Original subtitles

This programme contains some strong language

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE FADES IN

Thank you!

It was historic.

I mean, there were very few things that you can do as a pop band

that haven't been done before.

It was a great privilege being the first people

to play real kind of Western pop music to those people.

I wouldn't have missed it for anything.

It was just that it was a pretty hard couple of weeks.

CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK

CHATTERING

Freedom by Wham!

? But you'll know that I'll forgive you

? Just this once, twice, forever

? Cos, baby, you could drag me to hell and back

? Just as long as we're together

? And you do

? I don't want your freedom

? I don't want to Play around

? I don't want nobody, baby

? Part-time love just brings me down

? I don't want your freedom

? Girl, all I want right now is you

? Do, do, do... ?

The purpose of China

was strategic.

? Doo, doo, doo, doo... ?

We wanted Wham! to be the biggest pop act there was.

Intro to Young Guns by Wham!

In 1984, we'd had three top ten hits.

People thought of them as Britain's biggest group.

They'd had a number one with Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.

A number two with Last Christmas.

And then a number one with Everything She Wants.

They were really ready to break America in a big way.

That was the next step.

? I don't want your freedom... ?

To break the States was a huge ambition for any UK act.

And George's ambition overrode everything.

However, he had suffered with his voice breaking down.

He had undiagnosed polyps on his vocal cords at that point,

and so he didn't want to spend months touring small venues.

We wanted to fast track Wham! straight to the top.

Something was going to have to be done.

We didn't have the answer,

but Simon did.

To break America in a big way,

maybe we could make you the first Western group

ever to play Communist China.

This is the Lo Wu Bridge spanning the boundary

between British Hong Kong and Communist China.

It's as far as an American reporter can get.

China at that time had been closed for centuries.

China was a very interesting, unknown place.

Nobody's got in there.

Nobody went to China.

Unless you were doing trade or something like that.

But certainly not a pop band.

The problem is not merely that we cannot look in,

but that the Chinese will not or cannot look out.

It's frustrating being so close and yet so far

from one of the biggest stories on earth.

Simon proposed going to China

because China loomed large in the American imagination.

China mania, Ming madness, whatever you want to call it -

it's sweeping New York and the rest of our country, for that matter.

But I knew if Wham! played in China, we would get extraordinary coverage

around the world and break them in America big and quickly.

I was very sceptical.

It was going to cost a lot of money.

It could be an enormous waste of time.

Well, I quickly found out that going to China wasn't going to be easy.

I went 13 times and I think it took 18 months.

We didn't know what Simon was doing.

No-one knew what Simon was doing except Simon.

It was quite a definite deal I was making with the Chinese.

They could have foreign investment.

We could get worldwide exposure.

I don't think I totally believed it would work at that time.

Yeah, it was very,

extremely difficult.

We'd almost forgotten about Simon's proposal

until out of the blue,

Simon told us that we'd been invited to play two shows -

one in Beijing and one in Guangzhou.

I think Simon fell down.

Seriously. He was so shocked.

Freedom

The entire single only purpose of playing China

was to break them in America.

Wham! in China.

Cynical.

Untried.

Untested.

Risky.

? Whoa, whoa, whoa... ?

I didn't really like it.

? Whoa

? Whoa-oa. ?

Landing in China, I felt we were there on false pretences.

It was a circus.

Simon had assembled a significant press corps.

There was only one reason they were there -

and that was to serve our purpose.

We had to have global coverage.

The whole image of Wham! was totally dependent

on a good relationship with the press.

And they were absolutely brilliant at it.

But they also got extremely aggravated by it.

In China, we were cheek by jowl with our antagonists -

the UK tabloid press.

And I'd rather have been without it.

But it was a bit of a Faustian pact,

a necessary evil.

The big topics as a tabloid journalist

would be money, affairs, fights,

rows, pop stars hating each other.

Anything antagonistic is really good for the tabloids.

Involving pretty girls as well.

The press in the '80s was harsh, really harsh,

and they were always after a bad story. Mm.

And it kind of knocks your confidence.

It was about creating hysteria. Yeah.

It was about creating the story that will get people really interested.

I don't know what the press do it for.

I mean, I can't imagine a worse job, to be honest.

What happened that Andrew didn't like, of course,

and no-one likes it, is that they can't control the press.

ANDREW READS HEADLINE

No, I was unaware she had a boyfriend.

He slept with her. Excellent.

Excellent stuff.

I mean, the guy's 22.

So what?

But in a way, it's kind of what

the papers call a curtain raiser

to what was then going to come.

Thanks a lot. Thank you.

When we came out of the capital Chinese airport,

there were these huge black limousines.

Those are Red Flag 770s.

Red Flag is the cars that Mao rode in,

the premiers ride in,

presidents of other countries ride in.

This was a huge honour

on the Chinese part.

A huge gift to them.

As we drove from the airport into Beijing along this highway,

it looked like the area had been hit by a nuclear bomb.

We'd go along these two track roads, basically,

swinging around oxen and carts.

It felt very utilitarian.

Much as I think we would have expected

a Communist country to look.

And then out of nowhere comes this, like, glass structure,

a big glass building.

Walking into the Great Wall Hotel,

it could have been any hotel in the West.

The rooms were like, you know, a Hilton.

But yet, right outside the door, people on bicycles in blue suits.

This is the difference between new and old

and what's going to go on in China.

Wham! coming to China in 1985,

spoke to something very big

in China's history.

China was opening up to the West.

People's clothes were starting to change.

They started to wear less dark colours, Mao suits.

They started to go to salons to make their hair curly.

There was a hunger in China

for connection with the West.

Wham!'s timing was exquisite.

The very first day, the first thing they had to do

was go to the Great Wall.

TRAFFIC DIN

The Great Wall of China

would have been the most important photo opportunity of the tour.

CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK

Where are we going first? I don't know.

I'm less bothered about words.

I'm more concerned the photographers are getting what they want.

Can we see it? George.

Oh, no...

If we're going to make the front pages,

we've got to have good pictures.

Come back a bit. Andrew.

Do you think we might get one with the glasses off, please?

No? Right. Fair enough.

George's relationship with the press was less antagonistic than mine.

Whilst I was taking the heat,

the attention wasn't on him quite so much.

I'd never seen so much press.

It was a feeding frenzy.

The pictures from there were dynamite.

We could actually see those two boys morphing into,

like, these superstars in front of our eyes.

The photographers got what they wanted.

And in a way, you know, everybody was happy.

LOUD BEEP

Someone said, "We should be doing a documentary about this."

Oh, dear. A documentary.

I'm Martin Lewis.

In 1985, I was the chap who instigated

and produced the film of Wham! in China.

What sort of a producer are you?

A very good one.

From our point of view,

why it would have been filmed, would have been to claw back

some of the vast expense that it cost to go there.

We were not asked to suggest directors.

There were no directors.

There was only ever one director considered,

and that was my suggestion of Lindsay Anderson.

He'd won the Oscar for a documentary called Thursday's Children in 1954.

He'd made ground-breaking feature films -

This Sporting Life, If..., O Lucky Man!

He would understand the breadth of this canvas.

I got a call to ask me if I would go to China to direct a film with Wham!

I was immediately interested.

Everybody thought I was completely mad and I said,

"Why? I mean, Wham! may not be great,

"but the visit of a Western pop group to China must be interesting."

I wasn't really interested in Wham!,

and so it was only when Lindsay came on board that you went,

"Wow! Lindsay Anderson?

"What an honour to work with this guy."

Whilst my knowledge of Lindsay's work was next to nonexistent,

someone of his pedigree just didn't fit.

George, on the other hand, felt that Lindsay would lend

credibility to the documentary.

I wasn't going to fight that particular battle.

Well, the hard part was he comes to China,

he breaks his leg.

I think he twisted his knee either at the Wall or just after the Wall.

I don't know what happened on the Wall,

except that Lindsay hurt himself,

and then I wound up pushing the director around

on his wheelchair all the time.

They all came back from the Great Wall more grumpy

and more bad-tempered than they set off,

only to find that they had a state dinner that night.

What do Wham! say?

Honoured guests, dignitaries, blah, blah.

Wotcher.

Geezers at large.

"Honoured guests, it is a great honour."

It's all that business, isn't it? Yeah, I know, but I mean,

why do you have to put on guests? Because...

It makes them sound honoured,

but they're not honoured for us to speak to them.

My partner Andrew and I

are only here...

...for the publicity!

GEORGE LAUGHS

Let's get down to truth here.

Just pad it out with loads of words.

So - deeply honoured and flattered or, and most flattered.

Well, it doesn't make sense.

Look, you stupid sod, it's a full stop!

Sounds crap to me anyway. Yeah, sure.

In... APPLAUSE

In honour of Wham!

the banquet hosted by

Travel Department of All China Youth Federation

now begins.

Wham! in China was more than just the shows.

A show had to be made of Wham! in China,

and that meant official events,

interacting with our hosts.

It was just part and parcel of being there.

Mr Zhou Erfu, vice chairman

of Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.

APPLAUSE

The famous British singing star - George Michael.

APPLAUSE

And famous British singing star - Andrew Ridgeley.

APPLAUSE

Now let's invite George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley to deliver a speech.

APPLAUSE

Thank you very much.

I'd like to say to start this speech by saying

that my partner, Andrew, and I are deeply honoured

and extremely flattered to be here with you today.

TRANSLATOR INTERPRETS

I was very aware that they were there as cultural ambassadors.

That was how they were expected by the Chinese.

APPLAUSE

We are also, to a certain degree,

rather surprised that we are here.

TRANSLATOR INTERPRETS

This is huge pressure on two young men

in a sort of geopolitical situation

that is completely unique.

No-one's done this before.

The amount of interest and excitement shown by world media

has made one thing clear -

and that is the fact that our performances here

will represent not only a musical event,

but hopefully a cultural introduction

between the young in China

and those in the rest of the world.

Thank you, George. Very nice too.

APPLAUSE

I think I speak for everyone when I say that,

although this may be but a small step for the youth of China,

it is a giant step for the youth of the world

in bringing our cultures closer together.

Thank you.

APPLAUSE

It's a bath mat.

George and Andrew are on tiptop manners.

However fractious they may have been with the press,

they know what they've got to do.

They're on display.

TRAFFIC DIN

? Jitterbug

? Jitterbug

? Jitterbug

? Jitterbug

? You put the boom-boom into my heart

? You send my soul sky-high

? When your lovin' starts

? Jitterbug into my brain Yeah, yeah

? Goes bang-bang-bang Till my feet do the same... ?

...groove.

? Before you go-go

? Don't leave me hanging on like a yo-yo

? Wake me up before you go-go... ?

? Wake me up... ?

? You send my soul sky-high when your lovin' starts

? Jitterbug into my brain

? Goes bang-bang-bang Till my feet do the same

? Turned a bright spark into a flame Yeah, yeah

? My beats per minute never been the same

? Cos you're my lady, I'm your fool

? Makes me crazy when you act so cruel

? Come on baby, let's not fight

? We'll go dancing Everything will be all right... ?

I had that cassette.

We were so poor, we didn't have cassette player.

I asked my uncle to lend his cassette player

to play that cassette all night long.

This is a very special memory for me. Yeah.

? I'm not planning on going solo

? Wake me up before you go-go

? Take me dancing tonight. ?

This is the ambassador's pad. That's right.

Our schedule was such

that we were being pulled in a variety of different directions.

You know, they were meant to be preparing for a concert,

and they were just swamped. They didn't have a minute free.

An official engagement at the British Embassy

had been organised.

I think it's very good for you, Chinese food.

If you like it... Yes. ...it's very good.

The ambassador's residence was a bit of 1930s Blighty,

transported into Peking.

Please, come along.

They seemed to exist in this colonial microcosm.

It's really quite strange.

I think I'll introduce them to you, obviously, first of all. OK.

As long as he's doing it that way, that'll be fine. OK.

Right, fine. Yes, certainly.

Fine. Right.

It was imposing. It was nonstop.

And there were lots of things to do.

And you've got to be polite with everybody.

OK. Right. First of all, I'll just take you around,

introduce you to people over here.

I think the guys found it quite hard work, I think,

because they had to sort of press the flesh to so many people.

They probably answered the same questions over and over again.

There was nowhere to hide in there.

I thought I'd be polite and play the game.

Yog didn't feel the same way at all!

He thought that was an utter charade.

Was sort of reaction are you expecting from the Chinese?

We've been told that they're fairly reserved in their reactions.

So even if they walked out halfway through, I know they won't,

it would be interesting.

And they will even clap at the end now, which they never used to.

They didn't used to clap? No.

It doesn't really matter what sort of reaction we get

because we're not here for their reaction. We're, um...

We're here for a wider, important thing, whatever that is.

Of course, the press was ever present.

We were close to them all the time.

We didn't want to miss anything.

And these are very... Four very rare trees. These are ginkgo trees.

Is this the average time they blossom? It is, yes. Yes, it is.

CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS

It's always competitive if you're in a group.

I mean, everybody's trying to get a scoop.

It was pretty pressurising.

It's the first time I saw George and Andrew actually snap sometimes

with the press.

OK. OK.

HUBBUB

Do you like Western music?

Yes. Very.

Have you heard of The Beatles?

Yes! THEY LAUGH

The teacher allow you?!

I think a lot of young people will have gone to this concert

out of curiosity and excitement.

LOUD BEEP

Bye! Wish you luck!

BICYCLE BELLS RING

We had an obligation to the film crew

because they needed grist to the mill.

Documentaries are pretty loose endeavours.

This was clearly dysfunctional.

We know this trip to China

is a stunt for a purpose.

But that doesn't matter.

It's still going to be an astonishing juxtaposition

between East and West,

old world and new world.

If you make a serious documentary about this clash of cultures,

that will be fascinating.

Unfortunately, George and Andrew just went,

"No, that's not our motive for doing this.

"Our motive for doing this

"is to become the biggest pop stars in the world."

I would say the relationship

with Lindsay deteriorated over time.

I was no fan of Lindsay Anderson.

I didn't like him. He didn't like us.

I didn't terribly like them.

They were quite uninterested, I thought,

very foolishly uninterested in the idea of a film being made.

I was surprised watching Lindsay.

He himself didn't do very much.

I mean, I think he just got fed up with the whole thing.

Martin, the producer, was on the line to make this film.

At all costs, he was going to get people to film things

that needed to be filmed.

LOUD BEEP

Yes, I was producing, and in a way directing,

because I knew I needed footage.

To be dragged around to contrived scenes

was not something either of us were particularly comfortable with.

LOUD BEEP OK. When you like.

Oh, hello. Nice to meet you.

Welcome to visit China.

Thank you very much.

I am.

I listened to the cassette tapes.

Oh, you've listened to cassette? Yeah.

So you're coming to the concert tomorrow? Yeah.

I hope you enjoy it. I'm very lucky!

Hope you enjoy it.

We want everybody to get up and have a quick dance.

No. What do you mean, no?

You'll have no choice, mate.

Yes.

Thank you very much.

I could tell that George was starting to get fed up.

It was extremely claustrophobic.

WHAM! MUSIC PLAYS IN BACKGROUND

Oh, no, we'll get him.

Neil, can you get knobhead?

Where is he? Do you know, Martin?

Typical.

He's gone?

I think I come tomorrow! Yeah. Yeah, do.

Bye-bye.

George got pissed off.

Actually, I've just acquired some new friends.

They're going to come with me wherever I go.

Aren't you guys?

There you are.

He's left me in the lurch before but...

...you know, once bitten, twice aware.

Or twice as aware as Confucius said.

With George? Yeah.

Stormy.

But mostly on the fair side.

He's a nice enough chap.

Um...

Well, I always bring the tea.

He brings the cakes and the sandwiches.

Partyship. Partnership.

George was essentially a very private person.

He constructed George Michael,

and George Michael shielded Yog the person to a degree.

But it also caused him a great deal of trial and tribulation.

The challenges that you want to give yourself

are automatically going to bring you more of what you don't want,

which is that public fascination. You know?

Although there is that half of me that wants it,

there's another half of me that's very frightened of it as well.

He was really sensitive.

There was that side to him that no-one really knew.

He had the world coming at him.

And I was watching the dilemma that he was having.

I think what George realised at that moment in Beijing

was his entire life was going to be like that all the time.

This is my future.

Do I want it?

It's a dichotomy I think a lot of stars have in common.

An obsession with success

and recognition.

At the same time, a real need for privacy.

BAND REHEARSES

If You Were There, please.

Andy? Andy?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

We formed a band to write songs and perform them.

That's what you do. That's the essence.

Everything else is noise.

Whilst the purpose of being in China was strategic,

when you get onstage, you do the very best you can

and that's what we always strove to do.

It doesn't matter whether it was Beijing or Boston,

Wham! had to give a good account of itself.

? If you were there

? You'd know

? If you were there

? You'd know. ?

How's it going to go?

Don't know. That was probably better than the gig.

Probably much better than the gig.

Do you get nervous at this point?

I'm always nervous at this point.

No, no. I don't normally, but I am today.

I am today.

That's it.

Now we're onstage at 7:45.

Right, we can't be late.

OK?

All right. See you all later.

I never have this kind of experience to come to a concert.

Exciting. Very excited, right?

When I listen to it, I just want to dance.

? Ba-ba-ba-ba

? Ba-ba-ba-ba, da

? Ba-da, ba-da, ba-da

? Ooh, ooh

? Doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo... ?

These are what I used to get me through the average concert.

I can't give you the name because I'm not sponsored by them.

But just look...

Mm! Chewy!

Mm. Oh, chewy! Mm.

Um...!

Juicy jelly.

? La! ?

BAND SINGS

? Wishing you were here by me

? To end this misery

? And I wonder

? I wah-wah-wah-wah-wonder

? Why

? Why, why, why, why, why why she ran away

? And I wonder

? Where she will stay

? My little runaway... ?

Hmm? Marrowbone?

? Run, run, run, runaway

? Run, run, run, runaway. ?

CHEERING

HE LAUGHS

Wham! Rap

? You got soul, you got soul

? I said a-get, a-get down Get on down

? I said a-get, a-get, get on down

? I said a-get, a-get Get on down. ?

We decided we had to have the cheapest possible support act.

So we met this guy called Trevor, who was a great dancer.

? With the boys that I meet down on the line

? Said I don't need you

? So you don't approve... ?

Off goes Trevor up and down the aisles.

? Hey, you... ?

Wanshang hao. Beijing.

Beijing.

Wanshang hao.

I'm not going to remember this.

I was backstage in the dressing room,

helping George and Andrew come up with some words they wanted to say

to the audience when they came out.

Bridging that cultural gap.

Anything else, George?

Um...

Please, everybody clap your hands.

Please, join in.

? I ain't never gonna work Get down in the dirt

? I choose to cruise... ?

Trevor, the great dancer, got just a little bit carried away.

? And I just can't lose... ?

? I'm a soul boy I'm a dole boy... ?

The foreigners, they were already dancing.

? Wham, bam, I am... ?

Some Chinese youths got involved.

? If not, just stop

? Don't stay there... ?

? Hot damn! Everybody, let's play

? So they promised you a good job No way... ?

Every time he gets to an area of the audience, right,

they're just like crowding around him, all want to shake his hand.

Yeah, well, they're still dancing around him.

And he stood, he had a chain going like this.

It's going really well.

? Are you gonna get down? Down, down

? I said one, two, three, rap Come on everybody

? Don't need this crap.. ?

The Chinese authorities hadn't seen anything like this before.

Watching the audience,

they were worried it was going to result in a riot.

So when the interval came, there was an announcement

that everyone had to stay in their seats.

Please be more quiet and respectful.

Stay in your seats.

When we walked out - silence.

Absolute silence in the room.

We were all like deer in headlights.

Us looking out at them and them looking at us.

In terms of the value to Wham!'s career,

it was probably the most important gig they ever played.

I felt stressed. I never feel stressed.

One, two.

One, two.

? Jitterbug

? Jitterbug

? Jitterbug

? Jitterbug

? You put the boom-boom into my heart

? You send my soul sky-high when your lovin' starts... ?

It was so fast. Yeah. Thank you. George.

? Goes bang-bang-bang till my feet do the same... ?

He turned around and went, "Go, go, go!"

So we went faster. Yeah.

? My best friend told me what you did last night

? Left me sleeping in my bed

? I was dreaming, but I should be have been with you instead... ?

It set off at a proper gallop.

Really as a consequence of a bit of nervous excitement.

? I don't want to miss it when you hit that high... ?

? Wake me up before you go-go ah

? Take me dancing tonight

? I want to hear that high... ?

And I remember looking at George and I could read his face.

And there was confusion in his eyes

because the audience weren't reacting how the boys were used to.

? Never been the same

? Cos you're my lady, I'm your fool

? Makes me crazy when you act so cruel

? Come on, baby, let's not fight

? We'll go dancing

? Everything will be all right... ?

? Wake me up before you go-go

? Come I'm not planning on going solo

? Wake me up before you go-go, ah

? Take me dancing tonight

? Whoa, whoa... ?

At one point, George wants everybody to clap.

And the Chinese were like, well, when do we clap?

Because they're used to classical music

where you know exactly when to clap and not to clap.

? I don't want to miss it when you hit that high

? Wake me up before you go-go

? Don't you dare to leave me

? Hanging on like yo-yo-yo-yo-yo

? Take me dancing

? Wake me up before you go-go

? Cos I'm not planning on going... ?

These guys were putting out all this energy and you look out in the crowd

and there was very little reaction.

Now that has got to be the worst thing for a performer,

because you don't know how you're doing

and you suppose you're not doing very well.

? Wake me up before you go-go

? Don't you dare to leave me

? Hanging on like yo-yo-yo-yo-yo. ?

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Our next song has been a number one in our home country.

We hope one day it can be a number one here in China,

with your help.

It's called Freedom!

I remember squirming in my seat, thinking,

"Ooh, that's a bit edgy.

"I'm not sure the Chinese authorities

"are going to like that word."

? Doo-doo-doo

? Oh-oh-oh

? Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo

? Every day I hear a different story

? People sayin' that you're no good for me

? "Saw your lover with another and she's makin' a fool of you"

? Oh-oh... ?

The security had been instructed

to make sure it doesn't get out of hand.

People started moving a little bit and then standing up.

? But you know that I'll forgive you

? Just this once, twice, forever

? Cos, baby, you could take me to hell and back

? Just as long as we're together

? And you do

? I don't want your freedom

? I don't want to play around

? I don't want nobody, baby

? Part-time love just brings me down

? I don't want your freedom

? Girl, all I want right now is you

? Doo-doo-doo

? Whoa, whoa, yeah... ?

One chap that was standing up, and he started enjoying himself.

And he was totally dancing, like, total freedom.

Music is such a cellular thing.

And if you've never experienced that,

some people are going to react

where they're just having a moment, they can't control it.

? All about the other boys

? You take my hand and tell me I'm a fool

? To give you all that I do... ?

One man started to get up on his seat,

and I think he even went a little higher,

maybe went on top of his seat, and he was dancing.

So the police immediately came and took him away.

? You could take me to hell and back

? Just as long as we're together

? And you do... ?

That incident made the concert political.

But, of course, these journalists were there to watch just for that.

? Doo-doo-doo

? Oh-oh-whoa

? Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-whoa

? Whoa-oh-oh-oh. ?

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Goodnight, and thank you!

CHATTER

CHATTER

The first feeling was of failure.

As far as we were concerned, we were not communicating...

...which was really horrendous.

To perform...

...to give everything...

...which is what we always tried to do,

to no palpable effect...

...it was disheartening.

CHATTER

You're not really going to come in and ask us about our opinions,

are you? ? Dun-da-ra... ?

I certainly think George and Andrew felt it wasn't a great gig,

but it really didn't matter,

because whether the audience's reaction was a good reaction

or a bad reaction,

the main thing is, in America - on NBC, CBS, ABC News - 24/7,

every hour, there was Wham!

The gig was just the mechanism.

Before that, I knew nothing.

And suddenly, there were so many things.

It's like a window.

And from that moment, you open the window

and then you learned there was a bigger world.

That make me think...

..."I want do this.

"One day, I'm going to do that."

The morning after,

we were under an obligation to give a press conference.

I knew that the journalists hated the fact

that they were being summoned.

That's not how they wanted to be treated.

We weren't going to spend a day speaking to them individually

and treating them as our friends

and giving them what they wanted, and they loathed that.

Press conferences are a way of journalists

getting their own back on pop groups or celebrities.

It's a chance for a nasty journalist to rile the band.

They're like caged animals in a press conference.

George and Andrew, could you give us your reactions

to last night's first show in Peking?

How did you feel about it?

People obviously wanted to enjoy what was happening.

It became obvious there was no precedent for them to follow.

They followed to the extent that they... they could, you know.

Andrew? CAMERAS CLICK THROUGHOUT

I feel exactly the way George does, the same way.

Some Chinese I spoke to, they were a bit embarrassed

about the sexy aspects of the show.

Do you think that it was too sexy

for Chinese...? Well, I know for a fact that I toned my act down,

a hell of a lot, last night.

As far as I was concerned, I didn't do anything particularly sexy,

which is not my usual... my usual angle.

Maybe my hips were moving a little bit too much for them, I don't know.

We didn't see anything of it.

We only heard reports. Yeah, we heard all the reports.

We were too busy. And, uh, as per usual,

I'm sure the reports were grossly exaggerated.

How do we know what? That the reports were grossly exaggerated.

Because they usually are.

I don't think they were last night, actually. We saw it.

It happened right before our own eyes. Yes, well,

I heard several different stories about it, so, you know.

Well, if I told you that such a thing happened...

Well, why should I believe you and not someone else?

I mean, what do you think of treatment like that,

of potential fans? I heard originally the reaction

was because they were having a good time, dancing.

Then I heard later on

that they were acting, um, in a particularly drunk manner.

But I think there were a lot of people in the audience last night

that maybe were a little bit intimidated by the Chinese police.

Was there any consultation between you

and the sponsoring organisation as to whether or not the Chinese

were going to be allowed to dance last night?

No, there wasn't. Earlier you said there were people dancing

in the back, but in fact, every time a Chinese stood up to dance,

he was either asked to sit down or forcibly taken out by the police.

Um, well... For you to stand up onstage and urge people to dance

and put them in this position -

because many who people did want to dance -

have been taken away by the police.

Hadn't you given some thought to that beforehand?

Well, we really had no idea that there were going

to be any restrictions on what people did in the concert,

but we certainly were not given any indication

that the Chinese would be restricted in what they were doing.

Any more questions?

George and Andrew, last night your manager,

Simon Napier-Bell, told us that he thought

that perhaps all of this sudden fame

had gone to your heads and you couldn't handle it.

What is your view of that? I think not!

Simon didn't. Well, I think the members of the press,

who will back me up, say that he did say that to us last night.

It doesn't actually sound very much like our manager,

but anyway, you know, I don't think it's gone to our heads

in any way at all. Yeah, I think it's also fairly irrelevant

to this conference.

Because it's China. It's a Communist country.

This is a tough game.

And, in China, George and Andrew were carrying

a lot of cultural and economic importance,

and having to deal with newspapers

that hadn't been particularly kind to them.

The pressure in the pressure cooker has just gone up a few notches.

HORN BLARES

After the press conference, the band were leaving to Guangzhou,

where the next gig was -

but George and Andrew and I were staying behind in Beijing.

We had a really important interview to do.

It was live on the CBS Morning news show,

which was the big breakfast show.

It was very important. That was why they were in China.

It was a big deal,

an interview on American prime time.

Uh, I can't say that we have, actually.

It's been interesting, though.

Definitely been interesting.

We've had rather a lot of overattentive media with us.

Um, no, as George said, we're not here to have a good time, so...

When Andrew and George were doing their satellite interview,

we would have then been going to the airport.

It was a big sense of relief

to get on the plane to go to the next town,

but the sense of relief did not last a long time.

We'd just taken off,

everybody was in a great mood,

but Raul, my fellow trumpet player...

Yeah, he was my buddy as well. ...had been having a tough time

for a couple of days in China,

and I could see that he was struggling.

It was 20 minutes into take-off

and then suddenly I think Shirlie or Pepsi, one of them, screamed.

We were half an hour out of Beijing,

and there was a commotion at the front of the plane.

I jumped up and looked over to see blood on Shirlie's...

...um, coat, and blood around Raul.

It was one of the most scary experiences of my life.

From what I could see, he'd stabbed himself in his stomach.

Wham! in China.

In Peking last night, it was a two-man Cultural Revolution.

Good morning, George, and good morning, Andrew.

Good morning. Good evening, Phyllis. George...

George is the blonde, and Andrew is the brunette.

And I say this because this is a first for you all.

Everybody's so... so excited to have you all on our television here.

Andrew, uh, has just never really been called a brunette here.

Oh... That's very flattering, Phyllis.

PHYLLIS LAUGHS Well, it's... I'm a semi-brunette,

so that's how I relate to it.

I have a few highlights, though, to make mine look a little lighter.

Tell me, are you both happy with the way the concert went

and the way you've been treated in China?

So it took a little while for the airline to conceive

of what was going on.

But when they got it, the plane then turned around

to return to the airport.

We went down, like that. Yeah. Straight down.

We went ploughing down through the clouds.

We all thought we were going to going to die.

The Chinese medical team wheeled him off the plane on a gurney,

and as he was going past me,

he said, "Paul, get my trumpet, get my trumpet!"

And I know, as a trumpet player,

it doesn't matter what's happened to you, you can't lose your trumpet.

Thank you both for allowing us to talk with you all

after your big concert, and congratulations...

Thank you very much. ..on all the success that you've both had.

Thank you, George, Andrew. You're terrific. Thanks for being with us.

Thank you very much. Goodbye. Bye-bye.

From Peking, China, the Whams.

He had a breakdown, basically.

We all had our own personal traumas

that sprung out of what was happening to Raul,

but ours were all minor in comparison

to what he had to deal with.

We were completely unaware of the incident

that had taken place until we came off air

and Simon relayed the news.

The plane went back to... back to...

You mean the plane had to turn back? Yes. Oh, no, that's awful.

It's on the plane, he's...

It was a very unfortunate situation,

but, for the press,

it was exactly what they'd been waiting for.

"Attention: Jonathan Morris, care of China Hotel. Urgent."

That's not a hostile headline. That's what happened.

"We have heard news reports

"of an incident with Wham!'s trumpet player."

We were there to write about it.

So we write about what happened.

The fact that something in the press hurt somebody else,

I mean, so what? Life isn't...

You know, it's not a bowl of cherries, is it?

They flew him home and he fully recovered.

Raul wasn't seriously injured,

but nevertheless, it was, uh, pretty shocking.

It was an uncomfortable journey from Beijing to Guangzhou.

We didn't know how the band felt.

We didn't know what impact

the event had had on the band, whether they were

in the right frame of mind to perform at Guangzhou.

Beijing, always a little bit more conservative.

It's the capital.

By the time we got to Guangzhou,

it was quite different,

because they have the huge influence of Hong Kong.

They were much more open to Western ideas,

Western clothes, Western music.

There was an aspect of night-and-day between those two cities.

And when you add the fact that we put the incident

on the plane behind us,

hey, we were all just glad to be there.

The next day, we had the football match.

Football match. Yeah, interesting.

It was a relief when we met our fellow bandmates.

We thought it'd be nice to arrange a footy match

with the Chinese road crew.

I was still turned over

about the aeroplane,

but having a football match

to forget about everything else was great.

The guy with the white shorts, his name is Andrew.

Keep your eye on him. He's a good player.

? Let me take you to the place

? Where membership's a smiling face... ?

And we were the cheerleader. We were cheerleaders.

Yeah, that was happy.

It brought us all together, didn't it, with George and Andrew? Yeah.

? From beneath their Panamas

? Club Tropicana, drinks are free... ?

It was a blast.

Andrew was quite a decent footballer.

George, not so adept.

He's a very competitive, man, don't you know?

But Andrew was always a bit more nifty.

? Watch the waves break on the bay

? Oh, soft white sands, a blue lagoon

? Cocktail time, a summer's tune

? A whole night's holiday... ?

I am sure we were victorious. Definitely victorious.

I think we would have had to have been victorious

because George was on our side.

Yes. Yeah. We had God on our side! THEY LAUGH

Wham! United!

? But don't worry, you can suntan... ?

We were trying to make one score, I think.

But they did. They are the winners.

CHANTING, CHEERING

The majority of the press had gone back to the UK,

and so the constraining influence, that we all felt, had eased.

The real George Michael hairstyle here, you see.

George Michael uses Clairol. "Hate that grey? Wash it away!"

I think that was the happiest that everyone was on the trip.

Come on, mate! CHATTER

A lot of people actually got a great deal of solace

out of that football match.

I know I did.

MUSICIANS TUNE UP

All right, I'll have a word with him now.

George has said the Beijing, Peking show was the hardest show

they'd ever done.

It was tough!

We will, after another few numbers.

There was a fair bit riding on the show in Guangzhou.

It was important for us that it went well.

No-one wanted to leave China thinking we could have done better.

We needed to come away

leaving people thinking that they'd seen, you know,

the best pop band in the world.

George had a way to turn things around.

He had a knack for that.

HORNS BLARE

HUBBUB

LOUD BEEP

Throughout the entire experience,

the film crew, we were kind of like a carbuncle.

We were a parasitic organisation.

Nobody really wanted us.

I think there was less and less engagement with them

as the endeavour unfolded,

and, by Canton, I think they were just running the cameras.

HE CHUCKLES

Well, I've been wondering about it for the last couple of weeks,

but if anybody's got any idea, I'd be, um, happy to know.

A theme to the film?

I'm sure there must be one, if I can think of one.

Well, we're reversing history in this scene

and showing how China has been seduced

from the path of progress by people like ourselves.

George Michael would never want that film made.

I mean, why would he?

Everybody had a separate agenda.

Wham! had an agenda,

Lindsay had an agenda.

But we lost alignment.

At this point, we're just going to grab

as much footage of China as we can,

and we'll make it work in the edit.

LOUD BEEP

However, somehow I got George to give an interview.

Obviously, I was a pioneer in reality TV because he said,

"I've got to have a massage. I said, "Well, I'll film you there."

Hopefully not filming my buttocks!

Oh, no. Aim for the buttocks. GEORGE LAUGHS

Actually, you can go for the buttocks all you like,

see if we get it past the censors.

There's nothing objectionable about my buttocks at all.

It's very relaxing, though.

Even with the film crew here? Even with the film crew.

Hi, guys!

You'd think when a cameraman shows up,

he'd go, you know, "Fuck off!"

But no, he's very polite.

It's very English.

I think we probably have a different view of Communism

than when we first arrived.

It seems just that their whole way of life is actually quite oppressive

in an unrealistic sort of way.

He's thoughtful, but there he is, he's naked, with his butt out.

It seems like, um, we were invited here as a gesture,

but they were trying to ignore the fact that we were actually here.

Do you know what I mean? Once we've gone,

I think they want to forget about us, which is...

...which is not the impression we got when we first came here.

I mean, I've shot millions of footage, and lots of them...

But I've never seen anything quite like that.

It was really the first time I got to talk to him in any way.

It's such a circus in this rock-and-roll stuff.

He was very young...

...and I really had a sense that he was actually,

as anybody who's young, trying to find himself...

...which isn't easy under any circumstance,

but in the centre of sort of the biggest pop, rock-and-roll event

of the year, and in this foreign country,

I thought, "This is hard, what he's doing."

I've no idea.

Yes.

I first hear the song, it's the Bad Boy.

Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.

Careless Whisper.

The show in Guangzhou,

it did feel like it was the end of a long, hard trip.

Most people were looking forward to going home...

...but we wanted to sign off in grand style.

We had a point to prove.

Everything She Wants by Wham!

You've got the idea!

? Ooh, ooh, ooh

? Oh, yeah

? Work!

? Somebody told me

? "Boy, everything she wants is everything she sees"

? I guess I must have loved you

? Because I said you were the perfect girl for me, baby

? And now we're six months older

? And everything you want and everything you see

? Is out of reach, not good enough

? I don't know what the hell you want from me, oh... ?

Everybody's pushing to the stage and dance, and they sing together!

Wow! Unbelievable.

It was the same show, but with a completely different reaction.

There was no police pulling people out

or telling them to not dance...

...so it was a very different feeling.

? Why I work so hard for you, oh

? Oh, to give you money

? Whoo...! ?

? ..that you're having my baby

? I'll tell you that... ?

? But one step further and my back will break

? If my best isn't good enough

? Then how can it be good enough for two...? ?

I remember it being more lively.

It felt like we were back onto the Wham! road again.

? Uh-huh-ah... ?

I certainly sensed George enjoying himself more on that stage.

? Somebody tell me

? Won't you tell me

? Why I work so hard for you, oh

? Oh, to give you money, whoo!

? Why do I do the things I do?

? I'd tell you if I knew

? My God

? I don't even think that I love you... ?

Everyone!

? Somebody, somebody... ?

The band were sensational...

? Why... ?

...and it was really one of the best gigs they'd ever played.

? Somebody, somebody tell me... ?

George and Andrew were the best I've ever seen them.

? I do the things I do

? Why

? Won't somebody, won't somebody, won't somebody

? Tell me why

? All I hear is you, you, you? ?

CHEERING

It felt like a party...

...which is what the great Wham! shows did.

That was the brilliance of the songs.

SAX SOLO

SLIDES INTO "CARELESS WHISPER" RIFF

CHEERING

Careless Whisper

CHEERING

? Time can never mend

? The careless whispers of a good friend

? To the heart and mind

? Ignorance is kind

? There's no comfort in the truth

? Pain is all...

? You'll find... ?

China and Wham! - I mean, what makes sense?

But even if all around it is chaos and dysfunction and egos,

in a certain way, it doesn't matter if, when they get up onstage,

they make magic.

The music succeeds.

? I feel so unsure

? As I take your hand and lead you to the dance floor... ?

? And all its sad goodbyes

? I'm never gonna dance again

? Guilty feet have got no rhythm

? Though it's easy to pretend

? I know you're not a fool... ?

These young people were opened up,

their eyes were opened, their hearts were humming.

? So I'm never gonna dance again The way I danced with you... ?

? Oh, oh

? Time can never mend

? The careless whispers of a good friend

? There's no comfort in the truth

? Pain is all you'll find

? I'm never gonna dance again

? Guilty feet have got no rhythm... ?

? So I'm never gonna dance again... ?

? ..danced with you, whoa, oh... ?

? Tonight, the music seems so loud

? I wish that we could lose this crowd

? Maybe it's better this way

? We'd hurt each other with the things we want to say

? We could have been so good together

? We could have lived this dance forever

? But now, who's gonna dance with me?

? Please stay... ?

Wham! made a huge impact on these young people.

? ..have got no rhythm... ?

I think of it almost like someone throwing a pebble into a pond

and you see the ripples,

then it became a tidal wave.

They saw what Western music were like.

They wanted more. ? The way I danced with you, oh. ?

CHEERING

Goodnight, and thank you!

CHEERING CONTINUES

Well done, well done.

Right, one more! LAUGHTER

CHATTER

Really brilliant! You were fantastic.

It was a fantastic success.

What we wanted was to break them huge in America,

and that's exactly what it did.

By the end of that week, everyone in America knew who Wham! were.

It had succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.

The film was not altogether successful.

I came back, I edited it,

and suddenly Wham! and their management moved in

and I was sacked.

The whole thing was destroyed.

I don't blame George or Andrew

for what happened to Lindsay's film,

but it wasn't the happiest end for us, and I think it's a shame.

Congratulations. Can you give us a quote for tonight's paper?

The trip, for me, was a bit of a nightmare,

but, I mean, I wouldn't have missed it for anything.

We had a responsibility, being the first people

to play real kind of Western pop music to those people.

And when we talked to some of these Chinese people afterwards

and they were so excited, you know,

some of them had not experienced anything like it.

It was a great privilege.

OK?

It wasn't hard work for you? Oh, it was hard work!

But we got there in the end. Yeah. Goodnight.

You've done it all now. Done it all now. Done the whole lot. That's it.

CHUCKLING See you back at the hotel.

We'd set the US alight.

That was what Yog wanted.

That was the whole purpose of the China enterprise.

It was a leap of faith.

George never returned to China.

Had he met those for whom Wham!'s performance

was a life-changing moment,

I think he would have been profoundly moved.

I think the most enduring and meaningful legacy

of our visit to China is the power of music to shape lives.

The Edge of Heaven by Wham!

? Aah

? La da da da da Yeah, yeah, yeah

? La da da da da Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

? Yeah, yeah, yeah

? La da da da da Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

? Yeah, yeah, yeah... ?

? Eye-AM radio 1134 khz Alkmaar Netherlands ?