'THERE'S NOT MUCH of a view for photography; my home is just functional,' Frances Yip says apologetically as we step into her new apartment in Austin Road. It isn't far from the truth. The place is no-frills yet exudes a natural warmth and cheer - not unlike its owner.
Yip is dressed casually in a pastel cardigan set and trousers. The only hint of her glittering days as one of the great songbirds of the 1970s and 80s is her sparkling sandals - 'my weakness', she says - and that voice. Who in Hong Kong can forget that crystal clear voice reverberating across Asia with her hit Shanghai Beach?
Today, Yip's voice performs mainly for charity, private functions and special occasions - such as her upcoming concerts with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. It will be her second major concert with the Phil. The first was as headliner for its sell-out 'Simply The Best' series five years ago.
This time around, Yip will open the 'Diva' series at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall during the New Year (from December 29 to 31 and January 2 to 3). True to form, Yip's concerts have already sold out, despite the fact that she hasn't been in the limelight for more than 10 years.
'Our last venue, the Hong Kong Coliseum, was a nightmare acoustically,' Yip says. 'For the music aficionados, the Concert Hall will be a much better venue. It will be a much cosier crowd and the atmosphere will be better.'
The concerts will take Yip's fans from her early days as a semi-professional singer to the contemporary songs she favours today. These include Dusty Springfield's You Don't Have To Say You Love Me, Rebecca Pan's If Loving You Is Hurting You, Ricky Martin's Livin' La Vida Loca, some Andrew Lloyd Webber numbers and a selection of some of her own hits in Cantonese, Putonghua, Japanese and Tagalog.