'Wham! concerts changed lives in China' - Ridgeley

In April 1985, Wham! landed in Beijing to begin a historic tour, becoming the first Western pop act to perform in communist China.

As George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley walked through the airport in oversized 1980s' sunglasses, they were met not by screaming fans but by curious Chinese journalists, one of whom asked what their names were.

"There weren't as many people as greeted The Beatles," says Ridgeley, 63, when comparing the reception to the Fab Four's famous arrival in America in 1964.

"It was a much more muted affair. There was no knowledge of us there at the time."

The trip was part of a bold plan by manager Simon Napier-Bell to generate global headlines and raise the duo's profile so they could launch a US stadium tour.

The pair, who met as schoolboys in Bushey, Hertfordshire, found themselves acting as unlikely cultural ambassadors, introducing western pop music to audiences unfamiliar with it.

A new documentary, Wham! 10 Days in China, features remastered footage of the trip and interviews with audience members on how the concerts opened their eyes to possibilities they had never imagined, inspiring some to become singers or DJs.

While Ridgeley admits his manager's plan was a "masterstroke", he finds the more "touching aspect" is the impact the visit had on the people of China.

"It did motivate some people to take up a path in life which they would otherwise not have chosen," he says.

"So that is a legacy on a personal level, I think, probably the most powerful and important."

The musician admits it is a "real pity" that Michael never had the chance to return to China and meet those whose lives were changed by the visit.

Towards the end of the documentary film in archive footage, the Careless Whisper singer describes the China trip as "a bit of a nightmare", while also recognising their significance.

"We had a responsibility, being the first people to play real western pop music to those people," says Michael.

"When we talked to some of these Chinese people afterwards, and they were so excited, some of them had not experienced anything like it, it was a great privilege."

Ridgeley adds: "I think it would have meant a lot to him to learn the music that he and I had written inspired people to change their lives, to step on an unknown course."

Four months after the China tour, Wham! embarked on a sell out stadium tour of the United States, cashing in on the global attention Napier-Bell had promised.

Less than a year later, in June 1986, the duo performed together for the last time at their farewell concert, The Final, at Wembley Stadium.

Although their professional relationship ended, Ridgeley says their "authentic friendship" was the "fundamental pillar" that endured until Michael died in 2016.

Today he is focused on developing the Wham! legacy, and as a result, Michael is still "front and centre" and "ever present" in his mind.

Ridgeley remains involved in preserving the band's legacy through documentaries including the 2023 Netflix film Wham! and Last Christmas Unwrapped in 2024.

"It's a wonderful thing to be able to celebrate his life and his work with Wham!," he says.

He finds the music continues to inspire young people, not just in China but across the globe, because of its "vibrancy and vitality".

"To know that it has the sort of impact on people's lives, and still does, that's something that I don't think we could have guessed at," he says.

For Ridgeley it was an unlikely meeting at Bushey Meads School in 1974 that changed lives around the world.

It was there that a 12-year-old Ridgeley first met the "new boy," Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, who later became George, but is still known to his friend as "Yog".

When a teacher asked for a volunteer to help the newcomer settle in, Ridgeley was the only pupil to raise his hand.

He says he does not believe in fate, but admits: "It was a sliding doors moment... it shaped the rest of our lives, which is quite something."

At the time, Ridgeley could never have imagined that a small act of kindness in a Hertfordshire classroom would eventually help change lives on the other side of the world.

• Wham! 10 Days in China will be released worldwide in cinemas on 28 July, before being broadcast on BBC Two at a later date

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