/ Dear Jane bassist Jackal Ng on how the band stays together: in a Cantopop-dominated music scene, the Hong Kong punk-pop quartet has played for almost 20 years – thanks to Ng being the ‘glue’

Dec 21 , 2022

Dear Jane bassist Jackal Ng, sporting Richard Mille. Photo: Fox Woo

XXIV 2022

Solo singers may be most well-known in Hong Kong’s music world, but bands like Beyond, Mirror and Dear Jane – founded in 2003 – have broken that mould

Jackal Ng has a love for vintage and recently inherited his dad’s Rolex as an heirloom – although his watch of choice is a Richard Mille 65-01

Few Hong Kong bands are culturally ubiquitous in a music scene dominated by solo singers – Supper Moment, Beyond and now Mirror come to mind – and even fewer have punk rock quartet Dear Jane’s longevity. The group have been continually active since forming in 2003.

“After the almost 20 years we’ve been together, I still enjoy sitting down with my bandmates to interact and create something together,” bassist Jackal Ng says. “You have to make music and decisions based on what makes you happy, and you have to be honest as a group.

“Galactic Repairman” is one of Dear Jane’s most popular songs. Photo: @dearjaneofficial/Instagram

“What if only two people want to be famous? Does everyone want the same rewards from music? These are things you have to know from the start. We were blessed to be aligned on what we wanted to do and it’s saved us from a lot of grief.”

For Ng, that means owning his role as perhaps the glue of the band. “Every band needs to have someone doing the little things. From day one, everyone’s played their roles and hasn’t changed. I’m a jack of all trades; besides the music-making, I’ll be the one to execute details and tasks.”

Ng’s practical execution of aesthetics partly stems from his commercial design background. Ever particular about aesthetics, Ng’s focus is on the process of presentation and display. “The moment I know what the theme is, I identify what can or cannot be done as well as who can help me. ”

Dear Jane bassist Jackal Ng. Photo: Fox Woo

Recently, Ng’s theme in his personal life has been the word “dirty”. It can mean “not pristine” or “well-loved” but it will have a history, which extends from Ng’s love of vintage things.

“My dad has vintage watches that I was never really allowed to have,” explains the Hong Kong-born musician. “Three years ago, my dad suddenly said, ‘Let me pass this Rolex on to you.’ For his generation, a man’s watch was his identity. Lending watches to coordinate outfits is one thing, but passing it on to me was symbolic of passing on his role as a patriarch, as his older brother once passed that watch to him. I’m hesitant, so neither of us is wearing the Rolex for now.”

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Ng is not unprepared for responsibility of inheriting the heirloom. Part of Dear Jane’s longevity stems from Ng’s steadfast role as band mediator. “I’ll notice if someone is having troubles,” he says. “Conversely, I’m quite transparent if something is wrong with me, whether they can help or I just need to vent. Between these two processes, most problems can be solved, I think.”