Category: Wham!

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Andrew Ridgeley Wham! Wham! in China

Wham! 10 Days in China Tickets on Sale Today as First Trailer Released

Tickets for the theatrical release of Wham! 10 Day in China are on sale today, coinciding with the debut of the film’s first full trailer. The documentary of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley’s visit to China in 1985 will screen worldwide on July 28, 2026.

A First Look: The Trailer

The new trailer shows restored, never-before-seen archival footage that wasn’t in Wham! in China: Foreign Skies, including more of the infamous George Michael massage scene. It includes interviews with Andrew Ridgeley and Chinese fans who experienced Wham! concerts in China.

Tickets Now Available

Tickets for the one-night-only event are on sale today. The official site is a good place to start for ticket information: www.wham10daysinchina.com.

After Theaters

Following the worldwide debut on July 28, 2026, Wham! 10 Days in China will air on BBC Two this summer. There is no word yet on other sources to see the documentary.

Additional Information

Additional information is available in:

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Awards Careless Whisper Faith Wham!

George Michael’s “Careless Whisper” Tops Smooth’s All Time Top 500 for 9th Year

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George Michael’s “Careless Whisper” is #1 on 2026’s All Time Top 500 for Smooth Radio. It is the eighth year in a row that “Careless Whisper” has topped the chart and the ninth year at #1. On top of that, “A Different Corner” landed in the #2 spot this year.

George Michael had a total of 20 songs in Smooth’s Top 500. Most songs moved up in the rankings, with the exception of “Club Tropicana.” Here is the ranking:

  • #1 “Careless Whisper”
  • #2 “A Different Corner” (moved up from #3 last year)
  • #7 “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” (duet with Elton John) (moved up from #9 last year)
  • #12 “Father Figure” (moved up from #32 last year)
  • #15 “Jesus to a Child” (moved up from #23 last year)
  • #20 “FastLove” (moved up from #67 last year)
  • #31 “Everything She Wants” (moved up from #114 last year)
  • #32 “Faith” (moved up from #108 last year)
  • #48 “Freedom 90” (moved up from #117 last year)
  • #50 “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” (duet with Aretha Franklin) (moved up from #105 last year)
  • #54 “Praying for Time” (moved up from #86 last year)
  • #56 “Somebody to Love” (with Queen) (same as last year)
  • #65 “One More Try” (moved up from #110 last year)
  • #88 “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” (moved up from #97 last year)
  • #94 “I’m Your Man” (moved up from #138 last year)
  • #151 “As” (duet with Mary J. Blige) (moved up from #274 last year)
  • #167 “The Edge of Heaven” (move up from #323 last year)
  • #176 “Club Tropicana” (dropped from #82 last year)
  • #238 “Freedom” (moved up from #288 last year)
  • #259 “Heal the Pain” (entered back into the charts this year)

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Careless Whisper Music Wham!

Vote for George Michael for Smooth Radio’s Top 500 in 2026

George Michael’s “Careless Whisper” (#ad)

George Michael’s “Careless Whisper” has topped Smooth Radio’s Smooth All Time Top 500 for 8 years (7 consecutive years). Will George Michael rank with the top song for 2026 to make it 9 years? That depends on you!

Last year, “Careless Whisper” topped the chart, with “A Different Corner” not far behind at #3. George Michael had a total of 19 songs in Smooth’s Top 500 in 2025. Most songs moved up in the rankings, with the exception of “One More Try” and “The Edge of Heaven.” Here were the top 5 rankings:

  • #1 “Careless Whisper”
  • #3 “A Different Corner” (same as last year)
  • #9 “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” (duet with Elton John) (moved up from #11 last year)
  • #23 “Jesus to a Child” (moved up from #31 last year)
  • #32 “Father Figure” (moved up from #48 last year)

If we focus on these 5 songs, we could get George Michael more placements in the Top 10 this year and possibly even get “A Different Corner” as the #2 song for the year.

You can vote for up to 10 of your favorite songs of all time. Voting closes on Friday, April 24th at 12 p.m.

Smooth Radio counts down the hits from Friday, May 1st, to Monday, May 4th, 2026.

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Andrew Ridgeley Books Wham!

Celebrating George: Three Decades of George Michael through the Lens

Celebrating George: Three Decades of George Michael through the Lens (#ad)

Photographer Brian Aris will be publishing a compilation of George Michael photos in his book, Celebrating George, with photos ranging from the Wham! days with Andrew Ridgeley to George’s solo days.

Celebrating George: Three Decades of George Michael through the Lens (#ad) will be released on March 17, 2026 in the U.S. It is available for preordering from Amazon (#ad).

Celebrating George: Three Decades of George Michael through the Lens (#ad) will be released on April 9, 2026, in the U.K. It is available for preordering from Amazon (#ad)

The book is described as:

This stunning collection of photographs features iconic George Michael images throughout his career—including many never before published.

The man born as Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou hated being photographed, and that makes this volume such an unusual and beautiful tribute to one of the music world’s most beloved stars. First meeting when he shot Wham!, Brian Aris gained George’s trust and subsequently enjoyed unprecedented access to document the complex and sensitive character behind one of pop’s most talented and consummate artists.

Dreaming of stardom from an early age, George achieved popularity first with Wham! and later reached heights of even greater success after re-creating himself as a serious solo artist with songs and music videos that remain iconic to this day. Tragically, he died on Christmas Day 2016 at just fifty-three.

With text documenting George’s life and Brian’s memories of his sessions and meetings with the star, together with iconic shots, contact sheets, and previously unseen images, this is an amazing, heartfelt tribute to one of the world’s most likable and talented performers who is one of the all-time immortal greats of pop music.

Celebrating George: Three Decades of George Michael through the Lens (#ad)

Brian Aris describes his time photographing George Michael:

“From the early days, when he first burst on the scene in 1981 as one half of Wham!, the pop duo he formed with Andrew Ridgeley, to the later years when he went on to enjoy even greater worldwide success as a sophisticated and glamorous solo artist, George was always fascinating to work with.”

Brian Aris, photographer of Celebrating George

An exhibition entitled “Celebrating George” with photos from Brian Aris will be at the Lucy Bell Gallery, from March 27 to May 2, 2026.

Brian Aris will be at the Lucy Bell Gallery for a book signing on Saturday, April 11, from 6-9 p.m.

A previous version of Celebrating George is also available at Aris Prints.

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Andrew Ridgeley Pepsi & Shirlie Wham! Wham! in China

New Wham! Documentary: Wham! 10 Days in China

A few of you might remember my complaining last year that there was no 40th anniversary celebration of Wham!’s historic trip to China in 1985. Well, it looks like we might be getting a treat in 2026.

In 1985, George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley of the duo Wham! became the first Western pop act to perform in communist China. It’s a much talked about publicity stunt by Simon Napier-Bell to make Wham! a household name worldwide.

According to a press release, Zinc Media Group plc announced the completion of a new feature-length, 90-minute documentary produced for Sony Music Entertainment telling the story of WHAM!’s historic 1985 tour of China:

Wham! 10 Days in China uses newly restored and previously unseen archive footage alongside new interviews with Andrew Ridgeley to reveal the full story of the first Western pop act to perform in communist China. The concerts in Beijing and Guangzhou marked a significant cultural moment as Western pop music was introduced to Chinese audiences for the first time.

Zinc Announces WHAM! Documentary for Sony Music Entertainment

With the restored footage and exclusive interviews with Andrew Ridgeley and members of the touring party, the documentary will be a long-awaited look at the unseen footage.

The new documentary is directed by Mike Christie (Nick Cave’s Veiled World, New Order: Decades).

“The existence of this footage has been a mystery for years, spoken about in fragments but never truly seen. The story of the tour is intensely dramatic and finding a way to tell it in a form that the Wham! collective felt was finally worth pursuing has been a real honour.”

Mike Christie, director of Wham! 10 Days in China

In the 1980s, a Wham! in China documentary was released. In fact, there are two versions of the original Wham! in China documentary. Oscar-winning filmmaker, Lindsay Anderson, was originally hired to create the documentary. Because of conflicts, Lindsay Anderson’s version has been rarely seen, except for a screening of Wham in China: If You Were There in May of 2024. More information on the conflict is available in the previous link.

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