Before the so-called Four Heavenly Kings first appeared in Canto-pop's firmament, it was lit by another set of young idols, dubbed the Four Musketeers. But theirs has been a tale of self-destruction and celebrity burnout. Of the quartet - Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, Danny Chan Pak-keung, Paul Chung Po-lor and Ken Choi Fung-wah - only Choi survived. Earning a less-flattering title in the 90s as one of the Crazy Kings of local show business, the famously erratic singer has emerged after many lean years for an unlikely comeback with three sell-out concerts this weekend.
Choi turns up for the interview in a hotel coffee shop sporting a charcoal hat and shades that seem at odds with his image as a Prince Charming of the 1980s music scene. Still, he vividly recalls his heyday.
'I wore sunglasses whenever I went out,' he says. 'I liked eating fish balls and pig skin [at street stalls] but after I became famous I had to drive to the stalls to get the snacks. It was a Porsche.'
The Musketeers' golden years, however, are well in the past. Chung and Cheung committed suicide in 1989 and 2003 respectively; Chan fell into a coma after a drug overdose in 1992 and died a year later.
Choi's show business career, meanwhile, fell apart in the 90s in the wake of reports of increasingly odd behaviour. The reputation has haunted him since.
'I'm a normal person. Why does the press call me crazy? That's because they can sell more copies,' he says.