Eastern promise for voice of HKTV: Kashy Keegan
British singer Kashy Keegan found the path to stardom runs through Hong Kong after his song became a protest anthem
Hong Kong has become a special place for Briton Kashy Keegan. A city with an entertainment industry characterised by formulaic television and homogeneous pop music has ironically become a launch pad for the musical aspirations of the previously unknown 30-year-old singer-songwriter, who will be taking to the stage for his first solo concert in Chai Wan on Friday.
"Life can surprise you when it is least expected," the singer of This Is My Dream said on the phone from Kingston in southwest London. Now he calls Hong Kong his second home. "Never say never ... you never know what's around the corner."
It all began when Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and his Executive Council made the decision in October to deny Hong Kong Television Network a free-to-air television licence.
After a three-year application process, i-Cable's Fantastic TV and PCCW's Hong Kong Television Entertainment were granted licences in principle, but Ricky Wong Wai-kay's HKTV, which had invested more than HK$900 million in the project, was not. It subsequently laid off 320 staff.
Viewers fed up with broadcaster TVB's dominance of local television and rival ATV's lacklustre programming were angered by the decision, especially since HKTV had pledged to produce high-quality dramas to challenge those on TVB.
Tens of thousands took to the streets, resulting in a week-long rally outside the central government offices at Tamar, Admiralty.