01/ About Hong Kong Popular Music
Definition
To discuss popular music, we need to define which music should be included in this discussion. With the reference from Simon Frith and Roy Shuker, their definitions are as follow:
From Simon Frith, he made the following definition for popular music as follow:
- Music made commercially, in a particular kind of legal (copyright) and economic (market) system.
- Music made using ever‐changing technology, with particular reference to forms of recording or sound storage.
- Music, which is significantly experienced as mediated, tied up with the twentieth‐century mass media of cinema, radio and television.
- Music which is primarily made for pleasure, with particular importance for the social and bodily pleasures of dance and public entertainment.
- Music which is formally hybrid, bringing together musical elements which cross social, cultural and geographical boundaries. (Frith, 2004)
So the definition of the popular music in this discussion basically combined with these two approaches. Shuker is basically nearly the definition with Frith, but I agree with his approach since there need to have some adjustments for Hong Kong pop music, for instance, some serious music like Mozart have become popular in specific situation[1], or which have merged into the popular music in Hong Kong[2]. Beside, some popular songs are derived from movie sound track[3] and commercial music[4] and then find the lyricist to fill in lyrics and become also as popular music here.
In this discussion, I will put the history and the songs will be discussed together at the beginning, which try to provide the overview of what songs should be included as the type of popular music in Hong Kong.
02/ Introduction
At the Beginning
With the oldest record I have found in the history, the popular music in Hong Kong can back to the age around the beginning of 19 centuries. The 17th governor of Hong Kong, Sir Cecil Clementi, he have record the songs which sang by the people at that time. The songs mostly sang related to their daily life included love and jobs. These songs mostly produced by people who have not well educated, and the quality of the songs are actually low. Later, the popular song will include the Canton Chinese Opera (粵曲) and these local songs run in parallel.
40s‐50s
Later, since the Mainland China has changed to be rule by Communist Party and many Mainland people came to Hong Kong to escape the rule of them, and these new immigrate have also brought their culture included their popular music and the production technique at that time to Hong Kong together. Most of them are came from Shanghai, since Shanghai have governed by many western countries and hence have learnt many advanced production technique at that time, so the production quality is good at that moment in the Chinese. When these productions came to Hong Kong, the songs produced have been accepted and then they also become the mainstream at that moment. And the popular songs are already sold with the movie at that time. Since these people are come from Mainland China, their language is Mandarin but this can still popular for the most people in the place speaking in Cantonese. But there is also local Cantonese song production, the quality is low compare the Mandarin Songs like Tang Kee‐chan, people there not like most since they content are vulgar.
Mandarin songs have become popular, and later on, around 60s, since Hong Kong is colonized by British government and hence students are learning English in their school, and so English popular music are popular also. The reason is actually the production of Mandarin songs is cloned from the western production, and so the youth listen the Western one directly, for instance, The Beatles, Don McLean, etc.
Late 60s and 70s
After then, in around 70s, most of the Mainland immigrate have stay in Hong Kong steadily and have the mind that there is not the necessary to “back” to their home town, and most of them also have learnt Cantonese at that moment, plus the governor have promoted the public housing and the free color television are in service, so Cantonese popular music then have the chance to be adopted by most of the people at that time, so these Cantonese is the prototype or the first generation of the popular music in Hong Kong we know today. But there is still some friction to promote at that moment, and so the well know agree with the first contemporary pop songs is from Sandra Lang, Lovers Lovers5. This is the first type since Sandra Lang is look like the Western people and this will easy to be accepted by the people at that time (Wong, Jum‐sum, 2003). Also in the similar time period, there is Sam Hui also popular who is mainly performing Cantonese pop music with diversified content such as lover, the living of the people at that time, the worries in puberty, etc. He has voice out the situation of the HongKonger and so he was very popular at that time.
80s
In 80s, the most famous singer is Alan Tam and Leslie Cheung, and also has Danny Chan, Anita Mui, etc. The songs from Alan Tam and Leslie Cheung are mostly brought the rights from other countries, mostly from Japan and fill with HongKongese lyrics, and hence there many lyricists have chance to present their works included Lin‐Xi, Pan Yuan‐lian, Richard Lam, Andrew Lam, etc. The productions of their songs are not like the one which all are produced locally included the songs composing, arrangement in the previously time. The songs are just brought from other countries, and fill in HongKongese lyrics. They adopted this approach since it is save time and cost for production. And since the record label are mostly from Western company like PolyGram, Warner Music, EMI etc and so they are easy to get these resources with their international network. Beside, since these songs are the “successful cases” from other countries, the companies will just follow the cases and reproduced one locally and this was accepted by the people at that moment, and so some scholar (Chu Yiu‐wai) said the people is just follow the singer, or pop star, but not the songs itself at that time.
In the nearly same period in 80s, apart from these pop singers, there is also a band sound movement appear in the local popular music industry included Beyond, Tat Ming Pair, Tai‐chi, etc. They have produced their songs originally from the topic and song composing. They are not like the mainstream one which mostly about love, their topic will discussed about the society situation like Ten Youth for Fire Fighting, etc.
90s
In the 90s, Alan Tam and Leslie Cheung have announced retired, and then the Hong Kong pop music move to the era of Four Kings and Queen. They still follow the production model previously, which buy the song directly from other countries and fill in the Cantonese lyrics. Basically most of their songs are related to love also. In this situation, Hong Kong Commercial Radio (CR) has announced to support the local production, which included the song composing, and they don’t broadcast the songs which are cover version from other countries. Besides, the wave of karaoke have come which need to consumed heavy on the pop songs, music videos and songs are highly demand from this time.
After 1997
After 1997, and in the new 21 century, there are only few local composers supported the whole Hong Kong pop music market, like Mark Lui, Chan Fai‐Young, Ronald Ng, they produced nearly all the songs in Hong Kong, with two lyricists, Lin‐Xi and Wyman Wong. These two lyricists have 204 and 105 songs produced respectively in year 2002. Covered version songs from other countries have minimized, but the society have another voice that the popular songs become karaoklized, which means most of the songs are standard in pattern and just have only one topic – lost love.
The characteristic of karaoke songs is let the user easy to sing, no need to remember so hard for the lyrics and repetitive composing structure, which meet with the two major lyricists fill in the lyric focus on lost love. I think this is match with the situation of this two lyrists: For Lin‐Xi, he said he have depression problem, for Wyman Wong, his famous work is discuss about the humble way to lost love like his well know lost love songs (You don’t have) Good Result and Knife into Your Heart. And since most people like to adopt these songs and so this period songs are sad songs on lost love. Besides, as the popular songs can be easy adopt by youth, lost love is the most common issue in the life and these topic will also easy to sell also. Famous singer in this period included: Eason Chan, Miriam Yeung, Joey Yung, Twins, etc.
2003 ‐ Current
More recently, around 02‐04, bad economic Hong Kong environment and meet with SARS, flat bubble crash. Pop music has also collapsed. Due to such situation, there is a demand of songs which can reflect that situation, other than the love songs only. Besides, more singers have become producer also and included all the things together. One man band become popular with the advance technologies now, production is just only need a computer and sits in front of computer, with a quiet room or rent some band room, then you can become the producer also. Besides, people not just buy a songs only, actually they are buying something that can fit to their equipment which claimed good quality of sounds, and one some singer have focus to developed with this market like Hacken Lee, Susan Wang, but most of their songs are reproduced from the old stuff. Also, Internet, Apple has iTunes which sell songs in US.
This service has not landed in Hong Kong and Mainland at this moment but there are similar platforms
have created in Hong Kong to sell pop songs online like moov.hk and kkbox.com.
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