'Light-Years Ahead:' When George Michael Toured China with Wham!

This article originally appeared on TIME. At a time when "Careless Whisper" is standard karaoke fodder right across China, it is difficult to imagine when the sound of it was utterly and fantastically strange. But strange it was in April 1985, when the British pop duo Wham! beat off Queen and the Rolling Stones to became the first Western pop act to perform in the Middle Kingdom. Some 15,000 concert goers watched George Michael and bandmate Andrew Ridgely belt out hits like "Wake Me Up Before Yo...