George Lam

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George Lam Tse Cheung (born 12 October 1947), also known professionally by his surname Lam, is a Hong Kong-based veteran Cantopop singer, singer-songwriter, music producer and actor, with a career that has so far lasted more than four decades. Lam produces most of his own albums, writes many of his own songs, occasionally writes for other artists, and covers other people's songs. Lam has a wide vocal range and is capable of interpreting and performing many different genres of music. He is heavily involved with planning and designing his concerts and his LP/CD covers. He was the one who came up with the first Cantopop rap, "Ah Lam's Diary", and he also pioneered the stringing together of multiple hit Cantopop songs to create a 10-minute long medley which is called "10 Minutes 12 Inches". In 2019, Lam interwove his songs together to put on a musical-like concert, Lamusical.
In addition to his singing career, Lam has also acted in some TV dramas, and played lead roles in many films, making his film debut in "Luckies Trio" in 1978. Possibly his most memorable role was as a Japanese journalist in "Boat People" (1982), directed by Ann Hui.
Early life.
Lam was born in Hong Kong to a family of physicians, with both his father and paternal grandfather being doctors. He attended Tak Sun Primary School, then Diocesan Boys' School, a predominantly English-language boys school, where he was a boarder. At the latter school, he chose to study French rather than Chinese as a second language.
Lam started to pick up music at a young age. His grandfather often took him to movies, both Chinese and Western ones, which exposed him to film music. In addition, his mom loved to sing and dance while his dad loved listening to music and playing piano. All this constant music around him kindled his interest in this art form. He started to love listening to music on the radio when he was a teenager and taught himself to play guitar. In 1965, Lam left Hong Kong to further his studies in the U.K. During this time and his subsequent stay in the United States his musical horizon was further broadened by exposure to a great variety of musical genres in those countries.
When he first went to the U.K. in 1965, he attended Dover College (he was a Leamingtonian there) under the headship of Timothy Cobb. His long time pal Ching Y. Wong, S.C., also from Diocesan Boys' School. attended there as well. After about a year, he transferred to Barcote School of Coaching to join his brother, Tony. There he formed a folk song group, The Midnighters, with two friends. Lam paid a return visit to both colleges in January 2019.
Career.
After his studies in the U.K., Lam worked for a few years there before moving to California, where he coached tennis and worked in a stock brokerage firm. It was at this time he started writing his own songs. Not long thereafter, he returned to Hong Kong to launch his music career.
Initially, Lam was one of the lead singers in a band called "Jade". In 1976, he went solo with his first English album,"Lam". His first Cantonese album came out in 1978. In 1980, both his own compositions《在水中央》and《分分鐘需要你》won the Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards. Throughout the 1980s, Lam had 23 songs that topped the RTHK Chinese Pop Chart, second only to Alan Tam, who had 28. 
Over the years, he has introduced a wide variety of song styles to the Hong Kong pop music scene, with many of his own compositions and covers becoming classics of Cantopop. He taps into a wide variety of sources to choose which songs to do covers of, including songs from the United Kingdom, United States, Continental Europe, Russia, Middle East, Latin America, Japan, etc. The songs he chooses for such covers range from classical music, songs from musicals, Hebrew folk songs, to funk and rock and roll. His own compositions and covers encompass a very wide stylistic range, from country rock, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, funk, jazz, rap, Chinese tunes, to tango and bossa nova. Lam has also hosted some TV music programs, acted in some TV dramas, and played lead roles in many films.
In May 2003, Lam accidentally fell through a floor opening, down 2.5 metres, while he was performing on stage at the Hong Kong Coliseum as a guest of Lisa Wang. This fall injured his right ear, which lost part of its hearing, particularly in high frequencies, and resulted in tinnitus. Thereafter, he could essentially only hear sounds in mono. A few months after his injury, he purposely put on a series of concerts in southern China to get used to performing with his new hearing problems. Within a short period of time, he managed to adapt to this new reality and was able to perform like normal on stage and thereby resume his career in full.
Lam has remained active for more than four decades. Over time, Lam has not only gained the recognition and respect of his peers such as Anita Mui, Leslie Cheung, and Paula Tsui, he has also played a part in shaping the Hong Kong music scene, as many of today's top singers such as Eason Chan, Hacken Lee, and Andy Lau were influenced by his music.
In recognition of his contribution to the music scene, Lam was awarded numerous awards, including the Golden Needle Award in 1994, the CASH Hall of Fame Award in 2003, the J.S.G. Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015, and the RTHK Hall of Fame Award in 2016.
Personal life.
Lam married Ng Ching Yuen in 1980. Together, they have a son, Alex Lam Tak Shun, who is also a singer and actor, and a daughter April. Lam and Ng divorced in 1994. On 17 July 1996, he married singer and actress Sally Yeh.
In sports, Lam used to love playing tennis and now he loves playing golf. Besides composing songs, his creativity also gets him into drawing, and he has a particular fondness for drawing mazes. In 2013, an intricate maze artwork drawn by Lam was depicted and engraved onto the cassock of a Lalique crystal Buddha. This was the very first collaboration project that the French brand Lalique had worked with a Chinese artist. Lam also likes tailoring, often modifying used clothes he purchases to his own taste.
Voice and timbre.
Lam has a very wide tenor range. His highest notes could reach F5, D#6 in full voice and volume rather than soft falsetto. His lowest note is G2, ten notes below middle C (C4).
Discography.
Cantonese albums:
English albums:
Albums in Mandarin:
Filmography.
(actor unless otherwise noted) 