From boy band to grown-ups, Grasshopper remains the most successful Canto-pop group of the past 25 years. Bringing together siblings Calvin Choy Yat-chi and Remus Choy Yat-kit, and neighbour Edmond So Chi-wai, Grasshopper started out as back-up singers for the late diva Anita Mui Yim-fong.
To mark their 25th anniversary the group has published a book, which will also be released on the mainland, in Taiwan and other places in East Asia. In the book, the band members tell of their childhood and teen years, and how they formed Grasshopper. They will rock their fans at the Coliseum from tonight in an eight-night series.
What inspired you to publish the book?
Calvin: We've come up with many ideas to celebrate our 25th anniversary. Over the years, many reporters have asked us one question that we've never known how to answer - how the three of us maintain our bond. So we thought maybe people could find the answer if we published a book about us growing up and added some interesting events that happened to the three of us.
Any interesting childhood stories?
Calvin: We grew up together on the Lei Yue Mun Road Estate in Kwun Tong. We lived there for the first 20 years. We were still living there when we released our third album. At that time, we were already quite popular. Fans would wait for us outside the common bathroom. We couldn't use the bathroom and had to wait until they had left. So: It was embarrassing to stay in the bathroom for too long [laughs]. Calvin: Also, at that time, every household earned money by doing simple jobs at home, such as cutting the threads of jeans, making plastic flowers, accessories and dolls. We also helped out at home. When we were about 15 or 16, dance parties were very popular. So we hosted parties at a dance studio in Tsim Sha Tsui. That was pretty successful.