George Lam

George Lam Tsz-cheung (, born 12 October 1947), also credited mononymously as Lam, is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actor, with a career spanning more than four decades.

In addition to his singing career, Lam has also acted in various TV dramas and films, making his film debut in Luckies Trio in 1978. He was nominated for a Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in Ann Hui's Boat People (1982).

Early life Lam was born in British Hong Kong to a family of physicians, with both his father, a Yuen Long obstetrician, and paternal grandfather (the former hospital chief executive of Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital) being doctors. He attended Tak Sun Primary School, then Diocesan Boys' School, a predominantly English-language boys school, where he was a boarder. At the latter school, he chose to study French.

Lam started to pick up music at a young age, when his grandfather often took him to watch Chinese and Western movies, which exposed him to film music. His parents often played music around the house, and a sparked interest with listening to music on the radio led to him teaching himself to play the guitar. In 1965, Lam moved abroad to further his studies in the United Kingdom, attending Dover College and transferring to the Barcote School of Coaching, and United States. During this time at the latter school, he formed a folk song group, the Midnighters, with two friends of his. During his subsequent stay in the U.S., he began to experience a more diverse range of musical genres, which would greatly influence his work.

Career After his studies in the United Kingdom, Lam remained for a few years for work before moving to California, where he coached tennis and worked in a stock brokerage firm. It was during this time that Lam started writing his own songs. Not long thereafter, he returned to Hong Kong to launch his music career.

Lam started as one of the lead singers in the band "Jade". In 1976, he went solo with the release of his first eponymous English album, "Lam". His first Cantonese album came out in 1978. In 1980, two of his compositions ("In The Middle of The Water"《在水中央》and "Need You Every Minute"《分分鐘需要你》) won Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards. Throughout the 1980s, 23 of Lam's songs topped the RTHK Chinese Pop Chart, making him second only to Alan Tam, who had 28.

Self-producing, Lam creates most of his own albums and songs, as well as being especially involved with creative direction of his work outside its musical aspects. Lam has a wide vocal range and has interpreted and performed in many different genres of music.

His works are best known for pioneering a variety of genres in the Hong Kong music scene, such as creating the known first Cantorap, "Ah Lam's Diary", and the medley "10 Minutes 12 Inches" from multiple Cantopop hits, with the latter composition's interwoven intricacies creating a derivative for Lam's eponymous concert Lamusical with his own hits.

Personal life Lam married Ng Ching Yuen in 1980. Together, they have a son, Alex Lam Tak Shun, who is also a singer and actor, and a daughter April. Lam and Ng divorced in 1994. On 17 July 1996, he married singer and actress Sally Yeh.

Aside from his musical activities, Lam is a lover of sports and visual arts. Some of his particular ventures in sports is tennis and golf. In terms of visual arts, he has a special fondness for drawing mazes; one of his artworks was engraved onto a Lalique-produced crystal Buddha, with his collaboration lending itself as the French company's first collaboration with a Chinese artist. Lam also likes tailoring, often modifying clothes to his own taste.

During a May 2003 guest performance for Liza Wang at the Hong Kong Coliseum, Lam accidentally fell 2.5 metres through a stage floor opening. The accident injured his right ear, resulting in partial hearing loss, particularly in high frequencies, and tinnitus, leaving him hearing sounds in mono. A few months after his injury, he gave a series of concerts across southern China for the purpose of acclimating himself to performing with his altered hearing.

Artistry Musical style Lam's experiences abroad is the strongest influence within his work, where he has introduced a wide variety of song styles to the Hong Kong pop music scene, with many originals and covers becoming Cantopop classics. His work encompasses a wide stylistic range, from country rock, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, funk, jazz, rap, traditional Chinese songs, to tango and bossa nova.

When producing covers, he taps into a wide variety of countries and regions, spanning from western Europe to particular Asian countries like Japan and South Korea. The pieces he selects to cover range in genres from folk songs, classical music, and jazz musicals, to funk and rock and roll.

Voice and timbre Lam has been regarded to have a very wide tenor range, with his highest notes reaching F5, D#6 in full voice and volume, and his lowest notes is the G2.

Awards and achievements

Lam's four decade-long career has shaped a significant part of the Hong Kong music scene. Many of today's top Cantopop singers such as Eason Chan, Hacken Lee, and Andy Lau have been influenced by his music. In an interview, George Lam confirmed he encouraged Andy Lau to be a singer when the two of them met during a movie filming.

In recognition of his contribution to music, Lam has received numerous accolades, including the Golden Needle Award in 1994, the CASH Hall of Fame Award in 2003, the J.S.G. Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015, and the RTHK Hall of Fame Award in 2016.

Discography

Filmography Adapted from his IMDB profile.

Year Title RoleNotes English TitleChinese Title 1978 Luckies Trio各師各法 1979 Money Trip懵女，大賊，傻偵探 The Secret 瘋劫 1980 Disco Bumpkins 摩登土佬 Confused Hero 糊塗英雄 1981 All the Wrong Clues for the Right Solution 鬼馬智多星 Yoho Life After Life 再生人 1982 Aces Go Places 最佳拍檔 Ambulance Driver CameoIt Takes Two 難兄難弟 Olive Peddler Boat People 投奔怒海 Shiomi Akutagawa 1983 All the Wrong Spies 我愛夜來香 1984 Banana Cops 英倫琵琶 The Owl vs Bombo 貓頭鷹與小飛象 Wong "Owl Wong" Yan-Fu 1985 Kung Hei Fat Choy 恭喜發財 "Mo" Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars 夏日福星 It's a Drink, It's a Bomb 聖誕奇遇結良緣 Lost Romance 1986 Passion 最愛 1987 Easy Money 通天大盜 1988 Heart to Hearts 三人世界 Starry is the Night 今夜星光燦爛 1989 Perfect Match 最佳男朋友 Heart into Hearts 三人新世界 1990 A Bite of Love 一咬OK Shanghai Shanghai 亂世兒女 1991 The Banquet 豪門夜宴 Prince Alibaba of Kuwait The Perfect Match 富貴吉祥 Koo 1992 Heart Against Hearts 三人做世界 1993 Perfect Couples 皆大歡喜 1997 A Queer Story 基佬四十 Up for the Rising Sun 擁抱朝陽 2003 Love Under the Sun 愛在陽光下 2004 Six Strong Guys 六壯士 2006 Love at First Note 戀愛初歌 2007 The Pye-Dog Wonder Women 2009 Look for a Star 游龍戲鳳 "Sharky" 2011 Hi, Fidelity 出軌的女人 2018 Europe Raiders "Mercury" 2021 Singing With Legends 我们的歌3 Senior Singer Variety Show

Concerts