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Unseen Wham! documentary to get first public screening

Original version of Wham! In China unveiled

By Paul Sinclair

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Original Lindsay Anderson cut of Wham! In China showing at BFI Southbank

British film and theatre director Lindsay Anderson was the brave – probably foolish – choice to film Wham! in 1985 on their famous 10-day visit to China, where they played two concerts (on 7th and 10th of April).

Anderson was in his early sixties in 1985 when he took the job and his career was rather in the doldrums after some singular and acclaimed work during the 1960s and 1970s (notably This Sporting Life (1963), the Palm D’Or winning If (1968) and O Lucky Man! (1973)). In his posthumously published diaries he admitted to having “no interest in Wham!” and stated that he was simply “doing this for the money”.

His lack of interest in Wham! must have been evident when Anderson presented his 77 min cut of the film, called If You Were There, to the dismay of the group, and in particular George Michael, who in essence, thought there was too much China and not enough Wham! in the film (there were just four songs from the tour, only one of which is a full performance).

The director was sacked, the editing team walked out and the film was entirely re-edited and renamed. It was released as Wham! in China: Foreign Skies, on VHS and laserdisc in 1986.

Sarah Bromage of the University of Stirling (home to a Lindsay Anderson archive) has seen If You Were There and says there was “a fundamental misunderstanding of the purpose of the documentary”. She points out that “Anderson’s film shows the beginning of the influence of western youth culture and capitalism in Chinese Society. In particular his footage, lost in the released version of the film, exposes the vast cultural divide between this dynamic pop group, British civil servants and the Chinese authorities”. 

Lindsay Anderson’s original cut of Wham! In China: Foreign Skies is being shown at the BFI in London’s Southbank

Even the re-edited film is fairly rare these days (it has not been issued on DVD or blu-ray) but Lindsay Anderson’s cut has never been shown in public, at all, and has remained unseen in the near 40 years since it was filmed.

Now, with the permission of the George Michael Estate and Andrew Ridgeley, the British Film Institute is being allowed to screen If You Were There as part of their Anderson season called O Dreamland! Lindsay Anderson’s Dark British Cinema.

There will be two showings at London’s BFI Southbank: One on 25 May and another on 31 May. Tickets go on sale TODAY at 12.30pm. Book here.

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26 thoughts on “Unseen Wham! documentary to get first public screening”

  2. A bit off topic I admit, but I finally received the Make It Big and Fantastic Blu-rays. And god what absolutely marvellous releases.
    The atmos mixes are just perfect, immersive, with use of all available speakers without loosing focus on the music, the mastering is by far the best I have ever heard for these albums.
    This is like a 1000 times better than the atmos available on streaming services (I pay for Amazon Music family) , and I bet it is the exact same mix. This shows how much way streaming still has to go to replace the physical media.
    With the Paul Young release these are the very best BR audio you have ever released, and there were awesome ones before that (TFF, Orbital, to name a few), that gives an idea of how good these are.
    Thank you Paul!!

  3. It would be interesting to see a commercial release of this cut along with the previously released edit from 1986. I still have my working copy on VHS and loved it. Mind you, it did make for a bitter sweet watch as it was released after The Final and accompanying video were released.

    Watching it now feels more like a time capsule of their time in 1985.

  4. Does anyone know is there further songs from the concerts, or is it still just 4?
    I always loved Blue (live in China)- b side to Last Christmas, George’s voice sounded amazing! Would be great to hear live versions of tracks then!
    You got soul on the dole x

  5. Funny that this pops up now. A few days earlier I accidentally stumbled upon the Wham documentary on Netflix which I wanted to watch forever but never got to it. Finally watched it and thought it was brilliant. All while my big Wham package is in the mail including blu-rays and vinyl. Would love to see this Wham in China docu!

  6. It’s interesting to note that Jean-Michel Jarre’s Concerts In China in October 1981 were filmed by Andrew Piddington for ITV, and used a similar approach. Much of that film was footage of Peking and Shanghai at large, rather than the concerts themselves. It’s never had a DVD or BD release either – like the vast majority of JMJ’s concerts.

    1. That’s a great Jarre album. At the time of release it was quite sensational. I would love to see that film. Jarre leaves quite a bit on the table by not releasing this film on blu-ray and not releasing his works in Atmos.

      1. Having embraced Atmos with Oxymore (streaming only), and having released Oxygene (DVD), Aero (DVD), Teo and Tea (DVD), and Amazonia (download only) in 5.1, I am hopeful that he will see fit to remix all his prior albums at least in 5.1 and preferably Atmos. His music is ideal for surround.

  7. This is of great historical interest and it would be great if it received a proper international release. As children of the 80’s I have to echo the sentiments of many who say that we’re getting older and would really love to enjoy this before it’s too late. Kudos to Andrew for keeping the flame alive.

    Here’s hoping Wham! The Final Concert, Wham! in China: Foreign Skies, (and GM’s MTV Unplugged video) are in the pipeline and see the light of day sometime soon.

    1. Yeah, the BFI’s press release plays its cards somewhat close to its chest on that one, describing this as a ‘possible only opportunity to see’ but they do often release items of real interest and scarcity on BluRay and DVD to tie in with or shortly after big ‘event’ exclusive showings. Recent examples include for the KLFs road movie and a rare Billy Connolly doco from the mid-1970s. Fingers crossed.

      1. It’s hard to imagine the George Michael Estate will allow the version he hated to be released when they haven’t released the version he approved at the time!! Giving the okay for a one-off showing at a pretty niche film season at the BFI in London is a long way from approving a commercial release and putting it ‘out there’. I hope I’m wrong, since extremely annoyingly I can’t make it to either screening!!

        1. I see what you mean. Hey-ho. I was lucky enough to get a ticket (then later on Friday, Cherry Red announced a rather tasty Howard Jones event for the same date, LOL, always the way) but on the balance of probabilities I’ll be hearing HJ’s stuff in surround soon enough on the blu-rays; but I agree the odds of ever getting to see If You Were There again are somewhat slimmer. Will be very interested to see it.

  9. I want this on blu ray also the Wham! documentary with the George Michael docu ! Paul, thanks for the info that the Wham! blu rays are shipped today.

  10. SOLD OUT after 10 minutes!! Haven’t even had the chance to discuss with the spouse, haha, darn. Gonna cry with my SDE Blu-rays (that have yet to arrive).

    1. Any chance that the whole of the rest of the country that doesn’t live in London might get to see it on a big screen I wonder…. I think I know the answer.

      1. I’m sure if a cinema elsewhere wanted to go to the time and effort to host a Lindsay Anderson season and then approached the George Michael Estate no one would hold it against them that they weren’t on London.

  12. It seems that Andrew is moving things along with all sorts of releases and content while David Austin continually drags his feet. Who’d have thought that Andrew was the hardworking one?

    1. Check the Wham! doc on Netflix. Andrew was always the driving force of the duo. George was the best songwriter, but was crippled by insecurity. In a Belgian interview, he once described himself as ‘a slug on Valium’ (as a reason why he took so long between studio albums).

  13. I’ve never seen Wham! in China: Foreign Skies, as stated, it is a rarity today, I was watching a bit about it and I found it interesting that the concert footage was re-filmed at a sound stage in London at great expense because GM didn’t like how his hair looked in the film. It would be “fantastic” if they ever released the whole concert, along with the documentaries. Despite his popularity and critical re-evaluation, there is not an overabundance of George Michael. Stuff like this is downright mythical.

  14. A great director a casualty of the times. I believe that if a band now was lucky enough to get a director of this calibre they would respect and work with him more. I certainly think an older George Michael would see the opportunity and without the constraints of 80s management grasp it.
    There clearly is a market for this packaged with the original film and bonus content. It will be a ridicules price.

  15. Dare we hope for a BFI bluray like last year’s It Couldn’t Happen Here? Both versions would be even better! PS Still have my VHS copy.

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