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Article originally published on January 28, 2012
Source: Mingpao Weekly, Issue 2255
Translated by: llwy12
Many of the HK music industry’s ‘Kings’ and ‘Queens’ to return to the HK Coliseum in 2012
Aside from Sally Yeh (葉蒨文), other ‘king’ and ‘queen’ level artists will also be returning to the HK Coliseum in this year of the Dragon – amongst them is the original ‘God of Songs’ himself, Sam Hui (許冠傑) . Though still overcoming the grief of losing his beloved older brother Ricky Hui, Sam has expressed that he will return to the stage this year – good friend Clifton Ko has already submitted a request on his behalf to the HK Coliseum for schedule dates.
Veteran singer Jenny Tseng (甄妮) -- who just received the Golden Needle award at the RTHK Top Ten Chinese Songs Awards -- will also be returning to the stage this year. Even though Jenny stated previously that her Farewell Concert from 2 years ago would be her last one, it is known that she has already received confirmation from the HK Coliseum and will be performing there in September.
After a 7 year hiatus [from the music world], 4-time Best Actress winner [for her performance in “A Simple Life”] Deanie Ip (葉德嫻) will also be holding a concert at the HK Coliseum – it is reported that that she has received approval from the venue for November dates.
Upcoming ‘star-studded’ concerts
Edmond Leung’s (梁漢文) concert [which started this week] will have good friends such as Sammi Cheng, Andy Hui, Miriam Yeung, etc. serving as guest performers, while TVB’s Fook Luk Sau (Johnson Lee, Wong Cho Lam, Louis Yuen)’s first HK Coliseum concert will most likely garner the support of Liza Wang as well as TVB’s artists.
As for renowned songwriters Wyman Wong (黃偉文) and Hanjin Tan (陳奐仁), they will be holding special HK Coliseum concerts this year as well. Hanjin has revealed that for his concert, he is trying to invite Jacky Cheung, Sammi Cheng, and Eason Chan as guest performers, while Wyman will have 4 ‘queens’ supporting him, including singer Cass Pang (彭羚), who retired from the music industry 10 years ago – she has already agreed to ‘come out of retirement’ and be guest performer for Wyman’s opening and final night shows. With highly anticipated guests such as Cass, it’s no wonder that Wyman’s very first HK Coliseum concert sold out quickly and additional shows have already been added (5 shows total).
Returning once again
With the support of former artist Money Lo and her husband Kimmy Suen, 80s singer Ken Choi (蔡楓華) successfully held his comeback concert in March last year at the International Trade and Exhibition Centre’s (ITEC) Star Hall. This year, with assistance from the ‘godfather of concerts’ Cheung Yiu Wing (張耀榮), Ken will fulfill his dream of holding a concert at the HK Coliseum – the ‘selling point’ for his concert will be a special guest performance by his long-time friend, 80s artist Samantha Lam (林志美).
In September of last year, another veteran Cantopop Queen, Sandy Lam (林憶蓮), mesmerized music fans with what has been hailed as ‘divine’ singing skills during her 3 show concert, “Sandy Lam In Concert 2011”. This year, Sandy will be returning to the HK Coliseum once again to hold Part 2 of her concert – according to ticket sale reports, the shows are already sold out, proving that this Asia Music Queen still has huge selling power!
The return of veteran bands and groups
Tat Ming Pair (Anthony Wong and Lau Yi Tat) and the 7 member Tai Chi rock band (太極樂隊) were both popular ensemble groups/bands in the 80s. Throughout the past few decades, both groups went through the experience of disbanding, with individual members pursuing music careers on their own, and eventually re-assembling together to perform once again. Coincidentally, both groups will be holding separate HK Coliseum concerts this year. Earlier, Tat Ming Pair already made a ‘comeback’ appearance at the JSG Awards, however that performance was only a ‘prologue’ of what is to come – their return to the HK Coliseum after an 8 year hiatus.
‘Cross River Dragons’ (過江龍)
In this year of the Dragon, there will also be quite a few artists from across Asia coming to perform in HK. From Taiwan, there’s singer/actor Richie Ren and the group May Day, as well as Jam Hsiao and Tiger Huang.; from Malaysia, there’s Fish Leong; and from Japan, there’s ‘national treasure’ level music artist Kitaro. Amongst the ‘cross river dragons’, Taiwan artist Jam Hsiao successful conquered HK music fans last year with his very first concert performance in HK – this year, he will be returning to HK once again for another concert.
Tentative dates for these concerts are:
.—Richie Ren (任賢齊): February 18th and 19th
.—Tiger Huang (黃小琥): March 11th
.—Fish Leong (梁靜茹): June
.—May Day (五月天): June
.—Kitaro (喜多郎): June
.—Jam Hsiao (蕭敬騰): July
Sammi and Eason fighting for coveted New Year’s dates
Every year, there is a ‘battle’ for the much coveted December holiday schedule (Christmas and New Year’s) for the HK Coliseum. According to reliable sources, this year, the ‘battle’ for these dates will be between Sammi Cheng (鄭秀文) and Eason Chan (陳奕迅). Sammi’s “Love Mi” concert from 2009 saw a sold out crowd for all 10 shows and Eason’s “Duo” concert broke his personal record of 18 shows -- as of right now, HK Coliseum has not yet approved the applications for either of the schedules. In the hopes of seeking confirmation, Mingpao contacted Sammi, who responded: “Yes, I have already submitted the request to hold a concert at the Coliseum in December – the request is for the New Year’s dates. If the application is approved, then I’ll move forward with it. I leave the situation up to God!”
Beyond the HK Coliseum
The HK Coliseum is definitely a highly coveted venue for all singers hoping to hold any type of concert in HK -- however this year (2012), God of Songs Jacky Cheung (張學友) and Singaporean artist Kit Chan (陳潔儀) have chosen the Asian Expo Center and the International Trade & Exhibition Centre, respectively, for their upcoming HK performances. Jacky’s ½ Century World Tour Concert (which officially launched on New Year’s Eve 2010) will return to HK in May 2012 for the final leg of its tour – even though ticket prices for the final shows are as high as HKD 880, it has not prevented the tickets from selling like wildfire, resulting in the need to extend the number of shows to 8 in efforts to accommodate those who were not able to purchase tickets; it is estimated that in the end, the number of shows will be extended to 10 total.
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