THERE WAS A time when you might see Denise Ho Wan-sze up on stage in a T-shirt and jeans, strumming her guitar like every other rocker. But at a mini concert held at Kowloon Tong's Hong Kong International Trade and Exhibition Centre last month, a transformation had taken place. Here was Ho dressed in glamorous and glittering white, with white guitar and matching microphone. Watching her play away under the blaze of a spotlight, you couldn't help but think how much Ho resembled her mentor, the late Canto-pop queen Anita Mui Yim-fong. Sitting in a room at her new management company in Central, surrounded by posters and copies of her recently released album, Ho says it was her idea to drastically change her image - and she confirms that it was Mui's death from cervical cancer in December 2003 that triggered the transformation. 'Anyone who knows me knows I'm a person with my own very strong opinions,' says the 27-year-old, dressed today in rocker gear: a green top, tight, chequered trousers and boots. 'I can't be convinced to do anything I don't want to. And without any grounds for doing it, I would never have made such a big change.' Ho says Mui's death left a hole in her heart. 'It was a pretty hard time for me. I'd never experienced losing someone so important in my life. It was a pretty heavy time for me.' The image of Ho on the cover of her new album, Glam, is also poles apart from her previous rock star packaging. The obvious comparison is with Mui's 2002 recording, With. But Ho says she isn't trying to copy her mentor. She attributes the similarity to local art director Joel Chu being responsible for both CD covers. 'I don't really mind [people making the comparison],' Ho says. 'The album was created to pay tribute to 1980s Canto-pop stars anyway.' The disc was inspired by Mui and other Canto-pop stars who have died in recent years. There are songs dedicated to Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, Roman Tam Pak-sin and Danny Chan Pak-keung. There's also a nod to the so-called godfather of Canto-pop, Sam Hui Koon-kit. Ho clearly recalls when she first came under Mui's sway. It was 1985, she was eight, and her parents took her to a concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum. It was Mui's debut gig - and Ho's first concert. What fascinated her most was Mui's energy on stage, and how she charmed the audience. It was the kind of performance you just don't see any more, Ho says. 'Some people may say it's different now - that no one needs such on-stage performance. But I don't think so. [Mui's] leaving us reminded me that the professional spirit of her generation was so powerful.' In 1996, while Ho was studying in Canada, she returned to Hong Kong to take part in TVB's New Talent Singing Contest. She won by performing Woman's Heart (a song made famous by Mui, who was the competition's first winner) and earned herself a contract with Capital Artist - plus the costume Mui wore when she won the same contest. 'It was idol-worshipping that drove me to take part in the New Talent contest,' says Ho. 'It was my dream - not because I wanted to be a singer, but because I wanted to get closer to Mui, since she'd been a New Talent participant, as well. I didn't realise how fond I was of singing until I entered the business. My interest in music has been gradually nurtured ever since.' Despite that initial success, it took Ho five years to cut her first recording - a rock CD produced under the tutelege of producer Calvin Choi Yat-chi (another Mui protege). In the interim, she appeared in a number of TV dramas such as Anti-Crime Squad and Armed Reaction II and movies such as Rumble Ages, while hosting a midnight music programme on TVB Jade. Most significantly for Ho, while she was waiting to make her first recording, she got herself a job as a back-up singer for Mui, travelling with her on several world tours. Ho says she learned what professionalism was all about from Mui. 'There were times when she was so sick she couldn't even talk, but on stage she was so professional,' says Ho. 'I once saw her sprain her ankle and continue dancing throughout the show. On stage, she was the queen.' The past year has been a time for new beginnings for Ho. She left EMI (after four albums, an EP, and two best-of collections) and signed with East Asian Music. She also went to the mainland for a guest appearance in the TV drama Shanghai Legend, and was support act for Canto-pop singer Sammi Cheng Sau-man's concerts. She also hosted TVB Jade's weekly music programme, J.S.G. And then there's been her latest transformation. Does Ho mind the continuing comparisons to Mui? 'In the early stages of my career, I did feel uneasy,' she says. 'I've always hoped I could establish my own style. I might have really worried about [the comparisons] if I was someone with low self-esteem, or if I didn't know what I was doing. But I'm not like that. I absolutely know what and why I'm doing this. And to think now that people say I'm her protege, it's an honour. 'When you've grown up having someone who is such a big influence [such as Mui], what that person has done is bound to become part of your act. I always believed this change would happen to me some day, even if she didn't leave us. 'I won't ever think that I could match her achievements. After all, I think she had her own path, and I'll have my own. But she respected the stage so much. She once said to me, 'When you're on the stage, you are the star who gives out the energy.' I didn't understand that then. But I do now, finally. It's a really powerful thing.'
