Kenneth Glad
More than 100 film cans remained in storage after an ambitious documentary project unraveled. Their recovery has produced a new account of a landmark visit by one of the 1980s’ biggest pop acts.
More than 20 hours of material were recovered from the archive when director Mike Christie began reviewing the reels in September 2024.
The footage forms the foundation of Wham! 10 Days in China, which revisits George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley’s 1985 performances in Beijing and Guangzhou.
British filmmaker Lindsay Anderson was originally selected to record the tour. Known for serious dramatic films, he developed a difficult relationship with the musicians and their team.
The Guardian reports that Anderson was dismissed six months later after Wham! rejected his cut. Surviving member Ridgeley told the publication that the finished film was “as dull as dishwater”.
Music video director Andy Morahan later created Wham! in China: Foreign Skies from material filmed during the visit. That version was shown at the duo’s farewell concert at Wembley Stadium in June 1986.
Publicity shaped the plan
The journey was not conceived solely as a cultural exchange. Wham!’s management expected the unusual destination to attract international attention and improve the group’s standing in the United States.
Ridgeley told the newspaper that Michael was unwilling to undertake the scale of American touring their team believed would be necessary. The China project offered another route to widespread coverage.
Thus Wham! became the first Western pop act to perform in China.
The new documentary also records Chinese audiences encountering a style of pop performance that remained unfamiliar in the country.
In the film, singer Cheng Fangyuan recalls the historical importance of the concerts. She had recorded Chinese-language versions of Wham! songs for tapes distributed to ticket holders.
The surviving reels provide more than music nostalgia. They preserve awkward encounters, official restrictions and audience reactions that might have disappeared from a conventional promotional film.
Anderson’s rejected version is still unlikely to receive an official release. The recovered material therefore offers one of the fullest public records assembled from the tour.
Wham! 10 Days in China received a special pre-release screening in London attended by Andrew Ridgeley ahead of its worldwide theatrical release on July 28. The documentary is furthermoe scheduled to make its television premiere on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer on August 29, 2026.
Sources: The Guardian
