1988

Leslie Cheung storms the Coliseum

1988-08-01

IN AMERICA, Pepsi Cola chose Michael Jackson to represent the new generation.  In Hong Kong it was Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, who is now displaying his own brand of megastar fizz, with 23 sell-out pop concerts at the Coliseum.

Meet Leslie Cheung – the man behind the glitter and glamour; the reclusive who shuns the gossip-mongers.  As the talented actor, singer, dancer and songwriter, he’s the one the teenagers love to love, but now he’s broadening his image and he’s riding higher than ever before.

“When I sense myself at the peak, I will quit, and people will remember me for the best times,” he said.

Currently, the 31-year-old Cheung is wowing the fans by singing and dancing his way through 23 solo concerts.

The 250 000 or so fans attending his summer concerts, which started on July 29, will see the results of months of planning.  Visually spectacular, the performances feature video clips from his movies, dancers, and costume changes galore, and highlight Cheung’s dual career as singer and actor.

He has not formally invited fellow artists to make guest appearances, as Sam Hui, anita Mui and George Lam have done in the past.  However, should such a star happen to attend a show, Cheung may well invite him or her on stage to do an unrehearsed duet.

Rehearsals, a shopping spree for costumes in Europe, and dancing lessons in Japan, have filled his time during the past three months.  He has also undergone a fitness programme, to shape up for the exhausting series of performances.  “Just before doing concerts I quit smoking and I swim and jog more often, so I look very healthy.”   He described the concerts as “big-scale”, but before he saw the huge response to ticket sales he insisted that record-breaking was not what it was all about.  “I’d be happy just to do more than 12, that’s the number I performed last time.”  As it is, Cheung’s 23 beats Alan Tam’s personal record, and falls overall second behind Mui’s 28.   “I love singing – and dancing – at concerts,” said the star, who often choreographs his own routines and has played a major role in developing his own image.

Singing in Cantonese, Mandarin, English and Japanese, he is taking the opportunity to display his versatility by performing more than mere dance tunes and ballads.  The man who once said that the first thing he looked for when choosing a song was its commercial value, is now branching out.

Cheung enjoys singing Chinese opera, but acknowledges that his fans aren’t so keen.  “It’s gimmicky to listen to a pop star sing Chinese opera, but they wouldn’t buy a record of it.  During a concert it’s okay.”

After his success in the films Rouge, A Chinese Ghost Story, and A Better Tomorrow, Cheung has decided to include medleys of the movie theme songs, sometimes dressing in the appropriate costume.   He considers the two careers run parallel, although his acting has taken off only in the past couple of years.  “I’ll take any challenge” said Cheung of his film career.  With the benefit of being able to turn down a film if he is unhappy with the director, script or lead actress, he said he was contented with the outcome of all his movies so far.   “But who can beat Chow Yun-fat at the moment?  He deserved to win the best actor award this year,” said Cheung.  But he didn’t discount the idea that he might win the award in the future.

“I’m hard-working.  Yes, I think I’m talented, to be frank,” he laughed.

Endorsements, first for Konica and recently for Pepsi Cola, have become a profitable sideline for the star.  Cheung said that he was happy with the Pepsi commercial, as the “sexy and romantic” sequence matched his present image.  PepsiCo chose the star for its local advertising campaign on advice from Hong Kong ad agency BBDO, and a representative of the agency said that Cheung was the first and only choice for the new advertisement.

“Cheung represents the younger generation.  We asked a lot of kids their opinions before we made the decision to approach Cheung.  We decided that Alan Tam was already over-exposed.”

Rarely far from the limelight, Cheung has also branched out into song-writing, originally sticking to lyrics but now trying to compose melodies, with the aid of a tape recorder.  “I can’t play any instruments, so I hum a new tune into a tape recorder,” he said, with a laugh.  “Luckily I have a very good producer,”

Lyrics should be meaningful, said Cheung.  “Mine are tender.  Not colloquial.  Some are taken from personal experience.”

Cheung is fluent in English, and plans to write an English lyric in the near future, probably with the help from Lam.

Although Cheung is friends with celebrities such as Lam, Mui and Paula Tsui, most of his free time is spent with people outside the entertainment business, or alone. Home for the past year has been in Repulse Bay, where the star has become reclusive, wary of the gossip press.

“I don’t go out at night any more.  I used to go to discos, but people would gossip.  If they saw me talking to a guy, they’d say ‘he’s gay’.”  Cheung denied there was any truth in these allegations, but added: “I don’t usually respond to those rumours.  I don’t really mind, because I have many friends who are gay.  Maybe I’m more open-minded.  My mentality is different from most Chinese.  I was abroad for such a long time.”

Cheung has received a bad press on a number of occasions, mainly since he split up with fiancee three years ago.  Now the star prefers to stay in the privacy of his own home, agreeing that rumours affect his popularity.

“People call me a loner,” he said, as an aide lit another cigarette for him.

Free time is often spent watching selections from his library of laser discs.  He also enjoys mahjong and goes in for sport such as badminton and swimming.  Cars are a passion; he went into a long description of his latest Mercedes, but finished up with, “No, I don’t act nouveau riche. I seldom buy things.  I’m not that type.”

Roughly three months a year is spent travelling, but it’s all for business.  He hasn’t had a break from his busy schedule for the past two years, and said I’m desperate for a holiday.”

Rumours abound that Cheung will retire by 1990 but the star says the press takes his “maybe” answers too emphatically, although he doesn’t see himself staying in the entertainment field forever.  Ideas for his future change with his mood; he has been quoted as saying he would become an interior designer after retiring from show business.  This time, he mused over the idea of opening “my own chic, cosy coffee shop”.

Giving up the limelight wouldn’t be a problem.  “It’ll be nice not to be famous any more.  I enjoy it now, but I won’t miss fame.”

He talked about moving to Toronto, but he hasn’t yet bought a home there.  Mentioning no dates, he said that after he quit show business and left Hong Kong, he planned to keep busy.  “If I quit everything, I think I’ll get old too easily.”

Next year’s world tour, already being promoted as his last, will take in Taiwan, Singapore, Australia and Canada.  Venues will include Madison Square Gardens in New York, and London’s Royal Albert Hall, where he expects the majority of the audience to be Chinese.

Of breaking into the Western market, Cheung said: “The problem is that the Americans are very talented …… and there might be some prejudice as well.  That will influence the careers of the Chinese singers and actors.”

But although he has fans all over the world, he has so far declined to break into the nearby markets of Japan and Taiwan.  “It’s too hard.  I’d have to spend too much time there.”

“It’s very difficult for a Hong Kong artist to make it in Japan or Taiwan,” he said, and admitted that it would also be tough to be treated as a new star again.

“Jackie Chan is famous because people admire him as a kung-fu star.  But it’s very hard for a singer.”

He disagreed that Hong Kong was too small to satisfy an artist’s ego.  “Six million is a lot to me.  My first album sold just 800 copies.  Now each album sells over 200 000.  Summer Romance was the best-selling CD of last year.”

He also won platinum discs for his latest albums, Summer Romance and Virgin Snow.

Outspoken, and easy to talk to, Cheung became withdrawn only at mention of he much-rumoured rivalry between himself and Tam.

“Maybe the problem is that people – the press like to compare us.  First it was Danny Chan, now it’s Alan Tam.”

He called Tam an acquaintance, and said he had worked with Chan on two movies, but denied that he didn’t get on with either of them.

Sam Hui and George Lam are the ones the young idol admires.  “It’s funny, because they started singing when I was still a schoolboy.  Then, two or three years ago, I started singing with them, which was an overwhelming experience,” said Cheung.

“My career took a long time to get established, but, no, I never thought about giving up.  I wanted to be appreciated for my talent. And then I found that money comes as well …..” he laughed “ …… which is good.”

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