1980s - BOOM OF CANTOPOP
Idol, Superstar, Band
Cantopop reach its peak in 1980s. There is a rapid economic growth in Hong Kong at that period, people are able to afford more entertainment. Also, the post-war generation want to establish the identity of being Hong Kong people. These factors lead to the increasing consumption on Cantopop.
Many famous icons of Cantopop were debut in this period and gained great popularity. The singers were shaped as the “idols” of the people, especially the teenagers. The “mainstream” idols who had debut in the 80s were, for example, Leslie Cheung, Anita Mui and Alan Tam. “The three of them brought on an idol craze that was never seen before in the short life of Cantonese pop.” At the same time, there were also many “non mainstream” bands, like Beyond, 達明一派，太極, appeared along the decade. Cantopop produced in the 80s were quite diverse, in terms of the musical elements, style and images of the artists and stage performances. Some of the cantonese songs were re-arranged from the japanese version.
A) Popular Cantopop Idol
B) The “Band Fever”
During the mid 80s, the society of Hong Kong had undergone social stratification (社會分眾/分層). People began to avoid following the “standardized” consumption pattern but emphasized “perceptual consumption”. They saw it as a way to establish their own style and therefore show that their taste does not confine by the popular trend. Some of them had shifted from listening to the songs of the mainstream idols to the “non mainstream” bands. They provided the alternative choices to their fans with new genres and musical elements. Some of the important representative of the bands in the 80s are Beyond, 達明一派，黑鳥，太極.
2 main theme on songs published in this period:
In the colonial period, the relationship between Hong Kong and China are intentionally downplayed by the Sino-British government in order to maintain political stability. Some Cantopop figures start to produce song to remind Hong Kong people about their Chinese origin, for instance “中國夢” by 羅文, “中國眼睛” by 陳美齡 and “根” by 盧冠廷.
The moment of handover are moving closer, which raise the anxiety of Hong Kong people as they have no right to control their future. Some Hong Kong people start to emigrate to other part of world, while another group try to reinforce nativism and search for Hong Kong identity. Moreover, because of the June 4th incident happened in Beijing, the anxiety faced by Hong Kong people are further intensified. Emotions like confusion of identity, contradiction and anxiety were shown various song. Cantopop then become a major medium to express their concern towards different political issues and other issues like cultural identity and creation of collective memory among local communities.
© CAH3511 SEM B 14-15: Term Project Group 6: Cantopop - Is it still there?
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