The Big Tour was the second concert tour by English musical duo Wham!, launched in support of their multi-platinum second studio album Make It Big, which sold over six million units in the US alone.[1] The tour spanned 4 months between December 1984 and April 1985, comprising 39 shows across the UK, Ireland, Japan, Australia, United States, Hong Kong and China. Wham! made history in China and achieved worldwide publicity by being the first Western pop act to visit the country.[2][3]
Overview
The Big Tour opened at Whitley Bay Ice Rink on 4 December with an audience of around 5,500.[4] The venue was small due to no other venues being available in the north east, they were booked for two more shows between concerts in Glasgow, Dublin and Leeds. Just as the UK portion of the tour was in its stride, George Michael hurt his back during a performance and the band had to cancel five consecutive shows which were put back until February and March. They continued the UK leg with shows in Wembley Arena during the Christmas period to around 50,000 fans during which “Last Christmas” reached number two in the UK Singles Chart.[5]
Ticket for London's Wembley Arena.
The new year began the tour in Japan performing in the Fukuoka Sunpalace with other dates in Osaka, Nagoya, Tokyo and Yokohama. In Australia, five shows followed in Melbourne and Sydney before continuing in the United States, with a sellout concert at the Palladium in front of 4,400 in February 1985.[6] Wham! returned to the United Kingdom with earlier dates having been rescheduled.
Following a month break, the tour resumed in Hong Kong on 2 April 1985. The 10-day visit to China was the first by a Western pop group.[7] The excursion was a publicity scheme devised by Simon Napier-Bell (one of their two managers—Jazz Summers being the other). It began with a concert at the Peoples' Gymnasium in Beijing (then Peking) in front of 13,000 people. They also played a concert in front of 5,000 in Canton. The two concerts were played without compensation.[8]
Wham!'s visit to China attracted huge media attention across the world. Napier-Bell later admitted that he sabotaged the efforts of British rock band Queen to be the first to play in China. He made two brochures for the Chinese authorities – one featuring Wham! fans as pleasant middle-class youngsters, and one portraying Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury in typically flamboyant poses. The Chinese opted for Wham!.[9]
"The first feeling was of failure, there was no way we could communicate. And when we actually found out what had gone on [with people being told not to dance] I was just furious. Obviously, I felt responsibility at the time to represent my generation from the west in a good light and pop music in a good light."[10]
— George Michael reflecting on the China visit in 1986
Recordings
A documentary film was shot over two weeks in April and edited over summer and autumn 1985 in London. The whole China visit was documented by British film director Lindsay Anderson and producer Martin Lewis in their film Wham! in China: Foreign Skies released in 1986.[11] The first ever public viewing of Foreign Skies was shown on large video screens on Saturday 28 June 1986 at the farewell show "The Final".[12]
