Watch George Michael’s haunting ‘Careless Whisper’ performance at historic show

3 September 2025, 16:36

Wham! made history when they performed in China in 1985.

When George Michael stepped out with Wham! in front of thousands at Beijing’s Workers Gymnasium, he knew he was giving a performance for the history books.

In 1985, Wham! made history as the first Western pop act to visit communist China.

• Smooth Icons 2025: George Michael voted the best music artist of all time for fourth year
• George Michael song to feature on Taylor Swift’s next album – all details
• Wham!’s secret to success – as told by Pepsi, Shirlie and Andrew Ridgeley

A tour not without its controversies, it might have been expected that the ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’ group would keep their shows as predictable as possible.

But in addition to pushing for the boundary-breaking shows in the first place – an achievement 18 months of negotiations in the making – Wham! also made the choice to go all out with their performances, adding a few surprises instead.

One of these was George Michael’s decision to begin one of the group’s greatest hits, ‘Careless Whisper’, in a much slower, more haunting way than usual.

This can be seen in the tour video, recorded at one of the group’s two Chinese concerts, below.

Wham! - Careless Whisper (Live in China, 1985) *4K

This version of ‘Careless Whisper’ began with a lonely sax solo, and when George began singing the first verse, it was with just the lightest of accompaniment from a synth-sounding keyboard and a lighter acoustic guitar.

As a result, the then-21-year-old's beautiful vocals were given the perfect time to shine as they echoed around the awe-struck stadium.

• Watch George Michael’s immaculate acoustic performance of ‘Freedom 90’ for MTV
• Have you heard the Japanese cover of Careless Whisper? Listen here...
• Wham!'s Andrew Ridgeley emotionally inducts George Michael into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

George’s stripped-back intro to the song was an excellent way to hit at the sorrowful track’s more introspective lyrics, before adding in the song’s full catchy backing track for the first chorus and the rest of the verses.

The incredible performance was documented in the docu-film Wham!: Foreign Skies, which followed the group’s ten-day visit to China.

Wham's greatest music videos: Andrew Ridgeley breaks down his biggest hits | Smooth's Video Rewind

Wham! Played two concerts in China: the first in Beijing’s Workers’ Gymnasium on April 7, 1985, and the second at Canton’s Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall on April 10.

The concerts followed two held in Hong Kong earlier that month, and dates played across the UK, Europe, the US, Japan and Australia before.

Wham!’s visit to China brought an end to their The Big Tour, their second concert tour, and last before they played their farewell tour shows a year later.