words rachel mok

The life of Tats Lau Yee-Tat takes a surprising turn

‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.’ We often hear the famous verse from 2 Corinthians but when you actually get to witness the change in a man, it can be disconcerting, to say the least. Tats Lau Yee-Tat, half of the legendary rock duo Tats Ming Pair, became known as the goofy, off-beat and inarticulate comedy actor whose most memorable character was the pregnant woman in Stephen Chow’s Forbidden City Cop, after the duo split up in the early ’90s. But today when he greets me at Eutopas, a young and hip café/lady’s fashion showroom in Tsim Sha Tsui, he is the agile, cheerful, carefree and talkative man I would never have imagined him to be. Being a follower of Tats Ming Pair and their solo careers for most of my life, I am stunned as I sink onto my chair.

‘Shall I introduce you the members of the band first?’ He is even accommodating. He is referring to Love Mission, a gospel band he formed and with whom he released the debut EP Tats Lau @ Love Mission recently. Lau converted to Christianity last September (he was previously a Buddhist) through a friend Eddie, once the head of a paparazzi team of a prominent HK gossip magazine. The two had been close friends years ago – he was the driver for Lau’s wedding. ‘But he was having problems with drugs and almost went on to commit suicide. I distanced myself from him until last year when I bumped into him again in a press conference for Team of Miracles.’ The 46-year-old Lau starred in a Christian film last year, although he wasn’t a believer at the time. ‘I invited Eddie to my home and he brought two friends along – they ended up giving me a marathon preaching and I was convinced.’ But when director Adrian Kwan was told Lau had converted to Christianity, he joked, ‘How can that monster become a Christian?’

Lau has not felt uncomfortable in his new life adventure at all. He says he used to be quite a negative person – especially in the last few years when his musical career took a dive: His last band, Tats Lau and Dream, almost emptied his bank account. Now he is more stress-free and happy. ‘I was actually quite happy [when I went to the church for the first time]. Not because I am a public figure… Well, maybe a little bit, but I did feel welcomed there.’ He met his band mates through friends at the church. ‘Amazingly they are all under 30,’ laughs the musician. Vocalist Charis has been a lifelong fan of Cantopop queen Sammi Cheng, drummer Ying Ki grew up as a rocker, bassist Man Kit – the hardest working one according to Lau – is a classical guitarist who counts My Chemical Romance among his favourite bands, and keyboardist Rita is a Ryuichi Sakamoto fan who has released an album with her own indie group Lazy:Mode.

‘This is our first CD. I wrote all the songs and lyrics myself, because I thought it would be more efficient as we are newly formed and need some time to get familiar with each others styles,’ Lau says of Tats Lau @ Love Mission. He wrote and recorded the first three songs on the six-track EP in a record-breaking two days – in the past, he has struggled with a melody for a month. ‘If everything goes well, we hope to release a CD every season. I hope everyone will write their own songs for the group – Man Kit has written his first already.’ The songs on the EP are much more approachable than Lau’s solo works in the past few years. The dreamy, atmospheric guitar layers and Charis’ angelic singing remind people of the like of Mazzy Star and will easily please listeners, Christians or not. ‘People don’t listen to gospel music because they think it is old-fashioned,’ claims Lau. ‘But if the melody is beautiful, they will still order it in a karaoke lounge.’

Ultimately Lau hopes that Love Mission will become a message, an organization. ‘In future, we won’t just talk about religion in our music. We are about love. And if other members hear their own calling, I hope they will release their solo records under Love Mission as well.’ But that doesn’t mean the legendary guitarist will vanish from the mainstream pop scene. He doesn’t deny the possibility of another reunion concert by Tats Ming Pair. ‘But I won’t sing gospel there. It would be odd.’ I remind him Wong used to be a Christian as well, but stopped going to church after entering showbiz. ‘Oh yeah… I hope he can revert. That would be cool.’

Tats Lau @ Love Mission is now available in stores.