Before Mirror and Error, 7 Hong Kong Canto-pop boy bands reigned supreme – from Beyond in the 90s to The Wynners in the 70s
But what about the OG Canto-pop groups who were just as popular as these new kids on the block? Read on to get to know some of Hong Kong’s older, timeless boy bands who shook up the city’s music scene.
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Beyond
Formed in 1983, Beyond is considered one of the most successful and influential Canto-pop bands. Comprised of brothers Wong Ka-kui and Wong Ka-keung, Yip Sai-wing and Paul Wong, the band rotated through multiple members in its early years, but eventually settled with the four members in 1988.
Beyond’s reach expanded across Asia too, but it was during overseas promotions at the height of the group’s fame that tragedy struck. On June 24, 1993, the band appeared on a Tokyo Fuji Television game show, standing on a stage platform that was roughly 2.7 metres tall. Ka-kui and Japanese actor Teruyoshi Uchimura fell from the stage – which turned out to be broken – and sustained critical head injuries. Uchimura survived, but Ka-kui fell into a coma. He passed away a week later at just 31 years old.
Dear Jane
Consisting of members Tim Wong, Howie Yung, Jackal Ng and Nice Lai, Dear Jane was formed in 2003. The band’s name comes from the male equivalent of the “Dear John letter”, where a woman writes to tell her boyfriend or husband that the relationship is over. The name reflects a major themes in their music: the trials and tribulations of romantic relationships from a male perspective.
Initially starting out with a more pop punk sound, Dear Jane released its first album, “Dear Jane 100”, in 2006. But the group eventually ended up experimenting with different styles over the years, and greater popularity in its hometown followed. Most notably, Galactic Repairman was the Cantonese song with the most hits on YouTube in 2020. It is about lead vocalist Wong’s love story with his wife.
Dear Jane recently announced on Instagram that it will host an intimate concert, performing for students at a hostel within the Chinese University of Hong Kong on August 18.
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Supper Moment
Rock band Supper Moment consists of Sunny Chan, CK Cheung, Martin Leung and Hugh Chan. From 2006 to 2009, the group was underground and unfamiliar to most Hongkongers until they signed a record deal in 2010.
In 2009, the group took part in the A-Space Our Rock Story band competition and emerged as the overall winners, as well as winning best vocalist, best drummer and best original song.
Aside from their concerts in Hong Kong, Supper Moment also performed in Macau, China, Taiwan, the UK and Canada, and represented Hong Kong at the Summer Sonic music festival in Japan in 2019.
In 2020 during the pandemic, Supper Moment held a virtual concert in which they promoted their most recent album, “Everything Is You”.
Mr.
Debuting in 2008, Mr. is made up of five members – Alan Po, Ronny Lay, MJ Tam, Dash Tam and Tom To. The group used to be called White Noise.
The group became popular in Hong Kong soon after its debut. In particular, If I Were Eason Chan was a smash hit, partly due to their lead vocalist Po’s vocal tone having an uncanny resemblance to Eason Chan’s.
Mr. has also worked with other Canto-pop artists such as G. E. M, Alan Tam and Kolour on concert appearances and collaborative albums.
In 2015, the band had a dispute with its record label Universal Music. Ultimately, the members did not renew their contracts, but they reunited in 2019 and released two singles on top of holding a 10 year anniversary concert.
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C Allstar
Members King Wu, Kenny Chan (“On Jai”), Andy Leung and Jase Ho (“Soul Jase”) make up C Allstar. All four joined Star Hunt in 2009, an online talent hunt show à la American Idol or K-pop’s Superstar K, becoming the competition’s final four. They finally joined forces as one group.
After a concert in 2017, C Allstar officially announced that they would disband. From 2017 to 2020, each of the group members ended up operating on a solo basis. Then the group announced on their Facebook page on January 25, 2021, that they are officially working together once again.
Every Christmas Eve, C Allstar holds an outdoor concert/fan gathering event at the Tsim Sha Tsui pier in Hong Kong. The group sings its classic hits and spends time with fans, counting down the hours until Christmas Day.
The Wynners
Debuting in 1973, The Wynners is one of Hong Kong’s oldest boy bands. The group consists of Alan Tam, Kenny Bee, Bennett Pang, Danny Yip and Anthony Chan. The group initially started out as an English pop band and was one of Hong Kong’s most popular teen groups in the 70s.
In 1978, some members went their separate ways to develop their own careers. Tam and Bee became popular in Hong Kong in the 80s and still have flourishing careers today. However, the group never formally disbanded, and it has held multiple reunion concerts over the years. In 2017, the band performed at the Axis Theatre in Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas.
The Wynners were so influential in Hong Kong that not only did the group have its own television show on TVB titled The Wynners Specials, but three feature films. Most recently, their origin story was made into a film called House of the Rising Sons, which was released in 2018.
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ToNick
Hang Chiu (“Hang Jai”), Ryan Chan, Siugwai Woo and Yip Sen-hei make up the band ToNick. The band name combines the words “tonic”, which refers the most important note in a music scale, and “nick”, meaning to scratch. Together, “ToNick” means music that can get etched into people’s memories.
ToNick took part in the UMC Music Festival held by TVB in 2007 and ended up winning the competition. They also nabbed the award for best creativity. The band got noticed by song producer Chiu Tsang-hei, signing a contract with him.
The band’s song Until the End, featuring on the soundtrack for the film Vampire Cleanup Department, was nominated for best original film song at the 37th Hong Kong Film Awards.
The band went on to create their own record company in 2013, named 709394 Production. Some of the members of ToNick have also performed as solo artists, such as Chiu playing in the band for fellow Canto-pop star Hacken Lee’s concert, and Woo playing keyboards and guitar in several TV shows as well as working as a composer, arranger and producer for several artists.
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- Before Mirror’s Keung To rose to fame, Mr. member Alan Po impressed with his vocals on If I Were Eason Chan, while ToNick’s Hang Chiu performed with Hacken Lee
- Beyond wrote Golden Years about Nelson Mandela, which the former South African president was ‘deeply moved’ by during his final days in hospital