News Archive 1995
Page Index
Date: December 31, 1995.
Subject: Shirley Wants To Do Movies Next Year
Source: Apple Daily
Since Shirley acted her first movie Saviour of the Soul II with Andy Lau in 1992, She has been so busy that she could not spare the time for a second one.
Shirley said 1995 was a great year for her singing career. Two wishes, having her own concert and re-singing others' songs, were attained. In addition, the song "Are There Any Real Friends In Life" can be regarded as representative of her six-year-long career. Shirley said she wants to do her second movie in 1996.
Shirley's two new songs, Please Come to Fantasy Dream [請你入綺夢] and Talking to Oneself [自言自語], which do not appear in any of her own albums so far, are included in Polygram's new compilation The Sound of Lucky Mix Remix Collection [幸混聲 REMIX COLLECTION].
In fact, the song Please Come to Fantasy Dream [請你入綺夢] was included in another compilation album At Seventeen Pretty Girls' Declarations Vol.5 [At Seventeen 美少女宣言 Vol.5] released several months ago. However, the one in the remix collection album differs slightly in music arrangement.
Tonight, Shirley appeared as a guest in Leon Lai's Leon Happy New Year 1996 Charity Concert, held at the Aberdeen Sports ground. Other guests include CD Voice, Cass Pang, Winnie Lau and Charlie Yeung.
Date: December 30, 1995.
Subject: Shirley Says She Is Not Following Faye Wong
Source: Apple Daily
Recently, Shirley always maintains a low profile. Thus people said that she is following what Faye Wong did. "In fact, I have been doing less promotions for several years. Sometimes, I refuse to be interviewed due to the security problem of the place where the interview taken. Sometimes, I need to go because I have jobs scheduled. However, I don't like to explain. Regarding following what Faye did, I don't know Faye's attitude towards her jobs. But for me, I just follow what is on my mind," Shirley said.
Date: December 26, 1995.
Subject: In Metro Radio's Christmas Concert
Source: Singtao Online, Mingpao Online
Shirley appeared in Metro Radio's Christmas Dreams Come True Concert last night. The concert was held in the Hongkong Cultural Center. Other guests include Leon Lai, Linda Wong, etc.
Shirley will play a role in the radio series, Four Merry Nights - I'm a 100% Orange [四晚快樂 - 我是個100%的橙], which will be broadcasted during Jan Lam Hoi Fung's [林海峰] program, Real Man Performance [真人表演], from Dec 25 to Dec 28 on CR2. Other guests include Andy Lau Tak Wah [劉德華] and Ng Man Tat [吳孟達].
Shirley Kwan has a new duet, titled Blessed Mary [萬福瑪利亞], with Anthony Wong Yiu Ming. This song will be included in Anthony Wong's new album.
Date: December 17, 1995.
Subject: Polygram 25th Anniversary Concert Celebration Banquet
Source: Singtao Online
Shirley did not join the celebration banquet after the second show of Polygram's 25th Anniversary Concert. General Manager Chan Yu Hung explained that she was not feeling well, and her absence was in no way related to the apathy she exhibited towards the press in the past month.
Click here to see some photos taken in Polygram's 25th Anniversary The World Concert.
Date: December 9, 1995.
Subject: Shirley is Ill
Source: Commercial Radio 2 - Musician Valley
Shirley got sick after consuming something dirty while having a hot pot meal. She is now working on her latest Cantonese album, and it is said that some first-class composers are involved in its making.
Regarding her new song Talking to Oneself [Chi Yin Chi Yu], it was composed by Sherly Crow, with lyrics written by Heung Shui Wie [向雪懷] and music arrangement by John Laudon [劉諾生]. It is a mid-tempo song.
Date: December 2, 1995.
Subject: Shunning the Press
Source: Singtao Online
Shirley refused to be interviewed after Commercial Radio's The 8th Original Song Writers' Concert last night.
Date: December 1, 1995.
Subject: New song Talking to Oneself [Chi Yin Chi Yu] Plugged to Radio Stations
Shirley's new song, titled Talking to Oneself [Chi Yin Chi Yu], is plugged to radio stations today.
Author's Note
Believe it or not, her new song and 'e space are released on the same day! :P
Date: November 22, 1995.
Subject: Polygram 25th Anniversary Concert on December 14 & 15.
Shirley will attend the Polygram 25th Anniversary Concert, to be held in the Hong Kong Coliseum on December 14 and 15, 1995.
The Polygram 25th Anniversary Album, titled The World Song is released. Shirley sang the first part, as well as some vocal, of the theme song, Singing For the Whole World. In the same album, there is a new duet, Moonlight Melody, by Shirley and the Grasshoppers.
In Commercial Radio's press conference for The 8th Original Song Writers' Concert yesterday, Shirley did not show up until an hour after it started at 12:00 pm. Other singers participated in the press conference includes Cass Pang, Sammi Cheung, Andy Hui, etc. It was said that Shirley arrived on time, but was discussing the run-down of the show with the staff rather than meeting with the press.
When she finally appeared, she was busy autographing and let the reporters wait. After that, when the they were trying to get her to answer some questions, she showed lack of interest and left.
Date: October 31, 1995.
Subject: Shirley Invited to Perform for Bill Clinton in Japan
Source: Oriental Daily
Shirley and some Japanese and Taiwanese stars are invited to perform in a dinner banquet for US President Bill Clinton in Japan on November 14, 1995. Shirley feels honored to have the opportunity to participate among other top stars. And since Clinton does not have any knowledge of Eastern languages, she is considering some English songs for the occasion.
Regarding her relative lack of exposure recently, she said she is busy with the events pertaining to Polygram's 25th anniversary, the music show for Japanese TV station NHK, and her upcoming album. "I'm cutting back on the press conferences. I hope I can rest for a couple of weeks, I'm really tired. That's what it's like to be a singer. Many times, you do a lot of things (e.g. preparations and recordings for albums) but nobody knows," she sighs.
She thinks that as a singer, she does not always have to keep a high profile. And she hopes she can find more time to do other things. When inquired about whether it is because she thinks she is established now and does not need to do promotions, she answered, "I've always wanted to have a quieter life. But I couldn't do it in the past."
The Karaoke version of Shirley Kwan in Concert is released today.
Date: October 24, 1995.
Subject: Favorable Comments by Sally Yeh
Source: Ming Pao
When Sally Yeh spoke of who might get the most popular female singer award this year, she said that Faye Wong's performance was disappointing, while Shirley did very well.
As Shirley learned of this, she expressed gratitude for Sally's kind words. Although she did not maintain a lot of exposure this year, a sizable number of new songs was released. She wants to experiment with the "new music" style, but she worries that the company and the public might not accept it. And on the issue of awards, she thinks that while they are always honorable, the most important thing is making good songs.
Shirley believes that nowadays, the public put a lot of attention on the qualities of the songs. And in this regard, what the singers can do are limited. So, the image of a singer is only second to the good record productions.
Shirley will participate in a concert in Japan, and allegedly US President Bill Clinton will be among the audience. After that, she will return to Hongkong and work on Polygram's 25th Anniversary album.
Date: October 14, 1995.
Subject: Shirley Kwan in 7th CASH Song Writers Quest
Source: Advertisement
Shirley Kwan will be one of the judges of "The 7th CASH Song Writers Quest" which will be held on October 22, 1995. Other judges include George Lam, Lam Man Yee, Lam Man Chun and etc.
From a newspaper front page advertisement, Shirley Kwan in Concert Laser Disc will go on sale today.
Date: September 28, 1995.
Subject: Shirley on Cutting Production
Source: Sing Tao
In response to a question about whether she is worried about other singers would leapfrog her in popularity, Shirley said, "I've been asked questions like this too many times. The market works by fair competition, everybody have a chance to become popular. Moreover, every singers have different criteria of success. For me, I'll stick to my goal and work on my own music."
Shirley suggested that releasing two albums a year may be too much. It's meaningless to release an album for its own sake. It would be the best to hold on until ten good songs can be picked.
If she is only going to release one new album per year, would she worry about losing popularity? "I don't think so. On the other hand, I think it would be good for the market. Nowadays, too many albums are released, and the public never look forward to a particular album. I'd rather produce less, so that people will look forward to it," Shirley responded.
Also, she believes that singers should spend less time doing promotions. Releasing two albums a year, the schedule is already very tight. And if a lot of time is spent on promotions, it would be difficult for the singers to reflect on themselves and improve. She said frankly that it is her own decision to go the low-profile route on promotions, and everybody have their own choices.
Date: September 25, 1995.
Subject: Are There Any Real Friends in Life? Won an Award in JSG 3rd Quarter
In the Jade Solid Gold 3rd Quarter show last night, Shirley got an award for her song Are There Any Real Friends in Life, from the album On the Road of Life.
Date: September 21, 1995.
Subject: Shirley Kwan Featured in Television Weekly
Shirley Kwan is featured in the cover story this week's Television Weekly. The 12-page section includes her profile, discography and a lot of childhood photos of her that have not been published before.
Date: September 19, 1995.
Subject: Developing the Japanese Market Carries Too High a Toll
Source: Express Daily
Yesterday, Shirley attended a promotional activity for the show Union of Hong Kong and Japan Mega Stars. Shirley will go to Fukuoka for this program. Shirley said she had been to Fukuoka 5 years ago. She was invited to be a guest of a concert. As Shirley was developing the Japan market, she sang Japanese songs.
Why did Shirley give up the Japanese market? Shirley explained that a new-comer needs to spend a very large amount of time staying in Japan, including over 100 concerts in a year, to develop the market there. "At that time, I also needed to take care of the Hong Kong market. I could not afford to spend so much time in Japan."
Last night, Shirley showed up as one of the guests in George Lam's 20th Anniversary concert, held in the Hongkong Coliseum. Other guests include Anita Mui and Sally Yeh. The proceedings from the first show would be donated to Community Chest.
Today, Polygram released a new 2-CD album titled Shirley Kwan in Concert, recorded live from Shirley's concert 3 months ago.
Date: September 5, 1995.
Subject: Shirley in Po Leung Kok Charity Show this Sunday
Source: Ming Pao
Shirley will appear in the Po Leung Kok Charity Show this Sunday. This year, the show will forego the old "competition" format in favor of a series of "mini concerts". Other stars that will be seen in the show includes Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok, priscilla Chan and Vivian Chow.
Date: August 30, 1995.
Subject: Shirley Wants to Get Married
Source: Apple Daily
Yesterday, in a radio interview at RTHK, the DJ asked Shirley whether she wants to get married. "I'd like to but I still haven't met the one I love," she replied.
People always think that those Western-minded people do not like marriage. Shirley, smilingly, said her thinking is very traditional. "If I meet my beloved one, I'd marry him and organize a family with children." How many kids? Shirley laughed, "One is en ough. I am afraid that I can't handle more."
"I'd follow Faye Wong's footsteps, to love my man wholly. However, I'll still participate in the production side of the music industry," she said.
Shirley was invited to attend a concert held in Japan and details will be announced later. In fact, Shirley released a number of Japanese albums years ago. Why she did not continue in the Japanese market? "Everyone thinks my Japanese is quite good. However, I don't really know too much. As to why I stopped developing the Japan market, I'm just too busy after releasing the Mandarin albums. I can't spare any more time for the Japanese market," she said.
Recently, a number of new singers entered the music industry. Among those new-comers, who does Shirley like? "I like Kelly Chan Wai Lam. First of all, she is from Polygram-based company so I get a better impression of her. Secondly, I met her prior to her entrance to the music industry. I found that she has the qualities to be a good entertainer."
Date: August 23, 1995.
Subject: Shirley Awarded 10 Platinum Records
Source: Apple Daily
Yesterday, Polygram held a press conference named "A Beautiful Day of Shirley Kwan", in which Polygram presented 10 Platinum records to Shirley. They included one for each of Love is Forever, My Way, The Story of Shirley and On the Road of Life; and three for each of EX All Time Favorites and Mandarin album Confused.
"This is the first time Polygram awards Platinum records to me, so they award all the platinum records I got for the past albums. I am really very happy."
Shirley said since the end of the concert in June, she has been working busily for the promotion of the new album. This is a great time to meet the journalists.
"It was because I had to spend more time on promotion for the release of Mandarin album in Taiwan. My second Mandarin album was out last month. It is a big step forward since it has got 3 Platinums."
Shirley said she experienced many sad and happy things in her singing career, as well as many losses and gains. Thus she cares a lot about what she has right now. She will put her feelings in the coming album.
Date: August 23, 1995.
Subject: A Great Hope: There Will Be Music That Represents Hong Kong
Source: Oriental Daily
Shirley Kwan's second Mandarin album Confused was released in Taiwan last month. From the records, 150,000 copies, or "3 platinums", were sold. It is a good beginning for Shirley. Yesterday, Polygram held a press conference for awarding her ten platinum records, including 5 Cantonese and one Mandarin album.
Shirley was very happy with the sales figures. She said she does not ask for too much, so she does not have any special hopes. One thing that Shirley would like to see is that Hong Kong will have representative music of her own. It is impossible without the help from the mass media and from musicians, as artists' influences are limited.
Lately, Polygram seems to pay a lot of attention to Shirley. In fact, among the female artists in Polygram, Shirley is being treated as a "Sister Level" singer. Shirley strongly denies that assertion. She believes Polygram's policy is fair enough, and she doesn't feel she is getting any special treatment from the company.
Date: August 17, 1995.
Subject: Shirley will Attend Music Festival in Japan on September 29, 1995.
Shirley will go to Japan for a Music Festival on September 29, 1995. Other Hong Kong artists that would appear in the show includes Alan Tam, Aaron Kwok, Leon Lai, etc.
Date: August 17, 1995.
Subject: Album Confused Sales Reached 150,000
Source: Apple Daily (advertisement)
A half-page-large advertisement by Polygram, announcing Shirley's second Mandarin album Confused [Luen Liu] goes "3 platinums" in Taiwan.
Shirley attended the TV program Jade Solid Gold tonight. In the program, she performed the song He Needs You, She Needs You. She said her neck was injured.
Date: August 9, 1995.
Subject: Shirley Feels that the Music Industry is Very Competitive
Source: Ming Pao
In response to the fact that Leon Lai and Andy Lau releasing their albums at the same day, Shirley believes that this was not done on purpose. The record companies should have long-term plans. The mass media is a little bit too sensitive this time.
However, the Hong Kong music industry is sometimes so competitive that it is abnormal. Talking about how to bring an end to this, Shirley said the artists' power are limited. It is hard to stop. As a singer, she only tries her best to sing her songs well.
Date: August 2, 1995.
Subject: Shirley in Lam Chi Cheung with You 20 Years Show
On August 2, 1995, Shirley attended the show Lam Chi Cheung with You 20 Years, held in the theatre of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. The show was produced by TVB. The guests includes Shirley, Alan Tam, Hacken Lee, Sally Yep, Anita Mui, etc. In the show Shirley sang "Thousand of Pins Pinned on Heart" with George Lam. Yet another good performance by Shirley Kwan.
Date: August 1, 1995.
Subject: Loyal to Polygram. Shirley Kwan Will Not Leave
Source: Apple Daily
Recently, there were a number of news indicating some of the singers in Polygram are not satisfied with the company's policies. As one of Polygram's singers, Shirley feels that each artist has his or her own difficulties.
"For me, I just try my best to do my job. Concerning the so-called unfair policies of Polygram, I think that depends on one's view", Shirley said yesterday.
Shirley claimed that she too had once felt frustrated. "Frustrations? So what? Everyone must face frustrations in one's life. We should learn and grow from faults". She even considered quitting from the music industry when her career was at a hard time.
Thus far, Shirley is still a contract singer of Polygram. In fact, other companies kept asking Shirley to join them. However, Shirley thinks that she is working fine with Polygram and there is no reason for her to leave.
She always has a good relationship with her company. "Maybe I demand less. So I don't have any complaint towards my company," Shirley said.
Date: July 29, 1995.
Subject: Shirley Performs in Helping the Poor Show in Beijing
On July 29, 1995, Shirley performed in the show Helping the Poor, produced by TVB, in Beijing. Shirley appeared in a masculine outfit. She sang Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? with Alan Tam, and Impression (originally by Sam Hui). The audio system of the show was less than ideal, and adversively affected the singers' performances, including Shirley and Alan. Hacken Lee, George Lam, Sally Yep, Leon Lai, were also starred in the show.
Date: July 27, 1995.
Subject: "The Idea was from a Photo" - Shirley's New MTV is Shot Under Water
Source: Ming Pao
Recently, Shirley performed in the MTV of the new Mandarin song, Confused. The scene of the MTV is under water. Fourteen hours were spent on the production, including 6 hours under water. Shirley claimed she had never worked as hard in making
MTVs.
However, the idea was from nobody but Shirley herself. It was inspired by a set of photos. And since she had never performed under water before, she figured that she might give it a try. After some discussions with the production team, they decided go with the idea.
Shirley has just returned from Taiwan and she is now working busily on the new MTV of the Cantonese song, He/She needs you. After that she will fly to Taiwan again for the promotion of latest Mandarin album, titled Confused. This is her second Mandarin album. She leave for Beijing on July 29, to participate in the show Helping the Poor.
Shirley is being invited to give performances in China, USA and Canada. Unfortunately, her schedule is packed in the coming months, and any performances overseas would not be possible until winter.
Date: July 22, 1995.
Subject: Shirley Urges, "I'm Not Being Unfair to the Fans in Hongkong."
Source: Sing Pao
Shirley has just returned from Taiwan to perform in the MTV of a new Cantonese song. Several days ago, she dressed sexily at a press conference held in Taiwan, promoting her new Mandarin album, Confused [Leun Liu]. Many people were pleasantly surprised.
Shirley explained that the costume was brought to Taiwan for photo-taking purposes originally. However, owing to the fact that she did not brought enough clothes with her for the trip, and a suggestion from the Taiwan record company, Shirley had no choice but to appear in that outfit at the press conference. She claimed that she did not expect the public to have such a large reaction. In fact, occasionally, many other singers would wear sexy clothes, too. Furthermore, she rarely dress like that.
It was said that this action is unfair to her fans in Hongkong. Shirley said it is not unfair to HK fans and she would not dress like that again. "Just once, please don't blame me", she said.
Does Shirley think this would give her a hand to the promotion of new album? She said she never thought of that, and both her company and herself did not expect such a pronounced reaction from public.
Right after the end of her first series of concerts, Shirley released a new Cantonese album today, titled On the Road of Life [Sai To Sheung]. The album includes 3 new songs, namely He/She Needs You [Tar/Tar Shui Yiu Nay], Are There Any Real Friends in Life [Yun Sung Hor Yau Zhi Gay] and Hor Sic [Pity], which is a Mandarin version of the Cantonese hit Forget Him [Mong Gay Tar]. Also included are re-mixes of Dream Theatre [Mong K ag Cheung] and Who Would Care For Me in the Night [Yea Cau Shui], and a compilation of 13 old songs.
Shirley concluded her series of four concerts at the Hongkong Coliseum tonight. The following is the rundown of the forth show.
| 01. 難得有情人 |
11. 戀一世的愛 |
21. 印象 |
31. 忘記他 |
| 02. 冬戀 |
12. 平靜裡的一盞燈 |
22. 叛逆漢子 |
32. 這是愛 |
| 03. 患難建真情 |
13. 製造迷夢 |
23. 假的戀愛 |
33. 一首獨唱的歌 |
| 04. 星空下的戀人 |
14. 緊張 |
24. 愛如潮水 |
34. 地老天荒 |
| 05. 夢劇場 |
15. 梵音 |
25. 逝去的傳奇 |
35. 當世界無玫瑰 |
| 06. 午夜狂奔 |
16. 驚世感覺 |
26. 夜迷宮 |
36. 難得有情人 |
| 07. 一切也願意 |
17. 李香蘭 |
27. Dela |
|
| 08. 失戀演奏家 |
18. 問 |
28. 親愛的 |
|
| 09. 愛恨纏綿 |
19. 夢伴 |
29. 人生可有知己 |
|
| 10. 窗內窗外 |
20. 把歌談心 |
30. 繾綣星光下 |
|
Date: June 9, 1995.
Subject: The One and Only Shirley Kwan Concert
Tonight, Shirley's first concert will commence in the Hongkong Coliseum. A total of 4 concerts are planned, from June 9, 1995 to June 12, 1995.
Back to News Update page
We need your help! If there are anything you can contribute, or if you have any suggestions or comments, please send them to Keith & LMK. Special thanks to Andrew for his fabulous artwork.
Shirley Wants To Do Movies Next Year