Roman Tam, a famous musician from Hong Kong who was referred to as the “godfather” of the city’s music, passed away on Friday night from liver cancer. 52 years old.
Roman Tam, who was born in Guangxi, China, on February 12, 1945, worked at several different jobs before establishing himself as a successful singer. Working on television themes that would introduce his voice into Hong Kong households, Tam was able to establish himself and find his footing in the 1970s.
Although his flamboyance is remembered with nostalgia today, it did not make him famous when he first started his career as a singer. Tam, who went on to become the Godfather of Cantopop, was not renowned at first and frequently made provocative decisions, like dressing in drag and participating in nude photo sessions.
He was only able to avoid being wholly forgotten because of his charisma and indisputable brilliance. Still, there was another element that affected his capacity to remain in the public eye. Although he openly mocked gender norms, he kept his se*uality a secret, which was against the law and might have been too much for many of his admirers to handle.
Even now, he rarely has his se*uality and gender play acknowledged in most monuments and obituaries. Instead, terms like flamboyant, coded language, and references to other LGBT artists like Leslie Cheung are frequently employed.
That’s not to argue that he has no relationship with Leslie Cheung; in fact, he helped Leslie become far more outspoken about his se*uality than Tam was ever able to be. Thus, even after he officially retired, Tam continued to shape the Cantopop music landscape by serving as a mentor and supporter of emerging musicians.
Tam announced that he would retire from the entertainment business after thirty years, but he made it plain that he was still available to perform—just for deserving causes. He would be remembered most warmly for devoting the majority of his latter years to serving for charitable causes.
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His private life would stay mostly secret, though, and not much is known about him outside of the spotlight, including potential relationships. It appears to have been nearly the price he had to pay for his level of popularity in many respects. He was allowed to create his art openly, like many other LGBT celebrities, but only on the condition that it be his art.
Roman Tam’s family and friends received heartfelt condolences from Patrick Ho, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Home Affairs, on Saturday. “Most of us grew up with Roman Tam’s many golden hits,” Ho said. All of us will miss him.
After being informed in May 2001 that his illness was terminal, the pop artist had been in and out of the hospital. As his condition grew worse, he was most recently admitted to Queen Mary Hospital on Monday.
Born in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southwest China, Tam first appeared on stage with the band “Roman and the Four Steps” in 1967. Prior to that, he held jobs as a bank employee and a security guard at an amusement park.
After performing the theme music for multiple well-liked Hong Kong television shows, Tam became highly well-known in the late 1970s. Over his three decades in the music business, he published 56 albums.
Tam was the first Asian performer in Carnegie Hall in New York and the Royal Albert Hall in London. In 1983, he was chosen as one of Hong Kong’s Ten Outstanding Young People.
