Monday 20 July 2009

Dancing on the moon - Fabulous Echoes


A masterpiece of High Kitsch ! This is a howler, a welcome break from solemn posturing and fake gravitas. The Cold War and the Space race can't have been all bad if you could "do the twist and the Mashed Potato". (hit dances of the 1960's). Hilarious as this clip is,it's a Cultural History Artefact.The Fabulous Echoes were the biggest pop band to come out of Hong Kong in those days. They were created by three Filipinos (brothers and cousin, I think) with outrageous personalities, as you can hear. Filipinos were the backbone of "western" pop in East Asia, and influenced Cantopop. Teresa Campio ! There were lots of other local bands and singers, many more original and talented like Sam Hui, The Mods, The Thunders etc. but the Fabulous Echoes are the mostt famous because they reached an English speaking audience and ended up in the US.. Lots of clips on youtrube. The Thunders were Hong Kong an Macau Portuguese band doing original music, a world that's completely lost now because they emigrated. the photos on youtube are a historic record! So in a way, this clip fits the eclectic cross-cultural fusion this blog does. Besides, what's the point of life if it isn't fun?  But if you want more "off the wall" click on the label "FUN". Lots more on this site about Hong Kong, Macau, South Chinese culture, music, and movies. My big thing is the way difdferent cultures mix and cross, and also theway cultures maintain their identity. Please explore this site, one of the few with so much material in English.

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