By Hanna Rantala
LONDON, July 22 (Reuters) – Four decades ago, Wham! became the first Western pop act to perform in Communist China. It was a visit that shaped the band’s trajectory but also left a legacy that members George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley were largely unaware of.
In the documentary film “Wham! 10 Days in China”, out in cinemas worldwide on July 28, newly restored video and first-person accounts reveal the origins and consequences of the trip in April 1985, which included concerts in Beijing and Guangzhou.
Once the duo jetted out of China, they never looked back, said Ridgeley, now 63.
“I really wanted to discover, beyond the legacy for Wham! outside of China, which we know of…what actually is the legacy in China. And that was perhaps the most enduring legacy there is; it is those people whose lives, the course of their lives, let’s say, was changed by Wham!’s performances,” Ridgeley told Reuters in an interview.
China maintained strict controls on Western music in the 1980s. Among the about 15,000 people attending the tightly policed concert at Beijing’s Workers’ Gymnasium was Cui Jian, later labelled the “godfather of Chinese rock”, whose song “Nothing to My Name” became an anthem to student protesters in Tiananmen Square four years later.
“He embarked on his career as a musician as a consequence of seeing Wham!’s performances, so that’s the meaningful, really enduring legacy,” Ridgeley said of Cui, who appears in the documentary.
‘CAREER MOVE’
By the mid-1980s, Wham!, formed by school friends Michael and Ridgeley in 1981, had gained global success with hits such as “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” and “Last Christmas”.
Trying to break into the U.S. music market was the natural next step but problems with Michael’s voice prevented them from embarking on an extensive American tour. The group’s manager, Simon Napier-Bell, devised a plan to fast-track their fame with a risky, headline-making China appearance.
“It was a considered and manufactured career move. It was a consequence of the fact that George was not going to do a 90-day arena tour in the States. Something had to be done and Simon had the answer,” said Ridgeley, who was sceptical of the plan while, he said, “George was all for it”.
“Whether he understood the power of the publicity it would generate better than I, maybe,” said Ridgeley. “His voice had broken down on the (1983) Club Fantastic Tour, that concern was in his mind, the concern that he might do lasting damage. That did, at that point in time, definitely influence his decisions.”
The film offers a “frank and genuine” glimpse of the two young men on a trip that had political overtones and attracted heavy media scrutiny, said Ridgeley.
“A show needed to be made of Wham! being there, so that meant official banquets, it meant diplomatic interactions, going to the ambassador’s residence. We weren’t going to go over there and think that we were going to be sightseeing all day. There was a job to be done,” Ridgeley said. “We were decently brought up middle-class lads, so we weren’t going to be really rude to anyone, except the press.”
Rewatching the footage reminded Ridgeley of their bond and the talent of Michael, who forged a successful solo career after Wham! split in 1986. Michael died in 2016.
“The ‘Careless Whisper’ performance is one of the best performances, I think, that he ever gave. It’s magnificent vocals, the track sounds brilliant. They’re wonderful things to have for posterity, records of his brilliance,” Ridgeley said.
(Reporting by Hanna Rantala, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
