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SCMP Reporter

THE phrase 'Fun More Time' may sound grammatically incorrect, but it is the title of the Japanese music icon Kazumasa Oda's comeback concert.

  If you do not know who Oda is, try humming the tune of A Sudden Love Story, the title song of the popular mini-series Tokyo Love Story .

  Oda wrote and performed the song - which turned out to be the biggest single ever sold in Japan, totalling 2.7 million sales.

  As part of his 1995 tour, the 'Fun More Time' concert lured 1,800 people to the Queen Elizabeth Stadium (200 short of a full house) last Wednesday night for a two-hour concert.

  From the moment the 48-year-old singer/songwriter stepped onto the stage, six video cameras focused on him, projecting his face onto a big screen made up of 16 television screens.

  In a bid to satisfy the fans' insatiable appetite for A Sudden Love Story , he sang it without any background music and ended up jumping off the stage and shaking hands with the audience.

  Compared with the young and carefree audience that flocked to see Chage and Aska, who came here last April, Young Post found that Oda's fans were a bit more restrained.

  For those who enjoyed his 1992 concert in Ko Shan Theatre, the question was: 'Can he repeat his success?'   On the one hand, the audience really loved his music, considering that he didn't have the looks, fancy costumes, or impressive dance steps and stage settings. On the other, the rather quiet concert could not possibly be compared to the festive and fun mood of the 1992 concert.

      He said: 'I didn't want to come back to Hong Kong because the 1992 concert was so good that I didn't want the memories to disappear.

  'But once I decided that I should come back, I tried to tell myself that I will have to forget about the 1992 concert.'   If applauding and subsequent encores were anything to go by, Oda would probably say his decision to come back was good.

  After performing 16 numbers with his six-member band, he retreated backstage while the audience applauded for three minutes, vehemently urging him to return for an encore.

  As in other concerts, artists like to leave their best songs for encores and Oda was no exception.

  Oh! Yeah! and A Sudden Love Story finally aroused the quiet audience to some dancing and shouting.

  Oda left the stage after a second encore without promising Hong Kong that he will be back.



Big comeback by Japanese star star