The sudden death of George Michael triggered off found memories in Beijing, where Michael´s band Wham! was one of the first to hit the stage after China started to open up in the 1980s. “They certainly had in impact on China, says Kaiser Kuo, now himself a rock legend in China, to Reuters.
Reuters:
Mao, the Chinese writer, received his concert ticket from his university — one of several that were given allocations of tickets for students studying literature.
“We were like blank pages back then. I’d never seen anything like this before in my life,” said Mao, who said he was seated behind students from North Korea.
“In front of me, the foreign students jumped up to dance, the police quickly came and told them to sit down,” Mao said.
Despite the tense atmosphere, the Beijing concert has since become legendary among China’s rock royalty.
“They certainly had an impact on China,” said Kaiser Kuo, the front man of a popular Chinese metal band in the 1980s called the Tang Dynasty. “Everyone knew Wham! songs, even people who would go on to play music that diverged starkly from pop.”
Chinese took to social media on Monday to mourn Michael, whose 1984 hit “Careless Whisper” was particularly popular in China.
Kaiser Kuo is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers´request form.
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