In the 1980s, composer Liang Wern Fook wrote, sang and produced xinyao songs. All of them had become popular classic evergreen songs. In the 1990s, he turned to songwriting and composed songs for top Mandopop stars. In the 2000s, he went into academia, received a PhD in Chinese Studies and serves as an assistant professor at NTU. He is the newly minted Cultural Medallion recipient, who received accolades for his tremendous contributions to the local music scene. And he is born and bred in Queenstown.
Artwork of Singapore Pie
Queenstown is a muse for many. Her long and diverse history has connected with many individuals who could articulate her beauty through words and music. In more than five decades of existence, Queenstown has seen more than her fair share of these talents rise to national and international recognition. One of them is Liang Wen Fork.
Dr. Liang's family moved to a rented 2-room flat at Margaret Close when he was a few months' old in 1964. In 1971, his family moved to a flat in Block 6C, Margaret Drie, where he spent his childhood and teenage years before moving out of the estate in 1987 when he was 23. Many of his songs were inspired from his formative days in Queenstown. One of them is 麻雀衔竹枝 (Crows biting branches), which described his simple childhood life at the rented flat he had lived in.
His rendition of 麻雀衔竹枝
Changes to the physical appearances of Queenstown over the years have made him feel nostalgic too, which he harnessed the sentiment as a creative force. He says in an interview in a past newspaper article, "Queenstown has passed the most glorious days of its mission as part of the nation's development. Later I would console myself that, because I wrote quite a fair bit, that part of Queenstown's history would be recorded through my works. So even though the town had changed, and the place is no longer the same, the sentiments and memories are kept alive in the works."
These insights are recorded in his work, Singapore Pie, where the lyrics described the changes in the Former Venus and Golden City Cinemas.
Liang Wern Fook's Singapore Pie. You can see the English translated lyrics here
Dr. Liang is widely acknowledged as the pioneer in Singapore's fledging Chinese music scene in the 1980s. He has written classic songs to some of the who's who in the mandopop industry, which include Kit Chan and Andy Lau. His songs have propelled many singers into superstardom.
1995's Like You has propelled Kit Chan into a regional powerhouse
Dr. Liang has since ventured into other aspects of the arts industry, including musicals and plays. "If They're Seasons," a musical featuring his songs, was a hit production that had sold out runs in 2007 and 2009.
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1 comments:
I enjoyed listening to his songs during my teenage years.
Does anyone know who his wife is and how old are their children now?
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