George Michael’s Death Brings Back Memories of Groundbreaking China Tour

George Michael (left) and Andrew Ridgeley pose at Tiananmen Square in Beijing during their tour of China in April 1985. The duo's group, Wham, was the first Western pop group ever invited to perform live on the Chinese mainland. Photo: IC

(Beijing) — The sudden death of British pop star George Michael was the sad end of a singer whose later life was marred by drug abuse and illness. But fans in China recalled a different Michael, who was breaking barriers three decades ago when he and bandmate Andrew Ridgeley became the first Western pop-music act to tour a nation that was just starting to open to the world.