Tats Lau
A Hong Kong musician, composer, and actor, and a member of Tat Ming Pair, in which he is responsible for composition, arrangement, and instrumental performance; in 1991, he won Best Chinese (Pop) Song at the Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards for "天問."
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About the artist
Tats Lau (English name Tats Lau Yee Tat) is a Hong Kong musician, composer, and actor. His date of birth is recorded in two ways: the Chinese Wikipedia gives February 27, 1962, while the English Wikipedia gives February 27, 1963; the author biography from Kubrick bookstore also says that he was born in 1963. Tats Lau attended "第一幼稚園," S.K.H. Yat Sau Primary School, Tai Tung Middle School, Chu Hai College's secondary division, and Matteo Ricci College in Sham Shui Po. He learned guitar technique at Tom Lee Music and through self-study.
In the 1980s, Tats Lau was active in Hong Kong's independent music scene and formed several underground bands: his first band, DLLM, in 1980, followed by OEO, or Oriental Electric Orchestra. DLLM played post-punk, while OEO was influenced by YMO and explored electronic music with an Eastern flavor. Tats Lau later won a competition organized by "結他" magazine and contributed to the compilation "香港Xiang Gang," his first work formally released to the public. In 1984, he placed a newspaper advertisement seeking a band partner and subsequently formed Tat Ming Pair with singer Anthony Wong Yiu-ming. According to the South China Morning Post, when Anthony Wong Yiu-ming went to audition, he encountered Tats Lau holding a rock guitar and saying that he wanted to make electronic music; the rapport between them was sufficient for Lau to set aside his underground-music plans and focus on creating Tat Ming Pair. The duo's name combined the "達" from Lau's name and the "明" from Wong's. In the duo, Tats Lau is the principal composer and instrumentalist, responsible for composition, arrangement, and performance on instruments including guitar, bass guitar, and keyboards, while Anthony Wong Yiu-ming serves as lead vocalist, with one singing and the other playing. The English Wikipedia summarizes that, unlike his Cantonese pop contemporaries, Tats Lau was strongly influenced by British synth-pop.
Among Tat Ming Pair's works, "上路," "你還愛我嗎," "血色薔薇," "忘記他是她," and "十個救火的少年" were composed by Anthony Wong Yiu-ming and arranged by Tats Lau. In 1987, Lau scored Zuni Icosahedron's stage production "石頭記" and wrote its theme song. In 1990, Tat Ming Pair held a breakup commemorative concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum; the South China Morning Post dates the breakup to 1990, while the Chinese Wikipedia gives 1991. In 1991, Tats Lau won Best Chinese (Pop) Song at the Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards for "天問."
After the breakup, Tats Lau formed short-lived groups including "劉以達與夢" and "劉以達官立小學." On November 3, 1992, "劉以達與夢" released the studio album "末世極樂." On January 29, 1996, Tats Lau held a party to celebrate his solo album "麻木," at which Anthony Wong Yiu-ming appeared and announced their reunion. Tat Ming Pair anniversary concerts in which Lau participated included its 10th anniversary in 1996, 20th in 2004, 27th in April 2012, and 31st in March 2017. In November 2020, Tat Ming Pair performed the songs from the albums "意難平" and "神經" again in their entirety at Queen Elizabeth Stadium.
Tats Lau also appeared in films, playing 生哥 in "籠民" in 1992, guitarist 阿達 in "新不了情" in 1993, 夢遺大師, the abbot of Shaolin Temple, in "食神" in 1996, and 大飛 and 劉備 in "超時空要愛" in 1998; his other films included "大內密探零零發," in which he played an intelligence officer of 保龍一族, "安娜與武林," and "絕世好賓." He played a school principal in "葉問3" in 2015 and a senior doctor in "獅子山上" in 2019. His television work included ATV's 2004 "我和殭屍有個約會III永恆國度," in which he played 馬大龍; in 2009, Lau also served as a judge on ATV's "亞洲星光大道."
Tats Lau has also composed film scores and worked with director Clara Law. According to the Chinese Wikipedia, Tats Lau won Best Original Film Score at the 30th Golden Horse Awards for "誘僧," sharing the award with 韋啟良. He released the soundtrack album "秋月" in 1994 and scored the film "遺愛" in 2021.
Tats Lau has also written music for other singers, including Alan Tam, Sam Hui, and Christopher Wong. For Faye Wong's "誘惑我" and Sam Hui's "我是太空人," he composed, arranged, and produced the music; he co-composed Jacky Cheung's "人鬼獸" with Boomeat; and he composed Sandy Lam's "無情實驗."
In 2001, Tats Lau released the studio album "水底樂園." In 2006, he formed "達與璐" with Guangzhou native 李璐璐 and independently released the eponymous album "達與璐." In 2009, he formed the local band Love Mission and released "劉以達@Love Mission," an album containing six Christian gospel songs. The band's other members were 鍾凱瑩 on lead vocals, 古惑貓 on keyboards and backing vocals, 黃文傑 on bass guitar, and 鄧應祈 on drums; over two years, Love Mission took part in numerous performance events and toured three Australian cities. On October 6, 2012, Lau held the "大師榮耀 飄乎回歸 劉以達 希望之旅" concert at Riverside Music Cafe's Ximen Red House venue in Taipei; in February 2013, he released the studio album "第四度空間." In 2022, he published the book "方丈尋根記" and released an album of the same name; on December 11, he attended a book-signing event for "方丈尋根記" at Kubrick bookstore in Broadway Cinematheque, Yau Ma Tei. On February 23 and 24, 2024, Lau held the "劉以達「尋根」作品展" concert at MacPherson Stadium; that year he also published "方丈尋根記 II."
Overview
- Born
- February 27, 1963age 63
- Born in
- Hong Kong
- Career start
- Debut as group member · March 27, 1986
- Active
- March 27, 1986 – present40 years
- Gender
- Male
- Aliases
- 刘以达, 劉以達, Lau Yee Tat
- Instruments
- Vocals, Guitar
Catalogued works & releases
No catalogued works yet.
