Samuel Hui Koon-kit
, usually known as Sam Hui
, is best known for being a star in the Cantopop and movie industry in Hong Kong's from the 1960s to 1990s. He was born on 6 September 1948. He graduated from the Arts Faculty of University of Hong Kong, Ying Wa College and St Francis Xavier's College in the late 1960s to early 1970s. He and his brothers Michael and Ricky made several comedy blockbusters in the 1970s. He is also acknowledged for popularising Cantopop, by incorporating the then unknown idiosyncrasies of Western popular music into the Cantopop genre.
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SAM HUI TICKETS
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Film and singing career
He started his career as a host to a youth music TV show on
TVB. At the time, he was the lead musician of his band named
The Lotus. In the early years of his career, he sang Western songs from
Britain and the U.S. However, he began singing
Cantonese songs when he wrote the theme songs for the comedies produced by his brother
Michael Hui.
His music appealed to the Hong Kong masses particularly the working class with its simple lyrics and light-hearted nature which was popular in Hong Kong music in the late 1970s. He penned most of the compositions and personally wrote most of the humorous lyrics that generally encompassed current issues in Hong Kong such as the song
Could Not Care Less About 1997
(
??? 97), which literally encourages the Hong Kong public to throw caution to the wind and enjoy their life instead of worrying about the imminent
Handover to China in 1997.
On a personal note, he was closer to his middle brother
Ricky Hui than to their eldest brother Michael Hui, and he and Michael reportedly fell out with each other after their pre-1985 successes. However, in Michael's
Chicken and Duck Talk
(1988) Sam appeared in a short 3-minute cameo, playing himself as
master of ceremonies at the grand opening of David's Chicken. Then in 1990, the three brothers reunited in 'Front Page', a lampoon on Hong Kong's sometimes over-zealous entertainment news industry.
Sam also collaborated with several popular singers such as
Leslie Cheung both musically and on-screen culminating in the hit single co-written by both Hui and Chung entitled
Silence is Golden
(
????) which Hui also sung as a solo track on his 1987 album
Hot Summer, as well as the catchy tune "I've Never Been Afraid". Sam also starred in the
Aces Go Places
, a series of Hong Kong action–comedies in the 1980s, with
Karl Maka.
He held a farewell concert in 1991-92, in which he invited many music celebrities and officially declared that he would not be active in the movie industry nor in
Cantopop in the future. He was once seriously injured while filming
The Legend of Wisely in
Tibet due to lack of oxygen, thereafter falling very ill and many of his fans pointed out that this near fatal accident may have been pivotal on his decision to retire as they superstitiously believed that he was haunted by a spirit.
Despite reiterating his plans for retirement, Hui came back for a short stint in the movie
Winner Takes All
co-starring
Nicholas Tse and
Ruby Lin. This he maintained, was a result of being unable to ignore his heart's desire.
In 2007, Hui signed with
EC Music and released his first album in 17 years, named "Life is Good" (
?????).
Retirement
During the later 90's, Hui's father had advised him to retire to avoid the stresses he endured from hosting concerts. His mother purportedly also had some reservations against his performing, mainly that he could injure himself on stage. A Hong Kong concert in 1990 supposedly marked his early retirement, however Hui then agreed to host a 42 show concert. Around the time of the 30th show, Hui's father died but despite his grief, he continued to host. During 1991-1992, Hui hosted a total of 14 shows in Hong Kong preempting his actual retirement. He also hosted a show in Vancouver, Canada, in the
Radisson Hotel, and also in
Toronto, Canada, in which he dedicated this concert to his late-father.
thumb
Widely acclaimed as the "God of Song" in Hong Kong, he decided to come out of retirement in 2004 and held multiple come-back concerts in which he was welcomed by a Hong Kong public and sell-out shows. In these concerts, he paid tribute to the recent passing of close colleagues,
Leslie Cheung and
Anita Mui in 2003 and claimed that their deaths had influenced his decision to come out of retirement, culminating in his comeback song in 2004 with "'04 Bless You" (04'???).
Performance
He performed in a concert in
Kuala Lumpur on 19 and 20 February 2005 with his sons and his brother
Ricky but has not made active plans for any follow-ups. He also performed in Vancouver on 15 December 2005 and in Singapore on 29 March 2008.
He is currently performing in concert at
Mohegan Sun Casino and Resort
He had a sold-out concert in Hong Kong on 16 December 2007 with more than 30,000 fans.
Personal life
Sam Hui is married to Rebecca "Rebu" (née Fleming) and has two sons, Ryan and Scott.
Ryan Hui is also a singer/songwriter and has released several albums, while Scott Hui has pursued a career in film, directing a few videos for his brother.
Discography
Cantonese Albums:
- ???? (1974)
- ????? (1975)
- ???? (1976)
- ??? (1978)
- ??? (1978)
- 79????? (1979)
- ??? (1980)
- ???? (1981)
- ???? (1982)
- ???????? (1983)
- ???? (1983.12)
- ???? (1984.08)
- ????? (1985.08.30)
- ???? (1986.08)
- ???? (1986.12, EP)
- ????Band (1987)
- ???????? (1987)
- Sam and Friends (1988)
- ???89?? (1989)
- ????90 (1990)
- 90?????? (1990)
- ????????(04) (2004.06.01)
- ????? (2007)
English Albums:
- Time of The Season
(1971)
- Morning After
(1974)
- Interlude
(1975)
- Came Travelling
(1977)
Filmography
- Back Alley Princess
(?????,1973)
- The Tattooed Dragon
(????, 1973)
- Chinatown Capers
(????????, 1974)
- Naughty! Naughty!
(????, 1974)
- Games Gamblers Play
(????, 1974)
- The Last Message
(?????, 1975)
- The Private Eyes
(????, 1976)
- Money Crazy
(???, 1977)
- The Contract
(???, 1978)
- Security Unlimited
(????, 1981)
- Aces Go Places
(????, 1982)
- Aces Go Places II
(????????, 1983)
- Aces Go Places III: Our Man from Bond Street
(?????????, 1984)
- A Family Affair
(???, 1984)
- Working Class
(????, 1985)
- Aces Go Places IV
(?????????, 1986)
- The Legend of Wisely
(?????, 1987)
- Chicken and Duck Talk
(????, 1988; Cameo)
- Aces Go Places V: The Terracotta Hit
(?????, 1989)
- The Dragon from Russia
(????, 1990)
- The Swordsman
(????, 1990)
- Front Page
(?????, 1990)
- All's Well, Ends Well Too
(????, 1992)
- Laughter of the Water Margins
(????, 1993)
- Winner Takes All
(???, 2000)