BEIJING (AP) – George Michael’s death brought back memories in China of the heady 1980s when Wham! was the first major Western band to play after the death of Mao Zedong.
Chinese who had never even heard of the band lined up for hours to buy $1.75 tickets to the 1985 concert in Beijing.
Inside the 12,000-strong stadium seated spectators watched in bewilderment as Michael and Andrew Ridgeley danced in big-shouldered jackets with bleached and feathered hair. The backing dancers’ strapless costumes and polka-dot miniskirts also stunned the audience in China at a time when people still dressed in similar shades of green and gray.
The Wham! concert influenced Chinese musicians, who had never seen electric guitars played on stage and began to get interested in rock ‘n’ roll.