Beyond was a Hong Kong rock band formed in 1983. The band became prominent in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...

, and

Overseas Chinese Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. Terminology () or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, refe ...

communities.HKheadline.com.
HKheadline.com
" ''Beyond 一代搖滾班霸.'' Retrieved on 27 December 2010. The band is widely considered as the most successful and influential

Cantopop Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of pop music written in standard Chinese and sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production ...

band from Hong Kong. In 1993, leader

Wong Ka Kui Koma Wong Ka Kui (; 10 June 1962 – 30 June 1993) was a Hong Kong musician, singer and songwriter. He gained fame in Asia as the leader and a co-founder of the rock band Beyond, where he was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and prima ...

, died at the age of 31 after an accident during the filming of a show at

Fuji Television JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba today is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially b ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. Beyond continued to perform and record after Wong Ka Kui's death. In 2005, the remaining members Paul Wong,

Wong Ka Keung Steve Wong Ka Keung (; born 13 November 1964) is a Hong Kong musician, singer, songwriter and the bassist for the rock band Beyond. He is also younger brother of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Wong Ka Kui, who died in 1993. Life and care ...

and

Yip Sai Wing Yip Sai Wing (born 19 August 1963) is a Hong Kong musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the rock band Beyond, formed with the lead vocalist Wong Ka Kui. Biography In 2003, Beyond won the "Best Original Film Song" at the 23rd ...

decided to pursue their own solo careers, and Beyond officially disbanded.

History

Early years

In the early 1980s, lead vocalist

and drummer

started out as young musicians who were both interested in

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

.Big5.china.com.cn.
Big5.china.com.cn
." ''Beyond.'' Retrieved on 27 December 2010. In 1983, they decided to join a music contest for "Guitar magazine" and they decided to form a band with lead guitarist William Tang (鄧煒謙) and bassist Lee Wing Chiu (李榮潮). Tang wished the band's name to convey a feeling of surpassing or going beyond themselves, so the name "Beyond" was chosen. However, the band name was not definite at the time. The band's musical style was still

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

. Wong Ka Kui and

Tai Chi Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called "shadowboxing", is an neijia, internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and medita ...

lead guitarist Joey Tang formed a temporary band called NASA band that did

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...

style of music with English pop. In 1984, Wong's younger brother

joined the band as bassist. At the time, the band consisted of Wong Ka Kui, Yip Sai Wing, Wong Ka Keung and new lead guitarist Chan Sze On (陳時安). Chan soon had to leave for a foreign country, leaving the band without lead guitarist. In 1985 Paul Wong joined the band to replace him. In the early years, time was difficult for the band. They had to do everything themselves, including organising its finance, selling tickets, performing and buying their own equipment. The band's first self-financed concert took place in 1985 at

Caritas Centre Caritas may refer to: * The Latin term for charity, one of the three theological virtues Religion * Caritas Internationalis, a confederation of Roman Catholic relief, development and social service organisations ** Caritas Christi Health Care, a ...

in Hong Kong. The show was unsuccessful, but caught the attention of their first manager. He would help them raise

HK$ The Hong Kong dollar (, sign: HK$; code: HKD) is the official currency of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is subdivided into 100 cents or 1000 mils. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is the monetary authority of Hong Kong and ...

16,000, but the band was soon left with only HK$1000. In 1986, the band rented a studio to record the album ''Goodbye My Dreams'' (再見理想). Lau Chi Yuen (劉志遠) then joined Beyond as lead guitarist and keyboardist. At the time Small island,

Tat Ming Pair Tat Ming Pair () is an experimental Cantopop duo formed in Hong Kong in 1985 by composer Tats Lau (劉以達) and vocalist Anthony Wong Yiu-ming (黃耀明). Their blend of Cantopop, synthpop, new wave and electronic dance music with lyrics ...

and Beyond made a recording together. Small island was scheduled to go to a July 1986 Pan-Asian Music Festival in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

, and Beyond was added to the schedule. Beyond was well liked and they joined another festival that same year. They would then sign with Kinn's Music record company.

Commercial success

In 1987, Beyond produced the second album. The album ''Arabian Dancing Girls'' (阿拉伯跳舞女郎) was one of the band's first commercial hits. They soon were in a new music underground trend along with a few number of bands, such as

, Cocos and Raidas. Lau Chi Yuen left the band in 1988, leaving the band with four members only. In 1989, Beyond became the first Hong Kong band to perform in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

at the

Capital Indoor Stadium The Capital Indoor Stadium () is an indoor arena in 56 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing, China that was built in 1968. It hosted matches between national table tennis teams of China and the United States in 1971; these matches were part of the ...

. Since Beyond's songs were in

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

(instead of

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

), the performance was not well received by the audience. Before the stadium was filled, half the people had already left. However, they still considered the concert a success. After a couple of flops, Beyond started to gain popularity following the release of the hit song "Great Land" (大地). They would soon win their first musical awards, the 1988 Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards Presentation and 1989 RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards. In 1990, they released one of their signature songs, "Glorious Years" (光輝歲月). The song was about racism and the struggle of

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. The song was a huge hit, and had a fresh sound that stood out from the sea of love songs that dominated the Cantopop scene in Hong Kong. The song was from the band's album ''Party of Fate'' (命運派對), which sold extremely well, achieving

triple platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. According to a later interview with Wong Ka-Keung, Mandela was "deeply moved" when he heard about the song during his final days in hospital. In 1991, Beyond released another critically acclaimed song "Amani" from the album ''Hesitation'' (猶豫). The song was written during Beyond's trip to

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

.http://www.greenpeace.org.
www.greenpeace.org
" ''雍容政府與公共事務主任.'' Retrieved on 27 December 2010. As suggested by the title, which means "peace" in Swahili, the song is about the plight of war-ravaged

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and the yearning for world peace. Part of the song's lyrics were written in Swahili. The song is still often used by Hong Kong's human rights bands to spread the message of peace. In the same year, Beyond made their first appearance on Japan's

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

station. They immediately signed with record company Amuse. Beyond started to become a more international band, and began to focus more time in Japan and Taiwan. The album ''

Continue the Revolution Beyond was a Hong Kong rock band formed in 1983. The band became prominent in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Mainland China, and Overseas Chinese communities.HKheadline.com.HKheadline.com" ''Beyond 一代搖滾班霸.'' Retrie ...

'' (繼續革命) achieved commercial and critical success. In May 1993, Beyond released the album ''

Rock and Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

'' (樂與怒) which included the song " Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies" (海闊天空). That song would become Wong Ka Kui's last song with the band.

Death of Wong Ka Kui

Beyond arrived in Japan in January 1993 to record new material and engage in media appearances. On 24 June 1993, the band appeared at a Tokyo

game show ''If Uchannan-chan is Going to Do It, We Have to Do It!'' . The stage platform was 2.7 to 3m high.Bagua.ifensi.com.
Bagua.ifensi.com
." ''黃家駒從2.7米高台上墜下遺憾告別人世.'' Retrieved on 27 December 2010. Actor

Teruyoshi Uchimura , half of the Japanese comedy duo Utchan Nanchan, is one of the most famous and influential comedians in the owarai community. His nickname is ''Utchan'' ("Wutchan"), and his partner, Kiyotaka Nanbara, is known as ''Nanchan''. He was born on July ...

and Wong Ka Kui both fell off a broken stage and sustained massive head injuries.Arts.cultural-china.com.
Arts.cultural-china.com
." ''Wong Ka Kui.'' Retrieved on 27 December 2010.Tsurumitakanori.com.

." ''Ka Kui's accident.'' Retrieved on 27 December 2010. Wong was sent to the Tokyo Women's Medical University hospital. He fell into a coma and died one week later at aged 31. The death occurred at the prime of the band's career, with the tremendously successful song " Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies" released around the time. His funeral procession caused traffic in various major streets in Hong Kong to come to a standstill, and many top Hong Kong Cantopop singers of the time attended and paid tribute at the funeral. Criticisms followed that the Japanese were having too many late night shows of this type, and the TV station crews were overworked.

Post Ka Kui era

There was debate as to whether the remaining three members should continue to record and perform as Beyond. Eventually, they reappeared on 30 November 1993 in Hong Kong at the Composer's Tribute Night concert.Beyondmusic.net.
Beyondmusic.net
." ''Beyond.'' Retrieved on 27 December 2010. In the new era their albums have a more

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

feel, unlike the progressive rock sound of previous albums. Beyond's first album in the post Ka Kui era was ''2nd Floor Back Suite'' (二樓後座). In 1997 the album ''Please Let Go of Your Hands'' also made a reference to Hong Kong's cultural changes after the handover of Hong Kong to China. In November 1999, the three remaining Beyond members announced that they would pursue their own solo career after a world tour. In 2003 for the band's 20th anniversary, they came out to embark on a world tour. The tour included stops in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and various cities in mainland China. In 2005, they played their last tour (The Story Live 2005) under the name Beyond and announced their disbandment at their last stop in Singapore. For the first time in three years, the three remaining members of Beyond reunited to play " Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies" for the Wong Ka Kui Memorial Concert. The concert was organised by Wong Ka Keung as a birthday tribute to his brother 15 years after his death which featured covers of Ka Kui's songs by bands and artists such as Kolor,

Soler Soler may refer to: * Soler Township, Roseau County, Minnesota * Soler (band), Hong Kong based rock band * Soler (grape), French wine grape, also known as Peloursin People with the surname Soler * Alay Soler (born 1979), Cuban baseball player ...

and

at17 at17, consisting of Eman Lam and Ellen Joyce Loo, were a Hong Kong–based folktronica and Cantopop all-female band managed by People Mountain People Sea. Biography Loo and Lam first met each other at a singing competition held by Tom Lee ...

. Yip Sai Wing and Paul Wong held a concert called "Beyond Next Stage Live 2008" on 11 Oct 2008 in

Genting Highlands Genting Highlands is a hill station located on the peak of Mount Ulu Kali in the Titiwangsa Mountains, central Peninsular Malaysia, at 1,800 metres elevation. Located in the state of Pahang. It was established in 1965 by the late Chinese busines ...

and later on 8 November 2008 at the

Singapore Indoor Stadium The Singapore Indoor Stadium, known exonymously as the Indoor Stadium, is an indoor arena located in Kallang, Singapore. It is within walking distance of the Singapore National Stadium, and collectively form a part of the wider Singapore Spor ...

. In 2009, Wong Ka Keung and Paul Wong held a series of concerts called "This is Rock & Roll" between 24 July and the 26th in Hong Kong.

Legacy

The song " Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies" has been used in many charity events. For example, the song's lyrics was modified and used for the massive

Artistes 512 Fund Raising Campaign Artistes 512 Fund Raising Campaign () was a major fundraising concert held in Hong Kong for the victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. The concert was held on June 1, 2008, and began at 2:28pm, the time the earthquake had struck Sichuan on May 12. ...

after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.Sina.com.
Sina.com
" ''兩岸三地演藝界齊動員獻唱《承諾》祝福災區.'' Retrieved on 27 December 2010. The original lyrics of the song "Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies" epitomizes the untamed pursuit of ideals and freedom despite obstacles. The song is widely sung by the protesters in the

2014 Hong Kong protests A series of sit-in street protests, often called the Umbrella Revolution and sometimes used interchangeably with Umbrella Movement, or Occupy Movement, occurred in Hong Kong from 26 September to 15 December 2014. The protests began after ...

, which aim to fight for the implementation of universal suffrage in accordance with the

Hong Kong Basic Law The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is a national law of China that serves as the organic law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Comprising nine chapters, 160 ...

and

Sino-British Joint Declaration The Sino-British Joint Declaration is a treaty between the governments of the United Kingdom and China signed in 1984 setting the conditions in which Hong Kong was transferred to Chinese control and for the governance of the territory after ...

. The song "Glorious Years" () is also used as the theme song for Hong Kong's political activities. For example, the song was used for Hong Kong's

Five Constituencies Referendum The 2010 Hong Kong Legislative Council by-election was an election held on 16 May 2010 in Hong Kong for all five geographical constituencies of the Legislative Council (LegCo), triggered by the resignation of five pan-democrat Legislative Coun ...

where the

pan-democrats The pro-democracy camp, also known as the pan-democracy camp, is a political alignment in Hong Kong that supports increased democracy, namely the universal suffrage of the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council as given by the Basic L ...

tried to push for a by-election."晚會繼續高呼「起義」"
, Hkdailynews.com. Retrieved on 24 January 2010.

Members

Principal members

– vocals, guitars (1983–1993; died 1993) *

– drums, percussion, vocals (1983–1999, 2003–2005) *

– vocals, bass (1984–1999, 2003–2005) * Paul Wong – vocals, guitars (1985–1999, 2003–2005)

Early members

* Lau Chi Yuen (劉志遠) – guitars, keyboards, vocals (1986–1988) * William Tang (鄧煒謙) – guitars (1983) * Lee Wing Chiu (李榮潮) – bass (1983) * Owen Kwan (關寶璇) – guitars (1983–1984) * David Chan (陳時安) – guitars (1984–1985) ;Roadie * Wong Chung Yin (黃仲賢) – guitars (2003, 2005)

Timeline

Discography

* ''Goodbye Ideal'' (再見理想) (1986) * ''Waiting Forever'' (EP) (永遠等待) (1987) * ''New World'' (新天地) (EP) (1987) * ''Arabian Dancing Girls'' (阿拉伯跳舞女郎) (1987) * ''A Lonely Kiss'' (孤單一吻) (single) (1987) * ''Modern Stage'' (現代舞台) (1987) * ''Yesterday's Footprints'' (舊日的足跡) (1988) * ''Secret Police'' (秘密警察) (1988) * ''Beyond IV'' (1989) * ''Real Testament'' (真的見證) (1989) * ''If Heaven Have Feelings'' (天若有情) (E.P.) (1990) * ''Great Earth'' (大地) (Mandarin) (1990) * ''Victorious Against Personal Demons'' (戰勝心魔) (E.P.) (1990) * ''Party of Fate'' (命運派對) (1990) * ''Glorious Years'' (光輝歲月) (Mandarin) (1991) * ''Hesitation'' (猶豫) (1991) * ''Continue the Revolution'' (繼續革命) (1992) * ''Endless Emptiness'' (無盡空虛) (EP) (1992) * ''Beyond Belief'' (信念) (Mandarin) (1992) * ''Rock and Roll'' (樂與怒) (1993) * ''2nd Floor Back Suite'' (二樓後座) (1994) * ''Paradise'' (Mandarin) (1994) * ''Sound'' (1995) * ''Love & Life'' (愛與生活) (Mandarin) (1995) * ''Beyond Splendid'' (Beyond得精彩) (EP) (1996) * ''Please Let Go of Your Hands'' (請將手放開) (1997) * ''Surprise'' (驚喜) (1997) * ''Here & There'' (Mandarin) (這裏那裏) (1998) * ''Until You Arrive'' (不見不散) (1998) * ''Action'' EP (1998) * ''Good Time'' (1999) * ''Together'' (EP) (2003) * ''Beyond 20th Anniversary 2003 Live'' (2003) * ''Beyond: The Ultimate Story'' (2004) * ''Beyond The Story Live 2005'' (2005) * ''Beyond No. 1 Compilation'' (2006) * ''Beyond 25th Anniversary'' (2008)

Filmography

* '' Sworn Brothers'' (1987) (cameo) * ''No Regret'' (靚妹正傳) (1987) (cameo) * ''The Black Wall'' (黑色迷牆) (1989) (cameo) * ''

The Fun, the Luck & the Tycoon ''The Fun, the Luck & the Tycoon'' is a 1990 Hong Kong comedy film directed by Johnnie To. It starred Chow Yun-fat, Sylvia Chang, Nina Li Chi and Lawrence Cheng. It is an adaptation of ''Coming to America''. Synopsis Lam Po Sang (Chow Yun-fat) ...

'' (1990) (actors) * ''

Happy Ghost IV ''Happy Ghost IV'' (released in the Philippines as ''Magic to Win 4'') (Chinese: 開心鬼救開心鬼) is a 1990 Hong Kong comedy film directed by Clifton Ko. The film stars Raymond Wong and Pauline Yeung. Cast * Raymond Wong as Hong Sum-kwai ...