Michael Lai

Michael Lai Siu-tin (; 8 November 1946 – 1 December 2019) was a Hong Kong music composer, record producer and actor.

Lai was born in 1946 in British Hong Kong to the composer and his literary critic wife, and he later became friends with Cantopop band leader Joseph Koo. Lai attended La Salle College.

Lai first appeared on the music scene in the 1950s, but would also make a number of small but notable appearances as a film actor from the 1950s to 1990s.

Life and career Lai was born in 1946 in British Hong Kong. His father, , was a music director, and his mother was a literary critic. That year, he gained popularity as the co-host of the variety show, Nancy & Michael , sharing hosting duties with actress Nancy Sit.

During his time at Rediffusion, Lai worked on various theme songs for the channel's television dramas. The following year, three compositions by Lai and Lo appeared in the top 10 of the 1980 Gold Songs Awards: "Tear Drops on a Journey" , "Decrepit Dream" , and "Drama of Life" . In addition, the Lai-composed song "Unable to Find an Excuse", from the series Hong Kong Gentlemen, won Jimmy Lo the inaugural Best Lyrics Award at the 1981 Gold Songs Awards.

Move to Capital Artists In 1982, Lai began working for the Capital Artists record label, In this position, he played a significant part in helping Cantopop singers achieve success in the industry. Lai produced Leslie Cheung's second Cantonese album, Wind Blows On, He also helped organise the New Talent Singing Awards, which helped scout talent like Anita Mui, the winner of its inaugural year in 1982.

In addition to working with singers and television series, Lai also composed works for films. He won Best Original Film Score and Best Original Film Song at the 1989 Hong Kong Film Awards for Rouge (1988), which featured both Cheung and Mui.

Lai died on 1 December 2019, in St. Paul's Hospital due to lung cancer. He was survived by his son from a former relationship.

Musicianship and composition style Lai often start songs with simple melody and a natural flow. He also likes to set a 7-chord repertoire, then set a key change at the final chorus. His preferred instrument for composition is piano.

While most of his songs are slow ballads, but mostly experimented with songs with traditional Chinese instruments, but doesn't use as many pentatonic scale like James Wong Jim did.

Works

Film

Project A (1983) Police Story (1985) Armour of God (1986) Project A Part II (1987) Police Story 2 (1988) Miracles (1989)