Hong Kong Popular Music (Part 4)

by Ming Leung, May 2011

04/ Pop Music and Society

As the development of Hong Kong, which from a small village, then in the later time that many Mainland China immigrate come to Hong Kong. With the stable development from 60s, Li Ka‐shing work from plastic flower to the top 11 richest person in the world. Hong Kong pop songs have also such kind of development and changed.

The initial pop music as mentioned from Cecil Clementi are mostly related to some simple song, and basically have no very serious production which similar just speak from mouth, this is matched to the people at that time, they don’t know what is music production, basically the topic is just related to work and love, and the melody is just produce from their inborn music talent.

With the immigrate from mainland China around 60s, since they have already adopt the production from the western, so when they bring these songs to Hong Kong, they automatically also required the full set environment, such as the theater and dance hall in order to provide the suitable environment for the audience and the performers.

Later on, the Hong Kong governor want to make Hong Kong is more suitable for live in 60s, they have do many things for the Hongkonger at that time (as I mentioned previously), Hongkonger have found the way to claim up to have a better living environment. In order to achieve this, people who are in lower education background, they just know do and do no matter what job they are, so Cantonese popular songs will have talk about their feeling. For the people who have a higher education background, they know that English is the tool that for them to claim up higher due to the big company and the government are use English for communication, so in order to learn better English, English pop song have become more popular in the field of the students at that time, which meet with the bomb of The Beatles, Don McLean, etc, the students then fierce in learning English, which indicate they look smart. Besides, with a classical Guitar, it is the icon of what is cool at that time and the boys are likely to learn this for all reason, included increase the smart image in front of the girls.

In 70s, pop music meet with TV drama, as with Hong Kong manufacturing claim up, Hong Kong become the Asian tigers at that time. Most people are working in the factories, so the TV drama are related to these topic. Besides, the HongKonger have realized the woman position in the society can be updated, with the Western mind learn from other countries. Woman are not just only the housewife at home and can work nearly as capable as man, the most icon for this is Lisa Wong, she have produced the strong woman image in front of TV and become an idol. But since the TV is just the only screen at home, or even some home still have no TV, the popular songs have not produced with this wave to have the strong woman feeling. The reason is since each TV drama have just only one theme songs can become popular, and in case the TV drama is popular, the songs must also popular and so the songs need to fit for most audience of the TV drama and hence the producer have less chance to write so specific topic for the strong woman at that time, mostly related to the change of family such as Frenzy, Home Change, etc.

In 80s, Hong Kong needs to face the problem of the further, as Hong Kong need to handover to Mainland China from British government. Many people have immigrated to other Western countries like United State, Canada or United Kingdom. So the HongKonger have the “doomsday” mentality that need to earn as much money as they can so they can escape the rule from the China Communist Party. Then what so call “Era” have created. The songs at that time then follow the “Era” ideology. From the production perspective the music companies is just brought the license from other countries and fill in the Cantonese lyrics. This is the fastest method for this which they are using the success cases in other countries that they will have less chance to loss. Besides this way, band sound has discussed this “Era” also in term they are discussing with this by using metaphor (like Beyond and Tat Ming Pair as I mentioned before). And the song for TV drama, since there are several drama about the huge local company earn money, so that songs will most likely have such manner like You Shock My Spirit (by Andy Lau).

These operation methods run until 90s, when many of the singers are claimed to retired.

After 1997, Hong Kong have honey moon for the first several years after handover. Hong Kong people need not to hurry to earn money that needs to go to other countries. They seem no need so scare about Hong Kong after 1997 and hence seem no target for them to fight for. Pop music then have lost such main stream context to discuss, love song then naturally be the main stream then. There is one kind of love song that has not appeared before which discussing about the weak side on the feeling from male. Which discussed they are also very week in the relationship, the most famous is The Most Hurt of Man (by Andy Hui).

In the tradition, man should need to have a strong image in front of any kind of things, especially in term of ideology. Yes, the male have the right that cry for this weak side and this was hit to the market with such kind of this songs. But if this song becomes famous, which means the society has structurally changed. From around 60s and before handover, Hong Kong basically moving upward, most of the people basically have a steady living at that time, most people can use their power to earn their living. In such environment they have built up their confident unconsciously. This generation has created legend of Hong Kong. But for their next generation, mostly likely have not such tough like their parent. When they growth up to the age of youth, which meet this male sad song and agree with this. Yes, you can buy this song to express the personal feeling from these songs, or even can sing this song in the karaoke. But they have not the mindset of male identity inside, and have not thought about the responsibility of man when they become mature. So they just want to sing this song like crying like a baby in front of the mother, so that is why the current 70s and 80s generation male is not so man enough, and there is a stupid and naive though that “male is very simple, they just want cry in front of mother when young, and just want to cry in front of girlfriend/wife when they are growth up”.

Since Hong Kong basically is a patriarchal society, even there is a strong woman concept from Lisa Wong in 70s, the pop music is still not straight to discuss the strong woman. When the sad man wave have come to the popular music, for the song of female is also need to follow this wave and so there is some extreme song come out started from (You Don’t Have) Good Result, Knife into Your Heart. And then these concepts carry forward to a current pop female singer Joey Yung. Her lost love style is basically having different way similar to the punishments of China in the past. Her famous songs Pain Love, which have the lyrics “Love you that let me sink, Love you that let me cry/Love you that to be fickle, Love you that you’re callous” [9].

This situation is still until around 2003‐04. In this SARS period most of songs are then related to society start with Internal Affairs (無間道) as I mentioned before.

Then starting from Lisa Wong, the position of male and female position have changed slowly and now seems have inverse position in Hong Kong compare to 60s. Female positions have upper in term of education background, job position, etc. This very specific phenomenon in the generation of 80s, which is the generation listen to such sad male song. After 2003‐04, this situation have become more obviously, for instance there is higher proposition of female student in university which hence that naturally female will be easier to find a high pay job. So the real living standard of female is not such bad to the male in Hong Kong, and so which is the main issue of the problem between KongMale and KongGal[10]. And so, man sad song have disappeared at this moment but just let the position feeling female song, for instance The Letter for Myself by Sherman Chung.

Besides in the relation between different genders, pop song is also having topic about homosexual love. This topic basically is to be avoid in the past, the first discuss should be from Tak Ming Pair, there is a song call Forbidden Porn, which just talk in the way using metaphor. Later on, when Leslie Cheung back to the stage after his retirement, he have very clear to state that he is gay and so there is some song for this relationship and example like Left and Right Hand, which discussed about the change of his sexual orientation, lyrics like “I don’t care where is front or back, I have mess with left or right, from that day”[11], and for Great Heat, he even have the outlook that mixed with the sexual identity.

Starting from Leslie Cheung, similar songs have become popular. And even the lyrist Wyman Wong and said not sure the reason that these songs will become popular, his work like Roll‐Royce, The Boy like You is totally straightly talk about homosexual love.