Fandom (8)--An Idiosyncratic View From the Inside

With a Little Help From His Friends (Part 1) In pop music there has always been the idea that if one is good, two are better. Perhaps this is the genesis of the idea of pairing two top-selling artists in a duet. Bringing together a man and a woman, especially if they are young and attractive (and young and attractive stars defined Cantopop in the 1980s), means a romantic duet. The pairing is ephemeral--never more than one of these romantic duets with the same partner is on an album. Perhaps that is part of their appeal:  create a romantic pairing with myriad possibilities, most of which are left unexplored. This, of course, begs for future duets if the couple generates excitement among listeners.Over the course of his career, Leslie was paired with several attractive and talented female singers and has a small catalog of wonderful duets.Early in his recording career at Capital Records, Leslie was teamed with Elisa Chan and they recorded this song, which was a smash hit. The video presents the number in the most romantic manner possible, and Leslie brings his already considerable acting skill to generating and maintaining the hyper-romantic vibe.Video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FFn06NgvK8Not all of his duets were romantic pairings with female stars. however. One of Leslie's most popular duets ever was with Cantopop legend, Sam Hui. In 1987 they collaborated to compose "Silence is Golden."  Leslie wrote the music and Sam penned the lyrics.Here is a very good English translation that I found on the internet.Silence is Gold  (Wrote together with Sam Hui in the late 80′s)The night wind blowing,

Alone looking back at the old times

It was me in the past, full of anger and frustration;

False blames and accusations

caused great feeling of unfairness to build up.

Cared a lot about rumours and responses.Learned the lesson,

led by books and literatures,

now can see through it all, no longer locking up myself.

Feel that I know the way,

won’t be as stupid as before.

Wipe away the tears, walk forward relaxed and smiling.In fate it was already decided that you be rich or poor,

What is false will never be true; truth is always true;

Whatever you say, I’ll be responsible for my own duties.

Always believed that silence is gold.There is justice is what is right and wrong.

Careful in speaking so not to offend others.

When cold storms come up, don’t take it too seriously.

Confidence fills the heart,

no need to care about sarcasm and questioning;

Let people laugh and condemn as they like,

live on as a cool and carefree person.Young people, live on as a cool and carefree person.

Continue to walk on, live on as a cool and carefree person. (Translation by Jimmy of Jimmy's Junkyard, http://jimmyauw.com/2006/12/21/leslie-cheung-张国荣-silence-is-gold-夜风凌凌/)Video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY0Ujc-yKeIHere is the original music video with the complete version of the song.Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v_shvPB8AAWhen Leslie signed with Rock Records in the mid-1990s, he was paired with two female stars for romantic duets.Leslie and Sandy Lam recorded an English-language duet, "From Now On," and made this attractive music video together.Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFToQHuHml8And here is a haunting duet with Sarah Chen, "Being Truthful is Enough," that mixes the song with video imagery from the visually exquisite that starred Leslie and Gong Li.  (I believe that this is actually a fan-created video.)Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5p1TNFE4Js&feature=related