Lasting Legend - Leslie Cheung (Part 2)

Part 2 from YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2rsu0Qdh7Q&feature=related

Leslie [excerpt from his radio autobiography]: It therefore began my new stage. I signed up with TVB as its contract singer.

[Song of “Fallen Family” was played]

[Song of “Once an Ordinary Girl” was played]

Lo Kwok Jim: He did not like to follow the contemporary rule of singing a song. According to the term used in Cantonese opera, he was touching the string and then sliding up and down [Note of translator: I believe he means “like striving to not follow the fine balance demanded by Cantonese opera”]. He did not conform completely according to the rhythm.

[Song of “Refuse to Play” was played]

Michael Lai: For those good boys who always stick to the rules it is difficult to rise and become popular. It’s got to be those who, apart from possessing some playful nature, should also be at the same time naughty, because in the artistic field, there is something called “the brush of God”; with that stroke, that splash of red in the picture, like that expression “ah”, it can hit the audience and grab their attention.

[Song of “Monica” was played]

Florence Chan: How popular was “Monica”?

Florence Chan: Because of “Monica”, the sale of his album reached the number of 400,000 copies. Really incredible!

[Song of “Monica” continued to play]

[Karen Mok came out from the backstage]

Karen Mok: I believe Gorgor’s stage charisma is irreplaceable.

Karen Mok: A very important point that he taught me is when standing on the stage, I have to strike a pose, i.e. you have to set up a pose so that all the people’s attention is on you.

[Song “Side Face” was played at the same time.]

Karen Mok: Another golden sentence of Gorgor’s that I like very much is “haau4, leng3, jing4, cyun3”.

[Song of “Red” was played – clip from Red - 1997 Crossover Concert]

Karen Mok: When you have sex appeal, that is “haau3”.

Karen Mok: “leng3” means beauty, it requires no further explanation.

Karen Mok: “jing4” is a kind of manner, apart from your outward appearance.

Karen Mok: For “cyun3”, I think this is the most classic one, i.e. sometimes you yourself do not have to care about what other people think or whether the audience are there supporting you or others, you just ignore their existence [laugh].

Leslie: No one can drive me over the edge and make me quit. If I do not stay in this field any more, it’s because it’s my choice and I will retreat with glory. [excerpt from James Wong et al’s interview of Leslie in 1989]

[Song “Wind Continues to Blow” – clip from Final Encounter (1989) was played]

Florence Chan: Hong Kong was the last stop of Leslie’s 1988 World Tour. During the world tour, he repeatedly told me that, “I feel the pressure is really great. I want to have my own life. I don’t want to do it anymore. I feel that Momoe Yamaguchi (山口百惠) can retire at the age of 21, I can …”. Actually the retirement of Momoe Yamaguchi affected him a lot.

[Song “Fear Not Able to Encounter Again” (1984) was played]

Eliza Chan: I think he was very clever. I think he understood full well that if he continued to stay in the singing field and did not take a break, he could never present yet another fresher image. The only thing that could enable him to establish or breakthrough himself was to take a break.

[Clip of Sam Hui’s Retirement Party was played]

Leslie: I sing here purely because this is a private party, besides, Sam is my favourite artist so tonight I will have to make an exception and sing again.

[Leslie singing “Silence is Golden”]

Narrator: No one would believe that in 1989 when it was the peak of Gorgor’s career, he would make the decision to retreat. As well, no one could foresee that when Gorgor came back from the retreat he would give us so many surprises. [Song “Silence of Golden” goes on]

[Song “Chase” was playing] Gorgor came back to the singing field in 1995

Hui Yuen (Musician): When he returned and was involved in music recording, he didn't have the burden of being a pop idol. His artistic pursuit became higher.

[Leslie at music studio with Hui Yuen]

Hui Yuen: You could see that the songs he chose or the songs that he invited others to write for him, starting from “Chase” until the end when he asked people to tailor-make the songs for him, you could tell that his taste got higher and higher.

Lam Yik (Lyricist): Perhaps without the burden of music awards or any other elements, he could record songs that he liked. Themes of songs were beyond the basic elements of a pop singer, thus gave me an opportunity to put my imagination and creative ideas into lyrics.

[Song “Blame You for your Beauty” (1996) was played]

Lam Yik: The most unforgettable one was the song “I” at the latter stage of his career. “I” is a song through which he ignored the others and openly sang out words that were from the bottom of his heart, exposing his identity.

[Leslie speaking at the Passion Tour]

Leslie: The theme of “I” is other than knowing how to love each other, the most important thing is to know how to appreciate yourself.

[Song “I” (2000) was sung at the Passion Tour – clip]

Chan Wing Go (Concert Producer): Leslie was a very brave, creative and uptrend performer. He wouldn’t worry whether the audience would accept it or not, ...

[TO BE CONTINUED]