Patrick Tang Signs Record Deal

8 October 2007
Emma Lam

Patrick Tang (鄧健泓) has seen his popularity rise once again after hosting the successful TVB food quiz Foodie 2 Shoes <味分高下>.

Eager to progress once again in his first love of music and thanks to his managers at TVB, Patrick has returned to his previous record company Go East records after four years away. This was marked in a special "Welcome Back" ceremony today, hosted by TVB big sis Carol Cheng (鄭裕玲) and attended by TVB executives Stephen Chan (陳志雲) and Virginia Lok (樂易玲). Go East big brother Hacken Lee (李克勤) was the special guest and he presented Patrick with th gift of a big red cushion, wishing him a comfortable life with no more worries.

Patrick's eight hostesses from his show, the "Angels of Taste", also made an appearance at the event, presenting him with gifts of foods representing sweet, sour, bitter and hot, signifying that the sweets will come after the bitterness.

Some clips from parent company Universal's other singers were shown at the ceremony and also a special congratulatory clip from Patrick's former girlfriend and good friend Marsha Yuen (原子鏸). Marsha said that she will always remember the way he taught her to sing to protect her throat and said that she and their pet dog Seth will be supporting him. When Patrick saw the clip, he became very emotional and began to cry. Asked if he was missing his ex-girlfriend, he explained that she had taken Seth to live with her in Shanghai, so he cannot see them very often any more. He said that he hopes she will move back to New York later because she will be more comfortable there.

Asked if he is worried about his girlfriend Selena Li (李詩韻) being jealous of him crying over his ex, he replied that this is not the case because he was crying over the dog. He added that Selena had sent him a text message earlier to congratulate him.

Patrick hopes that his return to the Hong Kong music scene will allow more people to enjoy his songs.

[credit: http://www.batgwa.com/, translated by Emma Lam]

Hacken Charity Concert helps Family Bridges get donation

2007 Oct 7

Sponsored by Oakland's Family Bridges, "Hacken Lee Charity Concert" was held last night at San Francisco's Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. Hong Kong Superstar, Hacken is extraordinary, not only was the concert sold out, the fans were screaming ever so loudly, the atmosphere was at its top, Hacken promises his fans that he will sing till the minute he must board the plane, singing over 20 songs of old and new, also donating an autographed soccer ball and personal concert outfit for auction, it successfully gained US$6,300 donation, breaking the record from last year's performer, Alan Tam. The concert started around 7pm, it started with an award
ceremony, crowning the charity king and queen, and awaiting patiently, Hacken Lee kicks off the night.

Hacken sang over 20 songs, many classic songs, along with two new songs from his recent albums, songs include: Victory, Sentiment, Heart Heart Heart, Sky Water City, I will not sing, and many others, and a part where he sang many classic songs from other artists such as, Alan Tam's Little Problems, Sam Hui, and Danny Chan, causing the audience to listen with a smile and end with a scream.

Having been a singer for 23 years now, Hacken starts off by thanking everyone for their donation by buying a ticket to the concert, and he also says that in order to satisfy his long-time-no-see fans, he will sing till the very last minute, and then rush to the airport. He laughs and says, actually picking songs for a concert is very hard because if he sings a lot of classic songs, people will say that he sings the same song every time, but if he chooses new songs, people will say that they want to hear his classic songs.

Middle of the concert, an auctioning was held, Hacken personally donated a concert outfit and an autographed soccer ball, the concert outfit starting bid was US$2,000, after a few shouts, the outfit was sold for US$3,000 to Ms. Wong; as for the soccer ball, it was sold for US$3,300, totals to US$6,300, breaking last year's record of US$5,500 from Alan Tam's concert outfit.

After the concert was taken to another level, Hacken came down from the stage to shake hands with the fans, the fans also went forward to donate money and to shake hands. After returning to stage, Hacken thinks about his family, telling people he now has a family to take care of, and for this reason he has to rush to the airport right after the concert. Upon request, Hacken sang Performance Hall, sitting in front of the audience allowing them to take endless pictures and to shake hands, in the end, he sang Red Sun to complete the concert.

[Sources: http://www.mingpaosf.com/htm/News/20071007/sf2b.htm, ~ Ming Pao]
[translated by: Jane]

Hacken joins Regina Ip’s campaign team

September 30, 2007

“She dares to take up responsibilities”

Hacken explained in an interview that he had reasons for supporting Regina Ip. Earlier on, he had received a phone call from Regina Lau, who asked him to join her campaign team. After considering for a short period of time, he agreed.

Hacken also considered his identity as an artiste when joining the campaign team. He hopes to bring good influence to people and also more votes for Mrs. Ip. He describes his role in the team as a supporting role in a movie. A few years ago, Hacken publicly revealed his support for Mrs. Ip but was labeled as “bootlicker” by Albert Cheng. Regarding the bad remarks, he says that it is not anything bad to reveal who you support.

In the Basic Law competition, Hacken did not participate in the games but performed. He says “I’m already 39, (just 2 months and 6 days till 40) well beyond the age for games. But I’m bold enough to stand up and tell everyone that I will support Mrs. Ip. I’m good friends with her but that is not my reason for supporting her. I feel that she dares to take up challenges and responsibilities. But personally, I have no interest towards politics.”

If fans vote because they support him, will it be unfair? Hacken says “I don’t know how to answer this question. I’m just a small role; you need to ask Mrs. Ip for the details.” Is he afraid that the campaign might affect him? “I’ve not thought of this. I only revealed my support for her. It’s like registering for a vote, it’s nothing bad.”

(Regina Ip & Albert Cheng are politicians from HK, I don’t know much about the HK political scene, haha)

[Sources: http://www.leehacken.com/news/2007/news_20070930.html,(Mingpao, Takung Pao)]
[translated by Hianez]

Hacken is glad to be able to work with international musicians

September 28, 2007

Hacken revealed that he collaborated with David Garrett for "Paper Marriage" in his latest album. Being able to perform with famous international musicians makes him feel happy. His song, "Paper Marriage", topped the charts of JSG last night.

Hacken Lee and the band Lollipop (from Taiwan) were both given the VIP room in preparation for the JSG show. Lollipop’s fans were very passionate that night and the band might have stolen the limelight from Hacken.

Hacken praised David, saying that he seemed to be strict on the outside but is actually a humourous guy.

[Sources: http://www.leehacken.com/news/2007/news_20070928.html,
(Mingpao, Oriental Daily, The Sun, Takung Pao)]
[translated by Hianez]

Hacken Lee established friendship, invites well-known musician to perform

September 27, 2007

　
Hacken Lee and David Garrett (from Germany) performed together on JSG. Hacken revealed that David’s violin is worth US$30 million (about HKD 240 million) and this made him afraid of damaging the instrument. He dared not walk near the violin nor touch it but he was able to collaborate well with David. David is interested in performing at Hacken’s concert next year but does not know if he is qualified. He hopes to establish a good friendship with him.

[Sources: http://www.leehacken.com/news/2007/news_20070927_002.html, (on.cc)]
[translated by Hianez]

Hacken locks the door to his room whenever he goes out

27 September, 2007

Earlier on, it was reported that Jacky Cheung changed 21 maids within 3 years and has been blacklisted by the Philippines Embassy. To this, Hacken says that he understands.

“When you hire a maid, you could only depend on the 2 minutes introduction that was filmed. And based on that, you have to decide whether she can live together with you and your family. It likes a marriage that has been arranged. However, each of us has different extents. I’m more relaxed and feel that tolerance and generosity are important. In 1996, when I first employed a maid, I had no notion of locking up doors. My things were lying around everywhere and this provided a temptation. The maid stole my money and dressed up in my wife’s clothes. She even took my tennis racket and took a picture while posing. I feel that the employer has responsibility too. Now, when I’m away from home, I will lock up my room and the computer room. Also, I won’t leave valuables lying around in the living room. Only when I’m in the room will I let the maid do the clean up. After that, no thefts occurred.” said Hacken.

Hacken Lee: Getting a wife is easier than getting a trustworthy maid.
One has to take caution to prevent thefts from maids

Hacken Lee, Hins Cheung, Ivana Wong, Kelvin Kwan, Niki Chow and various artistes attended the “Happy Daily 5th Anniversary: Happy Good Sister Competition” yesterday. Besides bringing a gift for the station and to the 6 maids, they had to go through many competitions and games.

He feels that getting a wife is easier than getting a good maid as they have to live with someone they do not know. “Because when you get to know a girl, there can be a period of time for you to observe (her). You get to see her character and judge if she’s pretty. I can then decide if she’s my cup of tea. But when you employ a maid, you only get a few minutes! Moreover, there are cultural differences and different ways of living. Hence, I have to believe in the agent. Luckily, the agent happens to be my friend. It might make things better.” he says. When asked if he feels that Jacky went overboard in his actions, he says “I’m not in a position to comment. I’ve fired maids myself too.”

Hacken has employed 2 maids, one of which has only been around for months and the other, for 2 years. He has employed both good and lousy maids. He once had a maid who was on good terms with him for 10 years. Did he employ one more maid to help ease the care-taking of his baby? “The main purpose is to look after the 5 dogs in my house. When the baby arrives, I will not employ more maids. I will only employ a confinement nanny.” (confinement=final stage of pregnancy)


His good friend Joey Leung will be ascending the Yuzhu Peak that is over 6000m tall at the end of the month. Rumour has it that he is trying to erase the bad impression he created. To this, Hacken says “This is a meaningful activity. He tells me very little about his love relationships. Knowing him for 20 years, I was the one who mentions such stuff more often.” Will Hacken join in the expedition? He says that his stamina has decreased after his operation while Joey’s stamina is OK. He wishes Joey luck when he heard that he might be afraid of heights and trusts TVB, as the company provided very good equipment. Did Joey leave him any messages? Hacken believes that Joey will be alright in this trip. What will Joey reveal on his expedition? Hacken jokes that Joey will talk about his driving. He feels that the programme should not be too intentional. On rumours that Joey faced the media negatively, Hacken says that he might be afraid after the earlier incident and hopes that people will give Joey some time.

Rare chance for Hacken to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival at home after 5 years

On Mid Autumn Festival’s night, Hacken Lee invited Liza Wang and Gigi Leung to his home to have a celebration. In the past, Hacken had to work on this day. Hence, this is the first time in 5 years that he gets to celebrate this festival with his friends. Hacken pointed out that due to having too many people, it took a lot of effort to take a picture consisting of everyone. When asked if he will be afraid of Liza uploading the pictures to her blog, he says generously “No problem.” When asked if he will be afraid of pictures of his pregnant wife being exposed, he did not answer.

[Sources: http://www.leehacken.com/news/2007/news_20070927.html, Mingpao, Singpao, The Sun, Apple Daily, Takung Pao, Wen Wei Po, Singtao]
[translated by Hianez, edited by Kate]

additional news about David Garrett talking about Hacken

David Garett arrived in Hongkong not only to perform for Hacken's song "Paper Marriage" on JSG, but to also hold a mini concert. When interviewed, he praised Hacken's performance style as having a more oriental flavour while Eason, whom he has worked with before, has a more European-style. He also disclosed that he once (encouraged? -> this word is missing from the article, so I'm just guessing the meaning of the word) Eason and Hacken to work hard for their happiness by getting to know girls. But Eason did not say anything, leading David to misunderstand that Eason was still single.

[translated by Gillian]
[Sources: http://www.leehacken.com/news/2007/news_20070925.html, Mingpao, Singpao, The Sun]