Dear Jane is a Hong Kong band that consists of Tim Wong (lead vocalist), Jackal Ng (bass), Howie Yung (guitar/vocals) and Nice Lai (drums).

Dear Jane
Background information
OriginHong Kong
GenresPop-rock
Punk rock
Pop-punk
LabelsWarner Music
MembersTim Wong - Lead Vocal
Jackal Ng - Bassist
Howie Yung - Guitarist
Nice Lai - Drummer
Past membersAdam Diaz - Guitarist
WebsiteWarnerMusic.com.hk/Dear-Jane

History

edit

Dear Jane was formed in 2003. Members Adam Diaz and Howie Yung had previously been in an indie band called "Fuse". The band's name refers to the term Dear John letter but from the point of view of a male writing to a female. The name signifies their music highlighting the point of view of a male.[1]

Dear Jane was first signed by See Music Ltd. In 2008, the contract was discontinued and the band was later signed by Music Nation Ltd., the same record company as Aaron Kwok. In 2011, the band moved to Warner Music.

Mainland China censorship

edit

The Dear Jane song Galactic Repairman was released in 2020 to great popularity in Hong Kong. In July 2021, it was reported that a Hong Kong secondary school, the ELCHK Yuen Long Lutheran Secondary School, had punished students for singing the song during a school singing competition, claiming the lyrics contained political themes. The Education Bureau of the Hong Kong government reportedly warned the school that the song might violate the national security law imposed on Hong Kong by China in 2020.[2][3]

It was subsequently revealed that Chinese streaming service QQ Music had censored the song in response to the incident.[4] A month later, the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced that it would establish a list of songs banned for "illegal content".[5] Dear Jane's song was thereafter taken off the air in China.[6]

In January 2022, there were unconfirmed allegations that DJs from RTHK, Hong Kong's public broadcaster, had been barred from playing any songs from 10 artists, including Dear Jane.[6]

Discography

edit
  • "100" (2006) - by See Music Ltd.
  • "XOXO" (2009) - by Music Nation Ltd.
  • "GAMMA" (2011)
  • "Yellow Fever!" (2012)
  • "Dear Jane (Special Edition)" (2014)
  • "Unavoidable" (2013)[7]
  • 101 (2016)
  • Limerence (2020)

References

edit
  1. ^ "Dear Jane" (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Warner Music. 藝人簡介. Archived from the original on October 4, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  2. ^ "Song hits a sour note". The Standard. 9 July 2021.
  3. ^ Chan, Ho-him; Yeung, Ngai (8 July 2021). "Hong Kong pupils punished for singing Dear Jane hit, which included lyrics school deemed sensitive". South China Morning Post.
  4. ^ Lee, Peter (8 January 2022). "The 10 songs that got Hongkongers through 2021". Hong Kong Free Press.
  5. ^ Leung, Pak-hei (12 August 2021). "Ban looms on songs with illegal content". The Standard.
  6. ^ a b "RTHK asked to clarify list of 10 banned singers". The Standard. 26 January 2022.
  7. ^ 邓紫棋与茜拉惺惺相惜李克勤闻演协闪人 新浪网-22 Feb 2014 音乐会由Dear Jane率先出场,唱出《无可避免》、《到此为止》、《不许你注定一人》等多首流行歌曲,为音乐会打响头炮。 官恩娜紧随其后,与Dear Jane一起合唱英文歌《Way Back Into Love》,气氛热络。
edit