The new documentary WHAM! 10 Days In China hits theaters Tuesday, exploring the duo’s 1985 concerts in Beijing and Guangzhou.
The concerts made George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley the first Western pop group to perform in China. But believe it or not, that’s not why they went on the tour. The concerts were actually conceived as a way to help them break big in America because Michael didn’t want to do an arena tour in the States.
Ridgeley tells ABC Audio that he originally thought the idea for the tour, conceived by their manager, Simon Napier-Bell, was “utterly mad.”
“It did achieve its purpose, but it was a bold and risky gambit,” Ridgeley says.
The film features never-before-seen footage from an earlier documentary about the tour. In the current film, fans will see both the joys and frustrations Ridgeley and Michael experienced during the trip, especially from Michael, who was often unhappy.
“We set out to illustrate the fullness, a complete picture of as much as it possibly can be,” says Ridgeley. “I think it does give people a genuine glimpse of George as a person.”
The film’s director, Mike Christie, adds that when it comes to Michael he “felt a lot of pressure” making the film, particularly “when you’re looking after someone’s legacy like that, especially somebody who was already very clear about that persona versus that person.”
“I think we all … set out to stay authentic and true,” he adds.
The film concludes with interviews with fans whose lives were changed after seeing the concerts, with several of them going on to have careers in the music business.
“It was the most gratifying aspect of going back to China to discover that that is the legacy,” says Ridgeley. “It resides within the lives of those whose futures were revealed to them by WHAM’s performances. That is a truly quite humbling aspect.”
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