well, it's the end of another favourite band of mine.

When i was still in primary school, like any other kid (who don't have big brother and sister who influence their music that they listened to, to their younger siblings), i'm just another kid that don't care music about the music scene, or who's who in the music scene. and there's one of my friend of mine (a year older), who like like them (Beyond). i was not into them at all at that time, in fact i found their melodies were quite weird (hey i was just like 10 or 11 years old, kids at that age can't accept weird stuff into the ears and head). when i was 13 or 14, i was into the 'post ka kui' era beyond, and the rest is history....i think they are the ones that gave me the 1st exposure to rock. thanks for the music, you will be remembered.


End of the road for Beyond: By MICHAEL CHEANG (The Star)

FOR the past 21 years, one name has stood out in Hong Kong’s short list of prominent rock bands – Beyond. Beyond has been the band that every aspiring Chinese rock musician looks up to, and is inspired by.
Well, not anymore. The band, comprising guitarist Paul Wong Kun Jong, bassist Wong Ka Keung and drummer Yip Sai Weng, has finally decided to call it a day. It will be holding a series of farewell concerts this year in Hong Kong and possibly around Asia.
The news is hardly surprising. Although they got back together last year for a series of concerts to commemorate their 20th anniversary, each member has been working on individual projects for the past few years, and their last major studio album was some years ago.
The fact that the band has managed to be successful over the years is actually a rarity in Hong Kong’s vastly commercial and Cantopop industry where looks precede talent.

Hong Kong rock band Beyond: (from left)bassist Wong Ka Keung, drummer Yip Sai Weng and guitarist Paul Wong Kun Jong.Over the course of their career, the band has faced numerous trials and obstacles, including having to self-fund and personally sell their first underground album, and even having to cope with the tragic death of their leader and lead vocalist/composer Wong Ka Kui (Ka Keung’s elder brother) in 1993.
According to the band, the break-up has been on the cards for quite some time now. “We originally wanted to hold our farewell concerts last year, but we could not get the dates at the venue we wanted,” said Ka Keung in Cantonese.
During the exclusive interview with the band in Genting Highlands recently, the trio explained that they were quitting the band because it was growing harder to divide their time between the band and their own projects.
“When we got back together to hold the 20th anniversary concerts last year, we realised that we just could not cope with the schedule. We did not have enough time to handle both Beyond and our own projects, so we all decided that we should just call it a day,” said Ka Keung, who did most of the talking during the interview.
“Each of us has our own dream and ambitions, and even if we’re not in a band together, we can still pursue those dreams.”
They also wanted to quit while they are ahead. As Paul said: “We just don’t want to keep using the name Beyond. We want our fans to be happy, and we wanted to quit while they were still happy with us.”
Although by Western rock band standards the band has been fairly clean-cut, it has not been all plain-sailing.
“I think that among Asian bands, we’ve had some of the biggest obstacles and toughest challenges. We’ve lost our most important member, and that accident was a huge tragedy for all of us,” Ka Keung said, referring to the Ka Kui’s death in 1993.
Ka Kui and Sai Weng started Beyond in 1983, with Paul and Ka Keung joining the band later. In 1993, while filming a TV show in Japan, Ka Kui suffered serious head injuries after a studio set gave way under him. After remaining in a coma for seven days, Ka Kui passed away at the age of 31.
Ka Kui’s death marked the end of an era for Beyond, and the beginning of a whole new Beyond. After his death, the remaining three members decided to carry on. Their first post-Ka Kui album, Second Floor, Back Block, featured a Beyond sound that was vastly different from what they used to come up with.
“The reason why our music was different at the time was simply because Ka Kui was not around anymore. Before he died, Ka Kui wrote almost all our songs,” said Ka Keung. “Frankly speaking, our own compositions could never compare to his. But what is most important is that we never gave up. As long as we continued making our own kind of music, we were happy.”
The thing that saddens them the most is that there have been no new bands following in their footsteps.
Ka Keung lamented: “We’ve been around for 20 years. Why hasn’t that encouraged or inspired new bands to come out and challenge us? We are very disappointed about that. It’s as if all our effort has been wasted. We are sure that somewhere, there are bands that are even better than us. Why don’t they work harder to achieve their dreams?”
“Many of our friends are very talented musicians but many have given up music altogether. We are always sad when that happens because it seems like such a waste,” said Sai Weng.
Since all they would talk about was their love for music, it would seem as though these three friends would not be able to live without it. As Ka Keung put it: “Without music, this world would be a very sad place.”
Well said. And a world without Beyond would be equally sad for their fans.