China remembers superstar George Michael

By Zhang Rui: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, December 26, 2016

George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley pose for a photo at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in April 1985. [File photo / Weibo.com ]

Pop icon George Michael, who had a series of hits including "Last Christmas" and was the first Western megastar to stage a concert in China, died on Christmas Day. He was 53.

He was found dead at his home in Oxfordshire, England.

A family statement read by his publicist announced: "It is with great sadness we can confirm our beloved son, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home over the Christmas period. The family would ask that their privacy be respected at this difficult and emotional time. There will be no further comment at this stage."

Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in East Finchley, London, on June 25, 1963. He grew up in the suburb of Kingsbury and met his singing partner, Andrew Ridgeley, while attending Bushey Meads School.

He and Ridgeley formed duo group Wham! in 1981 and shot to fame in 1983 with their first album, "Fantastic", and reached number one on charts with several hits including "Young Guns," "Wham Rap!" and "Club Tropicana".

Their second album, "Make It Big" also reached No. 1 on the American charts. Singles from that album included "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," "Freedom" and "Careless Whisper" which reached No. 1 in nearly 25 countries, including the UK and US, and was Michael's first single in a solo role.

Michael and Ridgeley officially announced the breakup of Wham! in the spring of 1986 due to the creative differences. As a solo artist, Michael released solo albums such as the multi-million selling "Faith" in 1987 and its follow-up "Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1". He had a further seven number one singles in the UK with such songs as "Faith," "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (with Elton John), "Jesus To A Child". He also won three Brit Awards and two Grammys.

Michael sold more than 100 million albums throughout a career spanning almost four decades. The Grammy organizers said Michael's "extraordinary talent had a profound impact on countless entertainers worldwide, and his creative contributions will live on forever."

The first Western pop act to tour China

Wham! toured China in April 1985 and became the first Western popular music act to do so, generating worldwide media attention. It was also a very important step in China's opening, China Newsweek reported.

After they arrived in Beijing, the two singers were greeted by a vice-Minister of Culture. Their concert would be seen rather as a cultural exchange event than a commercial concert show.

The two spent next few days visiting landmarks in Beijing, including Tian'anmen Square and the Great Wall, but few recognized them. However, they were surrounded by foreign reporters making Chinese spectators somewhat curious.

As China had only just opened to the outside world, many Chinese didn't know much about the duo. However, Beijing Workers' Gymnasium was packed with a 10,000-strong audience. The duo's agent arranged that anyone who bought tickets of Wham!'s Beijing concert could get a free cassette of the band, with a Chinese cover sung by Chinese singer Cheng Fangyuan on the B-side.

Chinese audiences had never heard such music before, and they mistakenly assumed it must be rock ‘n roll. They were shocked by the loud sounds created by Michael and Ridgeley, and many remained in their seats, as they used to be doing, not knowing how to react to this kind of music. But later they started to rock their bodies when they saw foreign fans dancing, while police watched closely to maintain order.

Many Chinese musicians were among the audience, including Guo Feng and China's "godfather of rock", Cui Jian. Guo remembered, "I’d never seen this before. All the Chinese audience were stunned."

After Beijing, Wham! also held a concert in Guangzhou, which, being close to Hong Kong, meant the audience was more open and familiar with their songs and Western music in general.

Their historic China tour, which was seen as evidence that China was willing to open to the world, was documented by film director Lindsay Anderson and producer Martin Lewis in their film "Foreign Skies: Wham! In China."

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