Danny Chan


Danny Chan Pak-Keung was a Hong Kong singer, songwriter and actor. One of the first Cantopop idols in Hong Kong, he gained fame alongside performers Alan Tam, Anita Mui, and Leslie Cheung, who were collectively known as "Three Kings and a Queen" or "Tam Cheung Mui Chan" in the 1980s. He is best remembered for such songs as "Waiting", "Life Expectation", "Ripples", "Loving You Alone" and "Cherish Tonight".

Early life and career

Chan was born on 7 September 1958 at Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam. His father, Chan Pang-Fee, a businessman in the watch industry, was fond of Cantonese opera and became one of his son's musical influences.
During his childhood, Chan developed a passion for music and mostly learnt to play organ keyboard and piano by himself. He was an alumnus of St. Paul's Co-educational College and also a classmate of lyricist Andrew Lam Man Chung.
Chan won third prize at the TVB "Hong Kong Pop Song Writing Invitation" in 1977 with his self-written English song "The Rocky Road". In 1978, he won first prize at the Hong Kong Yamaha Electone Festival by playing the theme music of the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. This earned him his singing contract with Hong Kong Television Broadcasts and officially launched his entertainment career. In that same year, he made his acting debut with HK TVB through a TV drama called Sweet Babe.
Chan's musical talent attracted the attention of artist manager Tam Kwok-Gei. Tam signed Chan under his artist management agency, Hollywood Casting Agency, and subsequently had Chan sign a recording contract with EMI. Chan's first music album, First Love, was released in 1979. His self-composed song on the album, "Tears for You", was an instant hit.
Chan subsequently signed music contracts with Hong Kong EMI, WEA, DMI, and finally moved back to WEA. His Cantopop romance ballads achieved high levels of public success and critical acclaim, some of which are still popular such as "Waiting", "Life Expectation", "Ripples", "Loving You Alone", "Cherish Tonight", "Deeply in Love with You", "Having You", "Misty Rain", "Applause", and "Minutes' Date". The song "Remembrance on Parents' Love" is often played on radio stations and frequently chosen for karaoke.
Chan's first five albums were produced by Tam Kwok-Gei, and the song concepts were mostly targeted towards youth. Chan composed a large quantity of songs during this period. From the sixth album, Pouring Out My Heart, onward, Chan started to produce albums himself. He reached his first peak in his musical career with this album and the next one, Loving You Alone, where the album sales achieved five platinum certifications in Hong Kong.
In 1984, he sang an English duet "Tell Me What Can I Do" with American country music singer Crystal Gayle. It was produced in the US and released in both the US and Japan, but was largely unknown due to lack of promotional budget. Meanwhile, he also covered Jim Capaldi's ballad "Warm" with an improved music arrangement.
In the early 1980s, Chan was a host in the TV show Bang Bang Sound. His co-operation with Leslie Cheung and Paul Chung in the films Encore and On Trial , received positive reception from the public and media. He is the main character in HK TVB TV series Breakthrough together with his favourite female partner Mary Jean Reimer. His sole comedy film Merry Christmas was a huge box office success. He is also one of the main characters in one of Hong Kong's the most famous romantic film from the 1980s, An Autumn's Tale , as Vincent, with Chow Yun-fat and Cherie Chung.
During the span of his musical career, Chan held many music concerts in Hong Kong, China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, Canada and the United States. He held his first major local concert at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in July 1982, and another concert in the newly developed Hong Kong Stadium in September 1983, both of which were organised by Brainchild Productions. From this time on, all of his major concerts were held in Hong Kong Stadium. His avant-garde concept January 1985 concerts were organised by Capitol Artists Entertainment, but was met with underwhelming feedback. Warm critical acclaims was received in the Dickson Entertainment organised concerts in December 1986 and April 1988. His 10th anniversary concerts in September/October 1989, and the purple themed concerts in March 1991 were organised by Yiu Wing Entertainment.
Chan also participated and represented Hong Kong in various music festivals, such as the World Popular Song Festival 1984 in Tokyo, the Nagasaki Asia Music Festival 1988 in Japan, Peace Music Concert 1988 in Singapore, Tokyo Music Festival 1989 and the Shanghai Music Festival Warner Music Special Concert 1991. He was also invited to perform at the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympic Games opening ceremony. In 1986, he performed in the presence of The Royal Thai princess in a Thai charity show.
In 1991, Chan announced his decision to leave the Hong Kong music industry. He had planned to hold several farewell concerts in the US, Canada and Hong Kong, but his sudden descent into a coma in May 1992 halted such plans.

Death

Chan suffered from mild depression, which worsened during the late 1980s.
On 18 May 1992, Chan was found unconscious and he was admitted to Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong. Chan had suffered from advanced brain damage. It was speculated that this was due to drug use. He went into a coma for almost a year and a half and died on 25 October 1993 at the age of 35. He was buried at Tseung Kwan O Chinese Permanent Cemetery.

Legacy

On 26 October 1993, the day after Chan's passing, Commercial Radio organized a 90-minute memorial concert at Queen Elizabeth Stadium. Those who attended the video concert included Kenny Bee, Elisa Chan, Liu Fong, Sam Tsang, Yu Sin-man, and members of the pop music group City Beat. Sounds of weeping were heard throughout the performance, with the venue at some moments falling completely silent. During the concert, Kenny Bee stated: "We have lost one of our best musicians. It is a show for Danny; but, he could not turn up tonight... I hope he could still feel our love."
On 22 October 1995, Chan's father, Chan Pang-Fee, sponsored and built the Danny Commemoration Pavilion in his ancestoral hometown Sijiu Town, Taishan City, Guangdong Province, China.
On 8 November 2005, the Hong Kong Post issued a set of special stamps featuring "Hong Kong Pop Singers". This stamp set honoured five Hong Kong pop stars who have left their mark on Cantopop music history, with Chan being featured on the HK$1.80 stamp.

Discography

Studio albums

Other compositions

  • 1978, "The Sunrise", unreleased
  • 1980, "Tears in Tears", a song by Wong Hoi Yan
  • 1981, "Cherish Me", a song by Blanche Tang Oi Lam
  • 1984, "Love Prediction", a song by Sandy Lamb
  • 1987, "Love Without Reasons", a song by Roman Tam
  • 1988, "12 Hours", a song by Samantha Lam

    Filmography

Films

  • 1980, Encore
  • 1981, On Trial / Job Hunter
  • 1984, Merry Christmas
  • 1986, My Family
  • 1987, An Autumn's Tale a.k.a. Chau tin tik tung wa ; a.k.a. ''Liumang daheng''

    TV dramas

  • 1977, Sweet Babe
  • 1980, Take Turn
  • 1980, ''Breakthrough''

    Concerts

Major concerts

Awards

Music awards

▲ In 1999, the song "Ripples" was used by the Hong Kong Government in a commercial clip for Tracker Fund of Hong Kong IPO.

Other awards

1981, "Model Youth" in Wong Tai Sin District, Hong Kong
1986, "Hong Kong's Top 10 Most Popular Celebrities" by Radio Television Hong Kong
1987, "Hong Kong's Top 10 Best Dressed Personnel" by Hong Kong Fashion Designers Association
1989, "Hong Kong's Top 10 Good-Looking Personnel" by Commercial Radio Hong Kong
1990, "Hong Kong's Top 10 Best Dressed Personnel" by Hong Kong Fashion Designers Association