The Charismatic Musical Life of Roman Tam

“In my life, I love to sing. I sing until my voice of my songs flies.”
(Translation of extracted lyrics from In My Life, published in 1983. Composed by Roman Tam; lyrics by Cheng Kok-kong.)

On vinyl, tape and compact disc, and now on all sorts of emerging media, Roman’s voice – powerful, expressive and full of emotion – has always lingered in the ears of the listener, and the notes of each and every one of his golden classics still beat in our hearts. Roman’s life in performing arts began with English pop songs. He began to seize public attention with his Mandarin pop performances and reached the height of his career with Cantopop. His artistic talents then extended to the musical stage. Hong Kong’s pop music culture has constantly flowed and changed over the past three decades, but Roman was a courageous figure who, in his constant pursuit of beauty and improvement, was always able to stay ahead of his time and who never stopped innovating and leading. His voice was strong and sonorous, he always sang with perfect pronunciation, and he performed on stage as free as he wished. These were the personal signatures of Roman that helped establish his status as an icon on the Hong Kong pop scene.

Roman was born in Baise of Guangxi in 1945. His parents named him “Pak Sin”. Roman was first brought to Hong Kong by his parents in 1948 during the Chinese Civil War, but the family moved back to Guangzhou in 1950. Roman developed a passion for singing and performing as a child, learning folk dance in his junior secondary school years and later joining the amateur dance team of Guangzhou’s Youth Cultural Palace. He was also very fond of Cantonese opera, studying under the master Law Ka-shue (known as “King of the Gongs”) and harbouring a dream to become a famous Cantonese opera actor. Roman then came back to Hong Kong from Guangzhou on his own in 1962. A new immigrant, he took up various entry-level jobs, finding employment as a gatekeeper at the Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park and then as a bank clerk. Thanks to his passion for music and the stage and his determination to succeed, Roman eventually earned superstar status in Hong Kong.