[Recycle Diary] Swallows in the Grand Halls of Wang and Xie: An Echo of Alan Tam and Anita Mui's Era
Mr. Wong, a retired secondary school teacher, lives in an old flat in Kowloon Tong. As he and his wife are emigrating to the UK next month to reunite with their children, he has no choice but to start clearing out decades of belongings. Over the phone, Mr. Wong's voice was polite, but tinged with an undeniable reluctance: "Ah Chi, these vinyl records have been with me for over forty years, they're like old friends. I don't want to just throw them away like scrap paper. I hope you can help them find a good home."
Story: The "Most Glorious Era" Hidden in Vinyl Grooves
Stepping into Mr. Wong's study, a faint, musty smell of old paper wafted over. He carefully pulled out several wooden boxes from the bottom of a cabinet. When the first record—Alan Tam's "Crazy for You"—appeared before me, I couldn't help but feel a secret astonishment.
"I queued up to buy this one back then, and it even has Principal Tam's autograph!" Mr. Wong said, pointing to the ink on the cover, his eyes shining. It was released in 1980, not long after Alan Tam went solo from "The Wynners." This record marks the beginning of Principal Tam's journey to superstardom.
Next, he pulled out a set of Anita Mui's "Lady". This collection is extremely precious; not only does it include the LP, but Mr. Wong also has a first-edition CD from that year. "Anita Mui's ever-changing image back then was truly unmatched. I still think the wedding dress look on the 'Lady' album cover is very avant-garde," Mr. Wong remarked with emotion.
We flipped through them one by one, from Sam Hui's "Half Catty, Eight Taels" to Chyi Chin's "Winter Rain". For Mr. Wong, these aren't just vinyl records; they represent the sweat he put in working part-time during university to buy records, and the youth he spent waiting by the radio for his idols.