Figured it was probably about time for me to write my first blog here at alivenotdead.com so here goes - I'm going right back to the beginning of my Hong Kong journey so this might take a while
As a small kid I would often hang out at my Uncle's martial arts classes - he was an instructor - and flip through magazines. I remember seeing pictures of this Chinese guy flying through the air and being mesmerised - even in stills Bruce Lee was and is magnetic!
I saw a few martial arts films in my younger years but it wasn't until the back end of the 80's that I became more exposed to the crazy world of Hong Kong film via the UK video releases of John Woo's "A Better Tomorrow" & "The Killer"
From then on I was hooked - in the mid 90's there was a great store in London for fans like myself called "Eastern Heroes" and I made regular monthly pilgrimages to their stores (initially in Camden then to Shaftesbury Avenue). In the late 90's I discovered another fan organisation called "Hong Kong Superstars" and ended up helping out at their store in Croydon & writing a few articles for their magazine and it was through them that I got to meet a number of Hong Kong talents - including Daniel Wu at the premiere of Purple Storm in London in 1999 - and also make my first trip to Hong Kong in 2000
Whilst HKS ended badly I don't regret my involvement at all because I was at the time and remain a genuine & honest guy and I doubt I'd be here now without it so in two words : no regrets
Since my first visit to Hong Kong in 2000 I've revisited every two years since and am closing in on confirming my 2010 trip. I've been a rock fan since I was about 10 so the leap to Hong Kong music was somewhat inevitable : music-wise I saw LMF live in 2002 (Miriam Yeung too), the legendary Sam Hui, Blackwine, Milk & Cookies (now Shepherds The Weak) and others in 2004, Innisfallen, Shepherds The Weak, Spermatic Chord and more in 2006, Maniac, Defiant Scum, No Name, Tookoo, The Lovesong and more last year!
My first introduction to Hong Kong music was King Lychee and it is in their honour that I have the cover of "Stand Strong" as my profile picture :)
Thanks for reading
David Harris
www.myspace.com/hongkonggigguide
