Listening to the Wynners

Long before there was Gangnam style, long before there was K-pop, even long before there was J-pop, there was Canto-pop. Cantonese pop. And the godfather of all Canto-pop was a band known as The Wynners (溫拿).

The Wynners originated from Hong Kong...comprising Alan Tam (vocals), Kenny Bee (vocals), Anthony Chan (drums), Bennett Pang (guitar) and Danny Yip (bass). [UPDATE: This picture on the right came from an entertainment magazine of the 1970s which I discovered in my archives.]

In the 1970s, they were one of the most popular Chinese bands in this part of the world. Singing first English songs, they reverted to singing Cantonese tunes in the later part of their careers. This record, Listen To The Wynners, was their very first studio album and consisted of all English language songs. But too bad that L.O.V.E. Love wasn't one of them. Alan Tam and Kenny Bee later went on to pursue their respective careers as solo singers and actors. The band never disbanded officially and occasionally, they would re-unite to thrill their old and new fans.

I was feeling a bit nostalgic this evening and so decided to pull out a few old albums to clean and play on my turntable. Found this record which I hadn't spun for a very long time. Funnily enough, I had also forgotten that it existed. Such is my memory nowadays.

Side One: Sha-la-la-la-la, I'll never dance again, Waterloo, Seasons in the sun, Jesus is just alright, Happy birthday sweet sixteen
Side Two: Over and over, Ray of sunshine, Listen to the music, Remember, Sunshine lover, Would you laugh