Memorial fund to aid rock groups
A FUND is to be set up in commemoration of singer Wong Ka-kui's contribution to the development of rock music in Hongkong.
A full house attending a memorial concert last night for rock group Beyond's lead vocalist, who died in Tokyo last Wednesday, was told the fund would help pay for budding rock musicians to produce albums.
Money would be raised through the sale of commemorative T-shirts, albums and pictures, and a re-screening of the award-winning film Cagemen, in which Wong had a role.
Concert organiser Winnie Yu, Commercial Radio's general manager, said the fund was meant to turn the sad loss of Wong into a method of cultivating rock culture.
''We want youngsters to do more than cry, to feel Ka-kui's active attitude towards life and apply it to their own lives,'' Miss Yu said.
More than 2,000 fans inside the Ko Shan Theatre in Hunghom - and many others lingering outside - pledged their support, by shouting, chanting and raising their fists.
Apart from a simple backdrop and a video wall showing Wong's picture and footage of Beyond performing, the stage was empty.
Organisers played the band's hits as the audience sang along during the hour-long event.
In Quarry Bay, hundreds of distraught fans paid their respects as final preparations were made for Wong's funeral this morning.
Teenagers, many weeping, others wearing dark glasses, packed the corridors of the Hongkong Funeral Home, queuing to sign the register and take their turn to say goodbye to Wong.
A steady stream of flowers from record companies, music studios, friends and fans arrived throughout the evening but the deliveries went almost unnoticed as the mourners struggled with their grief.
Some girls had come with their parents and tried to contain their emotions while other groups of friends comforted each other.
Many shook their heads as they wept, still unable to believe their hero was dead; others sat outside the parlour staring blankly ahead. Some of the girls said they might hold an overnight vigil.
Music industry professionals also arrived to share the fans' grief.
Inside the funeral parlour, Ka-kui's brother and fellow Beyond band member, Ka-keung, acknowledged the fans as they shuffled past paper models of an aeroplane, a luxury car, a pleasure boat, a mansion and a stereo sound system - symbols of the wealth that seemed to be imminent as the band stood on the verge of breaking into the Japanese market.
Wong died at the age of 31 in a Tokyo hospital from a cerebral haemorrhage.
He had been in a coma for six days after fracturing his skull when he fell from a stage while rehearsing a Fuji Television show.
The death of Wong has brought a windfall for record shops, which reportedly raised prices for Beyond compact discs by up to four times. A poster of the band cost 10 times more at $100.
