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To some, Beyond are the greatest Chinese rock band ever. To others, they are inglorious, latter-day sellouts. Indisputable, however, is Beyond's surprising longevity in Hong Kong's fickle music scene. In May the band celebrated their 20th anniversary with five capacity concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum, and they've added three more shows at the same venue for this weekend. There is good reason for the hype: the concert series represents the first time the band has performed together since they took a solo-career sabbatical in 1999.
For fans, the shows have been especially poignant. Late vocalist Wong Ka-kui�killed in an accident in 1993 at the age of 31�has been resurrected in the form of a life-size video projection, alongside his former band mates. This eerie guest appearance takes place during the performance of Wong's Fighting War for 20 Years. "Ka-kui played the music on an acoustic guitar and hummed along. We added our instruments and sang the lyrics," says bassist Ka-keung, Wong's 38-year-old brother. "This then became a song that our full band performed. So we got the idea that we wanted to bring him onstage with us as well."
It's hard to overstate the importance of Beyond to Hong Kong music fans under 40. In a scene long dominated by insubstantial teen idols, Beyond have been the Beatles, the Clash and Oasis rolled into one. To this day they remain the only Hong Kong band to have made the transition from underground obscurity to mainstream stardom. From their first single�1987's Songs of Yesterday�they've achieved this by espousing an openhearted, socially aware brand of rock that compensates for its occasional ham-fistedness with endearing sincerity. Through 27 albums, their songs of protest and peace have touched on everything from human rights to China's social contradictions to the aspirations of ordinary Hong Kongers. One of their most famous songs, 1990's Days of Glory, is about Nelson Mandela: "Today there's only a battered body left to welcome the days of glory/ Holding on tight to freedom." For many of Hong Kong's apolitical youth, it was the first time they had heard of the South African leader.
Today, sitting in their landmark Kowloon studio�where the walls are covered with two decades of messages from fans�the boys from Beyond are in an affable and unapologetic mood. "It's a technique to be able to strike a balance between rock and commercial music," says Paul Wong, the band's 39-year-old guitarist. "Once you decide to produce albums, undergrounders call you rock traitors, but the public doesn't even know who you are yet. Every day you're struggling between commercialization and your dream, which we had to remember very clearly. [That dream] was to change the music industry and the situation [in Hong Kong]."
The record companies didn't make things easy, either. "It's like they kept pouring buckets of cold water over our heads," says Yip Sai-wing, 39, Beyond's drummer. "We wrote a lot of songs for them, but they'd always say the songs wouldn't work. Some wouldn't even listen to our songs. They'd just take a look at us and reject us on the spot. We had to make a lot of compromises to meet their requests. We attracted a wide public [later] ... then we were able to slowly turn back to doing what we wanted."
After this weekend's concerts, Beyond will embark on a world tour, playing to mainly Chinese audiences in Asia, Australia, Canada and the U.S. "When we feel as if we've performed to all our fans around the world, as a thank you to them, then the tour will end," says Ka-keung. But it looks as though there might be more of Beyond on the way. A new generation of devotees is emerging, with many longtime fans now bringing their children to the shows. "Our dream now is to capture the third generation�our fans' grandchildren," laughs Yip. "Then we can be the Hong Kong Rolling Stones." For now, it seems, nothing can stop Beyond�not even death.
翻译
对于有些人来说,BEYOND无可厚非是中国最好的摇滚乐队,BEYOND无疑是香港这片追求多元素音乐的市场中最长寿的乐队。在今年的(2003)五月,为了庆祝BEYOND成立20周年,他们在红堪体育馆一连举行了五场演唱会。而在本周他们又继续加开了三场。这里有一个重要的原因:这是BEYOND自从1999年单飞之后第一次以组合的身份重新回到歌迷的身边。
对于歌迷来说,这次的演唱会是带着特别的伤感的,也有特殊的意义。在1993年因为意外事故去世的BEYOND主唱黄家驹被高科技以与本身同样大小的电子屏重返舞台,再一次站在了他的BAND友的身边。他们一同“演唱”了〈抗战二十年〉。“家驹会边弹吉他边哼唱。我们会加入我们的乐器和我们的和音。”贝斯手——黄家驹的弟弟黄家强如是说。“我们又在一起唱歌了,我一直有这样的想法,想把他重新带上我们的舞台,就像我们曾经在一起那样。”
对于40岁以下的年轻人来说, 他们的内心被当今的偶像牢牢控制着,对于BEYOND对香港乐坛作出的贡献,他们总是很难理解——Beyond仅仅像 the Beatles, the Clash 还有Oasis rolled 一样(这一句不知道是这样翻译么)。直到今天,BEYOND也是香港唯一一支从地下一越成为乐坛主流的乐队。从1987年的单曲〈旧日足迹〉开始,他们才被大众所熟知。他们也因为真诚与执着成为了香港的著名乐队,深深打动了乐迷的心。他们的音乐涉及到和平平等的权利抗议中国的现状以及一个普通香港人的志向。在1990年,他们所创作的〈光辉岁月〉是写给伟大的南非黑人领袖曼德拉的:“一生经过彷徨的挣扎迎接光辉岁月问谁又能做到。”对于那些并不关心政治的青少年来说,这是他们第一次听到南非领袖的故事。
Y今天,坐在 Kowloon 演播室(我觉得是2楼后座吧?),身后的墙上覆盖着BEYOND20年来被歌迷收藏下来的痕迹。BEYOND乐队的吉他手黄贯中说:“在摇滚和商业音乐中找到平衡是一种技术。曾经你决定说要出专辑,地下的乐手称你为"摇滚叛徒",但是大众却又并不知道你是谁,你每天都会在商品化和我们永远铭记的梦想中挣扎。(那个梦想)就是要改变(香港)的现状。”
唱片公司也总是把他们陷入困难之中。“他们就像是从我们头顶泼了一盆冷水下来。”BEYOND乐队的鼓手叶世荣说到:“我们写了很多的歌,但是公司总是说我们的音乐无法发表。歌迷是不会听这些东西的。他们仅仅是粗略的看了一下就当场拒绝我们。我们对于他们的请求妥协了太多次,我们(用另一种音乐)决定吸引更多的观众群[一会]但是请相信我们,我们不久后就会回来的,然后继续作我们想要的。”
结束这个周末的演唱会,BEYOND要开始他们的世界巡回之旅了。这场音乐的旅行将遍及中国大陆,澳大利亚,加拿大还有美国。“我们会去我们感觉到的所有全世界歌迷的面前,向他们表达我们心中的感谢。然后演唱会就会结束了。”黄家强这样说到。但这似乎有更多的“BEYOND”走向这条路,更多为音乐努力的歌迷会将涌现,有很多听了BEYOND好多年的歌迷带着他们的孩子奔赴演唱会的现场。“我们的音乐要影响到第三代了么?我们歌迷的孙子们?”叶世荣笑了起来, “我们已经成为了香港摇滚乐的基石。” 有什么能阻止BEYOND么? 我想BEYOND的精神会长存于世。
转自http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,458836,00.html |
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