The Cantopop star is teaming up with pianist and composer Daniel Chu and singer Walter Kwan for a concert that features music by the legendary Leslie Cheung, who passed away 20 years ago next month
It has been 20 years since Hong Kong singer and actor Leslie Cheung, affectionately known as Gor Gor (“brother” in Cantonese) to his fans, died by suicide in 2003. This month, Janice Vidal, one of the headliners at PopFest, West Kowloon’s first pop music festival, will collaborate with composer and pianist Daniel Chu and vocalist Walter Kwan to perform a tribute concert dedicated to this local icon.
The concert, I Am What I Am, will include some of the three artists’ favourite pieces by Cheung, but reinterpreted and rearranged into various musical styles. Despite the levels of anticipation for the show, featuring some of the biggest names in Hong Kong’s entertainment industry today, Vidal says it will be an intimate concert at Freespace, which can only accommodate 450 seats.
Cheung, who was a heartthrob in Hong Kong during the 1980s and 1990s, was best known for his youthful looks, energetic dance moves and catchy, fun and sometimes sentimental love songs. It wasn’t long after he launched his singing career in 1977 that he also started acting. During his short but impactful career, he met Anita Mui, another Cantopop legend, and the two quickly became firm friends and frequently co-starred together on different projects, including Rouge (1978). Besides Mui, Cheung also acted opposite other on-screen legends in Days of Being Wild (1990), which starred Maggie Cheung, and Farewell My Concubine (1993), starring Gong Li.
Sadly, Cheung jumped to his death from the Mandarin Oriental on April 1, 2003, leaving behind a note explaining his struggles with depression. He was 46 years old.
Today, Cheung is still widely celebrated and fondly remembered for his contributions to Cantopop by music lovers from Hong Kong and beyond—including Vidal, Kwan and Chu, who wanted to celebrate his legacy with a tribute concert.
Vidal and Chu chatted with Tatler ahead of the concert, which will be held from March 30 to April 1, on their memories of this legend and how their concert celebrates Cheung’s life and music.
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