The 20th anniversary of Leslie Cheung's death, to his brother, but also to the extinct Hong Kong music

It has been 20 years since Leslie Cheung passed away.

At the end of the same year that he fell to his death, Anita Mui also died of cancer. Two superstars, a pair of friends, are still mentioned repeatedly 20 years later.

On November 12, 2021, the biographical film "Anita Mui", which was not optimistic at the box office, was released, winning 113 million box office and a total of 3.384 million views.

In addition to the songs left, their film and television works are not few, the content is classic, giving fans spiritual food that they are not tired of listening to and watching enough.

Many post-00s do not understand them, or even unheard of. This is not surprising.

But in fact, in many current music variety shows, there are singers who constantly cover the songs of Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui, the short videos they brush, the background music of many good-looking anchors, and the small acting skills of talented Internet celebrities, all from the works of Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui. Their works have been repeatedly changed twice, three times, and constantly spread.

The classics are outdated, but it is also true that the superstars have fallen and there is no successor. The complete decline of Hong Kong pop music, or Cantonese songs, is irreversible.

【1】

What is "Hong Kong Pop Music"?

Huang Xiao, once known as one of the "Four Great Talents of Hong Kong", once defined:

(1) Hong Kong people make and create;

(2) Recorded as a record and sold as a commodity;

(3) providing entertainment to people;

(4) Can be used to accompany dance;

(5) There are lyrics for ordinary people to sing.

The beginning of the acceptance of Hong Kong pop music in Hong Kong is recognized as the appearance of the theme song of the "TVB" TV series "Laughing Marriage" (composed by Koo Ka-fai) in 1974.

And the large-scale popularity began with Xu Guanjie and later created a large number of popular and catchy songs. From the late 70s, Hong Kong local songs sung in Cantonese began to become more popular in Hong Kong than English songs, Chinese songs, and Cantonese opera songs, and became real popular music.

The 80s and 90s was the blowout period of Hong Kong music, and at the "Top Ten Golden Melody Award Ceremony" established by TVB since 1983, superstars such as Xu Guanjie, Alan Tam, Chen Baiqiang, Luo Wen, Leslie Cheung, Anita Mui competed on stage, and the drama battles staged by fans were no less than the current traffic stars.

The scene of the 1983 "Top Ten Golden Melody Award Ceremony"

In the record industry, there are hundreds of flowers of record companies such as PolyGram, Huaxing, Warner, etc., and in terms of songwriting, Gu Jiahui, Li Xiaotian, Xu Guanjie, Huang Xiao, Lu Guoxian, Zheng Guojiang, Ye Shaode, Li Peter and other people emerged. At that time, Hong Kong also introduced karaoke entertainment from Japan, where everyone could sing a song and have the joy of idolatry.

【2】

But since the 90s, the pattern of the Chinese music scene has begun to change.

According to Huang's doctoral dissertation "The Development and Rise and Fall of Cantopop: A Study of Hong Kong Pop Music (1949-1997)", Hong Kong's total record production and retail value in 1997 were HK$500 million less than in 1995, and only 916 million in 1998, less than half of 1995.

Huang believes that this is due to the fact that in the 80s Hong Kong was the most open region between the two sides of the strait and the three places, but with the increasing degree of freedom in Taiwan and the mainland, the status of Chinese songs has improved, and the Cantonese song market has grown and disappeared.

In addition to the industrial structure, many senior musicians in Hong Kong have died in recent years, and the new generation has not come forward, resulting in a lack of success. Chen Huixian plans to revive the 30th anniversary album, but can only collaborate with the veteran band Tai Chi (active in the 80s), singing old songs.

In recent years, the "Golden Melody Award Ceremony" has even appeared in the situation of "renting an auditorium, 2 o'clock in the day, live broadcasting, only awarding without singing" (renting an auditorium, opening at 2 pm, no live broadcast, no singing directly awarding awards).

Hong Kong's music industry chain has been broken for a long time.

【3】

In this situation, have Hong Kong musicians not made any efforts?

Some.

In 2018, ViuTV, which belongs to Li Zekai, imitated "Produce 101" and launched "Good Night Show for All People to Make Stars", and netizens voted to select five people from 99 contestants to debut. However, the MV of the theme song of the show was actually filmed on the street, with 99 contestants combined, the dance was not neat, and the audiovisual experience was not at the same level as the trainee program in the mainland.

In the end, Hong Kong audience participation was not high, and the five winners each received only a few thousand votes.

Of course, a big reason is that these singers don't have any charm to speak of. They grew up in the present, some of them just have the desire to become famous overnight, but they lack experience.

Anita Mui performed at the Liyuan Amusement Park at the age of four and a half to supplement her family's livelihood; Alan Tam's first job was as a postman, getting up early and greedy to support himself.

At the age of 17, Rowan came to Hong Kong to work as a tailor, handyman and bank trainee; Leslie Cheung was not recognized by the audience when he first debuted, but the driving force that pushed him forward was almost instinctive love and persistence.

Now Hong Kong singers and artists have had teachers in class since childhood, less self-exploration process, and it is rare to have such a talent and the spirit of forging ahead without fear of setbacks.

There is also one who can tell a story - Hong Kong singer Xu Jingyun once taught the piano to maintain his dreams. But compared to the predecessors, it is "small bitterness to see big suffering".

【4】

The use of "mother tongue" interpretation to elevate entertainment life to the artistic level is the "local consciousness" fostered by economic development.

In the 80s, Hong Kong's per capita GDP reached 10,000 US dollars (higher than many cities in mainland China today); In the 90s of the last century, Hong Kong's total GDP was the largest in the country.

Huang Xiao also mentioned in his doctoral dissertation -

"In the mid-80s, Hong Kong society entered a stage of diversified development. In addition to the ideal geographical position, sound legal system, market-oriented free system, high-quality labor, efficient administrative system, perfect infrastructure including water, electricity, communications, transportation and other equipment, high-level management personnel, and vigorous entrepreneurial spirit, Hong Kong society has entered a very prosperous and wealthy period... In addition to the best-selling records, large-scale concerts with high ticket prices also attracted many audiences. The number of local pop concerts held at Hung Hom Sports Centre increased from 18 in '83 to 129 in '89, and the number of spectators increased from 150,000 to 1.35 million. ”

In 2021, Hong Kong's GDP dropped to 21st in the country, and the city comparison range also dropped to the sixth in the country.

A dozen years ago, many wealthy people needed to spend 10 million yuan to buy bonds and real estate in exchange for a Hong Kong identity, but now, according to the quotation of immigration agents, if the conditions of the agent itself are good, it only needs tens of thousands of yuan.

With effect from 31 January 2021, BNO passports issued by the UK Government for 5.4 million Hong Kong people will not be used to enter and leave Hong Kong and will not be recognized as any form of proof of identity in Hong Kong. The end of Hong Kongers' former "quasi-dual citizenship" will make them rethink their identity and boundaries. Hong Kong people need to reinvent the "local consciousness" of "I am me", which is why Hong Kong pop music can no longer be so confidently presented and sung.

This is why we still enjoy Hong Kong music for 20 years, but we still enjoy Hong Kong music in the 80s and 90s.

On the evening of April 1, 2023, the short video platform restored the master version of Leslie Cheung's 1989 "Farewell Music Concert" with the title of "When the Wind Rises Again, Reliving the Love of the Year". After 34 years of dust, it is reopened.

Give fans another chance to "say goodbye" to Leslie Cheung.

It's just that for twenty years, no one has come again.

Written by | Son of Water Man