Hong Kong Protests Bring Back Pop 60s Music (香港抗议 60S 音乐, 是)

This Connection Post is dedicated to my school mate Yeo Choon Meng

who loves HK Pops. Thanks, Meng, hope you enjoy the music and stories.

The poster above is for illustration only since some of the music stars have passed away.

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The Hong Kong protests and riots have lasted for some months now. It is indeed in a sad state of affairs. 

Let's hope the situation will improve and the island will once again turn on its neon lights to dazzle, sparkle and illuminate itself. In music history, HK has one of the most excellent entertainment industry on this side of the world. It must channel its forceful creativity back to the energetic island that used to spell the best in popular culture.

I have, in the past years, posted many articles about Hong Kong's 60s and 70s pop musicians and singers. Most of the artistes have strong ties with the island.

Below are some connections that may interest you.

Irene Ryder sings 'You Don't Have To Say You Love Me'. Thank you.

Shao Fong Fong:
https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/2011/09/shao-fong-fong-sings-in-impeccable.html

The Fabulous Echoes 1:
https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/2015/09/fabulous-echoes-were-called-rock-n.html

The Fabulous Echoes 2:
https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/2009/05/fabulous-echoes-instrumental-group-is.html

Irene Ryder (Part One)
https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/2014/11/irene-ryder-ryding-high-in-hk-60s-part-1.html

The Wynners: I'll Never Dance Again. One of the top HK groups in the 70s.

Irene Ryder (Part Two)
https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/2014/12/hong-kong-pop-music-60s-ryding-high.html

Teresa Teng, Mummy And Mahjong:
https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/2015/11/playing-mahjong-with-teresa-tengs-mother.html

Mona Fong:
https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/2014/03/mona-fong-50s-charm-still-attractive.html

Jimmy Lin Chong:
https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/2011/01/jimmy-lin-chong-singing-thief-from-hk.html

The Wynners:
https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/2009/09/wynners.html

Anders Nelson, MING:
https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/2009/11/blog-post_24.html

The poster above is for illustration only. The group is 'Danny' Diaz and The Checkmates.

Meeting Teresa Teng And Mother @ Kuala Lumpur Part 1

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The band leader of the Silver Strings, Audie Ng sent me an SMS revealing his meeting with Teresa Teng and her mother. When I contacted him on the telephone he revealed that:

He used to service hotels all over S. E. Asia in the late 1960's and early 70's by supplying them with Filipino pop bands. He would fly from Singapore and visit these places regularly to either sign a contract with the hotel management for his bands to perform, or to check on the welfare of his musicians. 

It was usual that during some of his business visits he would meet singers and musicians. On one of these occasions he met the late diva, *Teresa Teng and her mother. 

He remembers that when he met her she was still very young and that she could have already cut some records with a company then. He confirmed the year to be around the early 70's.

Ms Teng's mother was a friend of one Mr Gan Ngoh who was the owner of the Mayflower Night Club at the Fortuna Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He cannot describe Mr Gan but he can still recall the club where he saw her for the first time; Ms Teng would jam with the hotel band by singing with them during the afternoons' leisurely breaks.

In the meantime, he would join in the mahjong games at one of the tables in the nightclub. Seated at the table was Ms Teng's mother. So they both became mahjong friendly. 

Even at the time that Audie knew Teresa Teng he realised she had the potential to be a successful singer because she was very pretty and had such a pleasant voice. A professor of cultural theory once remarked that it was the sweetness of her voice that made her famous.

During one of his chats Mrs Teng had jokingly asked that he managed her daughter but since he was not familiar with Chinese singers and the Taiwanese music market, he declined the proposal. 

He exclaimed that he fell in love with her voice and pretty face, otherwise he would probably be rich and famous managing her. As he chuckled over the phone I sensed the tone of humour, "I was also married la..." 

During his time in show business since the 1970's he had the opportunity of meeting and chatting close-up with four South East Asian divas, Anita Sarawak from Singapore and Malaysia; Francis Yip from Hong Kong; Irene Ryder from the Philippines but based in Hong Kong and of course Teresa Teng from Taiwan.

*Teresa Teng (January 29, 1953 – May 8, 1995) was a Taiwanese pop singer and well know for her romantic ballads and folk numbers.  These songs have become so familiar that The Moon Represents My Heart and When Will You Return have become evergreens, even among the non-Chinese.

She had recorded songs in Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hokkien, Cantonese, Japanese, Indonesian and English.   At 42 she passed on in 1995 from a severe respiratory attack while on holiday in Thailand.

Images: A personal collection; Google.

The tale above is by Audie Ng, leader and bass player of Singapore's pop 60's band The Silver Strings. 

Disclaimer: Blog owner cannot ascertain as to the authenticity of the story.

                Teresa Teng Full Album of Hits from Candy Channel.

Hong Kong Pop 60s: Irene Ryder (黎愛蓮) Part 2

The Hong Kong protests are still on. Will it ever end? We turn the clock a bit and remember the island's pop music hey-day.

Best Female Vocalist:

Her song Cry Me a River won her the honour of The Best Female Vocalist and with the release of her first and second album, Irene and Solitaire, she again gained the same honour. The winnings went on for five years.  

Movies:
Irene had also appeared in two movies, Tiger vs. Dragon (1972) and Rage of the Wind (1973) both directed by well established director Wu Si Yuen.   However her career came to a stand still when she had a near fatal accident in 1979.  

2 Decades:
There was a lapse of nearly two decades when Irene was not much in the limelight but in 1997 and by popular demand after recording four duets with her good friend Joe Junior, Irene returned to the recording studio to do her own album, The Legend.  

When she regained her self-confidence she decided to perform live again and although it had been quite an absence she managed five successful concerts in Hong Kong with him. 


Repertoire:
For her repertoire, Ms Ryder usually performed golden oldies.  It was a highlight of her shows. The songs  would include Frankie, You Don't Have to Say You Love Me, To Sir with Love, The End of the World, Kiss Me Honey Honey, Stupid Cupid, Seven Lonely Days, Kowloon Hong Kong and other hits.

During her peak, Irene had recorded many covers of top songs from the 1960s and 1970s.  There are also compilations of her songs released in the 1990s and 2003.

Her Long Plays:
Irene Ryder – EMI Regal - SREG-9603 - (1971)
Irene Ryder – EMI Regal - SREG-9611 - (1973)
Irene Ryder - Solitaire  –   EMI Columbia S-3ESX-220 - (1974)
The Best Of Irene Ryder – EMI Columbia S-33ESX-225 - (1975)

                         

             Irene Ryder - First of May - Video: shatinterry.

Irene Ryder attending HT Long's Concert in HK.

 Images/Video: Google, Uncle Ray 101CD Box and You Tube (Shatinterry).

Information: from Shatinterry (You Tube), Wikipedia and Websites.

Irene Ryder (黎愛蓮) Ryding Hong Kong Pops 60s Part 1

Hong Kong Island Memories

Hong Kong island has brought back pleasant memories of Tsim Sha Tsui's shopping district and the hunting around for old vinyl records.  Here's one HK pop artiste I used to listen to in between the Indonesian groups and Singapore ones.

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Dedication to Her Songs:

What impressed me about this particular lady after listening to her both on vinyl records and CDs was her dedication to the numbers she sang. Whether it was an appeal about Nobody's Child or a teenage angst where she found, Lipstick On (Your) Collar, she delivered them with sincerity and feeling.  

Eurasian Good Looks:

Those years, some Asian artistes simply made covers of western hit songs to sell and she was one of many singers. But with her youth, Eurasian good looks and singing grace she was different and stood out from the crowd, as she was able to charm her record buyers and her audiences with these assets.

English Diction:

Irene Ryder or Li Ai Lian (黎愛蓮), a Eurasian born in Hong Kong in 1949, had an English father and Chinese mother.  She was able to interpret her songs and her English diction was above par, perhaps better than some Asian lady singers in the 60s and 70s. Irene speaks Cantonese very well too.

A-Go-Go-Queen:

In 1966 she acquired the unofficial title of A-Go-Go-Queen from a dance talent contest where she earned her fame. After the contest, Irene and her dance partner were invited to perform in Singapore and Malaysia and promote the dance craze, doing seven to eight shows daily.

Vic Cristobel:

With this exposure, she was approached by music arranger and producer, Vic Cristobal of EMI Records who started her singing career in 1967.  The first single she pressed was a cover of Lulu's, To Sir With Love. She became the top singer in the territory three months after her song was released.


Osaka Exposition 1970:

The single was called *Baby Baby (video above) and it was this recording in 1968 that established her fame as a singer.   She was the only female singer chosen to represent Hong Kong at the 1970 World Exposition in Osaka Japan.  

Bruce Lee

Part 2 Next Week:

(Read Part 2 when she had to end her singing career.)

Images/Video: Google, Uncle Ray 101CD Box and YouTube (Shatinterry).

Information: from Shatinterry (YouTube), Wikipedia and Websites.

Bruce Lee's Brother:

Among the other singles that she recorded was a duet with Robert Lee, a former member of Hong Kong's beat band The Thunderbirds. and the younger brother of martial arts star Bruce Lee. Robert also has a recording about his famous brother called, The Ballad of Bruce Lee.