The new documentary 'WHAM! 10 Days in China' revisits the historic tour more than 40 years later
Credit: Sony Music Vision
NEED TO KNOW
- A new documentary revisits WHAM!’s historic 1985 visit to China, combining never-before-seen archival footage of members George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley with new interviews
- “Had George met those for whom WHAM! was a life-changing moment, he would’ve been profoundly moved,” a voiceover says in the trailer
- WHAM! 10 Days In China premieres in cinemas worldwide on July 28
A new documentary is revisiting one of Britain's most iconic pop duos and their landmark 1985 visit to China.
Combining never-before-seen archival footage with interviews from those who experienced the tour firsthand, WHAM! 10 Days In China tells the untold story of the band WHAM! — which featured George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley — bringing Western pop music to Communist China for the first time, through historic performances in Beijing and Guangzhou.
The trailer for the documentary, which premieres in cinemas worldwide on July 28, opens with people in China placing a cassette into a boombox while others browse a magazine featuring a WHAM! advertisement written in Mandarin. As the band’s song "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" plays, a voiceover begins: "China had been closed for centuries." A woman speaking in Mandarin adds, "I had never heard such a groove."
As footage appears of Michael — who died at age 53 in 2016 as a result of heart and liver disease — and Ridgeley, now 63, arriving in China in 1985, a man says, "People thought of WHAM! as Britain's biggest group." Another woman adds in Mandarin, "People wanted to move. They just didn't know how to."
The trailer features archival footage of the duo touring some of China's most famous landmarks, including the Great Wall of China, where they were swarmed by photographers. "George and Andrew were carrying a lot of cultural and economic importance," one interviewee says. Another adds, "They were there as ambassadors."
In vintage footage, Michael encourages a crowd, saying, "We want everybody to get up and have a quick dance." When someone responds, "No," he jokingly replies, "What do you mean, no?" Archival clips of the duo attending press conferences and official dinners play as a voiceover describes them as "two young men in a sort of geopolitical situation."
Credit: Sony Music Vision
Not all of the media coverage was positive. A newspaper headline reading, "Oh Andy! They Won't Like This in China," flashes across the screen as a voiceover describes the visit as "imposing." In another clip, a journalist asks, "Perhaps all this sudden fame has gone to your heads?" Ridgeley responds by getting up to leave, calling the question "stupid."
The trailer also highlights the pair's contrasting personalities. While interviewees describe Michael as "a very private person" who was "struggling" and asking himself, "This is my future. Do I want it?", archival footage shows a cheerful Ridgeley saying, "I've just acquired some new friends. They're gonna come with me wherever I go," while surrounded by a crowd of admirers.
The impact of WHAM!'s visit, however, proved far greater than anyone could have imagined. "We were experiencing a whole new world," a woman says in Mandarin as footage of the band performing "Careless Whisper" plays. Another interviewee remarks, "WHAM!'s timing was exquisite," as scenes of cheering fans holding posters fill the screen. A woman reflects on the Chinese audience, saying, "Their eyes were opened. Their hearts were humming."
Credit: Sony Music Vision
One man recalls in Mandarin that he “questioned if [the visit] was real” before adding in English, "My eyes were on George Michael. He's so sexy." Despite the profound effect the tour had on many people, Michael never fully witnessed its lasting legacy. "Had George met those for whom WHAM! was a life-changing moment, he would've been profoundly moved," an interviewee notes.
The trailer concludes with footage of Ridgeley returning to the Great Wall of China in the present day and standing in the same spot where he and Michael once posed together. In archival footage, someone tells Michael, "You've done it all now." He responds, "Done the whole knock. That's it," before the duo take one final bow.
WHAM! were active from 1981 and 1986, and seven of their singles have reached the Top 10 in the U.S., including three No. 1s and the perennial holiday classic "Last Christmas," which hit No. 2 on Billboard's Hot 100 last year.
WHAM! 10 Days in China will hit theaters on July 28.
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