A new film is revisiting Wham!'s 1985 trip to China, a landmark visit that made the duo the first Western pop act to perform there. Andrew Ridgeley has been reflecting on the experience, which combined a major pop culture first with a string of unusual and troubling episodes around the tour.
Wham! played in Beijing on 7 April 1985 in front of a crowd of 15,000, marking a rare moment of East-West cultural exchange through mainstream pop music. The shows have long been remembered for their historic significance, and the new release puts fresh attention on how unusual the visit was at the time.
Ridgeley's recollection also highlights how chaotic parts of the trip became. Among the incidents linked to the tour were reports of fans being arrested for dancing, a stabbing during air travel, and an extraordinary proposal that the group be paid with 6,000 bicycles instead of a standard fee.
Those details underline the mix of excitement, confusion and tension surrounding Wham!'s arrival in China. Even with the complications, the performances remain a notable moment in music history, remembered both for breaking new ground and for the remarkable stories that came with it.
