Live music has been one of the industries hardest hit by Covid and after a 2021 almost devoid of concerts, we can only hope that the Countdown Concert is the start of a year full of gigs and the uplifting feeling and happiness that sharing live music brings.
The concert was live-streamed on New Year’s Eve and is now available on the HKTB youtube channel.
Labour Day and the Birthday of the Buddha in 2022 both fall on a Sunday, the day following them will be designated as a general holiday in substitution.
In addition, since the day following the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival in 2022 falls on a Sunday, the second day following that Festival will be designated as a general holiday in substitution.
As Christmas Day in 2022 falls on a Sunday, the second weekday after Christmas Day will be designated as a general holiday in substitution.
Hundreds of thousands of HongKongers braved a chilly evening and gathered on both shores of Victoria Harbour to kick out a depressing and stressful 2021 and communally embrace the hope and expectations of a New Year.
It was disappointing that even after months of no local Covid infections and harsh quarantine measures, the government still cancelled the annual New Year’s Eve fireworks display. The ‘enhanced’ Symphony of Lights didn’t really offer anything to those watching from Kowloon side, not even a 2022 on the front of the HKCEC…
But you would be wrong to think too negatively, people gathered knowing there were no fireworks. We gathered peacefully, no shoving or pushing, to recharge each other. To support and strengthen the old and the young after the harshness of the last twelve months.
Where alone and individually we might not feel strong to face 2022, together unspoken counting down to midnight we recharged each other’s batteries and shared our strength.
Together we are HongKongers and our flame burns brightly in the cold dark night! Happy New Year!
Even looking behind the mirror there’s not been much to get excited about for local live music fans over the last 18 months as COVID and government regulations have decimated live music and concert venues.
Sometimes though, behind a cloud there is actually a silver lining as fans of the iconic hardcore band King Ly Chee found earlier this month with the surprise announcement of the band’s first concert in four years.
As resurrections go, this was totally unexpected – seismically similar to the ABBA reunion among pop fans perhaps – as the band’s break-up in 2017 seemed terminal with former members all getting involved in new bands and musical projects.
In 1999 when Pakistani frontman Riz Farooqi returned to his birthplace from New York ‘hardcore’ barely existed in Hong Kong. Riz though was a passionate devote… finding happiness, joy and release/freedom in the music and community.
Finding some like-minded musicians King Ly Chee was born and a generation of HongKongers found their voice and identity in Hong Kong hardcore.
bc magazine spoke with Riz Farooqi ahead of their new concerts:
King Ly Chee live again, honestly didn’t expect to see that to happen – how did it come about? The band ended in 2017. I carried the band through numerous lineup changes which I did because I had made a commitment to myself back when I started the band in 1999 that I would keep it going no matter what. So regardless of who left I just kept it going which is why it ended up feeling like a revolving door of members. But by 2017 I was done looking for new people – it finally came to a point that it just wasn’t right to keep replacing people. That particular lineup that ended in 2017 included a total of 5 people (Myself, Ivan, Brian, Ho, and Joe) who pretty much made the band their lives and dropped everything to be able to honour commitments when it came to shows, touring and recording.
So in 2017 it was done and I was ready to move on with my new band Dagger.
But then Covid came and put a complete stop to Dagger because my drummer, Ivan, lives in Macau. In fact the very last show I’ve played was two years ago when Dagger played at The Wanch in Feb of 2020 which was also the last time I saw Ivan. So it’s been two years of absolutely nothing going on in my life. NOTHING. I even started another band, Regret, in that time trying to get the fire going again. But the drummer of that band, Egas, ALSO lives in Macau.
I started reminiscing and a bunch of old KLC photos and videos kept popping up on my newsfeed. These photos were from an era of the band that was MOST beloved by Hong Kong. That’s not even an understatement…looking at all those photos and videos of people right here in Hong Kong losing their minds to this band was something that really meant a lot to me. Interestingly enough the drummer for that era is an amazing dude named Kevin (out of all the band members I’ve had the honour to play with in KLC, he was always the closest to me – like a full-on brother), just so happened was also missing that era too. I contacted Andy who played guitar back then and the three of us decided to try it out to see how it felt. It was just a quick jam – but we ripped through all those songs as if literally NO time had passed. After the first jam we all kinda sat there smiling from ear to ear.
There have been many members of King Ly Chee since 1999, who will be in the 2021-22 line-up? That’s the thing. When people ask if we’d ever reunite I always say, “which era”? For Hong Kong there was never any doubt that the ‘Stand Strong’ era would be it. So the band that is back together is myself, Kevin, and Andy (Unfortunately Alex is not in Hong Kong so it won’t include him, but our good friend Ho (also an ex-member of KLC) will be on bass).
What has it felt like to prepare for a gig and play the King Ly Chee songs again after such a long time? As mentioned above, it was like literally no time had passed. Kevin, Andy and I got right back into it and the craziest part was that the vibe was exactly the same from back then. People have to understand, we’re talking about something we did almost 20 years ago, and for it to click like the way it did today in 2021 is something none of us envisioned. But it felt right being back in the practice room together and we’re currently gearing up to play the first of our comeback shows. We’re STOKED.
For those who might recognise the name but don’t know the band, can you give us a quick potted history of who are/were King Ly Chee? King Ly Chee is a hardcore band I started back in 1999 as a way to introduce the world of “hardcore” to HKers. I wanted to introduce this underground culture in a language that was more easily digestible to the local population (Cantonese) because it’s what saved my life once (as did metal and punk rock) and I wanted to see if it could help others as well.
Are you going to record/film/live stream the upcoming King Ly Chee shows? The current plan is to film the first show back and then see what happens.
The first show sold out in minutes, the second almost as quickly – is King Ly Chee back as a band? Will there be any new KL songs? We have been totally shocked by how fast both shows sold out!
Yes, we have 2 brand new songs done and will continue to write into the new year. We’ve talked about maybe getting a brand new EP out in 2022 but will see how it goes. The most important thing about getting back together is to just have fun and put zero stress on each other. All of us are married, have full-time jobs, the majority of us have children, we’re just getting back together to have fun, play shows, write music, and use this all to have an excuse to be in the same room together.
Which of the various online music channels can readers buy/stream King Ly Chee? We’re on everything – bandcamp being the best because bands get paid the best on this platform.
Where can people purchase King Ly Chee albums, merchandise? Currently, the only store selling our stuff in Hong Kong is the amazing Infree Records in Mong Kok run by a true HK legend Soni. If you all haven’t visited this store yet, you’re missing out on an absolute cultural event.
As a musician what has been the hardest aspect of life under COVID? Not being able to play shows and tour. I couldn’t care less about recording – I actually HATE recording – being a studio musician/band has never interested me at all. For me the whole point of being in a band is to actually play shows in front of people engaging with music screaming their heads off.
Apart from the King Ly Chee gigs, what’s on the musical horizon for your other bands Dagger and Regret. Nothing else…not until it’s easier for people to travel to Hong Kong.
Apart from writing, singing and performing in three bands Riz Farooqi started and runs the hardcore website UniteAsia which brings together bands and fans of hardcore, punk, metal from across Asia.
Local cyclists will get a chance to ride on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge for the first time when the Cyclothon makes a comeback in January 2022.
Organised by the HK Tourism Board (HKTB) the Cyclothon returns after its hiatus with a brand new route and a virtual reality racing experience.
The new route has riders start from the Hong Kong Port – the starting point of the bridge in the SAR – and travel through the Scenic Hill Tunnel and along the highway between Airport Channel and western waters and onto the Hong Kong section of the bridge. Riders will then return to the Hong Kong Port.
Registration, which opens on Saturday, is limited to 3,000 participants – who are required to be fully vaccinated and get a negative test result within 48 hours before the event.
Mason Hung, general manager of event and product development at the HK Tourism Board said riders should not wear uniforms or display slogans carrying political meanings, adding anyone who fails to comply will be referred to law enforcement.
There will also be a ‘virtual cyclothon‘ – if you have an android tablet – where from 3-16 January cyclists from around the world can join the virtual race featuring an animated event route mimicking the unique 26 km Cyclothon route.
Don’t have an android tablet then head to Sports Expo in Mongkok or AME E-sports Stadium in TST to enjoy the 45-minute ride.
Rugby League World Cup 2021 (RLWC2021) have confirmed that the men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments will now take place in 2022 from 15 October – 19 November.
RLWC2021 also announced that the opening match and the men’s / women’s doubleheader finals will be played, as originally planned, at St James’ Park, Newcastle and Old Trafford, Manchester respectively.
The tournament starts one week earlier than the 2021 dates so that RLWC2021 falls between the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the 2022 FIFA World Cup this change will allow all 61 games to be televised live.
Tickets for the 2021 tournament will be valid for the same fixture in 2022.
The limitations on competitive sport are impacting on domestic and international competition… So Hong Kong’s men’s and women’s sevens squads will travel to the United Kingdom and Portugal for an extended training camp in May and June.
Training and warm-up matches against international opposition are needed ahead of multiple upcoming tournaments including:
The 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou in September, where Hong Kong’s men’s sevens squad will be the defending champions, after taking Gold in Jakarta in 2018.
Hong Kong’s women finished in fifth place in Jakarta, and hope to improve on that in Hangzhou
The Rugby World Cup Sevens in South Africa in mid-September. Hong Kong have qualified for every Rugby World Cup Sevens since the inception of the world championship in 1993.
And lastly but by no means least the 45th Hong Kong Sevens in early November, the first international sevens competition to be held in the city in over 3½ years.
Hong Kong Rugby Union General Manager of Performance Rugby James Farndon said, “As restrictions tighten in Hong Kong, many of the HKSI’s High Performance Sport Programmes are taking their athletes and coaches overseas to ensure that they can maintain competitive advantage for their respective international competitions.
“Given the importance of our upcoming international tournaments we believe that it is essential for the teams to have optimal preparation including matches against premier international competition. The HKSI’s approach to financially support overseas training camps like this is highly appreciated by the HKRU,” added Farndon.
Training in the United Kingdom also offers the opportunity to enter both teams into two events on the upcoming UK Super Sevens Series, which takes place in May and June across the United Kingdom, and into long-running international sevens warm-up tournaments in Lisbon and the Algarve in Portugal. These will mark the first international competitions for the teams since November 2021.
The squads will depart on 6 May and will base at Loughborough University, an institution highly regarded for its sports programmes and with excellent training and rehabilitation facilities for the duration of the trip.
Read bc magazine’s recent interview with Riz Farooqi about King Ly Chee resurrection here.
King Ly Chee are playing the third Tone Online Music Festival, 16 January at 5:30pm, catch the whole festival on TonemusicTV’s Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/TONEMUSICTV.
Due to Covid restrictions, King Ly Chee’s gig on 22 January has been postponed.
