If you grow up in the 80s and is a fan of Mando and Canto rock, you have to know who is Paul Wong (黄贯中).
For those who do not know who he is, Paul Wong Koon-Chung (born 31 March 1964) is a Chinese musician, singer, songwriter and the lead guitarist of the Hong Kong legendary rock band, Beyond.
He is well-known for his extraordinary guitar techniques and is regarded like a “guitar god” in the Chinese world.
After the lead singer and centre figure of Beyond, Wong Ka Kui (黄家驹) fell to his death in a freak stage accident in 1993, Paul Wong took over the lead singer role in the band. Beyond after Wong Ka Kui never came close to the same level of fame and success.
The musical career of the three remaining Beyond members did not progress much over the years.
Nonetheless, Paul Wong stayed true to his brand of rock music and strived on till today.
After a long period staying out of the media radar, he rocked the Chinese music world recently with his rendition of Beyond’s all-time classic, 《海阔天空》in a China singing programme,《我是歌手》(must watch!):
This is why I idolised Beyond in my teens. After so many years, hearing this song still makes me have that urge to cast aside everything in life to chase my dream.
I remember how I wanted to be a famous artist when I was young. I remember how I would spend all my time drawing and redrawing, designing and redesigning to perfect my illustration techniques.
What cause me to abandon this dream?
This song jolted me again and reminded me that we only live once.
Even at the age of 48, Paul Wong still can rock and inspire!
On a side note, I recently attended the preview of Young and Dangerous: Reloaded 《古惑仔:江湖新秩序》which Paul Wong had a role as a famous gang leader. The movie is a remake of the popular Young and Dangerous movie series in the 90s. Here is the trailer:
Young and Dangerous: Reloaded is stil showing in Singapore cinemas. Go catch it for a whiff of nostalgia. 🙂
I was a die-hard fan of Beyond during the 80’s. After Wong Ka Kui passed away, I started to detach from the band but I must say that these guys are really talented. Thank you for sharing this video. I watch with tears this morning. Paul really rocks in this performance. He seems to have aged quite a lot, but his performance is still as good. I want to watch it one more time.