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Roman Tam
Chinese name	羅文 (Traditional)
Chinese name	罗文 (Simplified)
Pinyin	luó wén (Mandarin)
Jyutping	lo4 man4 (Cantonese)
Birth name	Tam Pak-Sin (譚百先)
Ancestry	Jiaping, Guangxi, China
Origin	Hong Kong
Born	16 February 1950(1950-02-16) Guangzhou, China
Died	18 October 2002 (aged 52) Hong Kong
Other name(s)	Law Kee (羅記) Godfather of Cantopop
Occupation	Singer, Actor
Genre(s)	Cantopop, Hong Kong English pop
Instrument(s)	Singing
Label(s)	EMI BMG
Years active	1960–1996
Associated acts	Roman and the Four Steps
Awards Golden Needle Award of RTHK 1991 Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award

Roman Tam, known by the stage name Lo Man (羅文), nickname Law Kee (蘿記) was a renowned cantopop singer. He is regarded as the "Godfather of Cantopop".^[1]

Career

Tam was seen as a cultural icon to Chinese communities around the world (including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and, later Mainland China). He had a string of hits in a career spanning 30 years. He was well-respected for his singing skills, his positive outlooks, and his insistence on correct pronunciations. He was also groundbreaking for being the first major Hong Kong singer to pose in drag and to pose in nude.

Born in Guangzhou, China with family roots in Jiaping, Guangxi, he later immigrated to Hong Kong in 1962 at the age of 12. After forming a short-lived band known as Roman and the Four Steps,^[2] he became a contract singer under studios term at Television Broadcasts Limited. He briefly switched to Asia Television Ltd in the early 1990s.

During the 1990s he accepted many budding singers as his students. Some of which who became famous included Joey Yung and Ekin Cheng. He had sang many well known songs for various TV series including Below the Lion Rock and the 1982 TVB TV series The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

Tam was unmarried and was rumoured to be gay. He died in Hong Kong at the Queen Mary Hospital from liver cancer. The title of "Godfather of Cantopop" was confirmed in his obituary.

Collaborations

Roman Tam counts Jenny Tseng as his dearest friend and best partner. He recorded a series of duets with Jenny Tseng for the television drama hit "Legend of Condor Heroes." Jenny Tseng still pays tribute to Roman Tam during her concerts.

References

External links

• BBC News Obituary