A lot of people said that most young people's enthusiasm for the Rolling Stones' tour to Beijing was nothing more than following the fashion, joining in the fun; but now their real idol is coming.

Hong Kong band Beyond's gig at Beijing's Workers' Stadium on Saturday is sure to be a super party for those who were born in the late 1960s or early 1970s, grew up with Beyond's songs and witnessed the development of the Chinese pop music industry.

The only regret is that most of the audience may not be real fans of the present Beyond, being, rather, fans of Wong Ka Kui, the former lead singer and guitarist of the band, who died 10 years ago in an accident.

But the concert will feature many hits songs written by Wong such as "Really Love You," "Paradise" and "Secret Police." And the audience will see Wong's image on a specially produced video.

Beyond, to the Hong Kong band scene, is like Cui Jian to the rock music world of the Chinese mainland and Lo Ta Yu to Taiwan's pop music. But Beyond's special significance lies also in its surprising longevity in the fickle Hong Kong music scene.

No other Chinese band can compare with Beyond, who have survived for 20 years and have unyieldingly stood in the frontlines of the Chinese rock scene for all these years.

The Beijing gig is part of their 20th anniversary celebration. Earlier, in May and June, the band gave eight sold-out concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum.

Lau Cheuk Fai, a lyricists who knew Beyond when the band was formed in 1983 and has worked with them since 1987, said, "The music industry is slack in Hong Kong today, and even a hot pop singer wouldn't have the courage to give eight concerts at the Coliseum. It proves Beyond's powerful and long-lasting impact, although Ka Kui has left us. Beyond is a legend in the Hong Kong music scene."

HK influence

Hong Kong has influenced the mainland greatly in a variety of ways over the past two decades. Aside from the close links in trade and economics, Hong Kong pop music has a huge following among the youth from the mainland, although they live in a different social background and most of them do not speak Cantonese.

"Wong Ka Kui's voice is steady, rhythmical and emotional. Even in the Cantonese dialect, which I don't understand, his voice speaks straight to my heart."

These words of 25-year-old fan Zhang Nan clearly reflect this fact. Zhang started to listen to Beyond in 1991 when he was 13.

Beyond is different from those pop idols who have charming looks and sing sweet love songs. Beyond is the label of Hong Kong rock music and now the only convincing outfit in the Hong Kong band scene. With its soft tunes and incisive lyrics, Beyond impresses young people with its blend of confusion and passion that make it tower above other Hong Kong bands with their syrupy love songs.

Starting young

Born in June 1962, Wong Ka Kui fell in love with music at the age of 12 or 13. Then British rock star David Bowie captured Wong's heart with his magnetic voice and initiated Wong's undying link with rock music.

When he was 17 years old, Wong got his first guitar and joined an amateur band, playing rhythm guitar.

On a day in May more than 20 years ago, he met Yip Sai Wing in a studio. Finding that they were both influenced by British rock'n'roll, they decided to form a band along with some other friends.

Not long after that, they participated in a singing contest in Hong Kong and won the "Best Band" award, and thus began the legend named Beyond.

One year later, Wong's brother Wong Ka Keung joined the band as bass player.

They kept on writing songs and had two dreams at that time: to hold a concert and to release an album.

In 1985, their first dream came true. They held a concert called "Waiting Forever." Though the concert didn't make them any money, Beyond's bold style was warmly welcomed by the fans.

It was around this time that Wong Koon Chung, originally a graphic designer who drew posters for Beyond, joined the group when one of its guitarists left the band one month before a concert.

In 1986, Beyond released their debut album, "Goodbye Ideal," and formally stepped out from the underground.

From 1987 to 1990, their second album, "New World," and third album, "Modern Stage," were released. Both albums were greatly admired by both critics and fans.

It was the single as well as their first hit song "The Land" (1988) that made them the hottest band in Southeast Asia.

In the late '80s, Japanese pop music invaded Hong Kong, and a good many local pop singers sang Japanese songs reworked into Cantonese. Yet the year of 1991 saw Beyond's own songs find their way to Japan and they soon won the hearts of Japanese fans.

But June 1993 was a tragic turning point for Beyond.

On June 24, Wong Ka Kui fell from a seven-foot-high stage when shooting a program for Fuji TV and died six days later.

After the accident, Beyond tried to keep going with the remaining three members. Although the loss was obvious, the trio released some albums featuring the songs left by Wong and some written by the remaining three members, and their concert "Live & Basic" in Hong Kong in 1996 still drew a crowd of appreciative fans.

Separation

In 1999, Beyond held a "Beyond 2000" concert to celebrate their 15th anniversary and at the concert, they announced that they would break up the band, with the three of them continuing on their own.

"We always had the plan of giving a live concert as a band again, from the time we separated three years ago. This series of concert means a lot to us, for this year is the 20th anniversary of Beyond and also marks the 10th anniversary of Ka Kui's death," said drummer Yip Sai Wing at the band's Beijing press conference.

"After Ka Kui died, our fans showed their concern about the future of Beyond. Now we want to tell them with our music that we are all right. Although Ka kui is not here, his spirit always encourages us," said Wong Koon Chung, who now is the band leader and writes most of their songs.

"The separation has not undermined our friendship or our music. On the contrary, it has helped us co-operate better, because we've gained experience and known the difficulties of making music. Now we all work together on each other's music. We don't care just about our own part in the band any longer," said Yip Sai Wing.

Doing it right

Looking back over the 20-year music journey of Beyond, you can see that it is a band that has been doing things the hard way but the right way. Its popularity has been growing in Southeast Asia, despite getting little support initially from the major record labels.

Before 1987, Beyond was several young men with ideals who had no intention of becoming famous in any way; in fact, they were playing music completely out of their own interest.

After producing several albums with their own money and giving concerts in small venues, they began to feel the bite of reality. Lack of money forced them to give up "playing out of their own interest." Without a financial base and competent people to manage them, they could hardly focus on making music.

Luckily enough, Wong Ka Kui had the talent to combine commercial awareness with his music. He gradually made some compromises and wrote songs that pleased both the record companies and the fans.

It does not mean Wong gave up his ideals to find a place in the commercial world. He spurred people to see cruel reality through his songs.

His songs touch upon a wide range of themes including politics, race, conflict and war and concern over the sufferings of people around the world, as well as many other stubborn social problems.

For example, their hit song "Glorious Days" in 1991, dedicated to Nelson Mandela, features concern for the black people of Africa.

Guangzhou-based critic Qiu Dali said, "Filling their songs with passion, the grass-root band sharply touches the depth of our hearts with their meaningful lyrics."

In agent's eyes

It's undeniable that the departure of Wong Ka Kui has had a significant effect on Beyond.

But Beyond's former agent, Chan Kin Tim, and Lau Cheuk Fai both believe Beyond is a very "durable" band.

"Actually, the remaining three members had always been involved in the music, only their style was a bit different from Wong's. They're creative, have their own style, and are comparable to any other Chinese bands," said Lau Cheuk Fai.

Beijing-based rock critic Wang Xiaofeng said: "For 20 years, stirring voices of both approval and disapproval, Beyond remains as they were, proving their persistence and strength in surviving. If they are willing to continue, they should be able to survive,"

Apart from rock, Beyond has tried to introduce other elements such as electronic music into their work.

The three members say they will continue to develop their career in two ways: as separate singers and as a trio at the same time.

(China Daily August 21, 2003)