Beyond
A Hong Kong rock band formed in 1983 that entered Hong Kong's mainstream music scene in 1987; after lead vocalist Wong Ka Kui died in 1993, it continued as a trio before disbanding in 2005.
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Beyond is a Hong Kong rock band formed in 1983. Initially an underground band, it entered Hong Kong's mainstream music scene in 1987. The name "Beyond," meaning "to go beyond," was chosen by founding member and lead guitarist 鄧煒謙 to signify surpassing oneself. Both the Beyond and Wong Ka Kui articles on the Chinese Wikipedia state that Wong Ka Kui met Yip Sai Wing through an introduction by the owner of Karin Musical Instruments in To Kwa Wan, then formed a band with 鄧煒謙 and 李榮潮 that became the prototype for Beyond; the two articles date this episode to August 1980 and 1981, respectively. A manuscript featured in the Chung Hwa Book Company online bookstore instead says that the music-store owner introduced 李榮潮 to Yip Sai Wing, and when the two arranged to meet at Karin Musical Instruments, 李榮潮 brought Wong Ka Kui and others with him, marking the first meeting between Yip Sai Wing and Wong Ka Kui. In the early 1980s, both were young musicians interested in Pink Floyd's progressive rock.
In 1983, Beyond was officially formed to enter a competition organized by "結他雜誌." The lineup at the time comprised Wong Ka Kui on vocals and guitar, 鄧煒謙 on guitar, 李榮潮 on bass guitar, and Yip Sai Wing on drums. The final was held at the Shouson Theatre of the Hong Kong Arts Centre in Wan Chai on March 6, 1983. Beyond performed its first original compositions, "Photograph" and "腦部侵襲," and ultimately won the Best Group Award in the "Players Festival香港結他/樂隊大賽" with "腦部侵襲"; it was subsequently invited to record for 郭達年's self-financed compilation "香港Xiang Gang." Released in 1984, the compilation was the band's first work recorded in a studio. Beyond's songs such as "大廈" and "腦部侵襲" mainly featured English lyrics or were instrumentals; their technically demanding Art Rock style emphasized musical variation, and the band promoted itself through original songs from the outset.
According to the Chinese Wikipedia, 李榮潮 and 鄧煒謙 left in succession at the end of 1983, after which Wong Ka Kui's younger brother Wong Ka Keung and 關寶璇 joined as bassist and lead guitarist, respectively. On July 20, 1985, Beyond self-financed its first concert, "永遠等待演唱會," at Caritas House on Caine Road; guitarist 陳時安 left to study abroad before the concert and was replaced by Paul Wong. A retrospective in the South China Morning Post, quoting the newspaper's entertainment editor, instead says that Wong Ka Kui, Wong Ka Keung, Yip Sai Wing, and Paul Wong formed Beyond in 1983. In March 1986, the band independently released its first album, "再見理想," on cassette. With the help of manager Leslie Chan, it moved from underground music into the commercial pop scene and formally signed with Kinn's Music Ltd in preparation for entering pop music. That same year, keyboardist and guitarist 劉志遠, formerly of the recently disbanded band 浮世繪, joined Beyond.
In 1987, Beyond released its first EP, "永遠等待," and the album "亞拉伯跳舞女郎," thereby entering Hong Kong's mainstream music scene; it was also shortlisted among eight acts for Most Promising Newcomer at the 10th Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards for 1987. "亞拉伯跳舞女郎" was the band's first album not financed by the band itself. The 1988 album "現代舞台" featured a new recording of "舊日的足跡" as well as slow love songs such as "冷雨夜" and "天真的創傷," and Paul Wong and Wong Ka Keung each sang lead on a song for the first time. At a concert at Academic Community Hall on April 30, 1988, Wong Ka Kui announced that 劉志遠 would leave the band, ending its five-member era; Beyond subsequently maintained a four-member lineup. On September 6 that year, Cinepoly Records released the band's album "秘密警察" following a contract secured through 陳少寶's involvement; "大地" was also selected as one of the 1988 Jade Solid Gold Best Ten, Beyond's first award from electronic media.
In July 1989, the band released the album "Beyond IV," which included "真的愛你," a celebration of maternal love and an insert song from the film "開心鬼救開心鬼"; it was named one of that year's Jade Solid Gold Best Ten and received a prize at the 12th Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards for 1989. Later that year, Beyond released "真的見證," an album containing several songs the band had written for other singers; before the album came out, the band held seven "真的見證演唱會" concerts at Queen Elizabeth Stadium. In 1990, Beyond released its first Mandarin album, "大地," followed in September by the Cantonese album "命運派對." "光輝歲月" from the album was named one of the Jade Solid Gold Best Ten, "俾面派對" received a prize at the 13th Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards, and Wong Ka Kui won Best Lyrics at the Jade Solid Gold Best Ten for "光輝歲月," a song he wrote in tribute to Mandela. The Cantonese album "猶豫" followed in 1991. From September 19 to 23, the band gave five "Beyond生命接觸演唱會" concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum, its first concerts at that venue, and released the live album "Beyond Live" the same year.
Director 杜琪峰 invited Beyond to appear in "吉星拱照" and to write and perform its theme song, "午夜怨曲." Beyond also appeared in "開心鬼救開心鬼," a film written specifically for the band, performing the theme songs "戰勝心魔" and "文武英傑宣言." A film company further created the inspirational film "Beyond日記之莫欺少年窮" specifically for the band, for which Beyond wrote songs including "誰伴我闖蕩" and "不再猶豫." The band also hosted the TVB summer variety show "Beyond放暑假," which was tailored to it; served as ambassadors for World Vision Hong Kong; visited impoverished people in the Third World in Africa at World Vision's invitation; and established the Third World Fund.
In 1992, seeking to expand its music into more parts of Asia, Beyond began entering the Japanese and Taiwan markets. It ended its four-year relationship with Cinepoly Records, moved to Warner Music, lived in Japan for an extended period, and signed a management contract with Amuse. The band released "繼續革命" that year and its third Mandarin album, "信念," in Taiwan at the end of 1992, re-signing with Rock Records to release its Mandarin records. During its two years in Japan, Beyond released the Japanese-language albums "超越" and "This Is Love 1" and Japanese-language singles including "The Wall~長城~." In 1993, the band released "樂與怒," featuring "海闊天空"; the song received a prize at the 16th Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards for 1993, and Beyond won "叱咤樂壇我最喜愛的本地創作歌曲大獎".
In the early hours of June 24, 1993, while the band was recording a game show at Fuji TV in Tokyo, Wong Ka Kui fell from the stage in an accident; he died at Tokyo Women's Medical University Hospital on June 30, aged 31.
According to the English Wikipedia, after Wong Ka Kui's death there was debate over whether the remaining three members should continue recording and performing under the Beyond name; on November 30, 1993, the trio reappeared at the Composer's Tribute Night concert in Hong Kong. In 1994, the three-member Beyond signed with Rock Records Hong Kong and released its tenth Cantonese album, "二樓後座," on June 4, the band's first album as a trio. After its contract with Amuse ended, the band released no more Japanese-language albums and focused on the Hong Kong and Taiwan markets. During the trio era, its music shifted from progressive rock to alternative rock. The album "Sound," released in June 1995, was produced in collaboration with Jim Lee and recorded in locations including Los Angeles in the United States and Vancouver in Canada. That year, Beyond also released its fifth Mandarin album, "Love & Life" ("愛與生活"), in Taiwan, writing four entirely new Mandarin songs and holding three concerts entitled "土洋大戰."
After Wong Ka Kui's death, the band's first major concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum was "Beyond的精彩Live&Basic演唱會." Beyond converted the band room it had long used, "二樓後座," into a recording studio, becoming a band with its own studio; it also established Beyond Publishing Co Ltd, allowing the band to manage its own song copyrights while its record company handled distribution.
Beyond released the albums "請將手放開" and "驚喜" in 1997, followed in 1998 by "這裡那裡," "不見不散," and the EP "Action," which included the Cantonese song "打不死" and Mandarin song "我不信"; Warner Bros. invited the band to perform the two songs as theme songs for the film "Lethal Weapon 4." In November 1999, Beyond released "Good Time." From December 24 to 26, it held the "Good Time" concert at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, where it announced a temporary disbandment so the three members could each pursue their own music careers.
Beyond received the Ultimate Song Chart Group Silver Award each year from 1988 to 1995 except 1993, the Ultimate Song Chart Group Gold Award from 1996 to 1999, and the Ultimate Song Chart My Favorite Group Gold Award from 1996 to 2000. The band also received the Metro Hits Group Gold Award at the Metro Radio Hits Music Awards for 1993.
After Beyond temporarily disbanded in 1999, Paul Wong formed the band "汗" with several friends, Wong Ka Keung released solo albums and established the personal music label "Picasso Horses" ("毕加索的马") in 2004, and Yip Sai Wing released solo EPs in 2001 and 2003 and his first solo album, "叶子红了," in 2005, focusing his career on the mainland China market. The band received the Golden Songs Silver Jubilee Honorary Award at the 25th Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards for 2002. In April 2003, Beyond reunited to mark its 20th anniversary and held five "Beyond超越Beyond演唱會" concerts, followed by three additional "Beyond超越Beyond演唱會II" concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum from June 21 to 23. The trio rearranged an unreleased work by Wong Ka Kui into the commemorative song "抗戰二十年," released the commemorative EP "Together" ("同在"), and concurrently embarked on the band's first world tour, performing in mainland China, North America, Southeast Asia, and other regions. In 2004, the band won Best Original Film Song at the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards for "长空," the theme song from the film "無間道II."
The band later publicly announced that it had decided to formally disband after a world tour because of differences among the three members' musical philosophies, dissatisfaction with Hong Kong's music scene, and other issues. According to Oriental Daily News, Yip Sai Wing said that each member had concentrated on making his own music from 2000 to 2003 and had grown personally and become more independent, making it harder for them to work together because their thinking differed considerably, so they decided to formally say farewell in 2005. In 2005, the band mounted the farewell world tour "Beyond The Story Live 2005"; its Hong Kong leg ran from January 27 to February 1 at the Hong Kong Coliseum, and the final stop was Singapore on October 15, 2005. Beyond formally disbanded in 2005 and that year received "华语乐坛特别贡献乐队" at the Chinese Music Media Awards.
After the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, the Hong Kong Performing Artistes Guild selected "海闊天空" and Andy Lau wrote Mandarin lyrics for it under the title "承諾"; singers from mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong performed it at "演藝界512關愛行動" as the theme song for disaster-relief fundraising. On June 10 that year, the 46th anniversary of Wong Ka Kui's birth, Paul Wong, Wong Ka Keung, and Yip Sai Wing again performed together at "別了家駒十五載——海闊天空音樂會." From July 24 to 26, 2009, Wong Ka Keung and Paul Wong held the "This is Rock n Roll 一生樂與怒" concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum. In 2010, Beyond was selected as one of the "30年30人" in the 30-year classics selection of the "华语金曲奖," while "樂與怒" was selected as one of the "30年30碟" and "海闊天空" as one of the "30年30歌." According to the Chinese Wikipedia, Wong Ka Keung said on May 25, 2015, that Beyond's bond had run its course and that a reunion was no longer possible. On June 10, 2016, the 54th anniversary of Wong Ka Kui's birth, 劉志遠, Paul Wong, and Yip Sai Wing reunited at "家駒愛心延續慈善演唱會" and performed "再見理想" together; on June 22, 2017, the trio reunited again on "圍爐音樂會," a large-scale musical storytelling program produced by Sichuan Television, and performed several Beyond songs.
Overview
- Formed
- 1983
- Formed in
- Hong Kong
- Disbanded
- 200522 yr in all
- Active
- 1983 – 1999
- 2003 – 2005 (reunion)
- Make-up of catalogued members
- All male
- Aliases
- 黄家驹乐队, ビヨンド
- Instruments
- Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Drums / Percussion, Piano / Keyboard
Catalogued works & releases
No catalogued works yet.