| Wu Bai & China Blue | |
|---|---|
| Chinese name | 伍佰 & China Blue (Traditional) |
| Pinyin | Wǔ Bǎi & China Blue (Mandarin) |
| Birth name | Wu Chun-lin (吳俊霖) |
| Origin | Taipei, Taiwan |
| Born | January 14, 1968 |
| Occupation | Singer/ Song Writer |
| Genre(s) | Rock, Blues rock, PPop |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, Slide Guitar, Vocal, Trumpet, Keyboard, Drum |
| Label(s) | Pony Canyon, Rock, Avex Trax |
| Years active | 1992-present[update] |
| Current Members | Wu Bai Dean Zavolta Yu Ta-hao Chu Chien-hui |
| Official Website | wubai.com |
Wu Bai (Chinese: 伍佰; pinyin: Wǔ Bǎi; Taiwanese Minnan: Gō·-pah, born Wu Chun-lin (Chinese: 吳俊霖; pinyin: Wú Jǔnlín; Taiwanese: Ngô· Chùn-lîm) on 14 January 1968) is a Taiwanese rock singer and songwriter. He formed the band Wu Bai & China Blue with Dean "Dino" Zavolta on drums, Yu Ta-hao (余大豪 Yú Dàháo, aka “Big Cat”) on keyboards, Chu Chien-hui (朱劍輝 Zhū Jiànhuī) on bass guitar and Wu Bai himself on lead guitar and lead vocals. Labeled "the king of live music," Wu Bai is considered to be one of the biggest rock music stars in East and Southeast Asia.[1]
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Wu Bai was born in Suantou, Lioujiao -- literally "Garlic Village" -- in Chiayi County in south-central Taiwan. His father was a retired Taiwan Sugar Corporation worker and his mother a betel nut vendor, and he had two younger brothers who died in a car accident. His nickname Wu Bai, meaning "five hundred," derives from several stories, none of which can be proven to be fact: one story says the name came from his early academic success when he scored 100 points on each of five examination subjects.However, an interest in music in his teenage years led to a decline in his academic performance and he failed to pass the university entrance examinations. Another story says he used to charge 500 Taiwan Dollars for his early concerts.
In 2003, Wu Bai married Chen Wen-pey (陳文珮), his manager and girlfriend for over 10 years, in a private ceremony in Fukuoka, Japan.
Wu Bai is an avid fan of Japanese pro wrestling, and has even written a theme song for his close friend, Keiji Mutoh.[2]
Wu Bai is one of the biggest rock stars in Mandarin-language music which is marketed in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia. He also has fans in Japan, the United States, Canada, Australia and Ireland. He also has released a number of works sung in Taiwanese Minnan. Throughout the years, he held numerous sold out concerts in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong and has performed in North America as well. His albums have won many awards and have topped the sales charts. He writes almost all of his own songs for his albums and also writes for many popular artists including Andy Lau, Emil Chau, Karen Mok, Tarcy Su (蘇慧倫), and Vivian Hsu. His guitar-driven rock music differs from that of many mandopop or cantopop stars and, with his Taiwanese Mandarin accent and rough looks, he projects an image of an archetypal Taiwanese taike (台客) man in his music and film roles.
Wu Bai left Chiayi County for the capital of Taipei in the late 1980s and worked in a number of menial jobs. One of those jobs in a music shop led to the formation of his first band, Buzz, which soon broke up.[3]
Dean Zavolta describes the formation of Wu Bai & China Blue noting that the members originally "played for different bands up until about 1991, after which [Chu Chien-hui] and I began jamming together with the eventual idea of forming a newer, fresher, and original rock band...Then one day, he called me up and asked me if I would mind filling in for a one-off gig with himself and a guitarist named Wu Bai...Something just clicked between us. Both the music and the mo chi (默契) we had were fantastic. What really helped us though, was that when we first came out, Taiwan—along with other Asian countries—was ready for an Asian rock band that played live music."[4]
Wu Bai debuted with two songs on the Taiwanese-language Dust of Angels Soundtrack in 1992 which were credited to his real name, Wu Chun-lin, and featured Chu Chien-hui and Dean Zavolta credited as China Blue. The same year, Pony Canyon Taiwan released Wu Bai’s first album, Loving Others is a Happy Thing, a solo effort credited to Wu Chun-lin / Wu Bai, and featuring each of the three other current[update] China Blue members on at least one song but without the group being mentioned by name. The 1993 soundtrack to Treasure Island featured Wu Bai as Wu Chun-lin with the three members of China Blue designated as such. All subsequent albums as of 2007[update] have been credited to Wu Bai & China Blue.
Wu Bai's initial releases were followed by performing live at pubs throughout Taiwan notably Sleeping Earth in Taipei and, upon its closure, Live A Go-Go. As his fan base grew, "Friday with Wu Bai" became a weekly event for many listeners, especially college students. Based on this increasing popularity Wu Bai was given a contract with Rock Records’ Mandala Works which released his second album Wanderer's Love Song and accompanying music videos. Sales were limited but Wu Bai’s following continued to grow due to his live performances.[5]
In January 1996, Wu Bai & China Blue brought their powerful live show to Hong Kong for the first time to great success and Wu Bai began to be known as Taiwan's "King of Live Music."[3] Later that year they released the smash hit album The End of Love, which, propelled by the hit single "Norwegian Forest," sold over 600,000 copies and was honored by the China Times and the United Evening News as one of the year's Top 10 albums. The album also ranked in the Top 20 Music Videos on television’s Channel [V] and was nominated by MTV for the best music video of the year.
In June 1998, after representing Taiwan Beer in its new television commercial, Wu Bai also appeared in a Chinese movie A Beautiful New World, playing the part of a street singer. He also wrote and sang the title song for the movie.
In 1999, Wu Bai had a small role in The Personals, a motion picture with good box office sales. That November, Wu Bai released a Mandarin album, White Dove, and started a tour of three cities in Taiwan. He held six sold-out concerts in a gigantic tent called "Super Dome", which was also a ground breaking event for the Taiwanese concert scene. The album and the concerts were the first big events after Taiwan's devastating earthquake, which comforted so many people's broken hearts. As a result, Wu Bai was voted as the most popular singer of the year, and also rank number three as the Man of the Year, outranking the President of the Republic of China Lee Teng-hui.
In the year 2000, Wu Bai wrote and sang the theme song for the Pili movie Legend of the Sacred Stone. This time his backing music had a full orchestra, and the lyrics were written in Classical Chinese. Between March and April, Wu Bai and China Blue held three concerts in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. In Singapore, the Strait Times' headline after the concert was "King of Chinese Rock", in Malaysia, the media headline was "Cult Master arrived, all congregation bowed." and in Hong Kong, the whole audience stood up in a stadium that has rules against standing during concerts. After these phenomenal successes, Wu Bai sang at Taiwan's new president's inauguration, Singapore's National Day concert, and Japan Fukuoka's Music Festival. In Fukuoka, Japanese audiences all stood up to enjoy the concert even though they likely did not understand the lyrics. Wu Bai has also appeared in Tsui Hark's movie Time and Tide as the lead actor, and also wrote two songs for the soundtrack.
Wu Bai listened to 1970s English-language rock music such as Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix in his formative years and has said he felt it unusual for a Taiwanese person to play the guitar.[6] Prior to Wu Bai & China Blue's achieving widespread popularity in Taiwan in the mid-1990s, guitar-oriented rock music was unusual in the country's domestic popular music scene. Live concerts were similarly rare but the group's frequent touring and live album releases set a new standard for live performing in Taiwan. The band's distinctive blend of poetical lyrics with rock tunes has won them fans not only in Taiwan but throughout East and Southeast Asia and they have had successful regional concert tours in the many cities.