News Article: Having just completed his 116th show, Jacky Cheung continues to break records

This is an awesome article about Jacky and his most recent concert show in Guangzhou...I liked the article so much that I decided to translate and post it. Hope all fellow Jacky fans out there enjoy it!

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Article originally published: February 27, 2012

Source: Sohu.com

Translation: llwy12

Having just completed his 116th show, Jacky Cheung continues to break records

** Note: The below article was published in a Guangzhou newspaper, so most of the content will relate to Jacky’s concert tour in China. **

On 2/25, Jacky Cheung completed the Guangzhou [China] leg of his “1/2 Century World Tour Concert” and in the coming days, he will travel to Putian [in Fujian province] and Shenzhen, ultimately arriving here in Hangzhou on March 10th. Each show that Jacky performs brings him one step closer to breaking the Guinness World Record for number of concert shows performed by an Asian singer. Actually, the original record is currently held by Jacky himself for his 2007 ‘The Year of Jacky Cheung World Tour Concert’, which at that time, had established an unprecedented record of 105 shows on one concert tour. Looking at it right now, the original ‘number’ has already been exceeded, as the Guangzhou leg of the tour was already Jacky’s 116th show.

During the Guangzhou performance, fellow singer Eason Chan made a special trip to visit his friend Jacky – the two singers even performed a song together during rehearsals. Recently, there have been rumors that due to Eason straining and overextending his vocal cords, he is in danger of losing his voice – don’t know if Eason took the opportunity during his visit to ask Jacky for his ‘secret’ to maintaining good health.

Xie Hong, a manager for the Tianjin division of Rock Records who once accompanied Jacky for more than 100 shows on his world tour, described Jacky’s regular world tour ‘routine’ in this way: “Every Thursday, after taking his daughters to school, Jacky would fly to the first city where he’s scheduled to perform. He would have rehearsals on Friday afternoon, then the actual performance that same night. The next day (Saturday), he would switch to another city, rehearse on Sunday afternoon, then perform that same night. On Monday, he would fly back to Hong Kong, pick up his daughters from school, then head home. On days that he does not need to perform, Jacky would get up at 6am every morning and work out for 2 hours; at night, he would always go to bed before 10pm.”

After completing a concert, most singers normally hold a celebration gathering, however due to the frequency of Jacky’s performances, he usually ‘omits’ the celebration party, choosing to do it only once every few months. According to Xie Hong, Jacky is willing to ‘omit’ certain formalities when needed, however there is one ‘formality’ that Jacky is firm about never omitting: rehearsals. Indeed, Jacky’s persistence when it comes to rehearsals is one area where Xie Hong admires him the most: “He’s already performed over 100 shows, yet he still insists on rehearsing prior to every single show. To be honest, I’ve already watched [the rehearsals] to the point that I don’t want to watch anymore, however Jacky never gets fed up with it – in fact, he never finds it [the rehearsals] even the least bit tedious!” Also, for his performances, Jacky refuses to use a teleprompter – he would rather set aside a certain amount of time each day to recite and memorize the lyrics to the songs. Xie Hong once suggested to Jacky that perhaps he should use a teleprompter to help him save time and energy and so that the process would be less exhausting for him, but Jacky politely turned down his offer with the response: “As soon as one starts to develop the mentality of being dependent [on something], it’s very easy to get into the habit of being lazy.”

What moves Xie Hong the most though, is Jacky’s considerate nature. During his concert tours, Jacky is very much aware that the concert sponsors [in each city] are usually the ones responsible for providing (and paying for) his meals, therefore, he never chooses any expensive dishes and most of the time, eats only simple vegetable and occasional meat dishes – if in certain cases he felt like eating fish, he would always choose the least expensive one.

As a concert sponsor, Xie Hong admits that of course he would prefer for Jacky to sing his classic hits for each show: “It saves on production costs, plus the audience reaction will definitely be excellent, so it sounds like the best route to take, right? Nope, not for Jacky. Because he feels that Chinese singers rarely incorporate stage musicals in their performances, he wanted to serve as an example for everyone.” That’s why for this concert, the stage musical segment is one of the most important parts of the performance – for the MV (music video) accompanying the musical portion, Jacky asked renowned director Andrew Lau to help him produce / direct it and actress Shu Qi to star in it. The stage musical segment tells the story of a couple as they go through various stages of their relationship – from meeting, to falling in love, marrying, and eventually, the strain on their relationship due to the passing of time (secretly, Xie Hong and the crew refer to the MV as “If You Are the Only One 3“ 《非诚勿扰3》 [TN: an actual movie starring Shu Qi and directed by Feng Shao Gang]).

Xie Hong concludes: “We see Jacky put such exhaustive, painstaking effort into his performances and at first, we didn’t understand it – but later on, we came to realize that it is a natural part of who he is as person – and that’s why he is the ‘God the Songs’!”

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Chinese version:

刚刚演完第116场 张学友不断刷新吉尼斯世界纪录

记者 钱卓君 广州报道

2012年02月27日03:29

2月25日，张学友结束了“2012张学友1/2世纪巡回演唱会”广州站的演出，接下来张学友将马不停蹄奔赴莆田、深圳，3月10日来到杭州黄龙体育中心。每唱一场，张学友都在刷新亚洲歌手举办演唱会次数的吉尼斯世界纪录。原纪录是张学友在2007年“学友光年世界巡回演唱会”时创下的105场，现在这个数据早就被抛到了身后，广州站已经是第116场。

　　在广州演出时，陈奕迅特地赶去探班，他还和张学友在彩排时合作了一曲。因为用嗓过度，陈奕迅最近面临失声风险，不知道他这次在广州有没有向张学友讨点健康秘诀。

　　跟过张学友一百多场演出的天津滚石老总叶宏，这样描述张学友的生活规律：“每个星期四，学友送孩子上学后，就搭飞机到第一个城市。周五下午彩排，晚上表演，周六转场，周日下午彩排，晚上表演。周一搭飞机回香港，接孩子放学回家。没有演出的日子，他每天早上6点多起床，锻炼两个小时的身体，晚上10点前一定睡觉。”

　　通常演唱会结束后，歌手都会举办庆功宴，但张学友因

　　为演出密度太大，庆功宴就被省略到几个月开一次。叶宏说，张学友别的环节都愿意省略，只有彩排不肯省，这也是让他很佩服的一点：“已经演了一百多场，他还是坚持每场之前进行彩排，我都看得不想再看了，他居然一点都不厌倦。”还有，张学友不肯用提词器，他宁愿每天花一定时间去背歌词。叶宏提议过，不用这么辛苦，能省点力就省点力，但张学友说，人一旦产生依赖心理就会习惯偷懒。

　　而最让叶宏感动的是，明知道主办方会买单，但张学友吃饭时从来不点贵的菜，平时也就吃点蔬菜红烧肉，偶尔想吃鱼了，也挑便宜的点。

　　作为演出商，叶宏巴不得张学友每场都唱老歌，“成本又省，观众反响又好，何乐而不为？但张学友不干，他认为华人歌手极少触及音乐剧，他要给大家做示范。”所以这次演唱会，音乐剧是张学友的重头戏，光是MV就找了刘伟强执导，女主角是舒淇。音乐剧讲述一对恋人从相识、相恋、相守，最后在岁月的折磨中，渐渐沦为怨偶，叶宏他们私下管这个叫《非诚勿扰3》。“学友这么折腾，我们一开始不理解，后来想，他就是这么有个性的人，所以才是歌神。”

My ‘TVB Rant’ # 17: The 2012 HK Television Wars -- Felix Wong’s Response to Being Called a ‘Traitor’ by the HK Media

Obviously, I’m in another one of my ‘ranting’ moods again! I’ve been reading a lot of the stuff out there recently about former TVB artists joining CTI and not surprisingly, I got ticked off by some of the reports – hence I felt the urge to write this post.

Just as a means of background…a few days ago, Ricky Wong’s City Telecom (CTI) held a Groundbreaking Ceremony for its Television and Multi-media Production Center in Tseung Kwan O (for more information about this, refer to my earlier TVB Rant about the HK Television Wars). In attendance at the ceremony were artists (most of whom formerly worked for TVB) who will be joining CTI once the company obtains its free-to-air television license in the next two months (though technically, pretty much all of them have already signed contracts with CTI). The artists who attended the ceremony include: Maggie Cheung (張可頤), Felix Wong (黃日華), Frankie Lam (林文龍), Bernice Liu (廖碧兒), John Chiang (姜大衛), Yuen Wah (元華), Leila Tong (唐寧), Lisa Lui (呂有慧), Felix Lok (駱應鈞), Rain Lau (劉玉翠), Maria Chen (陳霽平), Prudence Liew (劉美君), Kelvin Kwan (關楚耀), Catherine Chow (周家怡), and Benji Chiang (姜文杰) [Catherine and Benji were the emcees for the event].

Note: The above listed artists aren’t the only former TVB artists joining CTI – there are a few others as well who will be joining but did not attend the ceremony (for example: Wilson Tsui, Yu Mo Lian, Feng So Bor, etc.)

Anyway, in the past few months, there have been literally ‘tons’ of reports out there surrounding CTI and its ‘recruitment’ of TVB artists. All this time, I’ve been pretty much treating these reports as I do with most HK entertainment news – read the information with a grain of salt, but don’t take too seriously. Well, unfortunately, some of the recent reports about CTI’s groundbreaking ceremony went a bit too overboard and in my opinion, really ‘crossed the line’ – to the point that I once again cannot help feeling disappointed with the HK Media.

The issue at hand: many of the recent 'reports' about the CTI groundbreaking ceremony used the term "traitors" to describe the artists who left TVB in favor of CTI. Personally, I have a problem with such irresponsible reporting and my only 'advice' to those reporters who keep using this term is for them to look up the word "traitor" in the dictionary and see what the hell it actually means before using it!!

As one of the artists joining CTI, Felix Wong is of course among those being called a ‘traitor’ by the Media. True to his ‘flame-shooting’ nickname, Felix decided to ‘speak out’ against the reports via his Weibo. Just today, he posted an excellent response on his Weibo with regard to these recent "reports" that I'm sure echoes the sentiments of many of us who have been long time supporters of the HK television industry (as well as the sentiments of those artists who have decided to follow a career path that is a better fit for their needs). His response was "re-tweeted" by many artists, who all expressed their support and encouragement...

Here's Felix's post (the original in Chinese as well as the translated version) from his Weibo:

看完今天報章有感而發，現今香港的電視業，真的需要[新血]加入，有著[百花齊放]的感覺，才能帶來衝擊，把電視業推向高峰！藝人不單止有[發揮]机會，還有更多發展空間。各電視台在良性勁爭下，充分發揮自擁資源、實力、通力合作，便能達到[互贏]局面。在此祝願香港電視業再次踏上癲峯之期！大家互勉奮鬥


Translation: After reading today’s news reports, I feel the need to speak out. Today’s HK television industry is truly in need of ‘new blood’ to join so as to bring about free expression of the arts – this is the only way to ‘shock’ the industry and push it to its peak! In this environment, not only will artists have more opportunities to bring out the best in themselves, but also gives them more space to develop. Through healthy competition, each of the TV stations can more fully develop their resources and strengths and ‘join forces’ to create a win-win situation. Here is wishing that the HK television industry will be able to once again reach the heights of its ‘glory days’! Let’s all work hard and encourage one another!

As a decades-long supporter of the HK entertainment industry, I absolutely agree with Felix because, in all honesty, it pains me to see how horribly the industry has deteriorated. Therefore, if healthy competition and change will bring about a much needed revival of the HK television industry to what it was at its peak, I am all for it!

In conclusion, here’s some ‘food for thought’ for those who keep referring to the artists joining CTI as “traitors” who should feel ashamed of themselves for “betraying” TVB:

It's unfair to say that these artists "betrayed" TVB, as artists are regular people just like everyone else -- they need to make a living and some even have family to support, so of course they are going to choose the path that fits them best. How is it wrong for an artist to go with the company that best fits their needs? Should they forever be indebted to TVB and never ever leave the company just because that company had a hand in launching their career, even if the company mistreats them and doesn't pay them enough to support their families? Should they sacrifice their families and their livelihoods just so that they won't be seen as 'betraying' a company that they've been loyal to for so long but no longer fits their needs? What about all the efforts that these artists put in for many years (in some cases, more than 20-30 years!) and all the money that THEY earned for the company – is that not supposed to count for anything?? Keep in mind that part of the reason why TVB has been able to stand so solidly as the #1 TV station in HK for the past 40+ years is precisely because of the EFFORTS of THESE ARTISTS – without them, TVB would be nothing!

So for you stupid reporters out there who don’t think twice about using the words “traitor” and “betrayal” to describe artists who are simply trying to do what’s best for their families and themselves – PLEASE DO YOUR HOMEWORK NEXT TIME BEFORE PUBLISHING THOSE (DESPICABLE) REPORTS OF YOURS!

News Article: Jacky Cheung to earn $300 million HKD for his ½ Century World Tour Concert

I haven't posted much about Jacky on my blog lately (mostly due to not having time to translate all the articles and other stuff that I've read / watched about him recently), so I didn't want to pass up the chance to post the below article.

To be honest, the 'numbers' in the article mean nothing to me really, since I'll continue to be a devoted Jacky fan no matter how much (or how little) money he makes (so to me, the 'salary' part is a moot point)!

A few other comments regarding the article:

.-- If it's true that the finale show on May 23rd will be the 144th show of Jacky's concert tour, then that means from now until the concert ends, there are approximately 32 shows left. So far, I would estimate that all of the upcoming 'return' shows that have been announced (from mid-February until May) only total about 15 or so (maybe even less, since I'm not necessarily counting every single Mainland China show)....so with half the shows still not announced yet, I guess this means that there is still a chance Jacky will return to the U.S. for another show (or two)? Definitely keeping my fingers crossed!!

.-- I love the song 《一滴淚》! I was so happy that Jacky actually included this song as part of the regular rundown this time around (he sang it during the Las Vegas show as well, since it's actually part of the 'mini-movie' portion) because he rarely ever sings this song live in his other concerts....he usually sings the Cantonese version of the song instead -- if he even sings it that is (nothing wrong with the Cantonese version, it's just that I've always liked the Mandarin version of the song better, probably because I heard the Mando version before the Canto one).

.-- With regard to the 'unpleasant travel experience' mentioned in the article, those who are interested can read a more detailed version of it here  (note that it's a direct link to the original news article from Sina, so the article is in Chinese). The interesting thing to note about the incident -- the airline involved was Cathay Pacific (yup, the same airline that Jacky used to work for decades ago)....ah, the irony!

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Jacky Cheung to earn $300 million HKD for his ½ Century World Tour Concert

Source: Mingpao

Translated by: llwy12

Jacky Cheung’s《1/2 Century Concert》returned to Taiwan this week [February 10th and 11th] with 2 consecutive shows at the Kaoshiung Arena. Last night’s show marked the 112th show of a concert tour that – once all is said and done – will have lasted a year and a half and shown to an audience count exceeding 2 million. It is anticipated that after the finale show (the 144th show of the concert tour) closes at the Asia Expo Center in May, total ticket sales will have exceeded $800 million HKD – with Jacky’s ‘salary’ per show set at approximately $2.3 million HKD, it is estimated that his personal ‘income’ from the entire concert will exceed $300 million HKD.

Since it has been 10 years since Jacky last held a concert in Kaoshiung, the more than 20,000 seats for both shows reached full capacity early on during the ticket sales process. For the opening night performance [on February 10th], Jacky was in his usual good spirits and maintained his trademark high quality performance, kicking off the night with a 5 minute tap-dance routine. Originally, the concert organizers had suggested that Jacky include a special performance of a song in Taiwanese for the audiences, however due to his busy concert tour schedule, he did not get a chance to rehearse the song – therefore, in keeping with his philosophy of not performing at all if he is not able to do it well, Kaoshiung audiences did not get the chance to hear Jacky sing in their native language. However, the audiences did get to hear Jacky sing many of his classic Mandarin hits, which was already enough to put the entire arena in an elevated mood!

On the first night, during his performance of classic hit 《一滴淚》[‘A Teardrop’], Jacky had a ‘near miss’ while trying to reach one of the high notes of the song, though it was barely noticeable to most audiences -- ironically though, during his Taipei concert show last year, Jacky also ‘lost’ to the same song [he encountered a similar problem with the same song last time].

Earlier, Jacky had traveled to London with his wife May Lo and their 2 daughters for vacation during the Lunar New year holiday. However, during their return trip back to Hong Kong, Jacky and his family encountered a slightly unpleasant experience – not only was their flight delayed by 11 hours, they were also mistakenly placed in Economy class when they had actually paid for Business class [a mixup occurred during the switching of flights]. Towards this, Jacky stated that the experience was definitely an unpleasant one, but he would treat it as a learning opportunity for his family to experience together.

Ever the benevolent father, Jacky revealed that his eldest daughter is 11 years old and already doesn’t like ‘playing’ with him anymore – sometimes, when he tries to kiss his daughter, she makes faces at him and runs away. Jacky also had some sound advice for his good friend Andy Lau, who will finally become a father this year: try your best to enjoy every day of being a father because once you miss the opportunity to see your child grow up, you won’t get the same opportunity again.

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Chinese version:

張學友1/2世紀巡唱袋3億

【明報專訊】張學友《1/2世紀演唱會》一連兩晚假高雄巨蛋舉行，昨晚第二場是學友巡唱的第112場，歷時一年半時間，觀眾人數突破200萬人次；預計5月在香港的亞博演唱會第144場後落幕，票房總收入近8億港元；學友每場歌酬以30萬美元計，其個人收入也逾3億港元。

相距10年再在高雄開演唱會，兩場共2.2萬座位早爆滿。前晚首場演出，學友情緒高漲，節目編排保持原汁原味，以5分鐘踢踏舞揭序幕。原本主辦單位建議學友在高雄演唱會唱一首台語歌，學友卻一直忙於巡迴演出而無法配合排練，他認為唱不好寧可不唱，但他的經典國語歌已令全場High爆。

前晚學友唱《一滴淚》的高音部分時有「小破音」情况，去年他在台北演唱會也敗在此曲，觀眾為他捏把冷汗。

唱《一滴淚》有小破音

農曆新年期間，學友跟太太與女兒到倫敦旅遊，返港時因航班延誤，他們轉航機後，是以商務艙價錢降級坐經濟艙回港。他稱這趟經驗很糟，就當作全家人一起體驗不同的生活際遇。學友的長女已11歲，自爆女兒已不想跟他玩，他想親女兒，她會做鬼臉逃走。他不忘提醒今年生龍女的劉德華，應盡量享受當爸爸的每一天，孩子的成長說錯過就錯過了。

圖文提供：自由時報

News Article: After 7 years, Cass Phang finally accepts Wyman Wong’s invitation to perform at concert; no intention of returning to the HK music industry

Songwriter Wyman Wong's "Exhibition of Works" concert has already kicked off this week at the HK Coliseum. Though I may not necessarily be a fan of all of Wyman's works, there have definitely been some songs of his in the past decade that I've enjoyed. Plus it's been a long time since we've seen a truly 'star-studded' concert at the HKC, so I'm actually pretty excited about Wyman's concert, purely because I know we'll get to hear alot of old 90s Canto-pop (yay!).

According to Media reports, Wyman will supposedly have close to 50 guest performers for his 6 show concert -- we'll see if it really ends up being that many...but regardless, it's definitely great to see so many familiar faces all in one place...especially those 'faces' that we don't often get to see anymore!

So far, for Wyman's opening night concert (held on 2/9), some of the guests who performed were: William So, Joey Yung, Eason Chan, Anthony Wong, Amanda Lee, Fiona Sit, Denise Ho, Sammi Cheng...and of course, the 'highlight' of the night was the heavily anticipated return of 90s Cantopop 'queen' Cass Phang to the HKC stage after retiring from the industry 10 years ago.

To be honest, I'm not a Cass fan, but as an 80s/90s HK entertainment fanatic (and seeing how the industry is not what it used to be) -- plus the fact that today's entertainment news primarily focus around artists I can't stand or don't necessarily care for -- I definitely get excited when I see articles such as these about artsts that we haven't seen or heard from in a long time!

So even if those reading this post are not fans of Cass (or Wyman for that matter), that's perfectly fine -- at the very least, hopefully this article will bring back memories of those 'good ole days' of the HK music industry (it certainly did for me!).

Enjoy!

******

Original article published February 11, 2012

Source: Mingpao Weekly, Issue 2257

Translated by: llwy12

***Translator’s Note: Only the sections of the article related to Cass Phang were translated.***

After 7 years, Cass Phang finally accepts Wyman Wong’s invitation to perform at concert; no intention of returning to the HK music industry

Famed lyricist Wyman Wong’s star-studded《Concert YY Wyman Wong Exhibition of Works Concert》held its opening night at the HK Coliseum on February 9th. Prior to the start of the concert, there was already a huge demand for tickets to the show, resulting in additional shows being added – 6 shows total will be held, ending on February 14th.

Amongst the stars slated to perform at the concert, the most highly anticipated was the return of 90s Cantopop queen Cass Phang (彭羚), who had retired from the industry 10 years ago to focus on raising a family. Setting foot on the HK Coliseum stage after a 10 year hiatus, Cass became one of the focal points of the night – first, she sang her famous hit song 《小玩意》[‘Little Plaything’], then performed the song《心淡》[‘Discouraged’] with artist Joey Yung (容祖兒), and ended her performance by reuniting with singer Anthony Wong (黃耀明) to perform their popular duet 《漩渦》[‘Whirlpool’] – gaining loud cheers and applause from the audiences that night.

Last week, a magazine reported that it had received confirmation directly from Cass herself that she would be returning to the HK music industry and that her appearance at Wyman’s concert would pave the way for her comeback. However, it turns out that those earlier reports are false -- at this point in her life, Cass is perfectly happy with her role as ‘wife’ to artist Jan Lamb (林海峰) and ‘mother’ to their 2 daughters. Also, the only reason why she agreed to return to the HKC stage for this one time was because of her long-standing friendship with Wyman Wong.

.--.

The year 2002 marked Cass Phang’s last appearance on the music stage – that year, after completing a 25-show musical dedicated to Teresa Teng, Cass ‘disappeared’ from the HK music scene. The last interview she gave was in 2004, in which she revealed in an exclusive interview with Mingpao Magazine that she was pregnant with her second child.

With the recent ‘rumors’ that Cass will be making an official comeback to the music industry after her guest performance at Wyman’s concert, our [Mingpao] reporter contacted Cass’s previous manager (who today has become her good ‘sister’) Candy Leung to see if Cass would be willing to grant us an interview prior to her performance. However, after checking with Cass, Candy responded: “Cass really does not want to do any more interviews, however if you guys are willing to clarify a few things on her behalf, it would be very much appreciated – the truth is, Cass has never thought of making a return to the industry!”

Then why did that magazine claim to have received confirmation from Cass directly that she would return and become a singer again? Candy replied: “That time, Cass had just returned from a trip with her family and bumped into reporters at the airport – however she says that she never accepted any interview with any Media outlets, so she herself isn’t even sure why things were reported that way. I can tell you on her behalf that those reports about her returning to the industry are absolutely false – you can see with your own eyes that after Cass finishes her guest performance at Wyman’s concert, she will return to her role as Mrs. Lamb! Actually, those false reports were quite bothersome to her – after all, she has not sung in close to 10 years and has been very nervously preparing for this performance. Therefore, she does not want to say anything further and definitely does not want to do any interviews.” Indeed, during her performance at Wyman’s opening night concert, Cass did not say anything on stage outside of her singing.

During an interview backstage after his opening night show, Wyman revealed that he had actually tried to convince Cass to return to the stage 7 years ago: “7 years ago when I held my mini-concert, I had already asked Cass if she could be a guest performer, but at that time, she told me she wasn’t ready. Today, 7 years later, as I was preparing for this ‘exhibition of works’ concert, the first artist I thought of inviting was Cass! Since Cass has such a happy family life and doesn’t have anything to worry about financially, I wasn’t expecting her to say yes, but to my surprise, she agreed immediately – as I was talking on the phone with her, I was in tears! In the years since she left the industry, a lot has happened – I know that someone offered to write her a huge check just to appear at an event and not even sing, however, she refused. Offers of large sums of money cannot motivate Cass to even make an appearance, yet she willingly agreed to perform at my concert – I was so moved that I cried many tears!”

Wyman also revealed the reason why Cass has been unwilling to return to the industry all these years: “Because she has a husband who loves her dearly and does not want her to come out of retirement – plus she loves peace and tranquility! The only reason why I was successful in inviting Cass was because both she and husband Jan are very good friends of mine.”


Focus on her role as Mrs Lamb

Cass entered the music industry in 1990 and in 1995, reached the ‘heavenly queen’ level when she won the ‘Most Popular Female Singer’ award at the JSG Awards Ceremony as well as the ‘Female Singer Gold Award’ at Commercial Radio’s Chik Chak Awards. Cass’s former manager Candy Leung reveals that all these years, Cass has been very grateful to Wyman for writing the song 《小玩意》[‘Little Plaything’] for her, which helped to push her career to peak levels: “That year, the song was a huge hit and after that, they [Cass and Wyman] remained very good friends -- in fact, Wyman is actually considered a ‘family friend’! Friendship is something that can’t be explained – Cass agreed to perform purely because she wanted to help out her friend. Of course, before saying yes to Wyman, she had discussed it with her husband first.”

Candy also revealed that throughout the past few years, many different organizations had invited Cass to return: “There have been invitations for concerts and stage performances as well as guest performances at awards ceremonies and charity events – people would say to me: ‘No matter how much money it costs, it’s not a problem, just give me a price!’ However, none of these offers moved Cass one bit – she has stood firm in not wanting to sing again!”

After Cass married Jan Lamb in 1998, she gave birth to 2 daughters, one in 2000 and the other in 2004 – currently, her eldest daughter is already 12 years old and her younger daughter is 8. Candy reveals that in the past 10 years, Cass’s goals in life have been hugely different from what they were when she first started her singing career: “Cass does enjoy singing and she has already experienced what it is like to be at the height of her career as a singer. But we need to consider that the Cass Phang of today is a wife and mother first and foremost – her biggest goal in life now is to raise her 2 daughters. In each stage of one’s life, there are different choices that need to be made – in the upcoming years until her daughters are grown, Cass has very willingly and happily chosen to focus on her role as ‘Mrs. Lamb’!”

According to reports, Cass has only promised Wyman to be guest performer for the opening and final shows of his concert – this means that the finale show on February 14th will most likely be the very last chance that fans will ever have to see former Canto-pop queen Cass Phang perform!

News Article: Many of the HK music industry’s ‘Kings’ and ‘Queens’ to return to the HK Coliseum in 2012

This is a great article that is a MUST READ for all HK music fans! Personally, I’m super-excited to see so many familiar faces returning to the HK Coliseum to perform (though ironically, I don’t live in HK so I won’t be able to watch any of these concerts in person). Ah well – I guess I’ll have to wait for the DVDs of all these concert performances to come out!

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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.

News Article: Mingpao Exclusive Interview with Sally Yeh -- 15 year marriage similar to riding a roller coaster; husband George Lam encourages her return to the music industry

Here's a great article about one of my favorite singers from the 80s/90s -- Sally Yeh!

Enjoy!

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Mingpao Exclusive Interview with Sally Yeh: 15 year marriage similar to riding a roller coaster; husband George Lam encourages her return to the music industry

Source: Mingpao Weekly, Issue 2255

Translated by: llwy12

Despite this past year’s JSG Top Ten Awards Ceremony results being heavily criticized by practically the entire nation, there was one particular highlight of the entire show that was welcomed by all audiences – former Canto-pop Queen Sally Yeh (葉蒨文) leading the group BOY’Z and singer/dancer Tat Dik in a special performance of her classic hit “Believe in Yourself” 《信自己》. Not only did her performance cause all the artists present to give her a standing ovation, it also provided HK music fans with a treasured memory.

Entering the year of the Dragon, many former music industry ‘kings’ and ‘queens’ will be returning to the stage to perform for HK music fans – Sally Yeh will be among them! During this exclusive interview with Mingpao, Sally took the opportunity to officially announce that in September of this year, she will be collaborating with Peter Lam’s East Asia Entertainment Group (EA) to hold a concert at HK Coliseum. After her last concert in 2005 (which she collaborated with the HK Philharmonic Orchestra), Sally has been ‘hibernating’ for the past 7 years, rarely appearing at public events – even during the times when rumors about her marriage to singer George Lam being ‘on the rocks’ were especially strong, Sally never bothered to come out and explain or respond to the rumors. This year (2012), HK music fans got the rare opportunity to once again enjoy the Canto-pop Queen’s beautiful voice – not only that, Mingpao Weekly also had the rare opportunity to sit down with Sally and understand on a deeper level her 15 year marriage to George Lam.

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Sally Yeh and George Lam married in 1996; in 1998, after the conclusion of their special “George Lam / Sally Yeh Good Luck Concert”《林子祥葉蒨文好氣連場演唱會》, Sally left the music industry temporarily. In 2002, Sally released a new album and in 2004, she held a series of concerts to commemorate her 25th year in the music industry – however, after her concert collaboration with the HK Philharmonic Orchestra in 2005, Sally once again ‘disappeared’ from the music industry. All this time, the outside world thought that Sally had ‘retired’, however during our exclusive interview, Sally expressed that the word ‘retirement’ never once crossed her mind: “Back then [after the 2005 concert], I just felt that it was the right time for me to stop and rest. Perhaps because as I started to get older, my thinking matured and I started to slowly realize that we only have one opportunity to live life – given that reality, I started to think about what I really wanted to do while alive in this world and came to the conclusion that I really wanted to learn more things and enrich my life. I’ve been very lucky all these years to have a career of my own that has enabled me to pursue things that interest me – I really wanted to understand the various relationships between people as well as the complications involved with life in general. These past few years, I’ve read a lot of English books that talk about people and their relationships. I’m very happy that I’ve been able to continually increase my knowledge – these past few years have been very fulfilling and have really helped me to grow as a person.”


50 years old and feeling moved

Throughout the past few years, Sally has continued to receive countless offers from various organizers to perform at shows, so why did she choose to return only this year? Sally unhesitatingly responded that it had to do with her approaching the 50 year old milestone: “Before, a lot of people asked me when I would hold another concert and I would respond to them: ‘Maybe when I turn 50!’ because I thought that if I don’t do it by that age, certain ‘things’ would ‘falter’…haha!” (Falter? Your voice?) “No, my voice could be maintained, however I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to maintain my physical stamina and energy after turning 50. I always tell myself: ‘If I still have vitality and energy by the time I turn 50, I definitely wish to come out and see my friends and fans!’”

During her time away from the industry, Sally had also done much traveling around the world. She expressed that her encounters during these travels were another motivating factor for her return to the industry: “Since I didn’t appear at events much anymore, I thought that perhaps people would have forgotten about me already, but it turns out that wasn’t the case – no matter which country I went to, people seemed to remember me. For example, one time, during my travels to the U.S., I was eating at a very small café in an isolated area, a place where I thought no one knew me, yet people would come up to me and ask: ‘Are you Sally Yeh? Why would you come here to eat? I love listening to you sing! When will you come out and sing for us again?’ When I went to Thailand and Vietnam, it was the same thing! Even when I went out shopping, I would always get asked: ‘When will you sing again?’ At first, I couldn’t believe it – all of them have heard my songs before? They still remember me? I was extremely moved! Since there were people out there who truly wanted to hear me sing again, then I happily obliged!”

Asked whether her husband George Lam supported her decision to return, Sally replied: “Actually, he has been telling me to return for many years already! He always asks me: ‘Why don’t you come out and sing again?’ He has encouraged me all along; every time I watch him perform, I would always feel that I still have a passion for singing – perhaps at that time, I didn’t feel I was ready to return, but now, I’m definitely prepared!” Having been married for 15 years already, how does Sally maintain such a strong relationship with her husband? Hearing this, Sally laughed and asked: “Really? It’s been 15 years already? That long?” after which she replied: “Actually, it’s a bit of a mystery to me! In my opinion, how to go about maintaining a long-lasting relationship with anyone is a mystery in and of itself. The important thing is communication; perhaps for us, we’ve been able to maintain because of our mutual respect for one another – we mutually respect each other’s space, way of thinking, etc. and because we understand each other, we are able to show appreciation and empathy for each other.”


Ups and downs, but no separation

Over the years, Sally has developed a fondness for golf, which slowly turned into a fondness for badminton – asked about her hobbies, Sally immediately interjected: “Right now, my new ‘love’ is Latin dancing!” It is understood that Sally’s husband George does not share the same hobbies, so he never accompanies her to them: “Yes, that’s true! We each have our own hobbies and interests – he has his, I have mine – there’s no point in forcing them together! If there are things we can do together, we do it, but if there aren’t, then we pursue our individual interests.” Because Sally and George don’t share the same interests or hobbies, there have been many times over the years where rumors have surfaced about problems with their marriage. Asked directly about this, Sally graciously answered: “I admit that the rumors did affect me a little at first -- as a Buddhist, I asked a spiritual teacher in the past how I could go about changing what people thought about me. He replied: ‘You’re wrong to think that way! Don’t be concerned about trying to change other people’s way of thinking – instead, concentrate on controlling your own thoughts.’ That’s a good thing!” (When you heard the rumors at first, were you upset?) “Of course! Anyone hearing such things would be unhappy, but at least now, I don’t let the reports affect me. I have no way of controlling what other people think, so as long as I feel it’s not important, then I let it go. Responding to the rumors and trying to clarify would only make things worse, as it would give them [the tabloids] the opportunity to write even more stuff.”

Asked whether she experienced many ups and downs in her 15 year marriage, Sally candidly replied: “Yes! A lot! Our relationship is like a roller coaster, so there would be ups and downs – actually, many people’s relationships are like this. Of course, my temper has a bit to do with it as well – I’m a bit tempermental, emotional, and have a strong personality – especially working in this industry, we are bound to experience huge fluctuations emotionally, but….that’s what makes it fun! Haha!” (Ever encountered marriage crisis?) “Crisis? Risk? Every marriage has risk! I once heard about a survey that said for every marriage, there’s a 50% chance that the couple will remain together in the end – so that means for every marriage, there is an equal chance of separating or remaining together. I actually think it’s quite funny! To be honest, every relationship will have fluctuations.” (In the worse case scenario, were there ever any thoughts of separating?) “Didn’t go into that! Didn’t go into that conversation! Relationships are really about having affinity – if you have affinity with a person, then you will continue to be together, if there’s no affinity, then there isn’t. Of course, you still have to work hard at it and be willing to invest time – in the end, it depends on which path you want to take.” With that said, is Sally satisfied with her marriage at this period of her life? “I’m satisfied with everything! Actually, I’m the type who is easily satisfied – let me have a good sleep and I’ll be happy with anything!”
Appearing at the JSG awards ceremony again after so many years, Sally admits that she empathizes with the younger generation artists: “I’m happy that I no longer have to sit up there facing the audiences! I remember in the past when we attended the awards at the HK Coliseum – I would sit there nervous and cold, holding a warm water pouch and tissues, wishing I were at home! I also remember clearly how I would stress about whether I’d get a particular award or not. So when I see the younger generation artists now, I can definitely understand what they are going through.”

With regard to the Gold Song Gold award being given to Raymond Lam and causing heavy criticism, Sally replied: “Is Raymond Lam not popular? I thought Raymond Lam was very popular because back in the dressing room, people were repeatedly saying how popular he was.” (Have you heard the song 《Chok》?) “《Chok》? No! But I haven’t listened to any songs at all! Ha! In terms of the current generation artists, I admire Hins Cheung the most. Every awards show has different judges and criteria – the person who chose Raymond Lam must have done so because he/she really likes him. Back in the day, when I received the ‘Most Popular Female Singer’ award, I’m sure there were people who opposed because the other female artists – such as Anita Mui, Sandy Lam, Faye Wong, Sammi Cheng – were just as popular during that time as well. My thought is that there is only 1 award, so if you don’t receive it, don’t be discouraged – just because you don’t get the award does not mean you are not popular!”


George Lam ‘hides’ the good songs

EA has shown interest in working with Sally on releasing a new album this year, however she insists that she won’t come out with a new album until she has a good song for it. Many years ago, George Lam wrote the song 《零時十分》[“Ten After Midnight”] for Sally, which shot her to fame – with the advantage of being married to George now, why doesn’t Sally just have him write her a good song? Is it because of the ‘rumor’ that back in those days, George was only able to write good songs because he was unhappy [with his previous relationship] and now that he is married, all his inspiration is gone? Sally confidently replied: “No! That’s wrong! Actually, many years ago, I had discussed the same matter with Eric Kwok – that time, Eric had asked whether George is able to write songs any time he wanted to or whether he needs to be in a certain mood (for example, happy or sad). The answer is that George can write songs any time he wants – in fact, he has written many songs throughout the past couple years, it’s just that he has them ‘hidden’ somewhere. Why doesn’t he let me sing those songs he wrote? Because sometimes, when I listen to the song, I’ll tell him: ‘Hm, that song is not too good!’ – he’s probably mad so he won’t let me sing it, haha! But recently, he’s been working on re-writing a song that someone else sang before and it really took me by surprise because the song is really really good!” With the way Sally and George interact, how could this couple possibly be going through marriage problems?

My ‘TVB Rant’ # 16: The 2012 HK Television Wars – What TVB Can Learn From Past History (the 1970s TV Wars)

2012 will definitely be an interesting year for the Hong Kong television industry, as there are some major changes coming down the pike that are sure to change the landscape of the entire HK entertainment industry for years to come.

What are those changes? Well, those who have been following HK entertainment closely (or even somewhat closely) should be aware that the HK government has agreed to issuing 3 additional free-to-air television licenses this year. Currently, there are only 2 free-to-air TV stations in HK – TVB (無綫電視) and ATV (亞洲電視) – so the granting of additional licenses means that starting this year, there will be 3 additional TV stations that will be giving TVB and ATV (mostly TVB, since ATV is pretty much non-existent now) a run for its money. In layman’s terms, this means that TVB’s 30+ plus year monopoly on the HK television industry will FINALLY be broken (more on this later).

Before I talk about the impact that these 3 stations will have, it’s only fitting that I first outline for readers who these new ‘players’ will be (plus I refer to them throughout the rest of this post, so it makes sense to understand who they are).

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Here’s a brief introduction of the 3 companies that have applied for free-to-air licenses:

.-- First, there’s City Telecom (CTI), which is owned by HK businessman Ricky Wong (王維基). CTI is a telecommunications company that was established in HK in 1992 (according to Wikipedia, CTI is also a major broadband internet provider in HK and has more than 3000 employees working for them). To be honest, I don’t care all that much about the telecommunications part of the company, since I’ve never been a ‘tech’ person and all the IT talk goes way above my head anyway. For the purposes of this post, the interesting thing to know about CTI is that the company’s co-founder and chairman Ricky Wong has been in the news a lot this past year and is now probably more ‘famous’ than his company (kind of funny and ironic at the same time).

Those of you who follow HK entertainment closely will probably remember Ricky Wong’s name from his 2 week stint as ATV’s new chief executive back in 2008 (that’s actually how I first learned about him – prior to that, I had no clue who he was since I don’t live in HK and therefore am not familiar with the telecommunications companies in the territory). And many of you may remember his famous ‘exclusive’ interview with TVB’s former GM Stephen Chan (not once, but TWICE – he was interviewed by Stephen Chan both on his regular “Be My Guest” program as well as on the stage production of the show). I won’t go into detail about either incident, since it’s not relevant to this post -- but I will say that ever since that time, I’ve always felt that there was a bit of ‘controversy’ concerning Mr. Wong and so I never really had a good impression of him. Then last year, when he aggressively and actively ‘poached’ many of TVB’s employees and artists while they were still working for TVB (by sending mass text messages and offering large sums of money to recruit them), I had an even worse impression of him. With that said though, I don’t doubt that he is a smart businessman and so far, based on interviews and such, it sounds like he has definitely done his research (making note of TVB’s woes and widespread problems within the company) and is taking advantage of TVB’s recent struggles to build up his own TV empire.

The latest bit of news is that CTI has already recruited dozens of former TVB artists and behind the scenes personnel – they will start filming series in March with anticipated air dates for the series in September / October. Also, Mr. Wong revealed that his company is finishing up building a studio in Tseung Kwan O and once it’s completed, that’s where all of his series will be filmed (no, you didn’t read it wrong – he’s building a studio in Tseung Kwan O, which is where TVB City is currently located…so in essence, he’s building his studio in TVB’s backyard – wow, talk about ‘in your face’ competition…LOL!!).


.—The other ‘player’ coming into the game this year is Fantastic Television, which is owned by i-Cable Communications. I-Cable is a long-time cable operator offering subscription-based programming in HK and has pretty much been in existence since the 1950s. I will be honest and say that I don’t know a whole lot about i-Cable, since I’ve never really been interested in any of its programs (except for a few select ones that I tune into occasionally) – my knowledge of the station is pretty much limited to the information that I’ve read here and there in various sources (though I’m somewhat familiar with some of the program hosts at i-Cable).

In terms of its role in the free-to-air TV realm, I actually don’t have a whole lot of confidence in i-Cable, as the company doesn’t even produce TV series currently (its focus is mainly on news, sports, and entertainment / variety programs) and my understanding is that they function very similar to the cable companies in the U.S. in that they sell various channels and services to subscribers via a ‘packaged’ plan (though not sure if it’s going to operate the same way for its free TV channel). Also, out of all 3 companies that have applied for licenses, i-Cable has definitely been the least vocal in terms of revealing what its plans are once it receives its license (I personally have not heard much about the company recruiting artists or other employees or when they will start filming series). I guess we will pretty much have to take a ‘wait and see’ approach with them…


.—The 3rd company that has applied for a free-to-air TV license is HK Television Entertainment Company (HKTVE), which is owned by telecommunications company PCCW. Coincidentally, PCCW also owns HK’s other popular pay-TV service provider, Now TV. Though Now TV is also a subscription-based cable operator, the difference is that subscribers pay based on individual channels rather than pre-packaged deals – plus there is more of a variety in Now TV programming, as they currently have the most channels of any pay TV provider in HK and many of their channels span the international realm.

Honestly speaking, if I had to pick between the 3 stations, I would actually pick Now TV (PCCW / HKTVE) as the most promising in terms of the free-to-air market, as it has a strong foundation currently with its programming (they already have some awesome interview programs and other informational shows that I enjoy watching). Also, don’t forget that Now TV has someone on their management team who has lots of experience and also pretty high status in the TV world – TVB’s former executive director of variety and special programs, Ho Lai Chuen (何麗全) – he joined Now TV last year and has pretty much become ‘top brass’ over there. Also, Ho Lai Chuen is VERY familiar with how TVB operates, as he worked for that company for close to 30 years before ‘jumping ship’ to Now TV – so in that sense, he not only has high standing in the TV industry, he has also established strong ties with many current and former TVB artists – which means that from a ‘recruiting’ standpoint, he’s definitely at an advantage. The reason I would pick Ho Lai Chuen over Ricky Wong is because so far, he has not done the ‘poaching’ thing like Mr. Wong has – instead, Mr Ho already stated that he will only seek out artists that have already left TVB and won’t purposefully ‘poach’ its employees.

Indeed, Ho Lai Chuen actually has some strong ‘supporters’ in his corner, as it is known that former TVB actors Bowie Lam and Wong Hei have already signed with his company (both had ‘fall-outs’ with TVB and ended their contracts). In addition, TVB’s 2 ‘golden producers’ – husband and wife duo Lau Kar Ho and Mui Siu Ching – have already signed with Mr. Ho’s company as well (both submitted their resignations to TVB a few months ago and will be leaving in February this year).

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Ok, so now that everyone is familiar with the new stations, let’s go back to the original topic at hand…

The addition of 3 new TV stations will definitely mean a huge change for the HK television industry, which has pretty much been dominated by 1 television station (TVB) for decades. What does this change mean for audiences? Well, first and foremost, it means that FINALLY, audiences will have options – meaning Hong Kongers will have the freedom to decide which station’s programs to watch. No longer will audiences be limited to watching crappy programs that they don’t want to watch but still do anyway because there is nothing else out there. On a wider scale, HK will FINALLY be able to ‘catch up’ to other countries – HK is billed as one of the most modern, advanced nations in the world, yet when it comes to the television industry, it has been in the ‘stone ages’ for decades. I mean, come on now – which other modern nation out there still only has 1 television station for its entire population to choose from? I honestly can’t think of any!

Now, let’s look at the situation from the perspective of that ONE television station that has enjoyed a ‘monopoly’ on the HK TV industry for decades: TVB. While the addition of new TV stations is a ‘good’ thing from an audience as well as society perspective, it’s definitely a bad thing for TVB. Despite what their management may try to ‘fool’ some of us into believing -- that there are no problems with the way their company operates, that they welcome competition, that they have loyal audiences who won’t leave them no matter what, that the addition of new stations won’t impact them at all, etc. etc. etc. – the reality is that behind that façade, TVB has A LOT to worry about! (Since I sort of already went into detail about the internal problems that TVB is facing with many artists leaving and such in my previous post, I’m not going to rehash all that here).

My main issue with TVB is that as of right now, it does not appear that the company feels ‘threatened’ by the impending rise of 3 additional TV stations – it seems that they are still in ‘denial’ mode right now…I mean, how else would you explain why the company has yet to take any significant action to protect their assets? Looking at the situation from the outside (based on ‘statements’ that various TVB execs have given to the Media so far), I feel that TVB has been taking a ‘complacent’ attitude towards this whole TV war thing. Could it be that because TVB triumphed back in the 1970s (when the first TV wars took place) and have managed to dominate for the past 30 years that they feel as though history will repeat itself and they will come up on top again this time around? If that’s the case, then the management over there is tremendously short-sighted and foolish!

To understand this point, let’s go back in history to the TV war that took place back in the 70s between TVB and its 2 rival stations at that time, Commercial Television (CTV) and Rediffusion Television (RTV) [RTV is actually Asia Television (ATV)’s predecessor – the name was changed from RTV to ATV in the early 1980s].

RTV (麗的電視) was actually HK’s first TV station -- it started in May of 1957 as a pay TV station / cable operator offering various news and other entertainment programming to audiences on a subscription basis. As the territory’s first (and pretty much only) TV station at the time, RTV was able to enjoy a ‘monopoly’ of its own for close to 10 years (keep in mind that this was during a time when the television industry was just getting started in HK). Unfortunately for them, the ‘monopoly’ was short-lived because in November 1967, the territory’s second television station came into the picture: Television Broadcasts Limited (無綫電視). TVB took the region by storm pretty much because right from the start, it offered something that RTV did not have – transmission of television signals without the need for wires/cables [note that I’m not an electronics expert so I might not be using the correct tech jargon here…but I’m sure you get the picture…]. In fact, TVB’s Chinese name came about precisely because of this ‘unique’ (at the time) quality [the characters ‘無綫’ literally mean ‘no wires’] – of course, this also mean that TVB was able to offer programming for FREE, hence making it the first free-to-air television station in HK. As if that weren’t enough, TVB also started broadcasting in color almost from the getgo (RTV was still broadcasting in black and white at the time) and didn’t just offer news and variety programs, but also hit the floor running by producing and broadcasting its very first TV series in 1968. As much as I despise TVB nowadays, I have to admit that the company’s founders – Sir Run Run Shaw (邵逸夫), Lee How Wor (利孝和), and Sir Douglas Clague (祈德尊) -- were truly quite smart in the way they handled the startup of the company…it’s obvious that they did their research and so were able to target RTV’s ‘pain points’ almost immediately (unfortunately though, can’t say the same about Shaw’s wife Mona Fong or her current management crew, who have pretty much run the company into the ground this past decade!).

So where does CTV (佳藝電視) fit into all this? Well, CTV didn’t actually start up until September 1975 as the territory’s 3rd free-to-air TV station (RTV converted to free-to-air programming in 1973, so it is considered HK’s 2nd free-to-air TV station). In comparisons to the ‘intelligence’ of the TVB founders, CTV’s founders / management probably did not think things through as well because less than 3 years after it started up, the company went back bankrupt and the TV station officially closed down in August 1978 [TVB ended up buying up some of its assets]. The ironic thing is that even though CTV was the least stable television station financially, they actually had many of the most talented artists and behind-the-scenes personnel working for them at that time (most of whom joined either TVB or RTV after CTV closed down) -- as a side note, here are a few names of former CTV artists whom I’m sure readers will recognize: Michelle Yim (米雪), Lau Kong (劉江), Helen Ma (馬海倫), Yeung Chak Lam (楊澤霖), Lawrence Ng Wai Kwok (伍衛國), Teresa Mo (毛舜筠), Paul Chun (秦沛), Law Lok Lam (羅樂林), Carol ‘Dodo’ Cheng (鄭裕玲), Chun Wong (秦煌), Lau Dan (劉丹), Sharon Yeung (楊盼盼), Melvin Wong (黃錦燊).


Based on the above history, it’s obvious why TVB was able to triumph over CTV, but what about RTV (ATV)? With RTV’s ‘rich’ history of being HK’s first TV station, how did they end up with the short end of the stick so to speak and essentially allow the ‘underdog’ TVB crush them all these years? The answer: COMPLACENCY and ARROGANCE. I remember reading about how back in 1967, when TVB first came into the picture as the first free-to-air TV station in HK, the management at RTV took on a very 'complacent' attitude (since RTV was HK's first television station and had been in existence since 1957, albeit they were a cable station, not free-to-air) -- the management even gave an interview to the Media in which they basically looked down on TVB and claimed that they were not a 'formidable opponent'....having that mentality in mind, RTV not only refused to go the free-to-air route (they didn’t do so until the 1970s), they also jacked up subscription prices (stupid move) and continued to broadcast programs in black and white when TVB was already broadcasting in color (another stupid move). Of course, when RTV’s management finally ‘woke up’ and tried to turn things around in the 70s, it was already too late – TVB had already amassed a loyal following. (Since TVB was a 'free' station, it was natural for audiences to tune in when they started, even if it was just out of curiosity, to see what they would be able to do -- of course, TVB also had luck in their corner because back then, even in the late 60s/early 70s, they had the talented artists as well as the quality programs that kept audiences vested in their station). Then of course, going into the 80s, ATV didn't stand a fighting chance, since TVB was in its 'peak' era – after that, ATV continued to struggle (amidst financial woes and a seemingly endless change in management) to the point that the company is pretty much a ‘shell’ now and is rarely even mentioned nowadays. (To be honest, I actually feel that ATV may have had a chance back then if the station was better managed, especially after they converted to a free to air station -- but unfortunately, that wasn't the case....the bad management and poor business decisions made throughout the last few decades really succeeding in 'killing off' whatever potential was left).


.***.

So going back to TVB….

Interestingly enough, it looks like now, TVB's management is taking on the same 'complacent' attitude that RTV took back in the 60s/70s (or at least that's what they've been projecting to the public with all the denials about any problems existing in their company, etc.). I mean, seriously -- having been directly involved in the first television wars and seeing first-hand how their opponents ended up, you would think that TVB would have ‘taken notes’ and learned from past history NOT to follow in RTV/ATV’s footsteps. I guess what TVB doesn’t realize is that just because they won the ‘war’ back then does not mean that they will win it again now, especially given the fact that the environment is completely different now. Back then, TVB had the ‘upper hand’ because of a combination of factors – competent, effective leaders, quality programs, talented artists, etc. Nowadays, the general sentiment is that audiences are frustrated with the crappy programs that TVB has been churning out the past decade as well as the lack of talented artists that are being pushed repeatedly in our faces day after day….therefore, most audiences actually WANT to see a change -- plus audiences are smarter now in that most of us don't just blindly watch what TVB puts out, but also pay attention to what goes on behind the scenes at TVB (how artists are treated, how much they get paid, etc. etc.). Also, there's the whole Big 5 contract dispute thing as well as the Stepphen Chan corruption trial which really brought to light alot of the incompetencies at TVB....so in a sense, the tables are turned this time around and the other stations (CTI, i-Cable, now TV) actually have the 'upper hand' over TVB -- which is why those stations have a higher probability of succeeding now whereas CTV and RTV didn’t back then.

I am going to conclude by saying that as much as I ‘hate’ TVB nowadays (well, more specifically, I hate TVB’s management and politics), I can’t help but still hold out hope that the company will reform and really start taking this ‘war’ seriously – after all, I would like to think that my family and I didn’t support this station for so many decades for nothing!

News Article: Michael Miu gets reminder from Jamie Chik about 22nd Wedding Anniversary

Awww, this is a sweet article about Michael and Jamie! It was heartwarming to read, so I wanted to share it with all of my fellow 'TVB old-timer' friends...LOL! Anyway, hope you enjoy it!

Oh, and even though I'm kind of late, I still want to wish Michael and Jamie a Happy 22nd Wedding Anniversary!!! :-)

******

Original article published January 14th, 2012

Source: Mingpao Weekly, Issue 2253

Translated by: llwy12

Michael Miu gets reminder from Jamie Chik about 22nd Wedding Anniversary

How many 30 years are there in a lifetime? As one of the HK entertainment industry’s model couples, actor Michael Miu (苗僑偉) and his wife [former actress] Jamie Chik (戚美珍) fell in love back in 1982 while filming the TVB series “You Only Live Twice” 《飛越十八層》-- January 9th marks the 22nd wedding anniversary for this ‘golden’ couple who has remained together through thick and think for the past 30 years [TN: they dated for 8 years before getting married in 1990]. Even though Michael is currently filming in Xiamen [China], he does not have to worry about feeling lonely, as his wife Jamie flew over to visit him on set this week. On their anniversary day, the couple celebrated the occasion by having dinner with the filming crew, with Michael giving Jamie the anniversary gift he had prepared for her -- a bouquet of flowers. This loving couple is truly the envy of those around them!

Every year for the past 22 years, Michael has always given Jamie a bouquet of flowers on their wedding anniversary – though this year was no different in that aspect, Jamie pointed out that there actually was one thing different from previous years: “In the past, every year of our wedding anniversary, we would have a celebratory dinner with a few of our close ‘couple’ friends in HK, however this year, we celebrated with a group of young friends in Xiamen. Actually, Michael is pretty good about remembering our anniversary every year – but even if he were to forget, I would surely ‘remind’ him! Like this year for example – one night, on impulse, I wrote the number ‘22’ on a piece of paper and handed it to him with the intention of ‘reminding’ him about our 22nd wedding anniversary. He took one look at the paper and asked me ‘What?’ – then he turned the paper over, looked at it, and asked me again ‘What?’ When he saw me smiling without answering, he then said: ‘Oh! Hey, I remember – you don’t need to remind me!’ See, Michael never forgets our anniversary!” Asked whether she purposefully flew to Xiamen to celebrate with Michael, Jamie replied: “In HK, I don’t have any work obligations currently and there isn’t anyone to keep me company anyway, so I figured why not go to Xiamen and take care of Michael – plus it’s a way of enjoying life!”

Even though they have already been married for 22 years, Michael and Jamie’s deep affection and love for one another is akin to that of a newlywed couple. Towards this, Jamie expressed that their relationship really isn’t much different from ordinary couples – when they were young, they would argue a lot, but after being together for so long, they grew to understand that the key to a lasting relationship involves mutually accommodating one another, being tolerant and accepting of one another, and also respect: “During our youth, when we were dating, we worked together and we also managed a business together. Now our kids [TN: daughter Phoebe is 20 and son Murphy is 18] are all grown up and continuing their schooling abroad, so all that’s left is the two of us to keep each other company. We rely on each other mutually, as we will be accompanying each other on the long road ahead and into the future.”

In their 30 years together, Michael and Jamie have never run out of things to talk about. Towards this, Jamie smiled and expressed that because she and Michael talk about everything under the sun -- even pointless, silly things – they never have to worry about growing distant from each other: “Some married couples who’ve been together for a long time end up running out of things to say to each other – after all, being together for so many years, you’ve pretty much said everything you want to say – so it’s no surprise that the relationship eventually grows distant. But Michael and I are different in that we talk about everything, even unimportant silly things – even with things like TV series and movies, we could go on and on about it! Actually, I feel that this helps to enliven and enhance our relationship as a married couple.”

Currently, Michael is rushing to complete his work in the Mainland and it is anticipated that filming will wrap prior to Chinese New Year. After that, the couple has plans for a trip to the U.S. and Canada to visit their children and will return to HK after the CNY holiday.

.---.

Chinese version:

戚美珍兩個二字提醒 苗僑偉結婚周年指定動作

人生有幾多個三十年呢？被視為圈中模範夫妻的三哥苗僑偉跟三嫂戚美珍，在八二年拍電視劇《飛越十八層》定情，由拍拖至今共處三十載，周一（九日）是二人結婚廿二周年，正身處廈門拍劇的三哥，當然不愁寂寞，因為三嫂早已飛到當地探班；當晚他們與工作人員食飯慶祝結婚周年紀念，席間三哥特別為三嫂準備一束鮮花，二人恩愛如昔，羨煞旁人。

原來廿二年來，苗僑偉都會在結婚周年向三嫂送上鮮花，不過戚美珍指今年有別於以往，「因為往年我們會在香港約幾對好朋友一起食飯慶祝，今年在廈門同一班後生仔女吃飯。其實每年三哥都會記得這個重要日子，就算不記得，我也會給他暗示，好像今年，我有晚突然在紙上寫了兩個二字給他，提他廿二周年，他看了一看，反問我『做咩？』翻轉張紙看看之後又問我『做咩？』我笑笑口沒有答他，他就話『唓！我記得呀，使乜提我喎！』所以三哥不會忘記慶祝結婚周年。」問到三嫂今次是否專誠到廈門陪三哥過結婚周年？她說：「我在香港沒有工作在身，我不陪他，我都沒有人陪，不如到廈門照顧他，這也是生活樂趣。」

不知不覺已踏入結婚廿二周年，但三哥三嫂感情儼如新婚夫婦，對此三嫂認為他們相處，跟一般情人一樣，後生時會多些拗撬，但相處久了，明白相處之道在於互相遷就、互相包容及尊重，「後生我們拍拖時一起工作，一起做生意，現時小朋友都長大出外讀書，剩下他陪我，我陪他，我倆互相依賴，將來大家伴隨的日子還有很久。」

從沒有隔膜

三十年來他們無所不談，三嫂笑稱無厘頭的話題，令他們沒有隔膜，「有些夫妻相處太久會沒有話題，對得太多年要講的都講完，所以漸生隔膜，但我跟三哥就比較無厘頭，東南西北什麼都講，連電視劇、電影都講一餐，這樣其實可以點綴夫妻間感情。」現時三哥正在趕戲，預計農曆年前煞科，之後他們會到美加探望子女，過年後才返港。

TVB series “Bottled Passion 我的如意狼君” (2011): Theme Song Translation

Those of you who have been following my blog know how much I love the series “Bottled Passion”, which just finished airing last week. Since I already wrote a detailed review on the series (those interested can read it here), I won’t go into huge detail about the series itself with this post. However, one thing that my review didn’t talk about was the theme song to the series – a beautifully written song called 朝花夕拾, which translates into English as “Dawn Blossoms Picked at Dusk”.

I loved this song almost from the first time I heard it (which is rare), primarily because I was attracted to the soothing musical arrangement, which was a perfect match with singer Teresa Cheung’s sweet voice. I actually didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to the lyrics of the song at first – I mean, yes, I did read the lyrics and understood the story the song was trying to tell, but it didn’t have too much of an impact on me in the beginning. It wasn’t until almost half way through the series -- as I watched the love story between the main characters Tung Boon Sin (Raymond Wong) and Tsui Sum (Niki Chow) play out -- that I began really studying the lyrics to the song and recognized how appropriately the theme song matched with the series. Now that I finished watching the series, when I look back through the lyrics to the song, I realize that, in essence, the song is a recap of Boon Sin and Tsui Sum’s relationship in the series. It actually summarizes the emotions and feelings that Tsui Sum goes through almost perfectly in step with the storyline: the broken heart that Tsui Sum suffers after Boon Sin’s betrayal; the constant reminiscing of their days together; the conflicted feelings of sadness and anger whenever she sees Boon Sin, yet at the same time knowing that she has feelings for him; finding out about his revenge plans and forgiving him, waiting for him to return; being reunited in their ‘second’ lifetime and hoping to live a happy life together; and finally, the regret of Boon Sin dying and the two of them only being able to meet again in the ‘next’ lifetime....

Listening to the song now after watching the series actually has a greater emotional impact on me because it serves as a reminder of the poignant and touching yet agonizingly bittersweet story of the two main characters in the series (makes me want to go re-watch the series again…LOL).

This themesong is definitely my favorite song of the year and can also be counted as one of my all-time favorite songs of the decade! Teresa Cheung definitely did a wonderful job performing this song – I’ve heard her sing in the past (primarily in the 1980s, though she is technically a 1970s singer) and even back then, I’ve always loved her sweet and soothing voice. TVB old-timers may remember the theme songs that she sang for classic series such as “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” 《網中人》as well as “Return of the Condor Heroes” 《神鵰俠侶》—in my opinion, her voice is just as beautiful now as it was back then! Of course, praise should also be given to the composer of the song (Tang Chi Wai) as well as the lyricist (Cheng Ying Lun) for the beautiful melody and lyrics. This song definitely gets my vote for Best Theme song of the year!

Not surprisingly (seeing how much I loved this song and the series), I decided to translate the lyrics to the song into English. Now, I have to admit that the lyrics have less of an emotional impact in English then they do in Chinese (which is why I always advocate reading / watching / listening to stuff in its original language), but it does get the story across. Also, as a disclaimer, this is purely my own interpretation of the lyrics and so most likely will be different from other translations of the song that may be out there.

For those who understand Chinese, I again highly recommend listening to the original version of the song – I’ve included the link to the song’s MV below for that purpose.

Lastly, if anyone has feedback regarding the theme song itself, please feel free to comment!

*****

Link to MV (as posted on Youtube): Dawn Blossoms Picked at Dusk

[Translated by: llwy12]


朝花夕拾
Dawn Blossoms Picked at Dusk

電視劇《我的如意狼君》 主題曲
TV Series “Bottled Passion” theme song

主唱：張德蘭
Performed by: Teresa Cheung

作曲: 鄧智偉
Composed by: Tang Chi Wai

填詞: 鄭櫻綸
Lyrics by: Cheng Ying Lun


傷透的芯花睜不開　灰的天等你回來
A flower hurt so completely won’t open, grey skies awaiting your return

一天一天應不應該　思憶中聽你示愛
Day by day should I be, reminiscing about your declarations of love?

Ha......

仿似朝花一息間開　凋萎一刻照夕來
Like a dawn blossom opening in a breath, but withering at the moment dusk arrives

漆黑的天一絲星光　悲傷中感到被愛
A thread of starlight in a darkened sky, feeling loved even in sorrow

Ha......

回頭期望見你在步近　如途人
Turn my head back hoping to see you come close, like a stranger

我數百次轉身站在問
Turning around, I countlessly stand there and question

為何還望再見　為何還要等
Why do I still hope to see you again, why must I still wait?

回頭能望見你在步近　如行人
Turn my head back seeing you come close, like a traveler

你我隔世可相聚沒恨
You and I separated by a lifetime, can reunite without regret

離離合合錯過仍還要等
Separating and reuniting, if miss out, still need to wait

Ha......

其後若相見　可認出聲線
Later if we meet again, hope to recognize your voice

情若是不變　愛沒完沒了
As long as the feelings haven’t changed, we will love endlessly


*****

TVB series “When Heaven Burns 天與地” (2011): General Thoughts & Sub-theme Song Translation

TVB series "When Heaven Burns" just finished airing last week. I have no intention of doing a review on the series because to be honest, I didn't really "watch" the series, since I only caught various episodes here and there when my family was watching the series (I did tune into the 2 hour finale though and watched that in its entirety). In case you're wondering....no, I didn't decide to skip this series because of the cannibalism theme or the cast or whatnot -- in fact, from the little I've seen of WHB, I could tell that the series was well thought out in terms of script and the filming method as well as acting from artists were all above standard. Unfortunately though, the biggest problem with this series is that it was agonizingly SLOW and draggy (this is the reason why I chose to skip the series)...it's one thing if only the first few episodes were slow but with this series, almost every single episode dragged out, to the point that it became a bit too tedious to sit through and watch. Yes, the series did start to pick up pace about two-thirds of the way in, but unfortunately, it was too late -- I had already given up on the series less than halfway through because I didn't have that kind of time to waste (plus I don't tolerate slow / draggy series very well).

That being said, I did tune in to watch the 2 hour finale episodes (primarily out of curiosity) and I'll be the first to admit that the finale (unlike the rest of the series) was definitely worth the time to watch. I especially enjoyed the 2 musical segments in the finale: 1) the rock concert segment that featured the reunion of Hak Jai (Moses), Gu Lo (Bowie), and Ronnie (Kenny) singing "Youthful Ignorance" (which just so happens to be the sub-theme song of the series itself) -- I felt that segment was particularly moving and well done; 2) the "What If" video at the end of the series (again featuring the sub-theme song) was also nicely put together (plus I felt it was an appropriate ending to an otherwise intense series).

Talking about the sub-theme song..... 年少無知 (’Youthful Ignorance’) has become very popular in recent weeks (and deservingly so in my opinion, as the melody of the song is quite catchy and the lyrics are meaningful). The feedback I’ve heard regarding the song is that many people who haven't even watched the series are able to relate to the song’s lyrics and apply them to their own lives in some way – now THAT’s what I call an influential song!

A few people have asked about an English translation to the sub-theme song's lyrics -- originally, I was surprised that there wasn't already an English translation of the lyrics circulating out there somewhere, given the popularity of the song, however after studying the lyrics further, I understand why.....the lyrics are a bit tough to translate into English without losing some of its meaning.

Anyway, for those who are interested, I went ahead and translated the lyrics of the song into English -- however, I have to put a disclaimer that this is purely my interpretation of the lyrics and may not necessarily be a 100% correct translation. Also, I tried to keep to the flow of the song as much as possible while still maintaining the essence of the lyrics, however keep in mind that the song itself is not meant to be sung in English – so the translation is basically for reference only.

For those who understand Chinese, I highly recommend listening to the original version of the song (which is why I also included the link to the song's MV below).

Lastly, if anyone has feedback regarding the translation, you’re welcome to comment! :-)

.****.

Link to MV (as posted on Youtube): 'Youthful Ignorance'

[Translated by: llwy12]

年少無知
Youthful Ignorance

電視劇【天與地】片尾曲
TV Series “When Heaven Burns” sub-theme song

主唱：林保怡．陳豪．黃德斌
Performed by: Bowie Lam, Moses Chan, Kenny Wong

作曲：黃貫中
Composed by: Paul Wong

填詞：林若寧
Lyrics by: Lam Yeurk Ning

編曲：黃貫中．劉志遠
Musical arrangement: Paul Wong, Lau Chi Yuen

監製：黃貫中
Producer: Paul Wong

(B = Bowie, M = Moses, K = Kenny, T= Together)


林：年少多好　頑劣多好
B: How good is youthfulness, how good is stubbornness

不甘安於封建制度裡迷信上街真理會達到
Unwilling to be content with feudalism, superstitious that on the streets truth will be attained

旗幟高舉　群眾聲討
The flag lifted high, condemned by the masses

不惜犧牲一切去上訴權貴的想法太俗套
Unhesitatingly sacrifice everything to appeal, the thought process of those in power is too conventional

只可惜生活是一堆挫折　只可惜生命是必須妥協
Unfortunately, life is a pile of setbacks, unfortunately, life requires compromise


陳：年少多好　貧困多好
M: How good is youthfulness, how good is poverty

一蚊積蓄足以快樂到廉價結他抒發我暴躁
A dollar in savings is enough to be happy, a cheaply-priced guitar to vent out my irritabilities

財富得到　年歲不保
Riches are obtained, youthfulness cannot be maintained

捐輸不必講究有回報人世間總會有異數
Contribution need not be concerned with payback, the secular world inevitably has its differences

只可惜生活是一聲發洩 只可惜生命是一聲抱歉 怕追討
Unfortunately life is the sound of venting, unfortunately life is the sound of apology, afraid to be chased down


合：如果命運能選擇十字街口你我踏出的每步更瀟灑
T: If, fate could be chosen, each step we’d take at the end of the crossroads would be more natural and unrestrained

如果活著能坦白舊日所相信價值不必接受時代的糟蹋
If, we could be honest with life, the values we believed in the past would not need to accept the ruin of an era


黃：年少多好　朋友多好
K: How good is youthfulness, how good is friendship

一番爭執不會有被告遊戲競爭不會記入腦
A dispute would not require a defendant, competition in a game would not be remembered

年歲增長　無法修補
Increasing age, unable to mend

青春的詩總會老　時間多恐怖
The song of youth will eventually get old, passage of time so terrifying


合：如果命運能選擇十字街口你我踏出的每步無用困惑
T: If, fate could be chosen, each step we take at the end of the crossroads would not need to be perplexing

如果活著能坦白舊日所相信價值今天發現還未老
If, we could be honest with life, we’d discover today that the values we believed in the past have not aged

如果命運能演習現實中不致接納一生每步殘酷抉擇
If, fate could be practiced, we would not have to accept a life of cruelly choosing every step

留守過去的想法我會否好像這樣生於世上無目的鞭撻
Standing behind the previous way of thinking, would I be subject to the blind lashing of today’s world?