Hong Kong English pop
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Hong Kong English pop (Chinese: 英文歌) are English language songs performed in Hong Kong. Locally it has been known as simply English pop. The height of the English pop era in Hong Kong was from the 1950s to mid 1970s.
There are mainly two categories. The first type is music imported almost entirely from the United Kingdom and the United States. The second type is English language songs produced in Hong Kong by a mix of Chinese and white artists.
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[edit] History
Elvis, Johnny Mathis and The Beatles were some of the main attraction[1]. The Chinese name of the Beatles was a clever translation to (披頭四) meaning of "Mop-top four" to describe the four members and hairstyle. It is one of the many names given by Hong Kong fans to English-speaking musicians. The golden period was the 1950s, as the music style was already beginning to cross over to cantopop in the late 1960s. Many of the musicians performed music that should be classified as western rock and roll, but because modern music had little categorization in Hong Kong at the time, they were either grouped into Chinese or English songs.
Because television was available only to a limited audience in the late 1960s, early 1970s, only a few of the most successful artists were ever televised. Most were heard on radios and vinyl records promoted via nightclub scenes or mini concerts. Some of the artists and groups that were exclusive to the era include Teddy Robin and his band Teddy Robin and the Playboys, Joe Junior and Irene Ryder. A number of groups also started out singing in English with individual members eventually going solo into the cantopop industry. Examples include the Wynners, which would later produce Kenny Bee and Alan Tam. Roman and the Four Steps would later produce Roman Tam. Other groups include the Chopstick Sisters with Sandra Lang. Another influential group at the time was the Lotus featuring Samuel Hui.
[edit] Today
A number of musicians are still imported from the US and UK today, nevertheless, its market is smaller in comparison to Cantopop and Mandopop. Many local artists still occasionally perform in English, some artists even released full length English album, for example, Jacky Cheung, Chet Lam, The Pancakes, Ketchup, etc.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Broughton, Simon. Ellingham, Mark. Trillo, Richard. [2000] (2000) World Music: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides Publishing Company. ISBN 1858286360
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