Alan Tam

Alan Tam Wing-lun<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Postnom (Template:Zh; born 23 August 1950) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. He played a major role in developing the Cantopop scene in the 1980s as he was known for singing romantic ballads with modern arrangements. From 1983 to 1987, Alan Tam received numerous music awards and won Most Popular Male Artist and IFPI Award for successive four years, which made him the most famous superstar singer of Hong Kong in 1980s. In early 1988, he publicly quit all pop music award ceremonies and put most efforts in searching new direction for Cantopop music.

Today, he is still active in the music and film industry, releasing new albums on a regular basis. Since the late 1980s, he has served as a mentor for the cantopop music industry, earning the nickname the "Principal" or "Principal Tam".<ref name="cash" /> Today he is regularly seen across the media in Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, and various parts of East Asia participating in all types of entertainment-related events and charity activities. As of 2013, Alan Tam has launched a total of 115 solo albums and has sold over 35 million records worldwide; he also holds the record for having held the most concerts in Hong Kong as a solo artist. 20 of his albums have been certified platinum by the IFPI Hong Kong.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Biography

Early life

Tam was born on 23 August 1950 at Healthy Village in North Point. He is son of football player Tam Kong-pak, who represented the Republic of China national team during the 1936 Summer Olympics.<ref name="Sina1" /><ref>Fifa. "Fifa Template:Webarchive." Olympic Football Tournament Berlin 1936 results. Alan Tam's father listed as pinyin TAI Jiang Bai. Retrieved on 30 September 2008.</ref><ref>Wenweipo (香港文匯報). "Paper.wenweipo.com." 譚詠麟和父親譚江柏. Retrieved on 30 September 2008.</ref> He attended Shau Kei Wan Government Secondary School and Chi Lin Buddhist Secondary School. Then, he majored in Economics while attending Ngee Ann Technical College in Singapore.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Personal life

Tam married Sally Yeung Kit-mei in 1981. They have no children. Tam met his partner Wendy Chu in 1991; a son was born to them in 1995.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Alan's son got 12 A's, can't become a singer.</ref>

Career

Early years

Tam developed a passion for music in his secondary school years in Hong Kong. He formed a band called "The Wynners" ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) with his friends.<ref name="China1" /> They subsequently entered an amateur singing contest and took the first prize to begin a career in the entertainment industry, appearing in a number of TVB variety shows.<ref name="China1" /> The group disbanded, and he later reformed into the band The Wynners with Kenny Bee in 1973.<ref name="China1" /><ref>Cnwnews. "Cnwnews.com Template:Webarchive." 溫拿樂隊檔案. Retrieved on 30 September 2008.</ref> The Wynners performed mostly in English. Tam was one of the two lead singers in the band until it split in 1978.<ref name="Hkpag1" />

His first album as a solo artist was 'Naughty Boy' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) in 1979. An early success was the song 'Love in Autumn' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), first performed in 1984.

As a solo singer

Tam's first album as a solo artist was "Naughty Boy" ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) in 1979.<ref name="Hkpag1" /> He later releases such as "Love in Autumn" ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) in 1984 or "Embrace" ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), "Flower in Water" ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) or "Half Dazed, Half Awoken" ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) achieved commercial success. In the 1981 RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards, he also won his first major individual song award.<ref>RTHK. "RTHK Template:Webarchive." RTHK top 10 gold song awards 1981. Retrieved on 30 September 2008.</ref> His 1984 albums of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, "Foggy Love" ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) and 1985 "Love Trap" ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) formed a successful trilogy of albums.<ref name="Hkpag1" /> In 1988, he made an announcement that he would not accept any more awards with competition involved.<ref name="Hkpag1" /> He continued to release albums for the next 30+ years.<ref>RickyTong database. "RTDB." Alan Tam music db. Retrieved on 30 September 2008.</ref> From 1981 to 1988, he won a top 10 song award every year.<ref>RTHK. "RTHK." RTHK top 10 gold song awards 1988. Retrieved on 30 September 2008.</ref> This was in addition to his winning a top 10 song award every year from 1983 to 1987 for the Jade solid gold awards.<ref>TVB. "TVB Template:Webarchive." 1983 Jade solid gold award. Retrieved on 30 September 2008.</ref><ref>TVB. "TVB Template:Webarchive." 1987 Jade solid gold award. Retrieved on 30 September 2008.</ref> In 1993, he released the English album "My Love", in collaboration with Korean singer Kim Wan-Sun.

The Hong Kong press frequently reported a fierce rivalry between Tam and fellow singer Leslie Cheung.<ref name="Tamw">Tamwinglun. "Tamwinglun.com." 1999 news. Retrieved on 30 September 2008.</ref> Although both artists were at peace with each other, it was the fans who created the spectacle of a musical feud. In the late 90s, the singers brushed aside any doubts about their friendship, and even appeared together in galas and other special programmes. In 1999, Leslie Cheung, together with other 17 singers, participated in the Album "Paying Tribute to Alan Tam" ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) and collaborated to produce the single remix of Tam's popular songs "Illusion" ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) and "Foggy Love" ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}).<ref name="Tamw" /><ref>Universal music hk. "Umg.com.hk Template:Webarchive." Alan Tam. Retrieved on 3 August 2008.</ref>

In 2003, he teamed up with fellow artist Hacken Lee for a major world tour entitled Alan & Hacken (Template:Zh, or "Left Alan Right Hacken"). The name is a play on a Chinese idiom which means "neighbours" ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}). Up to 2013, they have performed around the world in countries like China, United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, Singapore, Taiwan, Macau, Malaysia, and Japan with over 100 concerts. Since 2006, he has been helping his godson Kelvin Kwan establish a career in the Hong Kong pop industry.<ref name=CCWB>Template:Cite news</ref>

One of his signature fast songs "Love Trap" ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) earned him the 25th Anniversary Jade Solid Gold song honour award in 2006.<ref>TVB. "TVB Template:Webarchive." Additional awards 2006. Retrieved on 30 September 2008.</ref> By 1995, he had already sold more than 20 million albums. By 2005, he had launched more than 104 albums, and 800 songs. He has taken part in 264 concerts, of which 189 were individual concerts.<ref name="Hkpag1" />

In 2007, he was the recipient of the 30th Hall of Fame Award from the Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong (CASH) for his 30+ years of contributions to the Hong Kong and Chinese music industry.<ref name="cash"/>

Actor

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} In the 1970s, Tam hosted the variety show The Wynners Show and took part in the television drama Over the Rainbow.<ref name="China1" /> He decided to pursue opportunities in Taiwan in 1980, and starred in renowned director Pai Ching-jui's A Girl Without Sorrow.<ref name="Hkpag1" /> He subsequently starred in more than ten films in Taiwan including The Funny Couple and Part Time Job. He later starred in a number of films like Armour of God with Jackie Chan and Master Wong v. Master Wong which is a parody of legendary Canton kung fu fighter Wong Fei Hung. In 1981, Tam won the Best Actor award at the Golden Horse Awards for his role in If I Were for Real.<ref name="Hkpag1" /> He has virtually retired from acting since Age of Miracles (1996) and Aces Going Places (1997). However, he makes a comeback for Here Comes Fortune in 2010.<ref name="China1" />

President of Artistes Guild

On 11 January 2008, Tam was elected as president of the Hong Kong Performing Artistes Guild.<ref>Asianbite. "Asianbite.com." Eason Chan Elected Vice President of the Hong Kong PAG. Retrieved on 30 September 2008.</ref> Just a month after he was elected, the Edison Chen photo scandal caused a media storm. The Guild condemned the increasing circulation and uploading of obscene photos on the Internet. Tam was interviewed daily by different media on the handling of the case. He stated, "The circulation of such obscene photos has created a bad atmosphere in society."<ref>Sina. "Sina.com." Hong Kong stars slam nude photos. Retrieved on 30 September 2008.</ref>

After the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Tam helped set up a relief committee to look after the livelihood and schooling of orphaned children. He was on a HK committee along with Eric Tsang, Jackie Chan, and Eason Chan.<ref>HKStandard. "The Standard.com Template:Webarchive." Run Run leads way as hearts and wallets open to disaster victims. Retrieved on 30 September 2008.</ref>

Entrepreneur

In 1997, an announcement was made in Admiralty, Hong Kong to launch a Star East Entertainment restaurant concept boasting 40 celebrity investors. It was one of the most publicised investments made by Tam in collaboration with his best friends Natalis Chan and Eric Tsang.<ref>HKStandard. "The Standard.com Template:Webarchive." HK stars to challenge Planet hollywood. Retrieved on 30 September 2008.</ref> In 2000, a merger was made between Star East and Planet Hollywood.<ref>SEC. "Secinfo.com." Planet Hollywood and Star East Holdings Complete Strategic Merger in Asia. Retrieved on 30 September 2008.</ref>

Politics

During the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, and after "worldwide coverage for Hong Kong’s police force utilizing heavy-handed tactics against student demonstrators",<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Tam sided with the police and attended a pro-police rally, saying "No one in the world has ever seen law enforcement officers attacked like that".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A backlash from fans followed quickly,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> with some fans smashing his records in public.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

YouTuber

On 11 April 2024, Tam put a verification video on his official YouTube account after posting old video of his live performances in the past 13 years.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>

External links

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