Wham! in China: Foreign Skies

Wham! in China: Foreign Skies
Directed by Lindsay Anderson
Produced by
Starring
Music by
Edited by Nigel Galt
Production
companies
Distributed by CBS/Fox Video Ltd
Release date
 1986
Running time
 60 minutes[1]
Country United Kingdom
Language English, Mandarin

Wham! in China: Foreign Skies is a 1986 documentary film directed by Lindsay Anderson that documents Wham!’s 10-day visit to China during their 1985 world tour.[2] The film was created by Strathford Hamilton and Andy Morahan. It was shot over two weeks in April and edited over summer and autumn 1985 in London.[3][4] Wham! made history in China by being the first Western pop act to visit the country.[5][6] Nearly every song used in the film was taken from Wham!’s albums Fantastic and Make It Big.

Production

British Director Lindsay Anderson was engaged to accompany Wham! to China in April 1985. The second leg in east Asia began with two concerts at the Coliseum indoor arena in Hong Kong and then moved to China where Wham! performed in Beijing (Peking) and Canton on 7 and 10th April.[7]

The film shot over two weeks, was then edited over summer and autumn 1985 in London. Anderson called his one-hour and 18 minute film If You Were There.[8] In the final stages of editing, Anderson was dismissed in October 1985 by Wham!'s management, the editing team quit, and the film was entirely re-edited, renamed and released as Wham! in China: Foreign Skies.[9]

Songs used in the film

Documentary features excerpts of the following tracks:[10]

  1. "Bad Boys"
  2. "Club Tropicana"
  3. "Blue"
  4. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
  5. "Ray Of Sunshine"
  6. "Young Guns (Go For It)"
  7. "Careless Whisper"
  8. "Everything She Wants"
  9. "Like A Baby"
  10. "If You Were There"
  11. "Runaway"
  12. "Love Machine"

Release

The first ever public viewing of "Wham! in China: Foreign Skies" was shown on large video screens on Saturday 28 June 1986 at "The Final" concert.[11] This set a record for the largest audience at a film premiere.[12]

Home media

It was released on VHS, Betamax and LaserDisc in 1986, selling over 50,000 units in the United States. The documentary has yet to be issued on DVD and only one track "Blue (Live In China)" from the film has been officially released on their third studio album Music from the Edge of Heaven.

Charts and certifications

Charts

Charts (1986) Peak
position
Top Music Videocassettes (Billboard)[13] 1

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/Sales
United States (RIAA)[14] Gold 50,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Credits

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lindsay Anderson - Wham! In China: Foreign Skies
  2. ↑ Lindsay Anderson - Wham! In China: Foreign Skies
  3. ↑ If You Were There: Wham! in China - UNIVERSITY OF STIRLING ARCHIVES
  4. ↑ "Wham in China – Foreign Skies (1986) AKA Lindsay Anderson's If You Were There". Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  5. ↑ Careless Whispers: The Life & Career of George Michael: Revised & Updated By Robert Steele
  6. ↑ George Michael: The biography - By Rob Jovanovic
  7. ↑ If You Were There: Wham! in China - UNIVERSITY OF STIRLING ARCHIVES
  8. ↑ If You Were There: Wham! in China - UNIVERSITY OF STIRLING ARCHIVES
  9. ↑ If You Were There: Wham! in China - UNIVERSITY OF STIRLING ARCHIVES
  10. ↑ Wham! In China: Foreign Skies - (VHS (Video) - CBS/Fox #) Allmusic.com
  11. ↑ How Wham! made Lindsay Anderson see red in China - By Paul Kelbie, Scotland Correspondent
  12. ↑ How Wham! made Lindsay Anderson see red in China - By Paul Kelbie, Scotland Correspondent
  13. ↑ Billboard - 6 Dec 1986, Wham! in China, Top Videocassettes
  14. ↑ "American video certifications – Wham! – Wham! in China: Foreign Skies". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 26, 2018. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Video Longform, then click SEARCH. 
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