Hong Kong Entertainment: The King of Kung Fu

In the first half of the year, Zhang Peiren was sent by Rolling Stone to Beijing to open a record company.

He has been here for several months now and has basically figured out the situation of these rock musicians in Beijing.

While Yang Ye was in the capital, he met with Yang Ye.

Zhang Peiren is Li Zongsheng's good friend, and the two grew up together.

When Li Zongsheng was young, he would sing each song he wrote to Zhang Peiren first.

There is a song by Li Zongsheng called "The Man Racing with His Own", in which there is a line "Dear Landy, my brother, you rarely beat others, but this time you surpassed yourself". This Landy is Zhang Peiren.

Zhang Peiren was obsessed with rock music when he was young and was a die-hard fan of Bob Dylan. Because he liked Dylan, he gave himself the English name Landy.

When John Lennon was assassinated in 1980, many young rock musicians in Taiwan expressed their condolences.

Zhang Peiren felt that this was not enough, so he went to find a band, solicited sponsorship, and organized a grand commemorative concert.

After this was accomplished, he was recruited by the Rolling Stones, and then he introduced his good friend Li Zongsheng to the Rolling Stones.

However, Zhang Peiren did not like Taiwan's pop music very much, he felt it was all "decadent music".

After Luo Dayou left Taiwan, Zhang Peiren felt that the Taiwanese music scene was really boring.

Until he heard a roar from the other side of the strait.

"I used to ask over and over again, when will you come with me? But you just laughed at me, saying I have nothing!"

Zhang Peiren was shocked. What the hell? There is such awesome music in China?

He couldn't sit still anymore and insisted on going to the capital to take a look.

However, at that time, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait were still not in a state of mutual communication, so he could only wait.

It wasn't until the Rolling Stones decided to go to mainland China to open a record company that his chance came.

……

Zhang Peiren took out an invitation letter and handed it to Yang Ye.

Yang Ye took a look and said, "90 Modern Music Concert, what the hell is this?"

Zhang Peiren said: "It's a rock concert. Six rock bands from Beijing are performing together at the Capital Gymnasium."

Yang Ye asked knowingly: "Then why is it called a modern concert?"

Zhang Peiren explained: "The name rock music would not pass the review, so the gang changed it to modern music, and it passed."

Yang Ye smiled and said, "Tell me about your situation here!"

"When I first came to Beijing, I followed your introduction and came to this Maxim's restaurant to look for Ms. Song Chunli, and then I met the Tang Dynasty Band."

Yang Ye raised his glass towards Zhang Peiren and said, "Do those bastards look down on you?"

Zhang Peiren smiled, clinked glasses with Yang Ye, and said, "Yes, I sang a piece of RUSH (Note: North American rock band) for them, and then they took me to see various underground bands in Beijing."

"What's the current situation of bands in Beijing?"

"It's a mess. In the capital, twenty musicians can form forty bands. Except for a few well-organized bands, the musicians are all wandering around. If these people think they have similar interests, they will stick together. If they can't make it one day, they will go their separate ways."

“How do they survive?”

"They mainly hold 'parties' at a few fixed locations such as Maxim's Restaurant and Friendship Hotel. After the proofs are drawn in the evening, it's their turn. They charge admission, but not many people come to listen. The admission fee for one night is not enough to cover the food expenses for a week."

“They don’t have jobs?”

"The musicians of the bands that can be ranked are all marginalized people in society. They were either fired by their work or they have already fired their work, so they have no regular income. 'Parties' can't make money, there is no market outside, and they are all relying on their passion to support themselves."

“What do you think of their music?”

“How should I put it? It’s relatively rough, but it has a strong vitality, a strong energy, and endless emotions that can penetrate people’s hearts.

I feel like they weren't writing songs, not word by word, but there were so many things piled up in their hearts, and then when they opened their mouths, a knife flew out and shot towards them.

In fact, I really don’t understand why such a work appears here.”

Yang Ye knew what Zhang Peiren meant. Hong Kong and Taiwan had developed economies and consulting industries, but they had not produced any decent rock music.

It is precisely in the relatively backward and unfree inland areas that these works full of life passion have emerged.

In fact, there is nothing to be confused about. The cries in this kind of predicament are often more powerful.

Yang Ye did not explain, but just said: "You want to sign them all?"

"It would be best if we could sign it."

What Zhang Peiren meant was to sign all these bands, pay them salaries, provide them with the best musical instruments, and give them a good creative environment.

Then we will release records for them, hold concerts, tours, and run a one-stop commercial operation to make Chinese rock music bigger and stronger.

Zhang Peiren was very excited and outlined a grand blueprint for Yang Ye.

Yang Ye did not comment, but shook his head and said, "Excuse me, these are just a bunch of monsters. They suddenly became rich overnight. I'm afraid they will have to follow all the bad habits of the European and American rock circles."

"This..." Zhang Peiren was speechless for a moment.

Rock music is often inseparable from sex and drugs, and is often accompanied by violence and crime. How could Zhang Peiren not know this?

"They are all quite normal, a group of people with ideals." Zhang Peiren defended himself, but his words revealed a lack of confidence.

Yang Ye curled his lips: "That's because they don't have money now. If you have money, why don't you try it? Fucking fans is fine, after all, it's consensual. Taking drugs or something, who knows what kind of trouble it might cause.

This country has been poor for too long. The top priority now is to develop the economy. If you want good economic development, social stability must override everything else. If these people become the source of unrest, have you thought about the consequences?"

Yang Ye was not talking nonsense. All those rock musicians in China were toxic dogs.

Luo Qi of the "Compass Band" once jumped into a taxi after a performance and asked the driver to take her to buy drugs. The driver responsibly sent her to the police station. When the woman was quitting drugs later, she mentioned another name, Zhang Ju, the bassist of the Tang Dynasty Band.

It is generally believed that Zhang Ju died in a motorcycle accident, but in fact he was just high.

Zhang Peiren was stunned, and after a long while he said, "It's not that serious, is it?"

“That’s what you think. In China, people have always believed that rock music is associated with drugs, promiscuity, and crime, and that we must be vigilant.

Otherwise, how could their concert not be approved?

If you let them do what they want, your company will definitely not be able to survive, let alone realize your rock dream."

Zhang Peiren has been in Beijing for several months and has some understanding of the environment here.

Although I felt that what Yang Ye said was a bit sensational, it did make sense.

He was silent for a long time before asking, "What should we do then?"

Yang Ye thought about it and said, "Let's go take a look first!"

……

Capital Indoor Stadium.

Yang Ye did not meet with those rock bands. He took Yang Liping and Zhang Peiren to sit in the VIP area.

During this period, Yang Liping had no performance tasks, so the two of them spent every day together.

Yang Liping looked back and saw that the place was full of people and noisy. She asked curiously, "What kind of concert is this? Why are there so many people?"

Yang Ye said he would take her to the concert, but she didn't come without even thinking about it, but now she doesn't seem to be going that way.

Normally concerts are held in small halls, not in large stadiums like this.

Yang Ye smiled and said, "Rock!"

"what?"

"It's starting!"

The lights on the stage came on, and a girl wearing a black dress, with long flying hair, and dressed in a very Western style came on stage and began to deliver her opening remarks.

The girl was not very tall, her skin was not very white, her voice was hoarse and her voice was very low.

But when she stood on the stage, turned on the microphone, and gave a speech in standard Mandarin, her professionalism was evident.

"Very professional!" Yang Ye said.

Zhang Peiren introduced her: "Her name is Wei Hua, she is a host of CCTV and she has hosted the Spring Festival Gala before."

"This concert also has the support of CCTV?"

Generally speaking, CCTV hosts are not allowed to take private jobs casually, especially in such large-scale occasions.

Zhang Peiren smiled and said, "It used to be that way, but she has already resigned."

"why?"

For most people, the status of CCTV hosts is something that is difficult to achieve in a lifetime and is a height that one needs to look up to.

What's more, she has hosted the Spring Festival Gala, which means she is the ace host and the mainstay of the show.

It’s not easy to get to this point, how can I just quit?

"She likes rock music. To pursue her ideal, she quit her job and joined an underground band in Beijing."

"Brilliant!"

How many people dream of being the ace host of CCTV, but this woman can treat it like a piece of trash. This kind of courage is indeed something that only ordinary people can possess. It is no exaggeration to say that she is awesome.

Yang Liping suddenly realized: "She hasn't appeared on TV for a long time. Many people said she was dead. It turns out she has gone to play rock music."

Wei Hua had finished the opening words and then introduced the band: "Let's warmly welcome... Tang Dynasty Band!"

Tang Dynasty band's lead singer Ding Wu, guitarist Lao Wu, drummer Zhao Nian, and bassist Zhang Ju took the stage together.

In an instant, the mountains collapsed and the earth cracked, and overwhelming rock music exploded throughout the Capital Gymnasium.

Tens of thousands of audiences at the scene cheered like thunder and had a blast following the music.

“Fuck, that’s awesome!” Yang Ye exclaimed in praise.

Zhang Peiren was also shocked. He had only seen such a scene when watching rock concerts abroad.

Afterwards, "Baby Brothers Band", "ADO Band", "Cobra Band" and "1989 Band" took turns to perform, and the audience was excited.

When the singing became passionate, many audience members got up from their seats, stood on their chairs, tore off their clothes, and waved their clothes wildly to the rhythm. Even in the middle of winter, they were not afraid of freezing to death.

A shirtless young man wearing glasses and holding a lighter shouted at the stage: "Don't let us down! Don't let us down! Don't let us down!"

The "Breathing Band" was the last to appear on stage. Wei Hua, who was the host just now, suddenly transformed into a rock queen, standing in the center of the stage with a domineering look. With the thunderous drum beats, she shook her hair and screamed with all her might:
"Stop trying to stop me, stop lying to me, stop trying to deceive me, I will break free from this rope..."

The whole place became agitated along with Wei Hua, and everyone was shaking their heads.

Yang Liping was stunned, and after a long while she said, "She is so cool!"

Wei Hua sang three songs in a row, telling, shouting, and accusing, as if venting long-suppressed emotions.

The audience all lit up their lighters and swayed along with Wei Hua's singing, and Wei Hua burst into tears on the spot.

After resigning from her position as CCTV host, she endured a lot of pressure, from her family and society, but at this moment, she felt... it was worth it. (End of this chapter)