The life of most rock singers can be described as an endless round of recording, touring, taking a break, and writing new songs. But not He Yong - one of China's most influential rockers of the 1980s and 1990s.
When he transferred his interest from traditional Chinese instruments to guitar at 16, the rocker kept his creative fires burning by writing and recording his only album to date, Garbage Dump. He describes it as a "pretty exciting and naive album".
The 41-year-old will perform at the Midi Music Festival this May for the first time since the 1990s. "A number of people have asked where I've been and what I've been doing during my long absence from the public eye. I only can say that I broke down and have now collected myself."
The Beijing native, known for his songs filled with childhood nostalgia and the angst expressed in his hard-hitting lyrics and beats, is credited with helping pioneer China's punk rock music.
His Bell and Drum Towers, with input from his father, a veteran sanxian (three-string plucked instrument) player, is still rated as a classic song about life in Beijing's courtyard houses. In 1994, He performed at Hong Kong together with rockers Dou Wei, Zhang Chu, the Tang Dynasty band and others, marking a milestone in Chinese rock history.
The death of his best friend, bassist Zhang Ju, in 1995 was a big blow. "I got drawn into the underground music world. I felt a contradiction in mainstream performances," he says. "Those days were terrible. My life was in chaos. I drank a lot and stopped making music."
In 2002, he attempted to set himself alight at his apartment in Beijing and was put under treatment. "I was totally out of control that night," he recalls.
Huang Liaoyuan, one of his long-time friends and a veteran music producer, says the singer has matured, "but you can still feel his innocence".
Support from friends and family has helped He make a comeback. "Music offers me a way to cope ... I'm now working on a new album. No rush, though," he says.
China Daily
(China Daily 04/27/2010 page19)