Dear Jane is a
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 ...
band that consists of Tim Wong (lead vocalist), Jackal Ng (bass), Howie Yung (guitar/vocals) and Nice Lai (drums).
History
Dear Jane was formed in 2003. Members Adam Diaz and Howie Yung had previously been in an indie band called "Fuse". The band's name refers to the term
Dear John letter
A Dear John letter is a letter written to a man by his wife or romantic partner to inform him that their relationship is over, usually because his partner has found another lover. The man is often a member of the military stationed overseas, alth ...
but from the point of view of a male writing to a female. The name signifies their music highlighting the point of view of a male.
Dear Jane was first signed by See Music Ltd. In 2008, the contract was discontinued and the band was later signed by Music Nation Ltd., the same record company as Aaron Kwok. In 2011, the band moved to
Warner Music
Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...
.
Mainland China censorship
The Dear Jane song ''Galactic Repairman'' was released in 2020 to great popularity in Hong Kong. In July 2021, it was reported that a Hong Kong secondary school, the
ELCHK Yuen Long Lutheran Secondary School
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hong Kong (; Abbreviated as ELCHK) is a Lutheran denomination in Hong Kong.
History
On 27 February 1954, its establishing ceremony was held at Tao Fong Shan, Sha Tin with representatives from all Lutheran congr ...
, had punished students for singing the song during a school singing competition, claiming the lyrics contained political themes. The
Education Bureau
The Education Bureau (EDB) is responsible for formulating and implementing education policies in Hong Kong.
The bureau is headed by the Secretary for Education and oversees agencies including University Grants Committee and Student Fina ...
of the Hong Kong government reportedly warned the school that the song might violate the
national security law imposed on Hong Kong by China in 2020.
It was subsequently revealed that Chinese streaming service
QQ Music
QQ Music () is one of the three Chinese freemium music streaming services owned by Tencent Music, a joint venture between Tencent and Spotify. As of 2018, the service is set to reach over 700 million users with an estimated 120 million subscribe ...
had censored the song in response to the incident.
A month later, the Chinese
Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced that it would establish a list of songs banned for "illegal content". Dear Jane's song was thereafter taken off the air in China.
In January 2022, there were unconfirmed allegations that DJs from
RTHK
Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is the public broadcasting service in Hong Kong. GOW, the predecessor to RTHK, was established in 1928 as the first broadcasting service in Hong Kong. As a government department under the Commerce and Econom ...
, Hong Kong's public broadcaster, had been barred from playing any songs from 10 artists, including Dear Jane.
Discography
*"100" (2006) - by See Music Ltd.
*"XOXO" (2009) - by Music Nation Ltd.
*"GAMMA" (2011)
*"Yellow Fever!" (2012)
*"Dear Jane (Special Edition)" (2014)
*"Unavoidable" (2013)
[ 邓紫棋与茜拉惺惺相惜李克勤闻演协闪人
新浪网-22 Feb 2014 音乐会由Dear Jane率先出场，唱出《无可避免》、《到此为止》、《不许你注定一人》等多首流行歌曲，为音乐会打响头炮。 官恩娜紧随其后，与Dear Jane一起合唱英文歌《Way Back Into Love》，气氛热络。 ]
* 101 (2016)
* Limerence (2020)
References
External links
Dear Jane International FanclubDear Jane Official Site Dear Jane Yahoo! Blog
Dear Jane interview video + text
Musical groups established in 2003
2003 establishments in Hong Kong
Cantopop musical groups
{{HongKong-band-stub