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To say Teddy Robin is the godfather of Hong Kong rock’n’roll is an understatement. He was the pillar of western-influenced Hong Kong pop music from the ’60s to ’70s, with his popular band Teddy Robin & The Playboys. He became more blues-oriented in the ’80s and ’90s providing original scores for motion pictures such as Ringo Lam’s City on Fire and Eddie Fong’s Private Eye Blues. After an absence of 12 years, Teddy is now back with a vengeance, having written the score for Derek Kwok’s hit movies The Pye-Dog (which he also produced) and The Moss, as well as releasing a jazz-themed CD Teddy Goes to the Movies, produced with Ted Lo, Eugene Pao, Sylvain Gagnon, Donald Ashley and more.

Tell me about your new CD, Teddy Goes to the Movies.
Producers Clarence Chang and Sam Wong came up with the idea of a jazz album of my songs three years ago. When they first asked me I was quite reluctant, because I didn’t want to compete with the new generation. But I said I’d do it under one condition – if they can get all the best Hong Kong musicians to back me! As a result, not only did I get the best from Hong Kong, but also from the world. I got Lawrence Juber (Paul McCartney’s guitarist) to record on my album. I’ve been told the CD is doing quite well.  

You are one of the pioneers of Hong Kong pop music as the lead vocalist of The Playboys. How did the name come about?
It was because our bassist David liked to read Playboy magazine, and the name sounded very rebellious. My other brother William joined the band and we became famous in 1967. In 1968, we added a keyboard player named Ricky Chan. We had a full band sound. In England, there was Cliff Richard & The Shadows. In Hong Kong, we had Teddy Robin & The Playboys. How cool is that?

In addition to being a musician, in the 1970s you also started producing and providing Hong Kong film scores after a stint touring the US. Why?
When I came back from the States, I didn’t want to make music my only profession. I wanted to make films. I had the feeling that I was on top but couldn’t stand the cold. I needed something to fall back on and live by. The reality is that you can’t be a young pop star all the time. So I pursued film from the angle of music. I became a movie producer and directed George Lam in the 1983 film All The Wrong Spies. In the film, I requested George to sing the theme song Several Verses of Love Songs with the concept of “man and music in one.” He did it. In my new CD, I recorded that song with a tango feel.

In 1981, you released the album This Is Love and the title track became a commercial success. Would you consider that the apex of your career?
Commercially, it was my peak. But artistically, I’d consider my 1984 album Man From Outer Sky the highlight of my career. That was the first concept album ever released in Hong Kong. At the time, I was really into science fiction and I stepped into the shoes of this ‘outsider’ in the Wesley’s Mysterious Files novels. I wrote the song from the perspective of an extra-terrestrial who never grows old looking at planet Earth. After I had travelled the world, I realised that all forms of discrimination still exist and there are still barriers among human beings. In essence, you can’t truly be a citizen of the world. This fits the Chinese proverb “Seven days in the mountains; 1,000 years on Earth.” The song was 21 minutes long and was considered unconventional back then. But the song has stood the test of time.

From the 1980s on, your work was becoming more blues-oriented. One can find your blues influence particularly in the song To Get Happy (Wasting Breath).
I love the blues. I was influenced by Eric Clapton, Cream, Jimi Hendrix and Santana. So I’m only half blues. I’m mainly a blues-rocker. I also was heavily influenced by Elvis and I later discovered BB King and Stevie Ray Vaughan. The song To Get Happy was intentionally written as a blues number under the request of director Ringo Lam. I wrote lyrics to two verses, and then Andrew Lam came in and finished the lyrics in a mere half-hour. Chow Yun-fat, the famous actor, also contributed to the last verse of the song. In 1994, I also did a blues score for the movie Private Eye Blues. The blues is a kind of music that has to be from the heart.

What’s your current musical direction?
I have several projects going on at the moment. I still play in the band The Red, which occasionally performs at the Fringe Club. I have formed a band with Albert Young, Wong Leung Sing, and Tang Chi Wo playing classic rock songs like the Eagles and Led Zeppelin. I am also brainstorming an all-instrumental album, playing songs by the Shadows and Ventures, and an unplugged album with half the songs in English and half in Chinese. At this juncture, I’m working with Tommy Wai (collectively called T2) on the film score of an upcoming Yip Lim-Sum movie starring the really beautiful Taiwanese actress Alice Tzeng.

Teddy Goes to the Movies is on sale now. See: www.myspace.com/teddyrobin

Henry Chung is one of Hong Kong’s leading bluesmen and harmonica players.