"Music Teahouse" is sung again in Guangzhou Oriental Hotel

"Music Teahouse" is sung again in Guangzhou Oriental Hotel (Reported by Yang Qiwei, Special Correspondent of Guangzhou Times of Alberta Times) "Looking back slowly, it once belonged to that...

(Reported by Yang Qiwei, Special Correspondent of Guangzhou Times of Alberta Times)

"Looking back slowly, the night that once belonged to each other. Honghong is still you, giving me the sunshine in my heart. If I shed silly tears, I hope you can be considerate and forgiven. I will leave you tomorrow morning, and the road may be lonely." On the evening of November 28, a pop music concert with a unique nostalgic charm was sung again at the Oriental Hotel in Guangzhou. The audience and the singers were close at hand, enjoying the golden tunes and sipping refreshments, and followed the music, mesmerized, vividly recreating the performance scene of the music teahouse, which was the favorite entertainment nightlife of Guangzhou people more than 30 years ago. When classic nostalgic hits such as "Shanghai Beach", "Late Autumn" and "Friends" were sung by the champion singers of the Provincial Hong Kong Cup Singing Contest and the Yangcheng Top Ten Singers Contest, the passionate, high-pitched, lyrical and romantic songs echoed in the first music cafe in the country, bringing the audience back to more than 30 years ago. This "Cantonese Nostalgic Classic Golden Songs Concert" is hosted by the Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio and Television and is one of the mass square series activities of the 8th China Music Golden Bell Awards. The popular singers Zhang Yanni, Tang Li, Gu Xuan, and Hong Kong's first Future Idol Contest champion Li Dacheng, who were popular singers in the 1980s, once again put on their costumes and re-interpreted their once-popular pop songs at the Guangzhou Oriental Hotel Music Café. In 1978, the Oriental Hotel in Guangzhou opened the country's first music cafe in the new era, which mainly sang pop songs, in the Garden Restaurant. Audiences only had to pay for a ticket and they could sit and drink tea while listening to songs in the song hall. Once the music cafe was launched, it caused a sensation in the era when dance halls had not yet emerged. It immediately attracted many guests and many singers. Guangzhou gradually formed a stage for the development of pop music, and popular music from Hong Kong and Taiwan was spread among the people. In the 1980s, the first generation of pop singers in Guangzhou imitated Hong Kong singers to the point of being unreal. Many Cantonese singers move from music cafes to the stage. Across the country, Tea House Singers have expanded the influence of Cantonese musicians. Many mainland fans first started to get involved in pop music after listening to these "cover songs". Since then, Guangzhou has taken up the banner of pop music. In addition to performing in music cafes, many music groups in Guangzhou also perform across the country with the promotion of performance companies, becoming an important medium for people to understand Guangzhou, a city at the forefront of reform and opening up. Mao Ning, Yang Yuying, Na Ying and many other well-known singers have left their singing voices and beautiful images at Guangdong Music Teahouse. More than 30 years ago, singing Hong Kong and Taiwan songs was a fashion among young people in Guangzhou, and the music cafe was the most direct stage for young people to contact and appreciate Hong Kong and Taiwan songs, so it was also a place where young people often went. "The entertainment method at that time was relatively simple, and many Cantonese pop singers even became famous by singing covers of Hong Kong and Taiwan songs." Huang Junying, a famous cross talk artist, said that in order to adapt to this powerful artistic trend, the Guangdong Music and Art Troupe he was in at that time split the troupe into three or four groups and took turns performing in various music cafes in Guangzhou. " It was not news at the time that crosstalk actors were learning to sing Hong Kong and Taiwanese songs, but it was a new trend. "Speaking of his experience of not doing his job properly, Huang Junying felt very happy. "When the music starts, it feels like it's like another world." Tang Li, who became famous for her cover of Anita Mui's songs, sang in a music cafe as her first job. "At that time, the music cafe was very prosperous. My first month's salary was 150 yuan, and my parents' salary at that time was only 60 or 70 yuan." Tang Li said that she performed in the music cafe as soon as she stepped out of college, which made her artistic career. "I learned every move and every move from this small stage." She won the championship in the first Provincial and Hong Kong Cup Singing Competition in 1989, which was entirely due to her experience in the music cafe. The Oriental Hotel was the first place I went on stage. A lot of feelings came to my mind when I performed here today. At that time, the music cafe of the Oriental Hotel occupied a very large area, and the stage was located in the middle of the performance hall. Singing there was like holding a concert in a stadium. The music cafe is a place where you can practice your singing skills. You have to accept singing requests from the audience, hand over small notes, and you have to sing a cappella at least a few lines. Therefore, after performing, I spend almost all my spare time practicing singing, and I must know all the new songs from Hong Kong and Taiwan by heart. "I cherish the experience of performing in the Music Cafe very much." Gu Xuan, the champion of the 1991 Provincial-Hong Kong Cup Singing Competition, said that at that time, the audience of the Oriental Hotel Music Cafe was only Hong Kong and Macao compatriots, and they had to use vouchers to enter. After 1986, it was gradually opened to Guangzhou citizens. Moreover, the accompaniment orchestra of the Oriental Hotel is the highest level accompaniment orchestra in the city. The person in charge of the organizer of this concert said that he hopes to take advantage of the Golden Bell Award to launch the Guangdong Music Teahouse again. "Classic Cantonese hits will return to the modern stage, allowing the audience to relive the feelings of the past and pursue beautiful memories."