Source: CCTV.com
03-11-2008 09:11
On the night of May the 9th, 1986, Hang Tianqi, a musicology student at Beijing Normal University, crossed virtually the whole of Beijing by bicycle with her classmates, to reach the Workers' Stadium. They were going to attend the Hundred Superstars concert.
All together, 108 pop singers from across the country sang "Let the World Be Filled with Love" as a tribute to world peace. The event marked the debut of original Chinese pop music in the years since the launch of the reform and opening.
Hang Tianqi, Singer, said, "All I wanted was to be allowed to stand on stage wearing the same T-shirt. Why didn't they recognize me? Why didn't they come to me? I was really anxious."
During the concert Cui Jian, a professional trumpet player from the Beijing Aihe Orchestra, performed his own composition "Nothing to Lose".
The first ever public performance of "Nothing to Lose" attracted little interest at the time. However, pop music insiders realized its significance in establishing a new style of music that was different from the traditional lyric songs and Hong Kong and Taiwanese pop music.
The 1985 CCTV Spring Festival Gala had also been held at Beijing's Workers' Stadium. The year before, Hong Kong singer Zhang Mingmin had appeared, and this time the gala featured several more singers from Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Jin Zhaojun, Music Critic, said, "It made their music popular, and inspired the first Chinese composers to be more creative and passionate. People I knew were all very enthusiastic. However, they all agreed not to follow the Hong Kong and Taiwanese singers."
At the end of that year, the Great Hall of the People hosted the "Songs Contemporary Youth Like" awards ceremony. Among 150 nominations for songs composed since 1980, the ones that took the prizes were "The Moon in Mid-autumn" "Field of Hope" "Where Peach Trees are in Full Bloom" and "Young Friends Come Together".
Chen Zhe, Musician, said, "I took part in the awards sponsored by China National Radio in 1982. My mother was an editor there. She once got us to copy a lot of letters. There were songs like "On Sun Island", "The 80s, A New Generation", "Drinking Song" and "Field of Hope". I think the music sounded better, but it lacked respect for people, for individuals. Everyone could sing the songs. The music inspired some common feelings, but it didn't mention any individuals."
Su Yue, Musician, said, "So we started thinking about making our own pop music."
By the early 1980s, the radio cassette player was becoming a feature of more and more Chinese homes, and music cassettes were the most important entertainment consumer item. In 1979, the government had approved the establishment of the Pacific Audio & Video Company, which marked the end of the long-term monopoly the China Record Corporation had enjoyed since the founding of the PRC. The following four years witnessed the setting up of more than three hundred audio-visual publication houses nationwide.
Su Yue said, "In addition to the China Record Corporation there were Sino-Media International in Beijing, the Beijing International Audio & Video Art Co., the Liaoning North Audio & Video Co., and Guizhou Oriental Audio & Video Co. All these companies started actively looking for foreign pop music."
