Wham! 10 Days In China brings a stack of footage to the screen for the first time ever, 41 years after it was filmed.
Once they’d ‘made it big’, a combination of George Michael‘s ambitiousness, and their manager, Simon Napier-Bell, wanting to in achieve what had never been achieved before, the trip was planned, and for Communist China, Wham! were quite unlike anything they’d ever seen.
The Chinese were starting to learn of the Western cultural influences, and were very welcoming of it, although initially, they didn’t know whether to stand up and dance or not, and for those who did, that was frequently given disdain from the State police.
While their main events would be their first gig in Beijing in April 7th, 1985, and the second in Ghangzhou, four days later, this documentary largely tells a linear tale, starting with their arrival on the 4th, and despite their hate-hate relationship with the papers, they were still forced to do a huge press event at the Great Wall of China on the 5th, followed by a banquet the next day.
Wham! 10 Days In China tells a hugely engaging tale, even down to taking in public appearances, during which George would flounce off because he couldn’t be bothered, thus leaving Andrew Ridgeley in the lurch, and highlighting their stormy relationship.
It’s also amusing – in hindsight – that someone had the not-bright idea to hire critically-acclaimed director Lindsay Anderson for the original Wham! In China documentary, even though he never got on with the band, and vice versa. Somehow, they still collaborated on their Freedom music video, which wasn’t mentioned in this, but there’s certainly no love lost. Must be weird for Andrew to reflect on all this, now that he’s the only one of the three left alive.
I saw this on a Sunday afternoon in a fairly busy room, and it’s a shame that this wasn’t given a wide release and has gone away again, since everyone clearly enjoyed it. Of course, the likes of The Odyssey and Wham! 10 Days In China are taking up plenty of screens, but this really should’ve had a lot more coverage. I’d certainly loved to have seen it a second time on the big screen!
NOTE: There are no mid- nor post-credits scenes.
Wham! 10 Days In China is in cinemas now, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD. However, once announced, it will appear on the New DVD Blu-ray 3D and 4K releases UK list.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 90 minutes
Release date: July 28th 2026
Studio: Traflagar Releasing
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1; 1.37:1 (archive scenes)
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 9/10
Director: Mike Christie
Cast (as themselves):
George Michael
Andrew Ridgeley
Simon Napier-Bell
Plus many more. If I get a full list, I’ll update this.
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.