https://www.scmp.com/rss/8553/feed Adam joined the Post in 1997 and worked in various roles before becoming entertainment editor in 2004. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com An Australian artist who went viral in 2017 with his miniature version of a decrepit Hong Kong building has renewed his focus on the city, making a detailed miniature of a Kowloon mahjong store. Joshua Smith said his handmade miniature of Biu Kee Mahjong, on Jordan Road not far from the entrance to the Temple Street night market, was finished last week, and took three months to build, spaced out over 12 months. It was commissioned by a private collector and is not for sale. Biu Kee Mahjong is... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3124535/mahjong-shop-modelled-staggering-detail-artist-sight-unseen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3124535/mahjong-shop-modelled-staggering-detail-artist-sight-unseen?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Mar 2021 22:45:18 +0000 Tickets to the 2021 edition of Hong Kong’s biggest annual music festival went on sale on March 3. It’s a vote of confidence that the city will have the coronavirus pandemic under control by November. The 13th edition of the Clockenflap Music and Arts Festival is expected to take place on the Central Harbourfront Events Space, on Hong Kong Island, from November 26-28. The organisers are aiming to return after a three-year absence – Clockenflap was last held in 2018, with the 2019 and 2020... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3123995/advance-tickets-no-1-hong-kong-music-festival-sale?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3123995/advance-tickets-no-1-hong-kong-music-festival-sale?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Mar 2021 04:55:09 +0000 Malaysian comedian Nigel Ng has said he makes “zero dollars from Chinese social media” after coming under fire for pulling from the internet a video featuring another YouTube star who has been vocal in his criticism of the Chinese government. Critics had accused Ng – best known for his Uncle Roger character, seen in several YouTube videos – of bowing to pressure from China last week after a video he made with vlogger Mike Chen from the Strictly Dumpling channel disappeared from his YouTube... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3118196/uncle-roger-comedian-responds-critics-his-pulling-video?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3118196/uncle-roger-comedian-responds-critics-his-pulling-video?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Jan 2021 09:45:18 +0000 Club 71 – the favourite bar of a generation of Hong Kong political activists, artists and media figures – will close at the end of October after failing to resolve a rent dispute with its landlord. Co-owner Grace Ma Lai-wah said that, while the bar’s rent had been lowered to HK$45,000 a month from September 2019 because of the impact of mass anti-government protests sparked by an extradition bill, the landlord had wanted to start charging the original rent of HK$63,000 again. Ma said the bar in... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3103509/club-71-go-bar-artists-actives-and-creatives-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3103509/club-71-go-bar-artists-actives-and-creatives-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Sep 2020 10:15:08 +0000 The best beach on Hong Kong Island is 20 seconds’ walk from my house in Shek O village. And over the past 10 weeks, as Hong Kong sweltered during its hottest summer on record, the ocean has been calling out to us. So what’s been stopping us going for a swim? Our government is threatening prosecution for even entering the water. All of Hong Kong’s gazetted beaches were closed on July 15 as part of the government’s efforts to contain the city’s third wave of coronavirus cases. This was the same... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3102790/indoor-venues-have-been-allowed-reopen-so-why?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3102790/indoor-venues-have-been-allowed-reopen-so-why?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Sep 2020 00:45:11 +0000 Taiwanese singer-actor Alien Huang was found dead in his Taipei apartment on Wednesday after what is believed to have been a freak accident. Huang, who is best-known for co-hosting Taiwan’s long-running TV variety show 100% Entertainment with singer Show Lo, was discovered lying unresponsive with head injuries outside his bathroom by his father. Taiwanese media reports said Huang was wearing a top but no underwear at the time, and the bathtub was filled with water, leading paramedics to believe... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3101876/taiwanese-singer-actor-alien-huang-36-found-dead-home-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3101876/taiwanese-singer-actor-alien-huang-36-found-dead-home-after?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Sep 2020 03:26:25 +0000 The Wanch, Hong Kong’s longest-running live music venue, has announced it will be suspending operations after more than three decades in business – but vows to return when the pandemic has passed. Hammered by a loss of revenue caused by the government shutdown of bars amid the coronavirus pandemic, managers of The Wanch say they failed to secure rent concessions from their landlord and have been forced to vacate the venue in Wan Chai district on Hong Kong Island. “We have decided to suspend... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3099504/wanch-oldest-live-music-venue-hong-kong-shuts-wan-chai-its?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3099504/wanch-oldest-live-music-venue-hong-kong-shuts-wan-chai-its?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Aug 2020 04:36:27 +0000 Hong Kong’s biggest annual music festival has been cancelled for the second year running, with the coronavirus crisis making it impossible to stage this year’s edition, organisers said. The Clockenflap Festival was to have been held at the Central Harbourfront Event Space over three days in November. Last year’s Clockenflap Festival, at the same venue, was cancelled because of anti-government protests. In a statement posted to social media, the Clockenflap organisers said: “Due to the dynamic... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3092589/hong-kongs-biggest-music-festival-clockenflap-cancelled?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3092589/hong-kongs-biggest-music-festival-clockenflap-cancelled?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Jul 2020 03:07:45 +0000 This article did not meet our editorial standards, and has been withdrawn at the interviewee’s request. https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3090227/withdrawn-hong-kong-rapper-alleges-police-brutality-racial?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3090227/withdrawn-hong-kong-rapper-alleges-police-brutality-racial?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Jun 2020 09:45:15 +0000 A battle is brewing over the ownership of one of Vietnam’s biggest annual music festivals, with two rival camps accusing each other of fraud and music fans left questioning the legitimacy of the festival’s 2020 edition, scheduled to take place at the end of this year. The drama surrounding the Epizode Festival is the latest upheaval to affect the event’s organisers. Epizode was launched on Vietnam’s southern resort island of Phu Quoc in 2016 by a Ukrainian team which previously ran the Kazantip... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3089795/facebook-fight-over-epizode-music-festival-vietnam?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3089795/facebook-fight-over-epizode-music-festival-vietnam?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Jun 2020 11:15:09 +0000 A number of high-profile Chinese rappers who last year backed the police crackdown on Hong Kong protesters have this week expressed support for the Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality in the United States. The move by the celebrities comes after Chinese officials and state media trolled the US government over the protests and looting that have spread across the US in the past week following the death of George Floyd during an arrest in Minneapolis, and after Washington issued... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3087386/chinese-rappers-support-black-lives-matter-protests-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3087386/chinese-rappers-support-black-lives-matter-protests-us?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jun 2020 09:18:37 +0000 A Malaysian father and daughter’s cover version of the Rage Against the Machine hit Killing in the Name is the most adorable call for revolution you’ll hear this week – and has even earned a seal of approval from the US band’s guitarist, Tom Morello. The cute cover by guitarist Ujang Ijon and his three-year-old daughter, Audrey – who live on Labuan Island off the coast of Sabah state in East Malaysia – has received more than 1.3 million views since being uploaded to Facebook on Sunday. The... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3082053/age-against-machine-3-year-old-malaysian-girls-cover?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3082053/age-against-machine-3-year-old-malaysian-girls-cover?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Apr 2020 10:00:11 +0000 “Kill the virus, not the business” is one of the only printable messages Hong Kong pub owners and bartenders have for Chief Executive Carrie Lam in a YouTube video uploaded after the administration closed the city’s bars last week. After months of indecision and a half-hearted attempt to restrict alcohol sales, the city’s 1,200 pubs, bars and nightclubs were finally told to shut their doors for two weeks from last Friday to help contain the spread of the coronavirus. Owners were warned they... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3078717/kill-virus-not-business-hong-kong-bar-owners-ask-government?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3078717/kill-virus-not-business-hong-kong-bar-owners-ask-government?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Apr 2020 03:07:44 +0000 “Spread the love” is perhaps the most tone-deaf promotional slogan the human Petri dish of Hong Kong nightlife district Lan Kwai Fong could adopt during a pandemic, but it highlights the alternate reality the city’s dedicated night owls have been living in during the current coronavirus outbreak. While bars and restaurants have been ordered to shut throughout Europe and parts of the United States in the interests of social distancing to minimise the risk of infected people transmitting the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3076387/if-hong-kong-party-animals-wont-protect-themselves-and-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3076387/if-hong-kong-party-animals-wont-protect-themselves-and-us?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Mar 2020 04:30:11 +0000 Chinese social media users have been left stunned after seeing images of large-scale concerts held by Welsh band the Stereophonics that went ahead in the UK despite the country’s escalating coronavirus crisis. Although concerts have been cancelled throughout China and the rest of Asia for months, and large festivals such as Coachella and South by Southwest called off in the United States, the Stereophonics performed in Manchester last Friday, and in Cardiff last Saturday and Sunday, packing tens... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3075717/chinese-social-media-shocked-huge-concerts-go-ahead-uk-amid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3075717/chinese-social-media-shocked-huge-concerts-go-ahead-uk-amid?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2020 05:00:18 +0000 A Hong Kong singer’s parody of the Natalie Imbruglia song Torn themed around the coronavirus outbreak has gone viral as the city ramps up measures to contain the disease. The version by Kathy Mak opens with the lines: “Back during Sars I was just a child/Didn’t seem to know, didn’t seem to care about the virus running wild/ But now I’m freaking out all right/I sterilise, I sanitise/My hands are always frickin’ dry”. The chorus of the original song made famous by Australian-British... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3050287/coronavirus-themed-parody-natalie-imbruglia-song-torn-goes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3050287/coronavirus-themed-parody-natalie-imbruglia-song-torn-goes?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Feb 2020 11:00:14 +0000 Vietnam’s annual Epizode electronic music festival is not for the faint-hearted – a mouth-watering selection of international DJs perform over 11 full days and nights. While many of them can usually be found playing in dark nightclubs in cities such as Berlin or Detroit, Epizode instead presents them on stunning stages spread along Long Beach on Vietnam’s sunny southern Phu Quoc island, which is rapidly becoming one of Southeast Asia’s tourism hot spots. The most recent instalment of Epizode –... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3046557/surviving-vietnams-epizode-electronic-music-festival-11?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3046557/surviving-vietnams-epizode-electronic-music-festival-11?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Jan 2020 05:00:15 +0000 Articles about sex and love, the Hong Kong riots in the 1960s and Hong Kong’s democracy movement were among the South China Morning Post’s most popular books stories in 2019. Here are the top five. 5. Mixed-race love in Thailand Patcharin Lapanun’s Love, Money and Obligation: Transnational Marriage in a Northeastern Thai Village is a powerful reminder of how interconnected the world has become – and how love can develop between people from completely different backgrounds. 4. Joshua Wong’s... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3043275/our-five-most-read-asian-book-stories-2019-about-activist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3043275/our-five-most-read-asian-book-stories-2019-about-activist?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Dec 2019 07:00:11 +0000 The Post’s music coverage in 2018 was dominated by the rise of K-pop, and the sound from South Korea continued to make headlines this year – but for vastly different reasons. Our K-pop coverage this year focused on the sex-and-drugs scandal surrounding Seoul’s Burning Sun nightclub, which claimed a high-profile victim in the form of Seungri – the BigBang member who served on the board of the club. In the latter part of the year, the K-pop world was rocked by three suicides in less than two... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3043223/k-pop-scandals-and-deaths-dj-tenashars-downfall-our-five?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3043223/k-pop-scandals-and-deaths-dj-tenashars-downfall-our-five?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Dec 2019 10:00:10 +0000 The jailing of South Korean stars Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon on rape charges offers a ray of hope in what has been a dark year for K-pop. While K-pop followers will look back on 2018 as a triumphant year for South Korea’s biggest cultural export, with many outfits achieving unprecedented international success and boy band BTS becoming the first K-pop act to top the US album charts, 2019 will mostly be remembered for a series of tragedies and scandals that shook the industry. The apparent... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3040208/jailing-k-pop-stars-jung-joon-young-and-choi-jong-hoon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3040208/jailing-k-pop-stars-jung-joon-young-and-choi-jong-hoon?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Dec 2019 22:30:11 +0000 Shock-rocker Marilyn Manson will perform his first concert in Hong Kong on March 18 next year. In the two decades since the titular band was formed by the singer born Brian Warner, Marilyn Manson has served as a lightning rod for controversy, coming under fire for his anti-religious sentiment and frequent references to sex, drugs and violence in his lyrics. Religious groups have frequently protested outside Marilyn Manson concerts, claiming his performances are offensive and obscene. Manson and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3039683/breaking-news-marilyn-manson-play-first-hong-kong-gig-march?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3039683/breaking-news-marilyn-manson-play-first-hong-kong-gig-march?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Nov 2019 02:22:58 +0000 It’s time to admit it: something is rotten in the world of K-pop. On Sunday, singer Goo Hara, 28, was found dead in her home in Seoul six months after she survived what is believed to be her first suicide attempt. Her death came just six weeks after Sulli – another K-pop star and Goo’s close friend – took her own life aged 25 after a long battle with online bullies. The spate of K-pop suicides started almost two years ago when Kim Jong-hyun, better known as Jonghyun from top boy band Shinee,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3039225/k-pop-deaths-goo-hara-sulli-and-jonghyun-leaves-industry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3039225/k-pop-deaths-goo-hara-sulli-and-jonghyun-leaves-industry?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Nov 2019 22:30:08 +0000 Hong Kong’s biggest annual music and arts festival has been cancelled after the escalation of the anti-government protests that have shaken the city for almost six months, organisers announced on Friday. Clockenflap was due to be held at the Central Harbourfront Event Space from November 22 to 24 and organisers had been pushing ahead despite the cancellation of numerous other large-scale events, including Friday’s annual Oxfam Trailwalker race, the Rolling Loud hip-hop festival (October 19 to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3037981/hong-kongs-biggest-music-festival-cancelled-after-protests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3037981/hong-kongs-biggest-music-festival-cancelled-after-protests?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Nov 2019 11:56:29 +0000 One of the K-pop industry’s biggest annual awards shows will be skipping Hong Kong this year due to the city’s ongoing protests, a source with direct knowledge of the matter says. The Mnet Asian Music Awards (Mama) were launched in 1999 by South Korean entertainment company CJ E&M and have been staged in Hong Kong every year since 2012, as well as in other Asian cities including Macau, Singapore and Yokohama. Last year, the Mama ceremonies were split between Hong Kong, Seoul and Saitama in... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3037300/hong-kong-protests-reason-top-k-pop-awards-show-skipping?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3037300/hong-kong-protests-reason-top-k-pop-awards-show-skipping?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Nov 2019 03:28:33 +0000 Hong Kong’s biggest annual music and arts festival, Clockenflap, is pressing ahead this November, despite continuing anti-government protests. On Wednesday, organisers released the final line-up for the three-day event and expressed hope it can bring some positivity to the city. Among the additional acts announced for this year’s Clockenflap festival are UK indie band Bombay Bicycle Club (returning after a memorable performance in 2011), Australian singer-songwriter Nick Murphy (formerly known... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3035477/hong-kongs-biggest-music-festival-going-ahead-despite?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3035477/hong-kongs-biggest-music-festival-going-ahead-despite?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Oct 2019 07:00:07 +0000 The Rolling Loud hip-hop festival has become the latest large-scale event to fall victim to the ongoing protests in Hong Kong. Organisers announced today that the event, scheduled to be held from October 19-20, had been cancelled. In a statement posted on social media, organiser Live Nation Electronic Asia announced: “After consulting security experts, it has been determined that it is not possible to organise the [event] … without endangering the safety and well-being of our fans, artists and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3032775/hong-kong-protests-hip-hop-festival-rolling-loud-latest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3032775/hong-kong-protests-hip-hop-festival-rolling-loud-latest?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Oct 2019 03:44:34 +0000 Internationally, the 1980s were about MTV, big hair, and even bigger shoulder pads. But what was it like inside China? The decade arrived just two years after leader Deng Xiaoping set course on a set of economic reforms, dragging the country out of decades of isolation and giving its people their first glimpses of the outside world. There was a newfound sense of optimism, particularly among young people, according to photojournalist Adrian Bradshaw, who has collected a number of his striking... https://www.scmp.com/culture/china-nostalgia-1980s-photos-adrian-bradshaw/article/3030987?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/china-nostalgia-1980s-photos-adrian-bradshaw/article/3030987?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Oct 2019 01:00:14 +0000 China’s biggest female rapper will not be appearing at a large-scale hip-hop music festival in Hong Kong, despite having earlier suggested she would be on the line-up. Vava’s absence from the bill for the debut Rolling Loud event in the city comes after she expressed support for the city’s embattled police force amid the ongoing anti-government protests. On July 8, Vava – known as the Rihanna of China – posted a promotional video for the Rolling Loud festival on her Instagram page, with the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3026713/no-place-hong-kong-hip-hop-festival-rolling-loud-vava-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3026713/no-place-hong-kong-hip-hop-festival-rolling-loud-vava-after?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Sep 2019 07:48:58 +0000 An influential Taiwanese rapper has released a track in support of Hong Kong anti-government protesters, as hip hop artists from the Chinese mainland join forces to oppose the demonstrations and support the city’s embattled police force. The track, Raise My Fist, posted online this week by the rapper Dwagie, contains lines such as “They want Hong Kong but not its people / Kill all of you that love and fight for freedom” and “I stand near you and support you with my fists”. In the video for Raise... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3025616/rapper-taiwan-puts-out-track-backing-hong-kong-protests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3025616/rapper-taiwan-puts-out-track-backing-hong-kong-protests?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Sep 2019 00:00:06 +0000 Rap music was originally rebel music, a sound created by disenfranchised, downtrodden African-Americans often unfairly targeted by the police. Old-school rappers such as NWA said F*** tha Police and Public Enemy urged their followers to Fight the Power, but the biggest hip-hop artists in China today do not seem to have done their homework. Instead, as Hong Kong is rocked by protests and the city’s police force is accused of various abuses, Chinese rappers are calling on their fans to support the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3023712/how-chinese-rappers-are-selling-out-hip-hop-slamming-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3023712/how-chinese-rappers-are-selling-out-hip-hop-slamming-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Aug 2019 14:00:18 +0000 Chinese-born K-pop star Lay Zhang Yixing and his team have had a busy few days. So busy that the Exo member is now at risk of developing repetitive strain injury from his determined waving of the red and yellow flag. As Hong Kong is roiled by ever-increasing unrest, Chinese celebrities are nailing their colours to the mast, revealing a uniform sea of scarlet red. But Zhang has gone above and beyond other Chinese stars who are scrambling to safeguard the integrity of the motherland. The... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3022883/lay-zhang-liu-wen-amid-hong-kong-protests-chinas-stars-are?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3022883/lay-zhang-liu-wen-amid-hong-kong-protests-chinas-stars-are?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Aug 2019 05:14:55 +0000 Clockenflap – Hong Kong’s biggest annual music and arts festival – will be returning for its 12th edition this November with a more youth-oriented line-up, led so far by American singer-songwriter Halsey and controversial US rapper Lil Pump. Other highlights of the first wave of acts announced today are three huge British outfits – alternative folk favourites Mumford & Sons, indie outfit The Kooks and electronic duo Honne – along with Taiwanese singer-songwriter Crowd Lu, UK Aussie retro-rockers... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3021910/halsey-lil-pump-and-mumford-and-sons-clockenflap-festival?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3021910/halsey-lil-pump-and-mumford-and-sons-clockenflap-festival?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Aug 2019 04:00:08 +0000 Alfred Hitchcock: The Complete Films, edited by Paul Duncan, Taschen, 4.5/5 stars Alfred Hitchcock may be best known as “the master of suspense”, but the greatest British filmmaker of all time was much more than that. Hitchcock worked in a variety of genres, producing everything from slasher films (Psycho) and horror thrillers (The Birds) to rollicking adventures (North by Northwest), spy dramas (The 39 Steps), black comedies (The Trouble With Harry) and romantic melodramas (Marnie). His diverse... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3021126/alfred-hitchcock-every-film-dissected-new-appreciation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3021126/alfred-hitchcock-every-film-dissected-new-appreciation?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Aug 2019 10:00:11 +0000 Hong Kong can now lay claim to being home to the world’s youngest DJ: four-year-old DJ Archie. On March 30, young Archie Norbury completed an unassisted one-hour DJ set at the Bungalow club in Hong Kong’s Central district to secure the Guinness World Record for the world’s youngest nightclub DJ. The record was confirmed by Guinness on Wednesday this week. Aged four years and 130 days at the time, he stole the crown from South Africa’s similarly named DJ Arch Jnr, who set the previous record in... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3010410/video-watch-archie-hong-kong-worlds-youngest-dj-play-set?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3010410/video-watch-archie-hong-kong-worlds-youngest-dj-play-set?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 May 2019 03:00:20 +0000 A festival featuring 10 right-wing “Malay power” bands scheduled to take place in the northern Malaysian city of Ipoh next month has been cancelled amid protests. The Rebellion Fest was due to feature bands from the country’s notorious Malay power scene with names such as Xenophobia, Spiderwar and Total Distrust. The Malay power movement is made up of neo-Nazi bands who want to rid Malaysia of everyone who is not ethnically Malay and stop immigration to the country. But this week, anti-fascist... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3002515/malaysian-neo-nazi-bands-lined-kuala-lumpur-concert-similar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3002515/malaysian-neo-nazi-bands-lined-kuala-lumpur-concert-similar?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Mar 2019 09:03:31 +0000 The 1980s is known internationally as the decade of MTV, big hair and even bigger shoulder pads. But in China, the country was only beginning to open to the outside world. The decade arrived just two years after former leader Deng Xiaoping set China on its course of opening up and economic reforms, dragging the country out of decades of isolation and giving its people their first glimpses of the outside world. There was a new-found sense of optimism, particularly among young people, according to... https://www.scmp.com/society/photographer-adrian-bradshaws-photos-1980s-china/article/3001138?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/photographer-adrian-bradshaws-photos-1980s-china/article/3001138?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Mar 2019 09:56:06 +0000 The 1980s is known internationally as the decade of MTV, big hair and even bigger shoulder pads, but what was it like in China as the country started peeking out through the Bamboo Curtain? The decade arrived just two years after former leader Deng Xiaoping set China on its course of opening up and economic reforms, dragging the country out of decades of isolation and giving its people their first glimpses of the outside world. There was a new-found sense of optimism, particularly among young... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/2189199/china-1980s-photos-time-hope-and-optimism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/2189199/china-1980s-photos-time-hope-and-optimism?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Mar 2019 05:03:35 +0000 Hong Kong fans of British electronic-punk pioneers The Prodigy are in mourning after the death of the band’s frontman, Keith Flint. The singer, 49, was found dead at his home in England’s southeast county of Essex on Monday after reportedly committing suicide. The Prodigy have a huge following in Hong Kong and performed live in the city twice – in Kowloon Bay’s Kitec centre in 1998 and at the Clockenflap festival in 2017. One of their most passionate Hong Kong fans is celebrated local DJ Janette... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/2188657/hong-kong-fans-react-death-prodigy-frontman-keith-flint?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/2188657/hong-kong-fans-react-death-prodigy-frontman-keith-flint?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Mar 2019 10:31:32 +0000 Hong Kong was a popular military port of call for rest and relaxation (R&R) during the major conflicts of the second half of the 20th century, such as the Korean and Vietnam wars. And the first Hongkongers encountered by the foreign servicemen after stepping off their warships were often touts thrusting colourful, risqué business cards into their hands. On the front, the cards promoted bars and nightclubs with names such as Playgirl and Playboy, Crazy Horse, Rainbow and Rosemarie. And on the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/2187073/sexy-business-cards-hong-kong-go-go-bars-handed-out-attract?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/2187073/sexy-business-cards-hong-kong-go-go-bars-handed-out-attract?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Feb 2019 11:02:08 +0000 Danish singer-songwriter MØ, British trip hop star Bonobo and English electronic duo AlunaGeorge have been announced as the headline acts at this year’s Sónar Hong Kong music festival. Other notable acts appearing at the third local edition of the influential Spanish electronic music and arts festival on April 13 include experimental American bassist/producer Thundercat, Canadian DJ/producer Ryan Hemsworth and John Talabot, a DJ from the festival’s home city of Barcelona. Who’s in pop’s... https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2185855/sonar-hong-kong-2019-line-mo-bonobo-alunageorge-thundercat-and-many?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2185855/sonar-hong-kong-2019-line-mo-bonobo-alunageorge-thundercat-and-many?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Feb 2019 02:03:49 +0000 The uproar over a Thai singer wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with a swastika isn’t the first time an Asian pop star has landed in hot water for flirting with Nazi iconography. Pichayapa “Namsai” Natha, a member of the all-girl band BNK48, apologised tearfully during a concert on Saturday after photos emerged of her wearing the red-and-black top during a rehearsal the previous day. ‘Butt-naked’ costumes and too much skin: when K-pop got too sexy “I want this to be an example for everyone, please... https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2184254/bts-keyakizaka46-asian-pop-stars-slammed-nazi-style-dress?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2184254/bts-keyakizaka46-asian-pop-stars-slammed-nazi-style-dress?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Jan 2019 11:48:06 +0000 A quote attributed to Confucius, “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it”, could apply to many parts of Hong Kong, a city where shiny skyscrapers often distract the eye from the older, traditional structures in their shadows. It often takes outside observers to remind Hongkongers of the charms of the city’s grittier corners – observers such as photographer Naoko Inagaki Krell and journalist Gene Krell, who deliver just such a reminder with their new photo book, Footsteps in... https://www.scmp.com/culture/books/article/2183593/vanishing-hong-kong-photo-book-records-grandeur-its-working-class?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/books/article/2183593/vanishing-hong-kong-photo-book-records-grandeur-its-working-class?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Jan 2019 05:01:18 +0000 The new year always brings with it a bunch of new live gigs to look forward to in Hong Kong, and so far 2019 isn’t disappointing. Shows have been announced by some of the biggest names in pop and rock, including K-pop superstars BTS, British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran and two-time Grammy Award winner John Mayer. Is Chinese dance sensation, 10, too young for sexed-up hip hop world? They will be playing everywhere from mega venues AsiaWorld-Arena and the Convention Centre to smaller, more... https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2182353/bts-ed-sheeran-and-john-mayer-hong-kong-gigs-look-forward-2019?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2182353/bts-ed-sheeran-and-john-mayer-hong-kong-gigs-look-forward-2019?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Jan 2019 05:03:34 +0000 Arnold Schwarzenegger, action hero-turned-California governor, went viral in June with a video trolling United States President Donald Trump for his attempts to bring back the coal industry. “What are you going to bring back next? Floppy disks? Fax machines? Beanie Babies? Beepers? Or Blockbuster? Think about it. What if you tried to save Blockbuster?” Why buying concert tickets in Hong Kong can be dangerous Arnie went on to explain how Blockbuster lost its position as America’s leading... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/2182519/recent-bts-concert-ticket-fail-highlights-all?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/2182519/recent-bts-concert-ticket-fail-highlights-all?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Jan 2019 23:35:32 +0000 Fans of classic Hong Kong kung fu films were spoiled this year with the release of books detailing the lives of the city’s top martial arts stars. Bruce Lee: A Life by Matthew Polly, released in June, was a long-overdue account of the rise of Hong Kong’s most famous son, and made headlines by offering a bizarre new theory of how the star died in 1973. Sympathy for Jackie Chan: in defence of a damaged man But Polly’s book was overshadowed earlier this month by the release of the sensational... https://www.scmp.com/culture/books/article/2179863/bruce-lee-jackie-chan-most-popular-books-2018?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/books/article/2179863/bruce-lee-jackie-chan-most-popular-books-2018?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Dec 2018 13:30:44 +0000 In the first volume of Old Hong Kong Photos and The Tales They Tell, local historian David Bellis highlighted surprising details in a range of historic images that revealed much about the time and place they were taken. The photos, selected from the more than 15,000 images on his photo blog Gwulo: Old Hong Kong, included close-ups of the devastation caused by a typhoon in 1906 and a “rat bin” in a market during the plague outbreak in the 1930s, among many others. What’s in a photo: images of old... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/2179832/hidden-details-historic-hong-kong-photos-revealed-old-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/2179832/hidden-details-historic-hong-kong-photos-revealed-old-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Dec 2018 05:00:30 +0000 Music news worldwide – including at the South China Morning Post – was dominated by the global success of K-pop and the genre’s breakthrough act, boy band BTS. The seven-member act made music history in May by becoming the first South Korean artists to hit No 1 on the US album chart. As BTS fever spread around the world, fans showed an insatiable appetite for news about the band, led by the charismatic frontman RM. K-pop superstars BTS ‘worth US$3.6 billion a year’ to South Korea Elsewhere, the... https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2179844/bts-lil-tay-five-biggest-music-stories-2018?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2179844/bts-lil-tay-five-biggest-music-stories-2018?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Dec 2018 13:32:39 +0000 Sales of tickets for world-conquering K-pop act BTS’ four concerts in Hong Kong next March were suspended for several hours on Thursday due to what is believed to have been an attack by ticket-buying bots – automated computer programs. On promoter Live Nation Hong Kong’s Facebook page, BTS fans complained they had spent hours trying to buy tickets since they went on sale at 10am, and vented their frustration at “hackers” using software known as bots to flood the ticket-buying system. BTS sweep... https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2178889/bts-concert-ticket-sales-hong-kong-suspended-over-unauthorised-acts-k?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2178889/bts-concert-ticket-sales-hong-kong-suspended-over-unauthorised-acts-k?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Dec 2018 07:28:51 +0000 Hong Kong’s iconic trams not only form a low-cost link between the east and west of Hong Kong Island, they also provide a direct link to the city’s past. Our beloved “ding dings” are a quaint, reassuring daily reminder of simpler times, surviving Hong Kong’s transformation from a barren rock into a bustling metropolis. Amazing 19th and early 20th century photos of Hong Kong buildings With only slight modifications over the years, today’s trams aren’t far removed from the models that first hit... https://www.scmp.com/culture/books/article/2176816/ding-ding-100-plus-historic-photos-hong-kong-trams-new-book?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/books/article/2176816/ding-ding-100-plus-historic-photos-hong-kong-trams-new-book?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Dec 2018 05:00:46 +0000 He cheated on his wife. He abandoned the child he had with his mistress. He threw his young son across a room. He regularly drove while drunk. He gambled and visited prostitutes. After reading the many depressing admissions in his memoir, Never Grow Up, how could anyone have any sympathy for Jackie Chan? Well, hear me out. Jackie Chan is a hypocrite: he hasn’t earned our sympathy Like Michael Jackson – another star whose artistic achievements have been overshadowed by his private life – Chan was... https://www.scmp.com/culture/books/article/2176868/sympathy-jackie-chan-defence-damaged-man?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/books/article/2176868/sympathy-jackie-chan-defence-damaged-man?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Dec 2018 10:00:15 +0000