How ‘Godfather of Canto-pop’ Roman Tam lives on in Hong Kong hearts and inspires today’s protesters
- Tam, who died 17 years ago on Friday aged 57, made Canto-pop unabashedly Hong Kong’s with his extravagant stage shows, costumes and dancing
- Today his songs of unity – particularly Below the Lion Rock – have found a place among Hong Kong’s protest movement
Cheers and singing explode from the plaza outside Hong Kong Space Museum as hundreds of lasers converge like fireflies upon the building’s domed exterior.
After weeks of tear gas and heartache, protesters are gathered to mock the police’s designation of laser pointers as “offensive weapons” by holding a laser party. Instead of the sombre hymns heard echoing around the streets after months of civil disobedience, this near-rave is soundtracked by In the Lasers, a thumping disco hit released in 1983 by Roman Tam.
Tam was known as the “Godfather of Canto-pop”, a genre synonymous with Hong Kong and renowned for its heavy drama, emotion and ostentation. Although he died 17 years ago today, aged 57, he is still held dear by Hongkongers, who draw upon hits from his 56 albums to soundtrack the highs and lows of life in an ever-changing city.
Tam’s success was not confined solely to Hong Kong or Asia: this year also marks the 40th anniversary of his landmark concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London and New York’s Carnegie Hall. In his heyday in the late ’70s through to the mid-’80s, his influence was ubiquitous throughout Hong Kong entertainment and culture, from film and television to fashion and theatre.
It was his television work that propelled him into the homes of Hongkongers, who would crowd around screens in the evenings to watch the RTHK kitchen sink drama Below the Lion Rock, for which Tam sang the eponymous opening theme.
