30th June 1993 was the day Hong Kong band Beyond's lead singer Wong Ka Kui left the world behind him in a tragic accident. I never thought of it until my friend sent me a video presentation he made of his trip to Hong Kong which had one specific aim - to visit Ka Kui and to pay respects to him.



That Youtube page featured links to other related videos. Out of curiosity I clicked on one, and another, and was quite affected by the images, really...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW2qYPEXk28

That crowd!! He was so loved by Hong Kong's people, or who knows even the whole of Asia, all of whom actually through the power of grief broke through the police defences time and time just to see him through his last journey!

I've never seen those clips before. In 1993 I probably wasn't even aware that such a tragedy occurred cos I was never exposed to Cantonese music at that time. In fact, the only Beyond song I heard on radio was the Mandarin version of 光辉岁月, which I thought was a nice song then but as a raw youngster I just couldn't help sniggering at their heavily accented rendition.

But then, I am a late bloomer when it came to Beyond. I was re-introduced to Beyond only in the late 1990s when my brother brought home a VCD containing clips to Beyond's famous 1992 concert, which incidently was the last live concert Ka Kui was in before his untimely departure. It was only then, when I heard the original cantonese versions of all these songs, that I grew to love the music. Only a pity I missed out on those years when Ka Kui was still around.

Beyond's music in the late 80s to the early 90s were valuable pieces that contained beautifully-written lyrics full of underlying messages about family, love, discrimination and history. Mostly written by Ka Kui, who was also lead singer and guitarist, and I dare say the 'soul', in the band. Not only were they meaningful, they were also wonderful songs in their own rights. Blame it Singapore's ban on all Chinese-dialect media. I never got to appreciate Ka Kui's depth and his talent for writing such thought-provoking lyrics until I gained a basic grasp of Cantonese and got to hear Cantonese songs through the internet.

Ka Kui, in his last years, also ventured into acting with commendable results. His role as a young ex-convict being discriminated at even by the lowest of society in Cageman received critical acclaim. An excellent movie, by the way, starring veteran actors Roy Chiao, Gu Feng, Liu Kai Chi and many others. It was about poor men living in Hong Kong who could only afford to rent cages to call home, forgotten and deserted by an ever-changing economical landscape. Ka Kui left shortly after the movie was released - his first and last role as an individual actor (as opposed to being part of the group Beyond which starred in a few movies before)

I've tried to like Beyond's post-Ka Kui music but really, it doesn't have that magic touch anymore. More than 10 years after the songs were produced, I still love to listen to them.

Like what Ka Kui said in this interview below, their music is not just for entertainment. It is meant to be appreciated.



Perhaps going during his prime helped sealed his immortality. But it's still a pity, nevertheless.