Two 'heavenly kings' of Canto-pop among mourners at funeral of Cheung Yiu-wing

Two "heavenly kings" of Canto-pop were among the pallbearers as the music industry brought down the final curtain on the life of "father of concerts" Cheung Yiu-wing.

Instead of the traditional Taoist cymbals and trumpets, the strains of a lone bagpipe played as Cheung's coffin was placed in a hearse at the Universal Funeral Parlour in Hung Hom, before mourners headed to the nearby Hong Kong Coliseum for the funeral rites.

The city's most famous music venue was a fitting scene for the tributes, as Cheung's Yiu Wing Entertainment financed and promoted more than 1,500 concerts there, helping put the stars of Canto-pop on the road to international fame during the industry's 1980s and 1990s heyday.

Among the stars he promoted were the late Anita Mui Yim-fong and Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, as well as the genre's "four heavenly kings" - Jacky Cheung Hok-yau, Aaron Kwok Fu-shing, Andy Lau Tak-wah and Leon Lai Ming.

"He invested money in every one of my shows," said Kwok, who returned from a working trip abroad to act as a pallbearer along with Jacky Cheung and lawmaker Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, an old mahjong-playing friend of the promoter. "I had to come back, to show that we all care about him deeply."

Kwok said he owed Cheung a lot, and that his influence and contribution to Hong Kong's music industry had been huge. "I will accompany Uncle Yiu-wing all the way to the crematorium."