The 90-minute documentary, directed by Mike Christie, brings newly-digitized, restored footage and new interviews in celebration of Wham!’s groundbreaking 1985 visit to the People’s Republic of China.
Also, BBC Two and BBC Music will present the world exclusive terrestrial TV broadcast of Wham! 10 Days in China this summer.
In April 1985, Wham! became the first Western pop act to perform in communist China, with performances in Beijing and Guangzhou. For Wham! it was a strategy to “make it big” in the U.S., with the help of Simon Napier-Bell, their then manager.
Filmmaker Lindsay Anderson was originally in charge of the Wham! in China documentary. His version, entitled If You Were There, was never released, but some of that material was used in the documentary, Wham! in China: Foreign Skies, which premiered at Wham!’s The Final farewell concert on June 28, 1986. It was then released on video.
Celebrate George’s legacy with us. Follow Yours Only George on YouTube, Facebook, X, Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, Tumblr, and Pinterest to be part of a community that keeps his spirit alive. Want the latest news, features, and special projects? Join our mailing list and stay connected to everything George.
George Michael’s Faith “Rockers Revenge” leather jacket
The 2026 auction season delivered one of the most significant surges in George Michael memorabilia interest in recent years. Items spanning the Faith era, Wham!’s early touring years, and George’s later 25 Live period drew passionate bidding, record‑setting prices, and a renewed appreciation for the artistry, style, and cultural impact George carried through every phase of his career.
Below is a full breakdown of the confirmed hammer prices — a snapshot of a market that continues to grow, deepen, and reveal just how cherished George Michael remains.
The Crown Jewel: The Photo‑Matched “Faith” La Rocka Leather Jacket
Sold for £176,400 (21 bids)
Few garments in pop history are as instantly recognizable as George Michael’s black La Rocka leather jacket — the one he wore in the Faith music video and throughout the 1988 tour. This wasn’t just a jacket; it was the visual signature of an era.
The 2026 sale of the photo‑matched, screen‑verified jacket became the headline of the auction, soaring to £176,400 after 21 competitive bids. Its value reflects not only its rarity but its cultural weight: this is the jacket that helped define George’s transformation into a global solo icon.
For collectors, this piece represents the conceptual DNA of the Faith aesthetic: bold, rebellious, and unmistakably George.
George Michael & Andrew Ridgeley–Signed Club Fantastic Tour Programme
Sold for £1,260
Wham!’s early touring years remain deeply nostalgic for fans, and signed items from this period are increasingly scarce.
The autographed Club Fantastic tour programme, signed by both George and Andrew, achieved £1,260, underscoring the enduring affection for the duo’s early energy and camaraderie.
Chris Cuffaro’s photography has become synonymous with the Faith era’s visual legacy.
This limited edition 1988 print, part of the Rockarchive collection, sold for £819, reflecting the growing collector demand for authenticated, artist‑approved photographic works from George’s most iconic period.
Selling for £6,930, it stands as one of the strongest results for post‑2000 stage‑worn George Michael fashion — a testament to the tour’s emotional resonance and George’s enduring style.
Rockarchive Artist’s Proofs: Faith Music Video & Tour Prints (Chris Cuffaro)
Artist’s proofs are especially prized for their rarity and direct connection to the photographer’s creative process.
“Careless Whisper” First Cut Vinyl + Negatives & Photographic Prints
Sold for £2,835
One of the most historically significant lots, this set included:
a six‑minute first cut vinyl of “Careless Whisper,”
nine strips of original negatives, and
four photographic prints.
Selling for £2,835, the lot offered a rare glimpse into George’s early solo artistry and the visual documentation surrounding one of the most enduring ballads of the 1980s.
A Market That Reflects a Legacy
The 2026 auction results reveal a clear trend: George Michael’s cultural impact is not only enduring — it is deepening.
From the record‑setting sale of the Faith jacket to the strong performance of photographic and tour‑worn items, collectors are increasingly valuing pieces that:
tell a story,
connect directly to George’s creative evolution, and
capture the emotional resonance of his music and image.
For longtime fans and new collectors alike, these sales reaffirm what the world has always known: George Michael’s artistry continues to inspire, captivate, and live on — not just in music, but in the objects and images that shaped his legacy.
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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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
