window and then you learn there was a bigger world.

When I first heard about Wham!’s China tour, it sounded like a stunt, plain and simple. But the more I was exposed to the logic, it was revealed to be an inspired piece of strategic thinking. For people in the contemporary world of marketing and communications, ‘Wham! 10 Days in China’ teaches that a big publicity event, properly planned and executed, can have significant, enduring, game-changing impact.

Andrew: The purpose of China was strategic. We wanted Wham! to be the biggest pop act there was… We set the US alight. That was what Yog [Andrew’s childhood nickname for George] wanted. That was the whole purpose of the China enterprise.

Inevitably, when one watches a film like this, one can’t help marvelling at George Michael. Such a beguiling figure, such a luminous talent, such a tortured soul.

George: The challenges that you want to give yourself are automatically going to bring you more of what you don’t want… which is that public fascination. Although there is that half of me that wants it, there is another half of me that is very frightened as well.

'Somebody told me:
‘Boy, everything she wants is everything she sees.’
I guess I must have loved you,
Because I said you were the perfect girl for me.
And now we're six months older
And everything you want, and everything you see
Is out of reach, not good enough.
I don't know what the hell you want from me.’
'Everything She Wants’ (G Michael)

No. 593