Hacken Lee
Encyclopedia
Hacken Lee Hak Kan is an award winning Hong Kong
based Cantopop
singer and lyricist
, actor
, Master of Ceremonies
and Association football sportscaster
.
, he entered the TVB new talent show along with Alex To
, William So
, Vivian Chow
, Grasshopper
, and Eddie Ng
. He did not get into the top thirty. Lee won the 1985 Hong Kong 18 District Singing Contest singing "Love in the Fog" (霧之戀), a song made famous by Alan Tam
, and was offered a contract with PolyGram Records
. The sales of his first EP
album "李克勤 (EP)" did not reach the 5,000 mark. In 1988, he appeared in a TVB television series "Teenage No More" (不再少年時).
In 1992, Hacken released "Red Sun" (紅日), for which he penned the lyrics. His first concert, held at the Hong Kong Coliseum
in 1993 was very well received; all the tickets sold out in a couple days.
In 1995 Hacken was involved in various contract disputes with his record company and one of his concerts had a very low turnout. For a time, Hacken had no recording contract and worked instead as a TVB presenter for shows such as the music programme Jade Solid Gold
, Miss Hong Kong and numerous sports events, notably soccer. At the same time, he turned to acting and appeared occasionally in dramas for TVB. He record songs for TVB such as the TVB theme song for the 1998 World Cup.
In late 2001 Hacken performed in collaboration with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
. The concert series was very well-received, as was a recording released of the series. Hacken's early 2002 concert and its recordings were equally well-received.
He co-starred in the TVB drama Legal Entanglement
(法網伊人), which aired around the time of the 2002 concert. The series achieved high ratings and was one of TVB's most popular dramas that year. He won the "Most Favourite Character" award at the 2002 TVB Anniversary Awards for his role in the series. He was appointed the host of the 2002 World Cup
and sang the theme song of TVB, which dominated the local charts for some time.
Hacken won the TVB Jade Solid Gold Award three times, twice in succession (2002 and 2003) and another one in 2005.
In 2003, he partnered with Alan Tam
in a series of concerts around the world, including multiple shows in Hong Kong and Las Vegas
. The concerts were named "Neighbors" (「左麟右李」) which is a play of words with a well known Chinese four-character idiom
左鄰右里 using homonyms 麟 and 李 in the artists' names.
He partnered with Joey Yung
for the first time in 2004, in a collaboration better known by another four-character idiom "Urgency cannot afford delay" (刻不容緩), once again a Chinese pun using the artists' names 克 and 容.
Lee was the first Chinese artist to release a DualDisc
. Entitled Hacken Lee Concert Hall (李克勤演奏廳), the DVD side of the disc featured "Making of" footage, while the CD side features live recordings of the songs in Surround Sound
.
A sequel CD, Hacken Lee Seoul Concert Hall (李克勤演奏廳 II), was released in November 2006 following the success of the original Concert Hall, which sold over 80,000 copies. All songs in the second Concert Hall disc were recorded live from 28 to 31 August 2006 at the Harmony Theatre, Koyang Culture City Hall, Korea
. Many local Korean musicians participated in the recording project, including Kwak Jung "Harpist K" on harp, So Kyoung-Jin on Korean big drum, Jang Hyo-Seok on saxophone, Kim Won-Jin
as boy soprano, Kim Hyun-Mi, Jung Hyun-Suk "Joy of Strings" on violin, Kim Hae-Ryeon on viola, and Chung Yu-Young on cello. David Hodges
from New York played an antique 1920 bandoneon
in the recording. Seoul Concert Hall was released on a CD with an accompanying DVD using high-definition 1080i format.
In 2006, he held a series of sell-out concerts (sponsored by Carlsberg) during the Chinese New Year
period at the HK Coliseum, from 28 January through to 6 February.
On 28 November 2006, Hacken married his long-time girlfriend, Miss Hong Kong 1992 Emily Lo Suk Yi. On 22 October 2007 Emily gave birth to their first child, a son Ryan. On 27 March 2010, Emily gave birth to another son,Rex.
Hacken Lee No. 1 Hits was released in 22 November 2007. It contains 4 CDs of his classic hits and his new songs. In 2007, Hacken with his environmental-themed song <花落誰家>, won the song of the year on Jade Solid Gold award. In 2008, Hacken hosted a series of Chinese new year concerts, which featured the new song "Every Day is a Valentine's Day" <天天都是情人節>. His concert series sold out 11 shows in Hong Kong and was followed by a world tour. Hacken was a host for the Beijing Olympics broadcast in 2008.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
based Cantopop
Cantopop
Cantopop is a colloquialism for "Cantonese popular music". It is sometimes referred to as HK-pop, short for "Hong Kong popular music". It is categorized as a subgenre of Chinese popular music within C-pop...
singer and lyricist
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, Master of Ceremonies
Master of Ceremonies
A Master of Ceremonies , or compere, is the host of a staged event or similar performance.An MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving....
and Association football sportscaster
Sportscaster
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
.
Early years: 1985-1995
While Hacken Lee was still studying at Wah Yan College, Hong KongWah Yan College, Hong Kong
Wah Yan College, Hong Kong is an eminent grant-in-aid secondary school in Hong Kong. It was founded on 16 December 1919, by Tsui Yan Sau Peter . It is a Roman Catholic secondary school for boys run by the Chinese Province of the Society of Jesus...
, he entered the TVB new talent show along with Alex To
Alex To
Alex To is a Hong Kong and Taiwan based singer and actor. He is the winner of the 4th annual New Talent Singing Awards in 1985. He has released numerous albums throughout his career and mainly has R&B influenced songs.-Early life and career:...
, William So
William So
William So Wing Hong is a Hong Kong actor and a cantopop singer. He began his musical career by participating the New Talent Singing Awards in 1985 and won the competition as the first runner up. His performance at that event earned him a record contract with Capital Artists...
, Vivian Chow
Vivian Chow
Vivian Chow is a Hong Kong based Cantopop singer and actress. She is well known for her ladylike stage image as well as her charity works for animal rights and breast cancer awareness....
, Grasshopper
Grasshopper (band)
Grasshopper is a Hong Kong Cantopop boy group formed in 1982. The band consists of Edmond So Chi Wai, Calvin Choy Yat Chi and Remus Choy Yat Kit. Calvin and Remus are brothers and grew up with neighbour Edmond in a poor neighbourhood in Hong Kong. It was Remus who was interested in dancing and...
, and Eddie Ng
Eddie Ng
Eddie Ng is a Hong Kong mixed martial artist. He has a professional MMA record of 4-1.-Biography:Ng grew up in Chester-le-Street in North East England but both his parents are from Hong Kong...
. He did not get into the top thirty. Lee won the 1985 Hong Kong 18 District Singing Contest singing "Love in the Fog" (霧之戀), a song made famous by Alan Tam
Alan Tam
Wing Lun Alan Tam, MH is an award-winning Hong Kong Cantopop and English pop singer and actor. During the early 1980s he played a major role in developing the cantopop scene as he was known for singing romantic ballads with modern arrangements. As of 2008, he is still active in the music...
, and was offered a contract with PolyGram Records
PolyGram
PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...
. The sales of his first EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
album "李克勤 (EP)" did not reach the 5,000 mark. In 1988, he appeared in a TVB television series "Teenage No More" (不再少年時).
In 1992, Hacken released "Red Sun" (紅日), for which he penned the lyrics. His first concert, held at the Hong Kong Coliseum
Hong Kong Coliseum
Hong Kong Coliseum is a multi-purpose indoor arena, in Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong.It was built by the Urban Council and inaugurated on 27 April 1983....
in 1993 was very well received; all the tickets sold out in a couple days.
In 1995 Hacken was involved in various contract disputes with his record company and one of his concerts had a very low turnout. For a time, Hacken had no recording contract and worked instead as a TVB presenter for shows such as the music programme Jade Solid Gold
Jade Solid Gold
Jade Solid Gold is a music show on the TVB Jade television channel. It has been running since October 10, 1981.-TVB HD Jade:**Thursday at 6:00am to 6:30am**Thursday at 6:00pm to 6:30pm...
, Miss Hong Kong and numerous sports events, notably soccer. At the same time, he turned to acting and appeared occasionally in dramas for TVB. He record songs for TVB such as the TVB theme song for the 1998 World Cup.
Current career: 1999-present
In 1999, Hacken signed with Universal Music, his current record company. In 2001 he released songs including "Flying Flower" (飛花), "Feet of Fortune" (前後腳), "I Won't Sing" (我不會唱歌) and "The Grasp of Love" (愛不釋手).In late 2001 Hacken performed in collaboration with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra , is the largest symphony orchestra in Hong Kong. First established in 1895 as an amateur orchestra, under the name Sino-British Orchestra, it was renamed the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in 1957, and became a professional orchestra in 1974 under the funding...
. The concert series was very well-received, as was a recording released of the series. Hacken's early 2002 concert and its recordings were equally well-received.
He co-starred in the TVB drama Legal Entanglement
Legal Entanglement
Legal Entanglement is a 2002 Hong Kong modern drama produced by TVB.-Synopsis:Sammi Shum Hok Yee quits her studies and marries a tycoon's son, Raymond Lam Wai Man , despite her father's objection. At first, she feels like a princess living in a fairy tale, until she discovers her husband is...
(法網伊人), which aired around the time of the 2002 concert. The series achieved high ratings and was one of TVB's most popular dramas that year. He won the "Most Favourite Character" award at the 2002 TVB Anniversary Awards for his role in the series. He was appointed the host of the 2002 World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
and sang the theme song of TVB, which dominated the local charts for some time.
Hacken won the TVB Jade Solid Gold Award three times, twice in succession (2002 and 2003) and another one in 2005.
In 2003, he partnered with Alan Tam
Alan Tam
Wing Lun Alan Tam, MH is an award-winning Hong Kong Cantopop and English pop singer and actor. During the early 1980s he played a major role in developing the cantopop scene as he was known for singing romantic ballads with modern arrangements. As of 2008, he is still active in the music...
in a series of concerts around the world, including multiple shows in Hong Kong and Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. The concerts were named "Neighbors" (「左麟右李」) which is a play of words with a well known Chinese four-character idiom
Four-character idiom
Chengyu are a type of traditional Chinese idiomatic expressions, most of which consist of four characters. Chengyu were widely used in Classical Chinese and are still common in vernacular Chinese writing and in the spoken language today...
左鄰右里 using homonyms 麟 and 李 in the artists' names.
He partnered with Joey Yung
Joey Yung
Joey Yung is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress from Emperor Entertainment Group. She won the prestigious JSG "Most Popular Female Singer" and "Ultimate Best Female Singer - Gold" awards a record breaking six times, thus emerging as one of the premier Cantonese singers in Hong Kong...
for the first time in 2004, in a collaboration better known by another four-character idiom "Urgency cannot afford delay" (刻不容緩), once again a Chinese pun using the artists' names 克 and 容.
Lee was the first Chinese artist to release a DualDisc
DualDisc
DualDisc was a type of double-sided optical disc product developed by a group of record companies including EMI Music, Universal Music Group, Sony/BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and 5.1 Entertainment Group and later under the aegis of the Recording Industry Association of America...
. Entitled Hacken Lee Concert Hall (李克勤演奏廳), the DVD side of the disc featured "Making of" footage, while the CD side features live recordings of the songs in Surround Sound
Surround sound
Surround sound encompasses a range of techniques such as for enriching the sound reproduction quality of an audio source with audio channels reproduced via additional, discrete speakers. Surround sound is characterized by a listener location or sweet spot where the audio effects work best, and...
.
A sequel CD, Hacken Lee Seoul Concert Hall (李克勤演奏廳 II), was released in November 2006 following the success of the original Concert Hall, which sold over 80,000 copies. All songs in the second Concert Hall disc were recorded live from 28 to 31 August 2006 at the Harmony Theatre, Koyang Culture City Hall, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
. Many local Korean musicians participated in the recording project, including Kwak Jung "Harpist K" on harp, So Kyoung-Jin on Korean big drum, Jang Hyo-Seok on saxophone, Kim Won-Jin
Kim Won-Jin
Kim Won-Jin is a South Korean long jumper.He won the gold medal at the 1987 Asian Championships and the bronze medal at the 1989 Asian Championships....
as boy soprano, Kim Hyun-Mi, Jung Hyun-Suk "Joy of Strings" on violin, Kim Hae-Ryeon on viola, and Chung Yu-Young on cello. David Hodges
David Hodges
David Hodges is a songwriter, producer, composer, keyboardist and vocalist from Little Rock, Arkansas. He is best known for his work with the band Evanescence, which he left in 2002. He has also been part of the bands Trading Yesterday, The Age of Information, Avox, and David Hodges solo...
from New York played an antique 1920 bandoneon
Bandoneón
The bandoneón is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It plays an essential role in the orquesta típica, the tango orchestra...
in the recording. Seoul Concert Hall was released on a CD with an accompanying DVD using high-definition 1080i format.
In 2006, he held a series of sell-out concerts (sponsored by Carlsberg) during the Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year – often called Chinese Lunar New Year although it actually is lunisolar – is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is an all East and South-East-Asia celebration...
period at the HK Coliseum, from 28 January through to 6 February.
On 28 November 2006, Hacken married his long-time girlfriend, Miss Hong Kong 1992 Emily Lo Suk Yi. On 22 October 2007 Emily gave birth to their first child, a son Ryan. On 27 March 2010, Emily gave birth to another son,Rex.
Hacken Lee No. 1 Hits was released in 22 November 2007. It contains 4 CDs of his classic hits and his new songs. In 2007, Hacken with his environmental-themed song <花落誰家>, won the song of the year on Jade Solid Gold award. In 2008, Hacken hosted a series of Chinese new year concerts, which featured the new song "Every Day is a Valentine's Day" <天天都是情人節>. His concert series sold out 11 shows in Hong Kong and was followed by a world tour. Hacken was a host for the Beijing Olympics broadcast in 2008.
Acting career
- Teenage No More (不再少年時; 1988, TVB)
- Two of a Kind (淘氣雙子星; 1989, TVB)
- 1990 TVB 同居三人組
- 1991 TVB 浪族闊少爺
- Fruit Bowl (1991)
- Angel's Call (他來自天堂; 1992, TVB)
- 1992 TVB 暑期玩到盡
- 1992 TVB 叻人新世紀
- 1992 TVB 龍影俠
- No More Love, No More Death (1993)
- 1994 TVB 叻人新世紀PART II
- 1994 TVB 鐵膽梁寬
- 1996 TVB 奧運群英至激鬥
- 1997 TVB 師奶強人
- World Cup 1998 (1998世界盃; TVB)
- 1999 RTHK I.T.檔案
- Jade Solid GoldJade Solid GoldJade Solid Gold is a music show on the TVB Jade television channel. It has been running since October 10, 1981.-TVB HD Jade:**Thursday at 6:00am to 6:30am**Thursday at 6:00pm to 6:30pm...
(勁歌金曲; 1999, TVB) - Street Fighters (廟街.媽.兄弟; 2000, TVB)
- 2001 TVB 好客香港滿fun
- Comic KingComic KingComic King is a 2000 Hong Kong comedy film directed by O Sing-Pui. It was shown in cinemas from 19 January 2001 to 21 February 2001.-Synopsis:A romantic triangle turns fantasy into reality in this comedy from Hong Kong...
(2001) - 2002 TVB 香港做得到
- 2002 TVB 世界盃升級戰線
- Legal EntanglementLegal EntanglementLegal Entanglement is a 2002 Hong Kong modern drama produced by TVB.-Synopsis:Sammi Shum Hok Yee quits her studies and marries a tycoon's son, Raymond Lam Wai Man , despite her father's objection. At first, she feels like a princess living in a fairy tale, until she discovers her husband is...
(法網伊人; 2002, TVB) - 2004 TVB 富豪花園音樂特輯
- Six Strong Guys (2004)
- 2005 TVB 香港小姐競選決賽
- Minutes to FameMinutes to FameMinutes to Fame is a game show broadcast on Hong Kong's TVB. The show is intended to be satirical and funny, since most of the contestants are unexperienced and try to get famous.-Format:...
(殘酷一丁; 2005, TVB) - We Are Family (我爱医家人; 2006)
- 2006 TVB 世界盃
- The Lady Iron ChefThe Lady Iron ChefThe Lady Iron Chef is a 2007 Hong Kong Chinese New Year film produced by Wong Jing and directed by Chung Siu-Hung.-Awards and nominations:3rd Golden Prune Awards*Won - Worst Actor...
(美女食神; 2007) - Wonder Women (2007)
Albums
- 1986 - 李克勤(EP)
- 1987 - 命運符號
- 1988 - 夏日之神話
- 1989 - 此情此境
- 1989 - Purple Dream
- 1990 - 一千零一夜
- 1990 - Love
- 1991 - 破曉時份
- 1991 - 雨中街頭劇
- 1992 - 只想您會意
- 1992 - 紅日
- 1993 - 一生想您
- 1993 - Album
- 1994 - 再見'93 紀念版
- 1994 - 希望
- 1994 - 一生何求(國語)
- 1994 - 就是情歌
- 1995 - 不懂溫柔(國語)
- 1995 - Reborn
- 1995 - Hackenation
- 1996 - 當找到你
- 1996 - 尋最
- 1997 - 情牢(國語)
- 1997 - 在克勤身邊
- 1999 - 一年半載
- 2000 - 再一次想你
- 2001 - 港樂．克勤 Live
- 2001 - 飛花
- 2002 - 大樂隊
- 2002 - 情情塔塔演唱會
- 2002 - 大派對
- 2002 - 愛不釋手
- 2003 - 左麟右李演唱會
- 2003 - Ever Last
- 2003 - Custom Made
- 2004 - 左麟右李04開心演唱會
- 2004 - Smart I.D.
- 2004 - 空中飛人
- 2004 - 李克勤x容祖兒壓軸拉闊音樂會
- 2005 - 愛可以問誰(國語)
- 2005 - 李克勤演奏廳
- 2006 - 李克勤得心應手演唱會
- 2006 - 我著十號
- 2006 - 李克勤演奏廳II
- 2007 - My Cup of Tea
- 2007- Hacken Lee No.1 Hits
- 2008 - 你的克勤演奏廳演唱會
- 2009 - Today Special
- 2009 - 左麟右李演唱會2009
- 2009 - Threesome
- 2010 - 罪人
- 2011 - 似曾相識