Obituary | Musicians pay tribute to ‘Hong Kong’s Eric Clapton’, guitarist Davie Colquhoun
- Davie Colquhoun, who had been a major part of Hong Kong’s music scene since the 1980s, died on New Year’s Day
- Musicians and friends remember a great player and generous man who had no ego
In August last year, shortly before Hong Kong live music bar The Wanch closed its doors, Davie Colquhoun wrote an ode to the venue. The owners stuck it on the wall.
It read: Strange days indeed / Strange times at hand / That forced the music to disband / No chance for reason or to reason why / And no chance to play goodbye.
Those lines now have an additional poignancy. Davie Colquhoun, who was The Wanch’s most regular performer and the host of its acoustic jam sessions, died suddenly on New Year’s Day. The cause has yet to be confirmed, but is thought to be an asthma attack. His friends aren’t sure of his exact age, but he was in his late 60s or early 70s.
Wanch co-owner John Prymmer said: “When we suspended operations, Colquhoun said ‘You have to let me play the first song when you reopen’. I promised him we would.”
Perhaps they can play a song from one of his CDs instead. Colquhoun was best known as an interpreter of other people’s music, but leaves a recorded legacy which includes two albums of his own songs. Strapped, from 1998, and 2010’s Short and Sweet feature many of the city’s most prominent musicians.
