Wham! 10 Days in China finally tells the story a shelved 1986 film couldn’t

Wham!’s 10 Days in China opened in cinemas worldwide on 28 July, using restored footage from the band’s landmark 1985 trip that a scrapped 1986 documentary never got to tell properly.

TL;DR

• New documentary: Wham! 10 Days in China, directed by Mike Christie, opened in cinemas on 28 July 2026.
• The backstory: It draws on unseen footage shot for a 1986 film that was shelved before release.
• UK detail: After its cinema run, the film moves to BBC Two and BBC iPlayer in late August.
• The moment it revisits: George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley became the first Western pop act to play communist China in 1985.

A tour that was meant to launch Wham! in America

In April 1985, Wham! travelled to Beijing and Guangzhou, becoming the first Western pop group to perform in communist China. The trip was never really about China, according to Deadline: the band hoped the resulting press coverage would help them break America.

A film crew, led by director Mike Christie, followed the pair throughout the visit. That footage sat mostly unused for four decades.

Why the first attempt never made it to screens

An earlier documentary, titled If You Were There…, was shot around the same trip by filmmaker Lindsay Anderson. According to Gold Derby, the film was scrapped after Michael and the band’s management pulled their support, and it was shelved rather than released.

Some of that abandoned footage later resurfaced in a different, shorter film, Wham! in China: Foreign Skies, which finally had its full public screening at BFI Southbank in 2024. 10 Days in China is a separate project built from newly digitised archive material rather than a rescue of Anderson’s original cut.

What the new film actually shows

Wham! 10 Days in China runs 90 minutes and combines restored footage with fresh interviews. According to Music-News.com, it features firsthand accounts from the band, their management team, and Chinese concertgoers who were encountering Western pop music for the first time.

Critics have responded warmly. Rotten Tomatoes reviews cited by the site describe the concert sequences as a reminder of Michael’s stage presence, and call the film an honest look at fame and ambition. One reviewer said it works as a time capsule from an era when music could still unite audiences across a political divide, per Rotten Tomatoes.

UK release: cinemas now, BBC Two next

The film played across roughly 1,000 cinema screens worldwide on its opening day, including venues in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia, according to Deadline. It is currently showing in UK cinemas via distributor Trafalgar Releasing.

For UK viewers who miss the big screen, the BBC has bought the film for a late-August broadcast on BBC Two, paired with a wider night of Wham! and George Michael programming, Deadline reported.

What this means for Wham! fans

The film reframes a trip that has been part myth, part mystery for 40 years. For longtime fans, it closes a gap left by decades of shelved footage and rumour. Newcomers, meanwhile, get a rare look at a pre-superstardom George Michael navigating fame, ambition and a country few Western pop acts had ever entered.

Screen & Story has more on music documentaries and legacy releases, including our coverage of the Stan Winston effects documentary Monster Maker, the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds 60th-anniversary event at San Diego Zoo, and the Beatles’ upcoming four-film biopic event.

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Reported from publicly available interviews and verified press sources. Last reviewed 29 July 2026.