As you all probably know, it’s been 10 years since the HK entertainment industry lost one
of its icons, Leslie Cheung. Of course, many of his fans gathered to
commemorate him by folding over 190,000 paper cranes in honor of his memory,
which really shows that his impact was more far-reaching than HK alone (you can check out this clip where you can read some of his fans heartfelt letters - they really are quite touching). Even
actor Gregory Charles Rivers (the guy that played/plays just about every foreign
European in every TVB drama) has his Chinese name based on Leslie’s (Ho
Kwok-Wing).
No one,
currently in the industry possessed so much charm, charisma, good looks, sound and
talent like Leslie did. Gor gor, in my opinion had one of the BEST voices that
I have every heard, not just of HK artists but overall. Leslie’s voice is not
overly rich, yet masculine and clear. None of that whiny squealing or monotone
stuff that a lot of other artists do these days. And zounds! Watching short
clips of those who had met Leslie in person, just average Joes, no celebs, they
all gave the same response. That he was handsome (no doubt) and very nice. It
sounds like Leslie was quite a joy to be around, by the looks of things.
Now I’ve
made a little playlist as a small tribute (and no, I didn’t get to watch the
tribute concert because there was no broadcast for me – I might see if I can
watch/find a link online and share) Just found the tribute here. As usual, I’m late on the ball but as
always my intentions are good (heheh!). As the years have gone by, we’ve lost not
only stars like Leslie, but treasures like Anita Mui, Teresa Teng, Danny Chan,
Wong Ka-Kui and Roman Tam. And quite recently, we have also lost some of
screen’s finest actors, like Jacqueline Law (who had cancer).
Anyway I’d
like to not only draw attention to Leslie alone, so I’ve pulled a playlist out
of my sleeve to pay a mini-tribute to these stars, I hope I’ve at least done a
better job than the show <“Our Chinese Heart”> in making a playlist that’s more
representative of the songs that most people heard and fell in love with. This
playlist, I think, is a little more special not only because I’ve really taken
more care in hand-picking the tracks, but because these songs were sung with
the voices of superstars. In my opinion, they weren’t only the pioneers of
Cantopop (and in Teresa’s case, Mandopop), they were the essence of it, as well
as the “entertainment” part of the industry. Still, this playlist is not
supposed to be all about tears of the bygone but of celebration and
commemoration.
So let’s put
the records on play and take some time to remember and appreciate some of the
classics these stars really made their own. I’ll be covering the artists in
pairs and updating the playlist as I go. And, as with all my playlists, please
enjoy!
I know, I
know, this was the first song from my playlist but I swear this is the only
‘repeat’ from all my playlists. And I just couldn’t resist – it felt strange
not to include this track. It is one of my favourite songs from Gor Gor and
definitely one of his signature tracks. I really do love everything about this
song – from Joseph Koo’s melodic composition, Wong Jim’s brilliant lyrics, down
to Leslie’s voice. Can’t fault this classic or the movie from which it came
from.
Okay, so
this was originally released as a Japanese single, as probably everyone knows.
But it’s one of Leslie’s first upbeat pop tracks that caught the public’s
attention. I’ve put in his live performance at the 1984 JSG Song Awards. You
can hear all the fangirls screaming in the background whenever he sung out
“Monica” and you can certainly see why! Leslie was very, very handsome and he
looked really adorable with his sweet smile on stage. He really lit up the
stage back then.
Again, a
Momoe Yamaguchi single that got used for Leslie. I know there has been a lot of
criticism regarding originality for Cantopop taking Japanese tunes and pasting
lyrics over the compositions. I don’t actually have a problem with this as long
as the consequences are good. In other words, as long as the composition is
good in the first place, the lyrics are suitable and the singer is able to
imprint their own style onto it and make it sound good at the same time. I
would say that with Leslie’s voice, this was not a hard feat for him. This live
performance clip from his concert is where he gets caught up with the emotion
and, even with tears in his eyes, he still managed to give a rendition that was
worthy of an ovation. And may his songs keep blowing on.
This was
actually a little song which Leslie himself composed but had the help of
legendary ‘God of Songs’ Sam Hui to pen the encouraging lyrics for him, just as
he was going through a rough patch in his life. This was a collaborative
effort, so I’ve chosen to put in a clip from Sam Hui’s retirement concert where
Leslie and Sam sing this song together. Well, less talking from me and more
listening. After all, silence is golden!
Not
strictly a Leslie song since it’s been covered by quite a number of artists.
You can really tell why James Wong was responsible for this and Leslie was one
of those artists who could cover pretty much every track and put his own spin
on it. He also had a better live singing voice than on recording, which is
something quite remarkable. Listening to all this Autotune and unnecessary
technology involved in recordings always makes me miss those kinds of artists
even more. Veteran singer-actress Deanie Ip also pulls off a fantastic cover of
this very same song, for instance. Leslie was truly ‘the pride and glory of a
nation’ (a translation of his name Kwok-Wing). Whenever we look at the stars,
we will remember Gor Gor along with the other brilliant stars that graced the
stage.
Yes, a
Japanese ‘remake’, like several of Leslie and Anita songs but definitely a
classic. This song and awed many people at the 1989 JSG Song Awards because of
its beautiful melody and its heart-wrenching lyrics and, still lives on today.
Speaking of the song’s beautiful melody, Priscilla Chan used this as the
backing to her ‘farewell song’, “Thousands of Songs”, in te very same year. I
like to think of these songs as flipsides to a mixtape or vinyl record. Same
melody, different voices, but both beautiful songs. GroggyBot wrote about these
two songs here, and I’m answering just three years late, but for me, Anita’s version is the
one that wins hands down, as much as I’m a sucker for Priscilla’s pretty voice
and felt it was a shame that she ‘left’ the industry at her peak. Or maybe I'm just biased or slightly masochistic. The main
reason would have to be Anita’s ability to interpret lyrics and carve a very
moving tale out of them. With this skill, she also had a powerful voice and
control like no other.
Continuing
the theme of sad but beautiful songs, this one always makes me watery-eyed just
because of how melancholy it is. I suppose Anita’s tragic life, including her
unhappy childhood and upbringing contributed to this sense of emotion and
wanting to be loved. The song’s lyrics reflect this and Japanese composer
Kitaro’s music carries the song through with strings sounding like falling
raindrops or tears. This was one of the songs that I have translated personally
but I shall leave you with a translation (that I found at this particular Cantodict thread) by a fellow Youtuber, cheunggal88, who I think not only appreciates but captures the heart-breaking beauty of it
all.
"Who is controlling my destiny: This daily struggle, in a sea of humanity? My heart is saddened; Years had passed like flowing water; Yesterday just would not stay! … What remain are only memories; One after another, forever intertwined. In the vast mystic waves, My memories drift back to those yester-years. Their faces have changed, Their status too, But the passion forever remains!"
Now I know
the last two songs were sad ballads, but I haven’t forgotten that Anita was a
very versatile performer. This track was chosen as a performance for the 1988
Seoul Olympics and you can tell why. It’s an upbeat, catchy and daringly sexy
(yes I said it, but that is what the song is about) song with lyrics by Poon
Wai-Yuen and a very 80’s electropop sound from composer and friend, Anthony
Lun.
A little
revision of a not so well-known 80’s Europop song, featuring Grasshopper. Now
Mui Jeh took on a lot of disciples during her lifetime but, none probably got
as popular as Grasshopper after she got them to be her backup dancers/singers. Though, of course, the music video originally featured her other disciple, Andy Hui. As for the song itself, it is a really ‘cool’ kind of style with stiff kind of
dance moves and an icy stare. Synthesizer beats too.
A remake of
Momoe Yamaguchi’s “Rock & Roll Widow” and rightly so. Okay, so I cheated on
this one – this is a performance featuring Leslie. An Easter egg surprise! I
know they also had the duet “Fate” but that song doesn’t showcase their dance
skills and chemistry as much as this one. The pair really could work up the
stage in-sync, like a special bond or contract they shared.
