Remembering George Michael: four years after his death on Christmas Day, we look back at Wham!’s groundbreaking 1985 China tour

Dec 25 , 2020

Not to be forgotten: Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael’s visit to China as British pop group Wham! in 1985 was groundbreaking at the time. Photo: SCMP Archives

Wham!’s Last Christmas debuted 35 years ago in 1985, the same year the duo performed a series of groundbreaking concerts in China – their manager, Simon Napier-Bell, explains how it unfolded

Christmas Day this year marks the fourth anniversary of the death of legendary singer songwriter George Michael. He was 53 years old when he died at his home in London, but his music and memories live on – especially for those who remember seeing the superstar in Hong Kong or China 35 years ago when he performed alongside Andrew Ridgeley as part of Wham!

The duo became the first Western pop band to play in China and, as a result, one of the biggest bands in the world. But how did the concerts come about?

Sima Napier-Bell, manager of the British pop group Wham!, speaking at a press conference regarding the group's tour concerts in China. Photo: SCMP Archives

Legendary record producer Simon Napier-Bell, who had managed artists including The Yardbirds, Jimmy Page, Ultravox, Marc Bolan, Japan and Boney M since the 1960s, was co-managing Wham! with musician and manager Jazz Summer at the time.

Michael and Ridgeley had already scored three successful hits with Wham! in the UK charts with Wham! Rap, Young Guns, and Bad Boys when they approached Napier-Bell to manage the band. If they were to be truly successful, Napier-Bell said, he needed them to break into the US market – something that had always been a challenge for UK acts. But instead of doing the obvious, the idea of Wham! playing in China was floated during their first management meeting instead.

An image on a street in Guangzhou, China, of pop band Wham! advertising their concert there. Photo: SCMP Archives

“Going to China was just a way of getting the necessary press coverage to break them big in the USA,” Napier-Bell says. He recalls their first management meeting back in the early 1980s at an Indian restaurant in London where Michael, Ridgeley and Summer were all present.

Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael toast during a reception in Guangzhou in 1985 as part of their China tour. Photo: SCMP Archives

“George and Andrew told us they wanted to be the biggest group in the world,” recalls Napier-Bell. “Jazz explained that it took his own band Blue Zoo three years to crack the charts, but then they broke up. And I told them that Japan took six years to get to the top and then they broke up. ‘Would you do that?’ I asked them.”