Dave Wong

For other people of the same name, see David Wong (disambiguation).
Dave Wong
Chinese name 王傑 (Traditional)
Chinese name 王杰 (Simplified)
Pinyin wang2 jie2 (Mandarin)
Jyutping wong4 git6 (Cantonese)
Birth name Wong Wen Ching
Ancestry Xi'an, Shaanxi
Origin Hong Kong
Born October 20, 1962 (1962-10-20) (age 49)
Hong Kong
Other name(s) Wang Chieh, Wang Jie, Wong Kit, Dave Wang
Occupation Singer, Actor
Genre(s) Mandopop, Cantopop
Instrument(s) Singing, guitar, bass guitar, piano, drums
Label(s) UFO Records (1988–1995)
Pony Canyon (1996–1998)
EEG (1999–2009)
Years active 1988–present
Children Daughter and son
Influences John Lennon
Official Website http://www.wang1020.com/

Dave Wong (traditional Chinese: 王傑; simplified Chinese: 王杰; pinyin: Wang Jie; Wade–Giles: Wong Kit) is a Chinese pop artist who was active in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His memorable hits include "一場遊戲一場夢" (A Game A Dream) and "幾分傷心幾分痴" (Bits of Sadness, Bits of Craze), "誰明浪子心" (Who Can Understand A Loner's Heart?), "忘了你 忘了我" (Forget You Forget Me), and "安妮" (Annie).

Contents

Biography

Wong was born in Hong Kong,[1] as the son of a former Shaw Brothers actor, Wong Hap. He moved to Taiwan when he was 17. Before landing his first record deal in 1988, Wong wrote songs for other singers under pen-names such as "Little Grass" and "Northern Wind". He worked as a Tae Kwon Do instructor, ice-skating coach, taxi-driver, delivery-man, waiter, bar-tender and cook. He also spent 3 years in the Taiwanese military in order to obtain a Taiwan ID card, despite holding a Hong Kong British passport.

Wong released his Mandarin debut album A Game A Dream (一場遊戲一場夢), which sold over 500,000 copies in December 1987, which was used as the theme song in the 1988 telemovie The Game They Call Sex. Another of his hits, "幾分傷心幾分痴" (Bits of Sadness, Bits of Craze), released in 1988, shares the melody and base music of "一場遊戲一場夢" (A Game A Dream) but sung in Cantonese with different lyrics. It was an insert song on Looking Back in Anger and the music video features Yin Szema.

He found success in Hong Kong during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Many of his songs were used as the theme songs of popular TVB series. He is one of the few artists from Taiwan to break into the Hong Kong market, with four years of chart-topping record sales. He is likewise successful in other markets such as Malaysia, Singapore and mainland China.

Wong migrated to Canada in 1994, after his second marriage in 1 April 1993. He carried on releasing two Mandarin albums a year until 1998. In 31 March 1996, he released a new Mandarin album under a different label, Pony Canyon, which ceased operations in Taiwan in late 1997 due to the Asian financial crisis. Altogether, he had released a total of five Mandarin albums in just a period of two years at Pony Canyon with notable hits like "I Love You (我愛你)".

In 1 January 1999, Wong made a comeback in the Hong Kong music industry, and signed a recording contract with EEG. In 1 January 2000, the album Giving was released with a few new songs as well as remixes of his older classics. Following the success of this album, Wong held a major charity concert in late February of the same year at Hong Kong Coliseum in Hong Kong.

Two years later, he released his latest Cantonese album through EEG called L'amour et le Reve (愛與夢). Around the same time, he participated in various movies including Jackie Chan's New Police Story (新警察故事).

He performed his first Beijing concert on 26 November 2004[2] and another in Xi'an on 16 September 2006. In 1 January 2007, he released his latest Mandarin album Goodbye Madman (別了瘋子); like his previous Mandarin album Regaining Consciousness (蘇醒), it was not heavily promoted.

After his 10 year contract with EEG expired, Wong held his 'I am Back' Concert on 23 October 2009 at the Hong Kong Coliseum.

He held a series of world tour concerts from August to November 2010 in Beijing, Singapore and Tianjin. He stated during a television interview in July 2010 that he would retire from the music industry after the tour.[3] He then clarified in September that it was only song-writing that he would be leaving, after the completion of the album he was working on, and that he will still continue to perform in concerts.[4]

Musical style and output

His music and lyrics can be described as being melancholy and haunting in a blend of rock ballads and blues. Wong is also an established songwriter having written many of his most popular songs but also covers songs by other artists, both from Asian and other continents.[5]

To date, he has recorded 26 studio albums in Mandarin and 11 in Cantonese. In addition, numerous compilations of his popular songs have been released.

Recognition

Awards

Nominations

Works

Discography

Mandarin Albums
Cantonese Albums
Compilation Albums
Remastered Albums

Concerts

Movies

TV Serials

Commercials

References

  1. ^ Dave Wang interview on Be My Guest), TVB (Chinese)
  2. ^ crienglish.com. Taiwan Singer Dave Wang Fulfills Dream in Beijing, News Guangdong, 29 Nov 2004. Retrieved 9 Sep 2007.
  3. ^ Singer Dave Wang announces retirement from showbiz, Channel News Asia, 21 July 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  4. ^ "I, Dave Wang, have nothing to hide!", Channel News Asia, 28 September 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  5. ^ E.g. Phil Chang's "No Smoking Days"[1]; Lionel Richie's song "Say You, Say Me"

External links