Hong Kong's ‘father of concerts’ Cheung Yiu-wing dies
Pioneering promoter made legends out of singers and brought a whole new energy and style to the Hong Kong entertainment business
The city's "father of concerts", Cheung Yiu-wing, died yesterday aged 82. He was the man behind more than 1,000 stage shows featuring the city's most popular singers which still define many Hongkongers' collective entertainment memories.
The pioneering concert promoter is acclaimed among showbiz insiders for his bravery in partnering with rising stars and achieving exceptional success in the business for many decades.
Late stars such as Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing and Anita Mui Yim-fong, as well as four living legends of the 1990s - Jacky Cheung Hok-yau, Aaron Kwok Fu-shing, Leon Lai Ming and Andy Lau Tak-wah - all had productions with Yiu Wing Entertainment, the enterprise created by Cheung Yiu-wing in the '80s after decades in the construction business.
"During that time the business wasn't too prosperous. There were few production firms for concerts," recalled Katie Chan, now a manager for big names Faye Wong and Eason Chan Yik-shun.
"After Uncle Yiu-wing got into the field, he brought a new level of vigour to the industry," she said.
Florence Chan Suk-fan, another celebrity manager who knew Cheung for three decades and was a former business partner of his, said she had been at a dinner with him only six hours before his death.