With opening of 1563 at the East, Hong Kong’s live music scene gets a welcome boost
New Wan Chai venue will fill the gap left by the closure of Central’s Backstage Live, with industry luminary Vicky Fung helping to set music policy while the landlord handles the operations
About one year ago when Backstage Live in Central shut down after eight years of operation, co-founder Vicky Fung thought she would never have another chance to run a live music venue providing Hong Kong musicians with a stage to showcase their talents.
But about six months ago, the singer-songwriter received a mysterious phone call that changed her mind – and a call that could possibly change Hong Kong’s live music scene as well, as it led to the creation of 1563 at the East, a new live house and restaurant which opened in Wan Chai this month.
Hong Kong’s rent squeeze forces music venue Backstage Live to close
“I was told a business owner wanted to create something new to show support for live music. But I said I wasn’t interested in owning a live house,” recalls Fung, who was still recovering from her experience with Backstage Live, which was driven out after the landlord raised the rent by 30 per cent.
It turned out that Fung – who in the months since Backstage Live’s closure had curated the odd music programme for West Kowloon Cultural District – was not being asked to be a business partner this time. It was Hopewell Promotion and Entertainment Limited, a subsidiary of property developer Hopewell Holdings Limited, that wanted to renovate one of its shops at the Hopewell Centre in Wan Chai, and asked Fung if she could contribute her experience to the new venture as a consultant.
Hopewell also runs Kitec in Kowloon Bay, home to the music venues Star Hall, which can house up to 3,600 people and has showcased top musicians such as Bob Dylan, and Music Zone, a smaller venue that can accommodate 400 to 600 people.