More about Bowie...

Many of you may know Bowie as an actor but did you know, he started out in the entertainment industry as a drummer then later a singer? Or did you know that he was a policeman even before this?

He first worked as an office boy in an American company, where his boss was an Englishman. His boss could not pronounce his name [林展平] so he came up with an English name, Bowie. When he was going to enter the entertainment circle, he decided to use this name and the Cantonese equivalent (in pronunciation) of 保怡, meaning to ensure happiness.

Later on, he applied to be a fireman but found it boring and decided to be a policeman instead. Due to his friends' and colleagues' encouragement, he decided to join a band. If you were to search for him on Youtube, you'll probably find some videos of him playing in a band as a drummer for TsaiShing. He knows how to play the guitar too. Here's proof of it: http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/JC2WPmGyllU/. (The time is about 5.05.) I think he may know how to play the piano too but I'm not sure at all about this.

Later on, while drumming, his singing caught the attention of some people at the music company he worked at. He was signed on to be a singer and his first album 《Natural》 was released in 1989, the same year as well-known singer William So (who was also his co-star in Healing Hands [妙手仁心]). In his first album, he had a duet, 《偷窥》 (originally TsaiShing's English song《Eye To Eye》), with Prudence Liu [刘美君] which was quite well-received. This debut album was followed later by two other albums 《Make My Day》 in 1991 and 《流水飘》, which I believe is an album containing hits from the previous two albums in addition to some new songs, in 1992.

Bowie was forced by his company to sing 'pop' songs but it was not his style so he refused to continue singing. Thus, he turned to acting in various movies and later, drama serials, getting his first break in The Greed of Man [大时代] where he acted in a small but memorable role, Chan To-To [陈滔滔]. Bowie later went on to star in several big hits such as Files of Justice [壹号皇庭], Untraceable Evidence [鑑证实录] and Healing Hands [妙手仁心], all three of which starred Flora Chan [陈慧珊]. However, they were paired up only in the last two. After so many years, Flora is still seen as one of Bowie's best on-screen partners, perhaps matched only by Gigi.

In 2004, Bowie starred in his first costume drama, War and Beauty [金枝欲孽]. Surprisingly, he was awarded "My Favourite Actor in a Leading Role" [本年度我最喜爱的男主角] for this role. It was the first time he had gotten this award in all his years as an actor. Almost after that, he signed a management contract with TVB, causing many to suspect that he signed the contract in exchange for the award. However, Bowie stated that that was not the case.

The producer of War and beauty Johnathan Chik [戚其義] rode on the immense popularity of the series to produce Dance of Passion [火舞黄沙] which is set in the 1930s. Many of the War cast, such as Bowie, Moses and Gigi, were part of the new cast too. However, it failed to live up to the hype surrounding it. Johnathan then made another attempt, this time, a modern 80-episode-long Gem of Life [珠光宝气]. Due in part to the series, which had many business talks and arguments, airing during the economic crisis, and the length of the series, many were put off. Viewership was low, with the first episode peaking at 37 points and then trailing off after that. Some felt that it was due in part to the viewership of those watching the series in high-definition (HD) not being counted in. However, due to these series, his pairings with Gigi Lai and recently, Maggie Siu (a good friend of his) hit off with the audience. He attended many functions with them, especially Gigi with whom he won Best Couple Award at the 2007 China/HK 10th Entertainment Awards.

Amid his rise in fame as an actor, Bowie released an E.P., 《Be Happy》(otherwise known as 《爱不出口》) in 2002 where he composed the melody for two of the songs 《一秒一千字》and 《天上有地下无》. (Just a quick fact, the title, Be Happy, is also Bowie's motto!) Then in 2004, to link up with the success of War, he released another album 《梦迴欲孽》, where he had duets with Gigi Lai in《砒霜》, Maggie Siu in 《挚友》 (It was reportedly to cheer her up due to her breakup with Ekin Cheng, whom Bowie has collaborated with in Always Ready [随时候命].) and Kenix Kwok in 《又再偷窥》. He also composed the melody for 《直航机》 which is the theme song for 永安旅游特辑 and wrote the lyrics in 《星期日》, a light-hearted song incorporating some rapping which he sang together with good friends, Bobby Au-yeung and Yoyo Mung. Sadly, he has been quoted as saying that he has no plans for a sixth album.


Note:
Credits go to Bowie's website and forum, 保怡森林@bowielam.com and Wikipedia for some of the information.
I read the rest of the information from various sources which I have no idea of its reliability so forgive me if some of the above information is incorrect (please correct me if so).