Tat Ming Pair () is an experimental

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 ...

duo formed 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 ...

in 1985 by composer

Tats Lau Tats Lau Yee-Tat (; born 23 February 1963) is a Hong Kong musician, songwriter, singer and actor. Music career During the 1980s, Tats Lau was active in Hong Kong's independent music scene. He established several underground bands including D ...

(劉以達) and vocalist

Anthony Wong Yiu-ming Anthony Wong Yiu-ming (; born 16 June 1962) is a Hong Kong singer, songwriter, actor, record producer and political activist. He rose to prominence as the vocalist for the Cantopop duo Tat Ming Pair during the 1980s before embarking on a solo ca ...

(黃耀明). Their blend of Cantopop,

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

, new wave and electronic dance music with lyrics that reflected contemporary social, political, and literary themes, made them one of the first alternative and most influential bands of the 1980s Hong Kong music scene. The band enjoyed critical and commercial success until a hiatus in 1990. After their breakup, Wong proceeded as a solo artist while Lau went into acting although the duo have reunited several times over the years. On 3 January 2019, the duo received the

Golden Needle Award Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards () is one of the main C-pop music award in Hong Kong. The award is sponsored by RTHK. Beginning in 1978, it is the oldest major award in Hong Kong, even earlier than the Jade Solid Gold Top 10 Awards. The cerem ...

for their outstanding musical contributions at the

RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards () is one of the main C-pop music award in Hong Kong. The award is sponsored by RTHK. Beginning in 1978, it is the oldest major award in Hong Kong, even earlier than the Jade Solid Gold Top 10 Awards. The cerem ...

. Since the

2019 Hong Kong protests Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

, the duo's songs have been blocked from music streaming sites in mainland China due to the political nature of their songs.

Music career

Formation: 1985

Tats Lau and Anthony Wong Yiu-ming met in 1985 when Wong was working as a DJ for

Commercial Radio Hong Kong Commercial Radio Hong Kong (CRHK, , aka Hong Kong Commercial Broadcasting Company Limited is one of the two commercial radio broadcasting companies in Hong Kong along with Metro Radio Hong Kong. CRHK provides an array of entertainment, includ ...

. Wong answered a singer-wanted advert placed in a music magazine by instrumentalist Lau, who had created two previous bands known as DLLM and Oriental Electronic Orchestra. The two discovered that they had a mutual interest in electronic music and they began working on original material. Lau became the main music composer of their songs. Hong Kong radio personality

Winnie Yu Winnie Yu Tsang (, born 1954) is a Hong Kong Radio Personality and the Deputy Chairman of Commercial Radio Hong Kong. Yu is known for her puns in creating radio programme titles and slang phrases (e.g., si-dan-up/" 是但噏", literally "free ...

christened them as "Tat Ming Pair" and they were signed to

PolyGram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...

Records.

Initial years: 1986–1991

The band provided an alternative to the mainstream pop/rock bands of the time due to their melodious synth-based music and politically conscious lyrics combined with themes drawn from

classic literature A classic is a book accepted as being exemplary or particularly noteworthy. What makes a book "classic" is a concern that has occurred to various authors ranging from Italo Calvino to Mark Twain and the related questions of "Why Read the Cla ...

. Their music was influenced by British musicians including

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...

and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

. Due to the pitch-sensitive tonal nature of Cantonese, pairing Cantonese lyrics with the western-style musical scale can be a difficult process. Thus they began their ongoing collaboration with

lyricists A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income der ...

such as Calvin Poon Yuen-Leung (潘源良), Yiu-Fai Chow (周耀輝) and Keith Chan Siu-Kei. The majority of their album art was directed by famed designer

William Chang William Chang Suk-ping ( zh, 張叔平; born 12 November 1953) is a Hong Kong production designer, costume designer and film editor. Along with cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Chang is an important collaborator with Hong Kong film director ...

. They released their first mini-album ''

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 th ...

'' (達明一派) in March 1986, followed by their debut full-length LP '' Tat Ming Pair II'' (達明一派II) in September of the same year. The cover of their debut EP contained an image prominently displaying Wong's long hair, a hairstyle which was considered subversive for men at the time in Hong Kong. Selected songs from their first full-length album were included in the 1986 film ''Kiss Me Good-Bye'' (戀愛季節) starring Wong and

Loletta Lee Rachel Lee (; born 8 January 1966), previously known as Loletta Lee, is a Hong Kong actress and a Category III film star. She started playing small roles in Hong Kong movies in the 1980s. Her first role as a lead actress was in ''Devoted to You ...

. The film's soundtrack also featured singer Samey Fong. Their second full-length album '' The Story of the Stone'' (石頭記) was released in 1987 and contained some of their biggest hit songs such as the title track, "Angels of the Road (馬路天使)" and "Rear Window (後窗)". An instrumental version of the title track was included as the opening theme for the film ''Golden Swallow'' (金燕子) starring Wong and

Cherie Chung Cherie Chung Chor-hung (; born 16 February 1960) is a retired Hong Kong film actress. Of Hakka ancestry, she was one of the top actresses in Hong Kong film during the 1980s. Background Chung participated in the 1979 Miss Hong Kong competition an ...

. The film's soundtrack also included an alternate recording of their song "Searching For Love (情探)". They continued to produce innovative records and their January 1988 release '' I'm Waiting For Your Return'' (我等着你回來) was considered Hong Kong's first

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

. The album theme dealt with the ongoing emigration of Hong Kong residents due to an uncertain political status after the signing of the

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 album won the award for Best Record Design at the 1988 RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards in which the band also won the award for Best Performance. In June 1988, they released '' Do You Still Love Me?'' (你還愛我嗎). The album contains one of their most famous songs "A Murder Unannounced in Advance (沒有張揚的命案)". The album is also noted for containing the song "Forbidden Colors (禁色)" which was one of the first songs in the Hong Kong music industry to deal with

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

and has since become a LGBT anthem. The title of the song was inspired by

Yukio Mishima , born , was a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, model, Shintoist, Nationalism, nationalist, and founder of the , an unarmed civilian militia. Mishima is considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century. He was ...

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

and the song has been covered by other artists including

Denise Ho Denise Ho Wan-see (born 10 May 1977) is a Hong Kong-based Cantopop singer and actress. She is also a pro-democracy and Hong Kong human rights activist. In 2012, Ho came out as lesbian, the first mainstream Cantonese singer to do so. In 2014, Ho ...

and

Eason Chan Eason Chan Yick Shun (born 27 July 1974) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. Chan was ranked sixth in the 2013 Forbes China Celebrity Top 100 List. In 2006 Chan's Cantonese album ''U87'' was named one of ''Time'' magazine's "Five Asian Albums W ...

and was featured in the 1992

Evans Chan Evans Chan (陳耀成) is a Hong Kong Second Wave film director. His work usually focuses on exploring identities of Hong Kong people, such as ''To Liv(e)'' (1992), ''Crossings'' (1994), and ''The Map of Sex and Love'' (2001). ''To Liv(e)'' is th ...

film ''To Liv(e)''. They released ''

Fallen Angel In the Abrahamic religions, fallen angels are angels who were expelled from heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" never appears in any Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven"Mehdi Azaiez, Gabriel Said R ...

'' (意難平) in 1989, the original Chinese title being taken from a line in

Dream of the Red Chamber ''Dream of the Red Chamber'' (''Honglou Meng'') or ''The Story of the Stone'' (''Shitou Ji'') is a novel composed by Cao Xueqin in the middle of the 18th century. One of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, it is known for ...

. The album was partially influenced by Spanish guitar melodies. The album lyrically contained varying themes such as "Love in the Time of Cholera (愛在瘟疫蔓延時)" which was a dedication to victims of

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

. The album is also lauded for containing the song "Forget He Or She (忘記他是她)" the first song on the Hong Kong music scene to examine

gender fluidity Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

. On May 27, 1989, the band participated in the

Concert for Democracy in China The Concert for Democracy in China () was a benefit concert held in Hong Kong in support of the students involved in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. The concert was held on May 27, 1989, at the Happy Valley Racecourse on Hong Kong Island. T ...

which was a

benefit concert A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate hu ...

held at

Happy Valley Racecourse The Happy Valley Racecourse is one of the two racecourses for horse racing and is a tourist attraction in Hong Kong. It is located in Happy Valley on Hong Kong Island, surrounded by Wong Nai Chung Road and Morrison Hill Road. The capacity ...

in support of the students involved in the

Tiananmen Square protests The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...

. The event lasted for 12 hours and raised over 1.5 million USD for the students in Beijing. Their final release before their initial hiatus was 1990's acclaimed ''

Nerves A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons) in the peripheral nervous system. A nerve transmits electrical impulses. It is the basic unit of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the e ...

'' (神經), another concept album which contained many songs relating to the

1989 Tiananmen Square protests The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...

and unease towards the upcoming 1997 handover of Hong Kong such as "The Ten Young Firemen (十個救火的少年)" and "Don't Ask The Sky (天問)". In 1991, the duo split amicably over a difference in musical opinion and a desire to pursue other work.

Solo careers: 1991–1996

After their separation, Lau formed several musical projects including Tats Lau and Dream (劉以達與夢) and wrote songs for other singers. Lau also composed music for film soundtracks and pursued his own acting career. Wong began to collaborate with other songwriters and lyricists, such as Jason Choi (蔡德才) and

Lin Xi Albert Leung (born 7 December 1961, ) is a lyricist and writer based in Hong Kong. Education Leung attended all-boy secondary schools at Chan Sui Ki (La Salle) College and La Salle College. He received a bachelor of arts in translation from th ...

. During this period, Wong released several successful albums which reached critical and commercial success. His solo career culminated in him winning the award for Best Original Song at the

1995 RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards The 1995 RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards () was held in 1995 for the 1994 music season. Top 10 song awards The top 10 songs (十大中文金曲) of 1995 are as follows. Other awards References {{DEFAULTSORT:1995 Rthk Top 10 Gold Songs Award ...

and the Metro Showbiz Hit Awards (新城勁爆頒獎禮) for his song "Before Sunrise (春光乍洩)". The video for "Before Sunrise (春光乍洩)" was directed by

Susie Au Susie Au Suet-yee (), is a film-maker and versatile based in Hong Kong. Her works include T.V. commercials, music videos, feature films, documentaries and multi-installations. She is noted for her stunning visual styles. She innovates electrif ...

and cinematography was done by

Christopher Doyle Christopher Doyle, also known as Dù Kěfēng (Mandarin) or Dou Ho-Fung (Cantonese) () (born 2 May 1952) is an Australian-Hong Kong cinematographer. He has worked on over fifty Chinese-language films, being best known for his collaborations ...

Reunion: 1996–present

The band reunited in 1996 to celebrate their 10-year anniversary and released a new single "A Forbidden Fruit Once Per Day (每日一禁果)" which won the top prize at the Ultimate Song Chart Awards (叱咤樂壇流行榜). They released their album '' Viva! Viva! Viva!'' (萬歲！萬歲！萬萬歲) in October 1996, staging a large-scale concert filmed at

Queen Elizabeth Stadium The Queen Elizabeth Stadium is an indoor sport facility on the Morrison Hill in Wan Chai, on the Hong Kong Island of Hong Kong. First opened in 1980, it has a 3,500-seat arena, gymnasia, squash and badminton courts, and a multi-purpose hall. ...

the same month. They also released a live album entitled ''Viva! Viva! Viva!: The Concert'' (萬歲！萬歲！萬萬歲！！演唱會) in 1997. The duo once again parted ways to focus on solo work, not reuniting again until 2004 for the release of the single "Blessed are the Lonely Ones (寂寞的人有福了)". In July 2005, they released the album '' The Party'' for their 20th anniversary. They once again staged more large-scale concerts filmed at the

Hong Kong Coliseum Hong Kong Coliseum, commonly known as the Hung Hom Coliseum, is a multi-purpose indoor arena, in Hung Hom Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong near Hung Hom station. It is in Yau Tsim Mong District. It was built by the Urban Council and inaugurated on 27 ...

Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) is one of the two major convention and exhibition venues in Hong Kong, along with AsiaWorld–Expo. It is located in Wan Chai North, Hong Kong Island. Built along the Victoria Harbou ...

and the

Shanghai Indoor Stadium Shanghai Indoor Stadium, () also known as the Shanghai Grand Stage, is a multi-purpose gymnasium in Shanghai. Hailed as a great feat of engineering at the time of its construction, the building is now considered dated and out-classed by newly ...

. The duo also released the live album ''At the Service Of The People'' (為人民服務演唱會). They once again reunited in 2012 to release a single "It's My Party" to celebrate their 25th anniversary. They also held a four-night residency concert in April 2012 at the

entitled ''兜兜轉轉演演唱唱會'' which resulted in another live album and DVD. The duo celebrated their 30th anniversary in 2017 with a series of concerts once again at the Hong Kong Coliseum and they also released the

maxi single A maxi single or maxi-single (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. The first maxi singles Mungo Jerry's first single, "In the Summertime" was the ...

"1+4=14". They released the live album ''達明卅一派對'' in November 2017. On January 3, 2019, the duo received the

due to their success and artistic influence on the Hong Kong music scene. In April 2019, all of the band's music was removed from

Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...

and other music streaming sites in

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. ...

as a result of censorship by the Chinese government due to the political and democratic nature of their songs. In May 2019, they released the song "Memory Is A Crime (回憶有罪)" in honor of the 30th anniversary of the victims of the

Tiananmen Square Massacre The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...

. It was composed by Lau with lyrics by

. The song topped the

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

chart in Hong Kong but was immediately banned in mainland China where discussion involving the protests and the violent military response is forbidden. On June 4, 2019, Wong performed the song live during the annual Tiananmen Square vigil in

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

. In November 2020, the band held a series of concerts at

entitled ''REPLAY'', which celebrated their two albums ''

'' (意難平) and ''

'' (神經). In December 2020, the band released the single "All Over The World (今天世上所有地方)". In November 2021, the band released the single "My Boyfriend (我的男朋友)".

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Tat Ming Pair II'' 達明一派II (1986) * '' The Story of The Stone'' 石頭記 (1987) * '' I'm Waiting For Your Return'' 我等着你回來 (1988) * '' Do You Still Love Me?'' 你還愛我嗎 (1988) * ''

'' 意難平 (1989) * ''

'' 神經 (1990) * '' Viva! Viva! Viva!'' 萬歲！萬歲！萬萬歲！(1996) * '' The Party'' (2005)

EPs and Singles

* ''

'' 達明一派 (1986) * '' Tat Ming Pair Remix'' 達明一派Remix (1986) * ''

Tender Is The Night ''Tender Is the Night'' is the fourth and final novel completed by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in French Riviera during the twilight of the Jazz Age, the 1934 novel chronicles the rise and fall of Dick Diver, a promising young ps ...

'' 夜未央 (1988) * '' A Forbidden Fruit Once Per Day'' 每日一禁果 (1996) * ''

Blessed Are The Lonely Ones Blessed may refer to: * The state of having received a blessing * Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been Beatification, beatified Film and television * Blessed (2004 film), ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 m ...

'' 寂寞的人有福了 (2004) * '' It's My Party'' (2012) * '' 1+4=14'' (2017) * '' Memory Is A Crime'' 回憶有罪 (2019)

Live albums

* ''Viva! Viva! Viva!: The Concert'' 萬歲！萬歲！萬萬歲！！演唱會 (1997) * ''At the Service Of The People'' 為人民服務演唱會 (2005) * Tat Ming Concert Live 2012 ''兜兜轉轉演演唱唱會'' (2012) * Tat Ming Pair 30th Anniversary Live Concert ''達明卅一派對'' (2017)

Compilations

* ''86/87 Memory Collection 86/87紀念集'' (1987) * We Grew Up Like That ''我們就是這樣長大的'' (1988) * Unusual Memory ''不一樣的記憶'' (1990) * ''The Best Of Tat Ming 回想'' (1991) * ''Keep Searching 繼續追尋'' (1994) * Service People Collection ''為人民服務作品全集'' (1996) * Two Men Best Collection ''二人前精選'' (1998) * Special Relation 37 Best Collection ''特殊關係37首'' (1999) * ''Tat Ming Reunion 達明Reunion'' (2004)

Collaborations

* Metro Radio Tat Ming Pair x Nicholas Tse Concert Live ''同場異夢音樂會'' (2005) (with

Nicholas Tse Nicholas Tse Ting-fung (born 29 August 1980) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and chef.EEGmusic.EEGmusic." ''Nicolas Tse profile.'' Retrieved on 22 April 2008. As multi talented celebrity, he became a TV ch ...

)

References

{{Authority control Cantopop musical groups Pop music duos LGBT-themed musical groups