In 1974, at Bushy Meads School in Hertfordshire, England, a 12-year-old Andrew Ridgeley meet georgios kyriakos panayiotouwhich later became known in the world George Michael. The pair were childhood friends who later became famous Wham!One of the most popular and commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s.
In Wham! 10 days in chinaRidgeley recalls one of the most interesting stories of his time in the music industry: becoming the first Western pop music artist to perform in Communist China.
The documentary explores how Andrew and George overcame the odds to bring bright, dazzling pop music to the other side of the world, crossing linguistic and cultural barriers to showcase the raw power of catchy musicianship and showstopping performances.
We had the exclusive opportunity to talk to Andrew Ridgeley about his new documentary, which will be released in theaters worldwide on July 28, 2026.
Men’s Journal: There’s something special about documentaries that tell the story of a specific moment in time rather than telling the story of someone’s life. Why it Wham! The story that must be told now?
Andrew Ridgeley:This was an incomplete chapter in Wham’s life. We didn’t really know anything about the show’s legacy in China. Once we left Guangzhou, we didn’t really hear anything else. Now we are in the process of Wham! Legacy Projects, and it was a big moment for us in 1985. It was unfinished business, so I was really eager to create a retrospective that really told the whole story. We foreign skyWhich was our account there, but it didn’t explain ‘why’ or ‘how’. It reveals as much as we can. It really highlights, at the very least, China’s heritage.
MJ: It feels like if this were to happen today – a mainstream music act performing in a different political climate – it wouldn’t necessarily be as monumental as a news story. Do you agree? What do you think this says about how the music industry has changed?
AR: The world is a more united place than ever, so the fact that it probably won’t promote the same kind of thing, or have the same kind of impact, is probably true. We are all accustomed to receiving news almost instantly in many parts of the world, and artists are performing anywhere and everywhere. For context, 40 years ago, China was really just beginning to open itself up to Western commerce, ideas, and culture. This was big news, but it will not happen now. The context is not the same; We are all much more aware of international events (…) There is an awareness, more widely, that there was not at the time.
MJ: In the film, you and George (Michael) are dubbed “cultural ambassadors” for the West when you’re in China. It’s not a label that’s usually applied to musicians – is it something you ever thought you’d have to deal with?
AR: We knew we were representing Western pop culture; The trip there was, in part, diplomatic—it cannot be. We understood that we had to play and play certain roles. We were there to perform and present a fair and acceptable image to our hosts. There was nothing about Wham! That one was particularly controversial, which is why I think they were content with extending the invitation in the first place.
MJ: There’s a great scene in this documentary where Chinese fans hear your music for the first time, and they don’t really know what to make of it. Were you personally nervous about how the crowd would react to the music?
AR: No, curious. Witnessing someone’s first impression of something new is a privilege in itself – and certainly, in our case, it was really interesting and fascinating to be present when people heard the music for the first time. You can’t help but be curious, but definitely not nervous. We were two or three years into our career and by then we were pretty well versed in things. We may have been quite young, but we had been around the block many times. There was a range of reactions: some were thrilled, some didn’t really know what to make of it, and some may not have liked it. ‘That never happened!
MJ: To what extent do you give credit to your and George’s trip to China for making it successful in America? How do you think it would have happened if this idea had never come about?
AR: Well, if we had not gone to China, we might have been forced to travel. I think we probably would have done a shorter tour, but whether we would have really raised the profile in the same way as the China trip is highly debatable. This is a question we will never know the answer to. I would have loved to travel; I like travelling. That’s the whole point of being in a band: you write songs, and you play them. China’s move was a brilliant idea and succeeded in what it set out to achieve.
MJ: I’d love to talk about the scene in the documentary where you and George go through the press conference from hell. The media was actually quite aggressive and hostile towards both of you – why do you think you faced so much criticism from the press during this tour?
AR: For a long time our relationship with the press, especially with me, was very broken. They were in no mood to make our lives particularly easy. As I said in the movie, it was a Faustian compromise; We needed them, and they needed us. It made for uncomfortable classmates. They were keen to highlight any controversial aspect of our being there – in the end, they made poor Raul (D’Oliveira) feel worse on the plane. As far as he was concerned, it was his order from heaven.
After the Beijing event, they wanted to sensationalize the authorities’ response to just one or two individuals. They used it as a stick to beat us with, which is not the way to get the best out of us, but one could argue that we didn’t always behave in a way that got the best out of them. It was just the way it was.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
