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.
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.”
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.
Simon Napier-Bell’s George Michael documentary, “George Michael: Portrait of an Artist,” (Amazon Ad) will be on Kaleidoscope Film Distribution’s Cannes slate, according to Variety.
The documentary was directed by Simon Napier-Bell, the manager of Wham! in the mid 1980s who masterminded the historic Wham! trip to China. “George Michael: Portrait of an Artist” includes interviews with Stevie Wonder, Sanandra Maitreya, Stephen Fry, Kenny Goss, Chris Cameron, Rufus Wainwright, Piers Morgan, and Jo Whiley.
The 2023 documentary is described as:
Packed with rare archive footage and candid interviews from the likes of Stevie Wonder, Stephen Fry, and many more of his close friends and colleagues, witness George Michael’s meteoric rise to superstardom like never before. This fascinating documentary exposes, honestly and respectfully, the man who he was, with unprecedent insights into both his professional persona as a world-renowned celebrity, and his tumultuous personal life that nearly brought his career to an early end.
Jazz Summers, a former Wham! manager along with Simon Napier Bell, has a new book entitled Big Life (Amazon Ad).
The Daily Mail has an excerpt of the book, which details how Summers made the “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” video shoot look bigger than it was and how George Michael usually only responded to the name “Yog” when drunk.
Jazz Summers, a former Wham! manager along with Simon Napier Bell, has a new book entitled 
(Amazon Ad) in 2006.