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George Lam
Hong Kong singer-songwriter, music producer and actor From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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George Lam Tsz Cheung (born 12 October 1947), also known professionally by his surname Lam, is a Hong Kong-based veteran Cantopop singer, singer-songwriter, music producer and actor, with a career that spanning more than four decades. Self-producing, Lam creates most of his own albums and songs, as well as being especially involved with creative direction of his work outside its musical aspects. Lam has a wide vocal range and has interpreted and performed in many different genres of music.
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His works are best known for pioneering a variety of genres in the Hong Kong music scene, such as creating the known first Cantorap, "Ah Lam's Diary", and the medley "10 Minutes 12 Inches" from multiple Cantopop hits, with the latter composition's interwoven intricacies creating a derivative for Lam's eponymous concert Lamusical with his own hits.
In addition to his singing career, Lam has also acted in various TV dramas and films, making his film debut in Luckies Trio in 1978. Possibly his most memorable role was as Shiomi Akutagawa, a Japanese journalist in Boat People (1982), directed by Ann Hui, in which he was nominated for Best Actor in the Hong Kong Film Awards.
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Early life
Lam was born in British Hong Kong to a family of physicians, with both his father, a Yuen Long obstetrician, and paternal grandfather (the former hospital chief executive of Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital) being doctors.[1] He attended Tak Sun Primary School, then Diocesan Boys' School, a predominantly English-language boys school, where he was a boarder.[2] At the latter school, he chose to study French.
Lam started to pick up music at a young age, when his grandfather often took him to watch Chinese and Western movies, which exposed him to film music. His parents often played music around the house, and a sparked interest with listening to music on the radio led to him teaching himself to play the guitar. In 1965, Lam moved abroad to further his studies in the United Kingdom, attending Dover College and transferring to the Barcote School of Coaching, and United States.[3] During this time at the latter school, he formed a folk song group, the Midnighters, with two friends of his. During his subsequent stay in the U.S., he began to experience a more diverse range of musical genres, which would greatly influence his work.
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Career
After his studies in the United Kingdom, Lam remained for a few years for work before moving to California, where he coached tennis and worked in a stock brokerage firm. It was during this time that Lam started writing his own songs. Not long thereafter, he returned to Hong Kong to launch his music career.
Lam started as one of the lead singers in the band "Jade".[4] In 1976, he went solo with the release of his first eponymous English album, "Lam". His first Cantonese album came out in 1978. In 1980, two of his compositions ("In The Middle of The Water"《在水中央》and "Need You Every Minute"《分分鐘需要你》) won Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards. Throughout the 1980s, 23 of Lam's songs topped the RTHK Chinese Pop Chart, making him second only to Alan Tam, who had 28.[5][6]
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Personal life
Lam married Ng Ching Yuen in 1980. Together, they have a son, Alex Lam Tak Shun, who is also a singer and actor,[7] and a daughter April. Lam and Ng divorced in 1994. On 17 July 1996, he married singer and actress Sally Yeh.
Aside from his musical activities, Lam is a lover of sports and visual arts. Some of his particular ventures in sports is tennis and golf. In terms of visual arts, he has a special fondness for drawing mazes; one of his artworks was engraved onto a Lalique-produced crystal Buddha, with his collaboration lending itself as the French company's first collaboration with a Chinese artist. Lam also likes tailoring, often modifying clothes to his own taste.[8]
During a May 2003 guest performance for Liza Wang at the Hong Kong Coliseum, Lam accidentally fell 2.5 metres through a stage floor opening. The accident injured his right ear, resulting in partial hearing loss, particularly in high frequencies, and tinnitus, leaving him hearing sounds in mono.[9][10] A few months after his injury, he gave a series of concerts across southern China for the purpose of acclimating himself to performing with his altered hearing.[citation needed]
Artistry
Musical style
Lam's experiences abroad is the strongest influence within his work, where he has introduced a wide variety of song styles to the Hong Kong pop music scene, with many originals and covers becoming Cantopop classics. His work encompasses a wide stylistic range, from country rock, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, funk, jazz, rap, traditional Chinese songs, to tango and bossa nova.
When producing covers, he taps into a wide variety of countries and regions, spanning from western Europe to particular Asian countries like Japan and South Korea. The pieces he selects to cover range in genres from folk songs, classical music, and jazz musicals, to funk and rock and roll.[11]
Voice and timbre
Lam has been regarded to have a very wide tenor range, with his highest notes reaching F5, D#6 in full voice and volume, and his lowest notes is the G2.[citation needed]
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Awards and achievements
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| This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (November 2022) |
Lam's four decade-long career has shaped a significant part of the Hong Kong music scene. Many of today's top Cantopop singers such as Eason Chan, Hacken Lee, and Andy Lau have been influenced by his music. In an interview, George Lam confirmed he encouraged Andy Lau to be a singer when the two of them met during a movie filming.[12]
In recognition of his contribution to music, Lam has received numerous accolades, including the Golden Needle Award in 1994, the CASH Hall of Fame Award in 2003, the J.S.G. Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015, and the RTHK Hall of Fame Award in 2016.
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Discography
| This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (November 2022) |
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Filmography
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Adapted from his IMDB profile.[30][31]
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Concerts
| This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (November 2022) |
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References
External links
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