Mapping China: Music - Cities & Scenes: Hong Kong Scene

Hong Kong was the center of Chinese popular music between 1949 and 2000.

Mandapop 1949-1970

In the late 1940s the Shanghai film and music industries moved to Hong Kong, which became the center of Chinese language popular culture. As the civil wat and the Cold War unfolded, it became increasingly difficult for commercial companies to access (and recuperate income from) the PRC and the ROC (based in Taiwan) markets. By contrast, Hong Kong remained relatively open and apolitical, as its British rulers avoided confrontation with the PRC. In the 1950s Southeast Asia, with its large ethnically Chinese populations, gained importance as a market.

Malay-run MP&GI (later Cathay) produced a series of Hollywood-inspired musicals starring Grace Chang, of which Mambo Girl (1957) is best known. Films such as Our Dream Car (1959) and Air Hostess (1959) promote American-style conspicuous consumption that is at odds with the lived reality of Hong Kong at the time.

Major competitor Shaw Brothers had equally built a cinema chain in Southeast Asia, and next to a number of its own musicals developed the new genre of Huangmei Operas with hits such as The Kingdom and the Beauty (1959) and Love Eterne (1963). In contrast to MP&GI’s cosmopolitanism (many of the protagonists in its films are extrovert orphans with little interest in their origins), these films (like Shaw Bros’ later martial films) focus on China, and modernize some of its regional stage traditions by fusing it with popular music elements.
As nation-building and independence struggles intensified throughout Southeast Asia, ethnically Chinese communities in these countries become more involved in local politics and culture. As a result Southeast Asia became a less reliable source of income for Chinese language cinema and popular music (Singapore being an exception).

Over the course of the 1960s in Taiwan and Hong Kong mandarin popular music became increasingly associated with an older generation, who still had memories and imaginations of Shanghai and its bygone glory days (the last migration wave ended in 1949). Mandarin popular music became called shidaiqu, ‘modern songs’ or ‘songs of the times’, which defines the genre to a specific moment in time. Wong Kar-wai’s internationally acclaimed film In the Mood for Love (2000) perhaps sums up this nostalgic atmosphere best.

Cantopop Beginnings 1960s and 1970s

In the 1970s Cantonese replaced Mandarin as the main language of Chinese popular music. There are several reasons for this shift toward Cantopop.

Demographics. By the 1960s most Hong Kong youngsters were born and raised in Hong Kong, speaking Cantonese. The PRC (and mandarin Chinese) seemed distant to them. Cantonese is also widely spoken throughout Southeast Asia.
Band Scene. In 1964 the Beatles performed in Hong Kong. The Vietnam War flooded the region with American soldiers and radio stations. In the 1960s youngsters started copying Western bands and singing in English. This enabled the entry of male singers into the industry (Mandapop had been dominated by female singers).
TV. Television gradually replaced radio and cinema as the main medium for popular culture. As most TV dramas were in Cantonese, it made sense to record its theme songs in the same language. In the early 1970s female stars such as Liza Wang and Paula Tsui recorded these theme songs of televised drama series, next to their more high-brow Mandarin repertoire.

1970s stars

Samuel Hui had been singing English songs with his band Lotus in the late 1960s. He switched to Cantonese for the theme song of his brother’s 1974 blockbuster film Games Gamblers Play, a Cantonese comedy. Sometimes called Hong Kong’s Elvis, Hui is known for giving voice to the man in the street, by using colloquial Cantonese and addressing social issues.
In 1976 Roman Tam shot to fame after singing the theme song of a Hong Kong broadcast of a Japanese TV series. He had been signed by TVB, one of Hong Kong’s principal TV broadcasters, and subsequently sang the theme songs of many of the company’s productions.

Cantopop Heydays 1980s and mid-1990s

In the 1980s Hong Kong developed a sophisticated pop star culture, in which the tabloids took an increasingly prominent role. Before it was conceded to Britain Hong Kong was a fisher village—now pop stars such as Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung for the first time gave the city a distinct voice and identity. Still the cultural products were unapologetically borrowed from other places, for music mainly Japan, and localized with new lyrics.

By the late 1980s, the Four Heavenly Kings of Cantopop emerged: Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, Aaron Kwok and Leon Lai. The karaoke industry helped fuel their immense popularity, also in the PRC. The PRC had started its economic reforms in 1978, since 1984 Hong Kong pop singers performed on national television and in the mid-1990s the PRC again became the biggest market for Chinese popular music. Meanwhile, Hong Kong returned to the PRC in 1997. Next to the Four Heavenly Kings, Faye Wong also performed at the ceremonies.

Faye Wong (Wang Fei) profited from the increasing importance of Mandarin in the Hong Kong industry. Originally from Beijing, her record company Cinepoly gave her a make-over, erasing all the ‘backward’ mainland Chinese remnants. It worked. In 1992 Wong had her first hit with the Cantonese song “Easily Hurt Woman”, a cover of “Rouge” by the Japanese singer Miyuki Nakajima. In 1994 Faye Wong scored her first Mandarin hit with the song “I’m Willing” in Taiwan. These songs promote a traditional Chinese passive femininity. However in 1994 Wong started experimenting with more alternative sounds and images, influenced by the Beijing rock scene. She cut her hair and seemed more in control. In contrast to the Mui, Cheung and other entertainers, Wong rarely talks to the press and is perceived as frigid and mysterious. Paradoxically, this generates a lot of interest, and also the fact that she increasingly recorded in Mandarin has enabled her to dominate the latter half of the 1990s.

Cantopop Decline, mid-1990s to mid-2000s

There are several reason for the decline of Cantopop, and the coinciding decline of Hong Kong as a center for Chinese popular music (including Mandapop).

Politics. In 1997 Hong Kong became part of the PRC. Although Hong Kong maintains its own political system (under ‘under country two systems’), this political shift created insecurity over Hong Kong’s cultural climate and orientation.
Rise of Mandarin. With the re-emergence of the PRC as the principle market for Chinese popular culture, mandarin regained its importance in the music scene. Taipei has an advantage over Hong Kong, because mandarin is its main language (next to Hoklo/Taiwanese).
Conservatism in the Cantopop Industry. Cantopop thrived in a close-knit media ecology with a limited number of gatekeepers, mainly TVB, ATV and RTHK. The emergence of the internet challenged this system. As record sales slummed worldwide, the focus shifted from away from musical output (albums, concerts), to a multifaceted celebrity in which gossip (boulevard press) and endorsements were more prominent. As a result only major stars were able to earn on investment. To counter this trend Commercial Radio Hong Kong launched an ‘original songs campaign’ as early as 1995, refusing to play cover songs on its market-leading channel. This exposed the lack of good songwriters, and in doing so seems only to have accelerated the decline of Cantopop. Further deterred by the Asian financial crisis of 1997, Hong Kong entertainment companies such as Amusic and Emperor Entertainment Group became increasingly reluctant to invest in young talents, including songwriters and producers.

Cantopop 2000s and 2010s

In the early 2000s a number of singers staged come-back or reunion concerts. 2003 was a difficult year, as Anita Mui and Lesli Cheung, two stars that epitomized Hong Kong culture (and its 1980s heydays) passed away.
Although Hong Kong is no longer dominant as a whole, it continues producing influential singers, including Eason Chan, Edison Chen, Joey Yung, the girl band Twins, and more recently G.E.M.
There is also a relatively modest local band scene.

Venues in Hong Kong

Even more than Shanghai, Hong Kong’s real estate market gives prospective entrepreneurs a hard time finding affordable and suitably located buildings to open a live music venues in. The Hong Kong music scene is famously deprived of opportunities to perform live, and even rehearsal space is rare.

Concerts

The Hong Kong Coliseum, built in 1983, witnessed Cantopop’s dominance and still is the venue for large pop concerts. After renovations in 2009 it has 10.500 seats.
Hong Kong Culture Center is a centrally located venue for classical music, opera, theater, jazz and occasionally world music. It has a 2.000, a 1700 and a 300 seat room.
Since 2007, Kowloon Bay International Trade & Exhibition Centre (KITEC, aka E-Max) houses Star Hall, with 3.600 seats, and since 2012 a smaller, 600 people size live house called Music Zone.

Band Scene

Music Zone in KITEC, see above.
Hidden Agenda opened in 2009 but has had to relocate several times, typically moving to new warehouses and industrial buildings on the edges of the center.
Fringe Club opened in a Victorian building in Lam Kwai Fong in 1983. This small multi-purpose art and cultural center is sponsored by the Hong Kong city council, and hosts live music shows each Friday and Saturday.

Clubbing

Lam Kwai Fong is Hong Kong’s (in)famous bar street, located on Hong Kong island. It is home to a host of upscale clubs, some of which have organized shows with top international DJs, including Loft 22, Volar (since 2004), Magnum, Play, Show and Deja Vu. Dragon I has hosted shows by Afrojack, Avicii and Laidback Luke, among others.
Heavy Hong Kong is a promotor of reggae, dub, jungle and drum & bass. Next to regular events in clubs such as XXX Gallery, they have organized shows in neighboring Shenzhen.

Venues near Hong Kong

Macao

This nearby former Portuguese colony is known for its casinos. Venues such as Club Cubic have hosted top international DJs.

Shenzhen and Guangzhou

Because Hong Kong (7 million people) is notoriously expensive, organizers sometimes host shows in booming cities just across the border into China, such as Shenzhen (10 million people) and Guangzhou (13 million people).

Main live houses in Shenzhen include A8音乐大厦 (500 people) and On Stage 飞马旅, music bars include Brown Sugar 红糖罐and B10. Next to various stadiums and state owned theaters, Guangzhou has live venues such as 191 Space, t:union 凸空间and SD Livehouse.

Festivals

The government-sponsored yearly Hong Kong Arts Festival lasts several weeks and mainly makes use of indoor venues. Its programs includes pop, rock and folk music, next to the traditional arts.
Since 2008, Clockenflap is Hong Kong’s yearly open-air music festival. It is organized by British promotors with experience in Hong Kong’s live music and club scene. Clockenflap takes place in later November or early December, and is dominated by Anglo-American bands and DJ’s.
Midi and Strawberry organize festivals in nearby Shenzhen

Mapping China: Music - Cities & Scenes: Hong Kong Scene