Sam Hui
Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor. Signed with PolyGram in 1971, held a solo concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum in 1983, announced retirement in 1992, and from 2004 returned to performing.
On this page
About the artist
Sam Hui (English name Samuel Hui), a Hong Kong singer-songwriter, music producer, film producer and actor, was born on September 6, 1948. In 1961 Sam Hui entered St. Francis Xavier's College; elder brother 許冠文 was then an English teacher at the school. In 1966, after finishing Form Five, Sam Hui went on to sixth form at Ying Wa College, entered the University of Hong Kong with an A in Chinese Literature, in 1968 entered the Department of Psychology, and graduated in 1971.
In 1967 Sam Hui joined the band Lotus as lead singer. In 1971 Sam Hui signed with PolyGram Records and released singles including "April Lady" and "Time of the Season"; between 1971 and 1972, with brother 許冠文, co-hosted "雙星報喜" on TVB, and on the program sang the Cantonese song "鐵塔凌雲".
In the 1970s Sam Hui sang many songs reflecting society and satirizing the times, from the helplessness of wage earners and the mood of mahjong to love and encouragement. Most of the music and lyrics were by Sam Hui, and many lyrics were by 黎彼得. The Chinese Wikipedia records that in February 1974 Sam Hui released the English album "The Morning After"; MusicBrainz separately has a release-group record for "Morning After", with a first-release year of 1973. In November 1974 Sam Hui appeared in "鬼馬雙星", the first film directed by 許冠文, and released a first Cantonese album of the same name. In 1975 the album "天才與白痴" was released, and in 1976 the third Cantonese album "半斤八兩"; the same article says that record is one of the best-selling Cantonese records. From 1977 to 1980 the albums "Came Travelling", "財神到", "賣身契", "’79夏日之歌集" and "念奴嬌" were released in turn.
On June 17, 1979, Sam Hui represented Hong Kong at the eighth Tokyo Music Festival, with TVB broadcasting live by satellite. In 1981 and 1982 the albums "摩登保鑣" and "難忘您·紙船" were released.
On May 5, 1983, Sam Hui held a solo concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum. The Chinese Wikipedia records Sam Hui as the first singer to hold a solo concert at this venue, whose audience seating runs past ten thousand. In June the same year Sam Hui moved from PolyGram to 康藝成音 and released the album "新的開始".
From 1984 to 1988 Sam Hui released albums including "最喜歡你", "最緊要好玩", "熱力之冠", "潮流興夾Band" and "Sam and Friends"; during that time, in 1986, RTHK presented Sam Hui with the Golden Needle Award at the eighth Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards concert. In 1989 "許冠傑89歌集" and the live album "十萬人大合唱演唱會" were released, and in 1990 "香港情懷’90" and the live album "香港情懷’90演唱會". In 1991 the theme "滄海一聲笑" of the film "笑傲江湖", in which Sam Hui starred, won Best Original Film Song at the tenth Hong Kong Film Awards; in the film Sam Hui played 令狐沖.
Early in 1992 Sam Hui announced retirement, and TVB held "許冠傑光榮引退匯群星" for Sam Hui at the Regent Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui. Leslie Cheung and other singers attended, and the band Beyond, then in Japan, also recorded a video of a cover of "半斤八兩" as a tribute. The Chinese Wikipedia records that on this program Alan Tam honored Sam Hui as "God of Songs". The last Lunar New Year film made before retirement was "花田囍事". After Hong Kong Stadium reopened in 1994, Sam Hui held a concert there. After retirement Sam Hui made guest appearances on private occasions, in February 1999 took part in producing the stage play "仲夏夜狂想曲", and in January 2000 made a guest appearance in the film "大贏家".
Early in 2004, feeling that people in Hong Kong had been through SARS and that friends 羅文, Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui had died one after another, Sam Hui wrote "繼續微笑" and "04祝福你" to encourage Hong Kong, and this raised the curtain on the comeback; from the same year, with Hong Kong as the first stop, "繼續微笑會歌神演唱會" was held, and tickets sold out quickly. In 2007 Sam Hui signed with 國際娛樂唱片公司 and released the album "人生多麼好". From September 4 to 7, 2009, four shows of "難忘往日情" were held at the Hong Kong Coliseum, performing works of late singer friends as a tribute.
From April 13 to 16, 2012, Sam Hui held four shows of "斤兩十足" at the Hong Kong Coliseum, singing the medley "斤兩十足", made by stringing many songs together, with pictures of Hong Kong current affairs. From April 18 to 20, 2014, three shows of "許冠傑What a Wonderful World演唱會" were held at the Hong Kong Coliseum, and afterward a world tour began; in 2015 the live album "相識廿載演唱會’87" was released; from October 27 to 30, 2016, "請✓許冠傑演唱會" was held at the Hong Kong Coliseum. In 2018 Sam Hui wrote "天地人" for the two hundredth anniversary of alma mater Ying Wa College. A solo run of six to seven shows at the Hong Kong Coliseum, originally set for July 2020, was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. From April 7 to 12 and on April 14, 2023, after seven years, Sam Hui again held seven shows of "許冠傑此時此處演唱會2023" at the Hong Kong Coliseum, and more than half the tickets were priced at only HK$380.
Overview
- Born
- September 6, 1948age 78
- Born in
- Guangzhou · Mainland China
- Career start
- Debut as group member · 1967
- Active
- 1967 – present59 years
- Gender
- Male
- Aliases
- 许冠杰, 阿Sam, 歌神, 一代宗师, 許冠傑
- Instruments
- Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Catalogued works & releases
No catalogued works yet.
