But now, prompted by the death of George Michael to recall that time, I can see that the concert I attended was more than just a musical first, it was a symbol of the changes that were setting China on the road to the country it is today. ) had started the ball rolling in the late 1970s by opening the country to foreign trade and bringing in the idea of entrepreneurism, and the period from late 1984 to 1986 was an interesting time to be in the Chinese capital as it felt as if Deng’s ideas had started to really gather pace.