Hong Kong Entertainment 1979: A Beating Up the Manager at the Start

In the conference room of Time Records.

Zhao Yazhi, Li Xiaotian, and Leslie Cheung sat in the conference room listening to Leslie Cheung's newly recorded album.

One record has finished playing.

Lai Siu-tin smiled and said, "Mr. Zhao, what do you think of this record?"

Zhao Yazhi lowered her head and pondered for a moment, then said, "Not bad, what's the title track?"

Leslie Cheung replied, "The title track is 'The Wind Continues to Blow,' which was written by the boss."

Lai Siu-tin added, "Yes! It would be a waste for the boss to put all three of Ten's songs on one album. Each one could be a single, so we discussed it and decided to produce them separately."

After listening, Zhao Yazhi nodded, "I don't understand these things either, you can decide for yourselves."

Hearing Zhao Yazhi's words, Li Xiaotian was still very happy. Although he was the music director of Time Records, he still had to listen to Zhao Yazhi in terms of the company's structure.

If Zhao Yazhi disagrees, then I will have to discuss it with Li Jiangbo, which would easily cause dissatisfaction from my boss!

"Alright, then let's start production in the factory tomorrow, and print 10,000 copies to start?"

Zhao Yazhi asked doubtfully, "Isn't 10,000 sheets a bit too few?"

Leslie Cheung shook his head with a wry smile, "That's quite a lot. The three albums I produced at Polydor before didn't even sell 10,000 copies in total."

"Alright then, you guys handle it. As for publicity and chart ranking, feel free to make any requests. I'll do my best to help, and for anything I can't, I'll talk to the boss."

Lai Siu-tin and Leslie Cheung exchanged a glance, then quickly stood up to thank Zhao Yazhi.

After discussing the publicity and chart rankings with the three of them, Zhao Yazhi took the record to the radio station.

......

"The Wind Continues to Blow" officially started its chart run at the end of May, but initially there was little buzz.

Every day, Lai Siu-tin kept an eye on the radio's playlist, hoping that this album wouldn't flop.

Leslie Cheung appeared calm and composed on the surface, but was so nervous in private that he couldn't sleep.

Zhao Yazhi visited several radio stations, and the money she gave away amounted to at least ten thousand, if not five thousand.

They're very enthusiastic when they're collecting money, but then they go back to broadcasting whatever they were supposed to broadcast.

Zhao Yazhi went to ask, and the only response was that she was still in line.

Three days later, it was finally Leslie Cheung's turn to sing.

The first program played was "Six and a Half Beer" from Hong Kong Commercial Radio, hosted by Yu Zheng.

Yu Zheng is the show's star host, beloved by Hong Kong citizens for his erudition and sharp eloquence.

That evening, after playing a song by Hui Koon-kit called "Nightly Yearning for You," Yu Zheng made a few jokes.

"Someone sent me a CD a couple of days ago. It's Leslie Cheung's new album, the one where he played Sung Chi-kit in 'A Better Tomorrow'. The song is called 'The Wind Continues to Blow,' and I'm dedicating it to everyone who can't sleep tonight."

A pleasant melody filled the live broadcast room.

Inside a taxi, driver Ah Huai was focused on driving along Waterloo Road.

A couple in the back seat were kissing passionately.

Suddenly, the woman pushed the man away and straightened her clothes.

The man, still unaware of what was happening, tried to get closer to his girlfriend and continue their intimacy.

"Hey! Stop messing around, let me finish listening to this song."

"What song can compare to..."

Before the man could finish speaking, the woman covered his mouth and yelled, "Shut up!!!"

Why not go after them together?

To wash away depression and pain

I will remember your tenderness and affection.

I must hold back my tears of parting.

It is not allowed to droop downwards

Sorrow gathers like a lock on the brow

Tears of parting will always fall.

Before the first half of the song was even finished, driver Ah Huai had already driven the car to its destination.

Seeing that the couple still hadn't gotten off the bus, Ah Huai couldn't help but remind them, "We're here. It'll cost you fifty-three yuan in total."

The man quickly waved his hand, "Don't make a sound."

Ah Huai was about to retort to the couple when he realized that the first half of the song had already been sung.

After the couple paid, they patted the driver on the shoulder.

"Hey! What's the name of this song?"

As Ah Huai gave the couple their change, he said, "Um, I was focused on driving and didn't hear you."

The man frowned and said, "Hey! Stop looking, let's finish listening to this song."

Ah Huai was quite happy to oblige, since he had nothing to lose anyway, so he parked his car on the side of the road and admired the scenery with the couple.

Suddenly a couple came out of the nightclub and saw Ah Huai's taxi at the front, so they walked over.

As soon as he reached the car, the man saw that there were people inside and was about to yell at Ah Huai. "There are people inside! Don't you know to turn the 'vacant' sign up as 'occupied'?"

The songs playing on the radio made the two forget about swearing.

A strange scene unfolded at the nightclub: a couple was leaning against a taxi, and there was another couple in the car.

The group listened intently to the songs playing on the radio.

While Yu Zheng was playing music, the phone line on the director's end suddenly went dead.

When the director rushed into the live broadcast room, Yu Zheng was wearing headphones and listening to music with his eyes closed.

The director handed Yu Zheng a note and then left.

Yu Zheng took off his headphones, glanced at the note in his hand, and smiled.

The note read: 37 phone calls requested the song, all of which were for the song that was playing.

"This is going to be interesting."

The next few days.

"The Wind Continues to Blow" seems to have grown wings and is flying all over Hong Kong.

This song is being played in tea restaurants, barbershops, and on every street corner.

The record stores reacted most directly.

Win's Audio in Mong Kok is a long-established brand in Hong Kong, and its owner, Mr. Chan, has been in the record business for thirty years.

He can tell who's popular or not just by looking at them.

Unfortunately, this time it got pecked in the eye by an eagle, and it was a fledgling eagle that had previously fallen victim to a calamity.

When the people from Time Records found him and gave him the record, Uncle Chen took one look and realized it was that same scumbag again.

I ordered a thousand albums, and they're just gathering dust in the warehouse.

Now they're sending it again? Don't they think it's not enough to just collect dust? For a while, he even sold this person's records for ten yuan each, but still no one bought them.

However, having heard that the owner of Time Records is Mr. Li, who is currently enjoying great success in Hong Kong, he still symbolically ordered one hundred copies.

To my surprise, as soon as I opened the door this morning, someone came to ask if we had the album "The Wind Continues to Blow".

Uncle Chen smiled and took out the album, then handed over the money and delivered the goods.

Then things started to get strange. 50% of the people who came in that morning were asking about this album.

The album sold out very quickly, in just two days.

Uncle Chen realized something was wrong and hurriedly called the people at Time Records.

"Hey, give me another five hundred copies of 'The Wind Continues to Blow'."

"there is none left."

"What? That's all? What are you people at Time Records doing?! It's all gone so quickly? I don't care, the goods will arrive tomorrow!"

"The day after tomorrow at the latest."

Uncle Chen was speechless. These bastards, don't they know how to prepare more albums? Don't they know their own albums?

This scene unfolded in various record stores across Hong Kong, with some store owners ordering 300 copies, which were sold out within four days.

"The Wind Continues to Blow" sold 5,000 copies in its first week on the market.

When Li Xiaotian learned of these sales figures, his mind was buzzing.

He had worked in the record store for over a decade, and judging from the first week's sales, this album had the potential to become a platinum record.

He quickly called the factory to order more printings, and then more printings.

When Leslie Cheung learned of this news, he was overjoyed.

He has been in the industry for three years since his debut in 77. In these three years, he has endured countless scornful looks and ridicule.

Finally, he's made it through!