Roman conquers teenage hearts

7-MIN READ7-MIN

Published: 12:00am, 30 Apr 1994

AFTER singing professionally for almost three decades, you would think singer Roman Tam would be looking forward to a life of peace and quiet away from the limelight. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Tam takes a puff from his cigarette and follows it with a sip of his trademark cognac before he declares: ''My career is now better than ever. I have no intention of giving it up.'' And who can blame him? The evergreen singer is going through the kind of career revival never before seen in the Canto-pop industry, where anyone over 35 is considered a has-been.

And, even more unlikely is the fact that Tam - whom we can politely say is past the magic age of 40 - is Hong Kong's latest teen idol. His new ''identity'' as ''Law Kei'' (''Law'' taken from the Cantonese pronunciation of Ro[man] and ''Kei'', a colloquial term for ''mister'') has brought him fans from an age group which he thought he would never see again.

''The nickname 'Law Kei' is not a new one. My friends have been calling me that ever since Eddie Lau [Pui-kei] gave it to me years ago because he thought it was more intimate,'' says Tam as he settles into the plush sofa in his spacious Happy Valley home.

''But it wasn't until the Soft and Hardcore Kids [Eric Kot Man-fai and Jan Lamb Hoi-fung] started calling me that on their radio programme that it caught on with the kids.

''I have always had a reputation of being aloof but because the programme was a comedic one, everyone suddenly realised that Roman Tam can joke around as well. It gave people a totally different perspective on my character.'' But even he did not realise how well it worked until he appeared at a major concert one night where the audience comprised mainly teenagers. The response was thunderous.

For Tam, it was a pleasant jolt but was not entirely unexpected. ''I always knew I would reach new heights again because I have faith in my talent. I think God has been very generous to me and given me more talent than the average person,'' he adds, without the slightest show of modesty.