FOR A CANTO-POP act that began as a boy band, Grasshopper show surprising longevity. Having stopped performing for a decade, the trio staged three triumphant concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum last year to mark their 20th anniversary.
They thrilled fans with slick dance routines, flashy costumes and elaborate staging - a trait the group shared with stars such as the late Anita Mui Yim-fong. The trio could do the same at the Hunghom venue, where all six performances, starting from August 31, have been sold out.
'It's something natural to us. Maybe because we accompanied our mentor [Mui] and watched Roman [Tam Pak-sin] and Leslie [Cheung Kwok-wing] a lot, we're subconsciously influenced by them,' says Edmond So Chi-wai, who joined brothers Calvin Choy Yat-chi and Remus Choy Yat-kit in the 1980s to form Grasshopper.
'We think this is how we should be on stage to attract audiences and to express ourselves. It's in our blood.'
Mui's first proteges, Grasshopper opened last year's shows with her hit, Flying Across the Stage, as a tribute to the singer who died from cervical cancer in 2003. 'If all the attention is focused on us during performances, it's thanks to what we learned about stage spirit from [Mui],' says Calvin Choy. 'She's been a great influence musically and personally. Without her, there would be no Grasshopper.'
Although the three are now in their 40s, they continue to attract fans in their 20s who discovered them as teenagers.