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LESLIE'S DEMONS
PAGE 4 OF 4
In the early 80s, Leslie Cheung was another pretty face thrown into a post-disco skinny tie/shiny jacket Canto-slot. His star rose quickly; Cheung and fellow Canto-crooner Alan Tam were the top stars of the late 80s, and their squadrons of fans drew battle lines based on loyalties to one or the other. The goh-mai (crazed Canto-fans) are as fanatical as only hormone-fueled teenage girls can be, and Leslie's concerts were security-guard nightmares. Cheung was known for concert costume changes, including his "traveling tax collector" getup from A Chinese Ghost Story. But it all came grinding to a halt with his self-imposed musical hiatus circa 1990.
| "Most of Leslie's Japanese fans are not of the "Mi-chan/Ha-chan" variety..." |
To most viewers of Legend, the subtext is unimportant; only the countdown of Rock Records logos which indicates the precise moment to start karaok-ing away into the microphone. For HK fans, the song's the thing. Still, Legend makes for compelling viewing. A subsequent track ("Blamefully Beautiful") features Leslie as a submissive office boy-toy, subject to the whims of his statuesque lady-boss (model Janet Ma), who drags Leslie about by his tie and puffs smoke from an eight-inch Cohiba in his face. But when Taiwanese sexbomb Shu Qi (best known for her performance as softcore porno star Mango in Derek Yee's Viva Erotica, also starring Leslie) enters the scene, Les is smitten. Janet catches them, and, as Leslie cleans out his desk, the video ends with the two women bonding--with a pair of enormous cigars. Another track, "Grieving Man", consists of boppin', blowsy sixties horns and percussion underlying a video of regular guys (including a uniformed cop) coming home after work. Working stiffs, showering up, donning wigs and feather boas...all under the tutelage of the ringmaster: Big Daddy Cheung.
Although the imagery and its distance from Canto-vid norms is striking, the music itself is compelling and innovative. It seems that Leslie is kicking and pounding at the restrictive boundaries of Canto-pop, importing badly-needed fresh elements and having a damn good time in the process. The laser disc of his comeback concert, Leslie Cheung Live in Concert 97, shows the flipside of Legend's monochromatic Eurokink. A clearly-tickled Leslie vamps and cajoles before his faithful, running through new stuff, old favorites, and a medley of songs from his films. The between-songs dialogue is, astutely, subtitled in English. "Am I beautiful?" asks Leslie, a rhetorical question. And out come those high heels...
Not everyone in Cheung's HK Coliseum audience was from Hong Kong. Another of Leslie's fans-from-Japan, Yoshiko Ota, explains that a large share of the Japanese fan base is known as bunkamura zoku (literally, "culture tribe"): women in their 30s and 40s who want more from their idols than pretty faces and vacuous lyrics. "The bunkamura zoku like Leslie because his films represent high quality," says Ota. "Farewell To My Concubine won the Cannes award, and accolades like that are prized by the Japanese audience."
"Most of Leslie's Japanese fans are not of the "Mi-chan/Ha-chan" variety (a reference to archetypal brainless screamboppers)," concurs Keiko Kawazoe, another LJFC member. "We're more mature in our appreciation."
The goh-mai have largely shifted allegiance to younger prey, and no one seems bent on liquidating Leslie. His fears of Lennon-style martyrdom are likely a manifestation of his desire to be adored, combined with the admittedly daunting spectacle of his adoring masses. The spotlight flares, and the mirror beckons.
After the grueling schedule of his 1997 world tour, Cheung is taking the rest of the year off. What's next for Leslie Cheung? Any interest in following his Better Tomorrow colleagues John Woo and Chow Yun Fat into the maelstrom of Hollywood? More mainland costume dramas, or another spin-'round with the always-engaging Wong Kar-wai? Canto-drum 'n' bass?? We'll be watching. [End]
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