1988

A Star in the Making LESLIE lends a helping hand

August 1988

by SALLY RATCLIFFE  

The touts were selling whistles for as little as a dollar. The seats for the flock of 10,000 had already gone for a song at anything be­tween HK$30 to HK$200.

Friday was the first of "Leslie Cheung in Concert" and the Col­iseum was packed with Kwok-wing fans. It was like preaching to the con­verted for this well-rehearsed per­former. Leslie honoured the ticket price, and even started on time, opening with hits from his latest album Hot Summer.

Red Hot Love, a cover from the Summer tube Voulez vouz coucher avec moi was accompanied by 20 dancers ready to up­stage the Hongkong heartthrob in their pink stilettos and yellow sarongs. But they could upstage the star. The cute Cheung grin was enough to launch a thousand ships. "Thank you, thank you." It was time for the next song.

But then came the dull intermittence by Ann Bridgewater, who gave a less than energetic performance of her latest single A Rainy Day Without An Umbrella. Well at least it gave Leslie a well-deserved break.

Leslie bounced back for more, giving us, the local audience, a sentimental journey through his film successes. The Chinese flute from the theme song Chinese Ghost Story went smoothly with Leslie dressed up as Lin Choy Sin.

Slick programming throughout ensured that each song plucked at our heartstrings, indeed a marketer’s dream come true.

Moving from fast to slow, new hits to old, we had a superb mix of the Cheung repertoire. The old favourite Stand Up was there, just as the theme song from A Better Tomorrow and his latest chart suc­cess story Stuck On You translated well to a live performance.

After two hours on stage, Leslie decided it was time for a quick change and stripped down to his vest and shorts all to great effect, of course.

What more could the audience ask for? Better dancing for one thing. Over-the-top costuming, from Baroque blonde wigs and delight­ful cabaret frilled flounces did no­thing to lessen the impact of the stiff and sullen dancing.

On the plus side, credit must be given to the great Cheung chat-up lines, which sustained him throughout and kept us all chortling. But had Leslie given himself too much to do in a single concert? Was there a concert video in the making?

At times it was difficult to decide which was more important to Leslie as he struck many an awesome pose in front of the camera, losing energy in his singing as he posed. The girls swarming onto the stage carrying armfuls of flowers looked like they'd rehearsed it all before. But it they had, there was many a genuine squealing fan ready to negotiate the one-and-a-half metre gap between the stage and the long arm of the bouncers.

But three hours was probably too long to sustain an audience populated by teenyboppers and gazing grannies. Many decided that 11 pm was well past their bed­time and left as soon as the last note was sung. We'd had our money's worth, it was time to leave. Nobody clapped, everyone showed their appreciation by blowing whistles!

Leslie does have the singing capability and the stage technolo­gy to match it, but I'll be surprised if another 22 pacy concerts don't make the golden Leslie a rich yet silent star.          

South China Morning Post