今年《勁歌金曲》總選賽果遭全城圍插，但當晚高潮，一代樂壇天后葉蒨文（Sally）帶領Boy’Z及狄易達勁歌熱舞獻唱《信自己》，令全場歌手站立致敬，也令到觀眾回味。

踏入龍年，不少歌神歌后歸位開騷，Sally亦正式於《明周》宣布，九月與林建岳東亞娛樂合作舉行紅館演唱會，自零五年港樂個唱後，Sally蟄伏七年，縱然多次被傳與林子祥關係有變，Sally從沒回應或澄清。今年，樂迷難得有機會再欣賞天后靚聲，《明周》亦難得有機會了解阿Lam與Sally十五年來的婚姻關係。

葉蒨文與林子祥於九六年結婚，九八年夫妻檔舉行《林子祥葉蒨文好氣連場演唱會》後，Sally一度暫別樂壇；零二年，Sally再推出專輯及於零四年舉行了入行廿五年演唱會；但零五年港樂個唱後，她又在樂壇「失蹤」。外間以為Sally退休，她卻說從沒想過這兩個字，「當時我認為唱完後，該停一停，或許年紀成熟了，漸漸認識到人生得一次，在這世界該做些什麼呢？是想學習多些充實自己。我好幸運有自己的事業，可以令我有時間追求有興趣的事，我想認識人與人之間關係及人的複雜，這數年來就看了很多英文書關於人，我是好開心可以不斷增值，這數年來很充實，對我成長幫助很大。」

五十歲與感動

一直以來，不斷有主辦商聯絡Sally開騷，為何今年才答應復出？鬼妹仔Sally毫不諱言與踏進五十歲有關，「之前很多人問我何時開演唱會，我會答：『可能五十歲啦！』因為我想要是五十歲不開，『啲嘢』會跌，哈！（跌什麼？聲線？）聲線可以保持，但體力在五十後怕維持不到，我常跟自己說：『要是我五十歲還有精神，我希望再見一見我的朋友、歌迷！』」數年來Sally遊歷各國，也有另一因素促使她重踏舞台，她說：「我少出來本以為人家會忘記我，但當我愈去得多地方，譬如我去到美國一間偏遠小餐廳，我以為那些華僑會未聽過我的歌，但總會有人走來跟我說：『你是不是葉蒨文呀？為何來這兒吃飯呀？我好鍾意聽你唱歌，何時出來再唱呀？』有時去泰國、越南也是；行街買衫都一定問你一句『幾時唱歌呀？』最初不信，他們都聽過我的歌？還記得我這個人？我好感動囉！真的有人想聽，那我就要開心唱。」

問老公林子祥支不支持她復出，Sally說：「其實他叫了我很多年，常說：『為何你不唱呢？』他一直鼓勵我，而每當我看他做騷，又會感覺喜歡唱，或許當時我沒有唱的心態，但現在有了心理準備。」被問及結婚十五年怎維持關係？Sally傻更更喊了出來說：「是嗎？十五年這麼久嗎？」之後再說：「這回事是一個謎！我告訴你，跟任何人怎樣保持感情，都是一個謎。最重要是溝通，或許是我們都互相尊重，尊重彼此的空間、彼此的看法，是互相了解、體諒。」

有高低沒分開 

至於問Sally近年慢慢從高爾夫球愛上打羽球，她即說：「現在更喜歡拉丁舞添！」但這些嗜好阿Lam都不會陪她，Sally即說：「對呀！那就大家有各自的嗜好囉！他有他的，我有我的，不要夾硬拼在一起，可以一起做的一齊做，不能一起做的，就追求自己的興趣。」因為嗜好不同，令阿Lam與Sally多次傳出婚變，直接問她怎看這些傳聞，Sally沒半點動氣的說：「我信佛，當初亦問過寧波車，因為最初也被人家的說話影響到，我問寧波車怎樣改變人家想法時，他說：『你錯了！不要想改人家的想法，控制自己就行了！』That’s a good thing!（聽到謠言時，嬲嗎？）Of course!一定會不開心，我不能說會開心，但現在再沒被報道影響。人家想法我沒法控制，自己認為不重要就算。澄清？只會讓他們有機會寫多一遍。」

談及十五年來婚姻關係有否經歷高低潮，她爽快的說：「有！大把！我們的感情就像過山車般，一定會這樣啦！任何人的感情都會這樣，當然跟我的脾氣也有關係，我是大脾氣、有情緒、有性格的人，特別我們做這個圈，情緒一定大起大落，但……這才好玩呀！哈！（出現過婚姻危機嗎？）危機？Risk? Every marriage has risk！有個美國笑話很好笑，就是有一個統計，每一段婚姻有百分之五十機會最後會在一起的，哈！所以分開或最後一起各有相等機會。坦白說，感情一定有波動。（那最壞時，有分開的衝動嗎？）Didn’t go in to that! Didn’t go in to that conversation!感情講緣份，你跟這個人有緣，就會繼續有緣相處接觸，無緣就無緣。當然，你要俾心機、俾時間，主要看你想怎做。」那Sally滿意現階段的婚姻嗎？「我滿意任何事！其實我好易滿足，讓我最滿足是睡一場好覺，我什麼都可以！」

事隔多年再上《勁歌》，Sally坦言替一班後輩辛苦，「開心是不需坐在候選歌手席上對著觀眾，記得以前在紅館又緊張又凍，我總抱著暖水袋及紙巾，很想快點回家，又緊張自己能否獲獎，好清楚記得這些！所以，看見一班候選歌手，是替他們辛苦。」至於金曲金獎頒給林峯引起非議，Sally說：「林峯不紅嗎？我以為林峯好紅，在化妝間不停有人說林峯好紅。（聽過《Chok》嗎？）《Chok》？無！但我什麼歌也沒聽，哈！新一代現今樂壇，我最欣賞張敬軒，不同的頒獎禮有不同評判，誰選林峯，一定是他很鍾意林峯。我相信當年我拿最受歡迎女歌星時，都有人反對，因為梅艷芳、林憶蓮、王菲、鄭秀文都一樣hit，我認為獎得一個，不要灰心，你拿不了，不代表你不hit！」

阿Lam收埋好歌

今年東亞亦有意為Sally推出新碟，但她堅持找到首好歌才會出，林子祥從前寫了一首《零時十分》令Sally一炮而紅，問近水樓台的林太為何不找老公寫歌，是否阿Lam一如傳聞般，當年因傷心才寫出好歌，結了婚反而沒靈感，Sally滿有自信的說：「No!這是錯！數年前我還跟Eric Kwok討論這問題，Eric突然問我：『阿Lam是否像我般可以隨時寫歌？他寫歌需要悲慘還是開心？』阿Lam都可以隨時寫歌，他寫了很多歌，只是放埋一邊不拿出來。為何他不給我唱？因為有時我聽這些歌，會說：『這首麻麻地喎！』是嬲到不讓我唱，哈！不過，近來他改編一首人家的歌，是嚇我一跳，真的好好聽！」Sally阿Lam如此相處，怎會有問題？

歌神歌后歸位

除了葉蒨文外，龍年紅館個唱檔期，亦喜見本地樂壇多位神級歌手開騷，當中歌神許冠傑飽歷喪兄之痛後，高志森已替阿Sam申請檔期，事隔三年再開個唱；而剛獲取港台金針獎的甄妮，雖然曾聲言前年的《愛SHOW Farewell演唱會》是最後一次，但據悉她已成功申請檔期在九月開騷；至於憑《桃姐》一片獲四冠影后的葉德嫻也成功爭贏肥媽、陳潔靈與葉麗儀於十一月的檔期，事隔七年再開個人演唱會。

明報周刊

Mingpao Exclusive Interview with Sally Yeh: 15 year marriage similar to riding a roller coaster; husband George Lam encourages her return to the music industry.

Despite this past year’s JSG Top Ten Awards Ceremony results being heavily criticized by practically the entire nation, there was one particular highlight of the entire show that was welcomed by all audiences – former Canto-pop Queen Sally Yeh (葉蒨文) leading the group BOY’Z and singer/dancer Tat Dik in a special performance of her classic hit “Believe in Yourself” 《信自己》. Not only did her performance cause all the artists present to give her a standing ovation, it also provided HK music fans with a treasured memory.

Entering the year of the Dragon, many former music industry ‘kings’ and ‘queens’ will be returning to the stage to perform for HK music fans – Sally Yeh will be among them! During this exclusive interview with Mingpao, Sally took the opportunity to officially announce that in September of this year, she will be collaborating with Peter Lam’s East Asia Entertainment Group (EA) to hold a concert at HK Coliseum. After her last concert in 2005 (which she collaborated with the HK Philharmonic Orchestra), Sally has been ‘hibernating’ for the past 7 years, rarely appearing at public events – even during the times when rumors about her marriage to singer George Lam being ‘on the rocks’ were especially strong, Sally never bothered to come out and explain or respond to the rumors. This year (2012), HK music fans got the rare opportunity to once again enjoy the Canto-pop Queen’s beautiful voice – not only that, Mingpao Weekly also had the rare opportunity to sit down with Sally and understand on a deeper level her 15 year marriage to George Lam.

Sally Yeh and George Lam married in 1996; in 1998, after the conclusion of their special “George Lam / Sally Yeh Good Luck Concert”《林子祥葉蒨文好氣連場演唱會》, Sally left the music industry temporarily. In 2002, Sally released a new album and in 2004, she held a series of concerts to commemorate her 25th year in the music industry – however, after her concert collaboration with the HK Philharmonic Orchestra in 2005, Sally once again ‘disappeared’ from the music industry. All this time, the outside world thought that Sally had ‘retired’, however during our exclusive interview, Sally expressed that the word ‘retirement’ never once crossed her mind: “Back then [after the 2005 concert], I just felt that it was the right time for me to stop and rest. Perhaps because as I started to get older, my thinking matured and I started to slowly realize that we only have one opportunity to live life – given that reality, I started to think about what I really wanted to do while alive in this world and came to the conclusion that I really wanted to learn more things and enrich my life. I’ve been very lucky all these years to have a career of my own that has enabled me to pursue things that interest me – I really wanted to understand the various relationships between people as well as the complications involved with life in general. These past few years, I’ve read a lot of English books that talk about people and their relationships. I’m very happy that I’ve been able to continually increase my knowledge – these past few years have been very fulfilling and have really helped me to grow as a person.”

50 years old and feeling moved

Throughout the past few years, Sally has continued to receive countless offers from various organizers to perform at shows, so why did she choose to return only this year? Sally unhesitatingly responded that it had to do with her approaching the 50 year old milestone: “Before, a lot of people asked me when I would hold another concert and I would respond to them: ‘Maybe when I turn 50!’ because I thought that if I don’t do it by that age, certain ‘things’ would ‘falter’…haha!” (Falter? Your voice?) “No, my voice could be maintained, however I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to maintain my physical stamina and energy after turning 50. I always tell myself: ‘If I still have vitality and energy by the time I turn 50, I definitely wish to come out and see my friends and fans!’”

During her time away from the industry, Sally had also done much traveling around the world. She expressed that her encounters during these travels were another motivating factor for her return to the industry: “Since I didn’t appear at events much anymore, I thought that perhaps people would have forgotten about me already, but it turns out that wasn’t the case – no matter which country I went to, people seemed to remember me. For example, one time, during my travels to the U.S., I was eating at a very small café in an isolated area, a place where I thought no one knew me, yet people would come up to me and ask: ‘Are you Sally Yeh? Why would you come here to eat? I love listening to you sing! When will you come out and sing for us again?’ When I went to Thailand and Vietnam, it was the same thing! Even when I went out shopping, I would always get asked: ‘When will you sing again?’ At first, I couldn’t believe it – all of them have heard my songs before? They still remember me? I was extremely moved! Since there were people out there who truly wanted to hear me sing again, then I happily obliged!”

Asked whether her husband George Lam supported her decision to return, Sally replied: “Actually, he has been telling me to return for many years already! He always asks me: ‘Why don’t you come out and sing again?’ He has encouraged me all along; every time I watch him perform, I would always feel that I still have a passion for singing – perhaps at that time, I didn’t feel I was ready to return, but now, I’m definitely prepared!” Having been married for 15 years already, how does Sally maintain such a strong relationship with her husband? Hearing this, Sally laughed and asked: “Really? It’s been 15 years already? That long?” after which she replied: “Actually, it’s a bit of a mystery to me! In my opinion, how to go about maintaining a long-lasting relationship with anyone is a mystery in and of itself. The important thing is communication; perhaps for us, we’ve been able to maintain because of our mutual respect for one another – we mutually respect each other’s space, way of thinking, etc. and because we understand each other, we are able to show appreciation and empathy for each other.”

 Ups and downs, but no separation 

Over the years, Sally has developed a fondness for golf, which slowly turned into a fondness for badminton – asked about her hobbies, Sally immediately interjected: “Right now, my new ‘love’ is Latin dancing!” It is understood that Sally’s husband George does not share the same hobbies, so he never accompanies her to them: “Yes, that’s true! We each have our own hobbies and interests – he has his, I have mine – there’s no point in forcing them together! If there are things we can do together, we do it, but if there aren’t, then we pursue our individual interests.” Because Sally and George don’t share the same interests or hobbies, there have been many times over the years where rumors have surfaced about problems with their marriage. Asked directly about this, Sally graciously answered: “I admit that the rumors did affect me a little at first — as a Buddhist, I asked a spiritual teacher in the past how I could go about changing what people thought about me. He replied: ‘You’re wrong to think that way! Don’t be concerned about trying to change other people’s way of thinking – instead, concentrate on controlling your own thoughts.’ That’s a good thing!” (When you heard the rumors at first, were you upset?) “Of course! Anyone hearing such things would be unhappy, but at least now, I don’t let the reports affect me. I have no way of controlling what other people think, so as long as I feel it’s not important, then I let it go. Responding to the rumors and trying to clarify would only make things worse, as it would give them [the tabloids] the opportunity to write even more stuff.”

Asked whether she experienced many ups and downs in her 15 year marriage, Sally candidly replied: “Yes! A lot! Our relationship is like a roller coaster, so there would be ups and downs – actually, many people’s relationships are like this. Of course, my temper has a bit to do with it as well – I’m a bit tempermental, emotional, and have a strong personality – especially working in this industry, we are bound to experience huge fluctuations emotionally, but….that’s what makes it fun! Haha!” (Ever encountered marriage crisis?) “Crisis? Risk? Every marriage has risk! I once heard about a survey that said for every marriage, there’s a 50% chance that the couple will remain together in the end – so that means for every marriage, there is an equal chance of separating or remaining together. I actually think it’s quite funny! To be honest, every relationship will have fluctuations.” (In the worse case scenario, were there ever any thoughts of separating?) “Didn’t go into that! Didn’t go into that conversation! Relationships are really about having affinity – if you have affinity with a person, then you will continue to be together, if there’s no affinity, then there isn’t. Of course, you still have to work hard at it and be willing to invest time – in the end, it depends on which path you want to take.” With that said, is Sally satisfied with her marriage at this period of her life? “I’m satisfied with everything! Actually, I’m the type who is easily satisfied – let me have a good sleep and I’ll be happy with anything!”

Appearing at the JSG awards ceremony again after so many years, Sally admits that she empathizes with the younger generation artists: “I’m happy that I no longer have to sit up there facing the audiences! I remember in the past when we attended the awards at the HK Coliseum – I would sit there nervous and cold, holding a warm water pouch and tissues, wishing I were at home! I also remember clearly how I would stress about whether I’d get a particular award or not. So when I see the younger generation artists now, I can definitely understand what they are going through.”

With regard to the Gold Song Gold award being given to Raymond Lam and causing heavy criticism, Sally replied: “Is Raymond Lam not popular? I thought Raymond Lam was very popular because back in the dressing room, people were repeatedly saying how popular he was.” (Have you heard the song 《Chok》?) “《Chok》? No! But I haven’t listened to any songs at all! Ha! In terms of the current generation artists, I admire Hins Cheung the most. Every awards show has different judges and criteria – the person who chose Raymond Lam must have done so because he/she really likes him. Back in the day, when I received the ‘Most Popular Female Singer’ award, I’m sure there were people who opposed because the other female artists – such as Anita Mui, Sandy Lam, Faye Wong, Sammi Cheng – were just as popular during that time as well. My thought is that there is only 1 award, so if you don’t receive it, don’t be discouraged – just because you don’t get the award does not mean you are not popular!”

George Lam ‘hides’ the good songs

EA has shown interest in working with Sally on releasing a new album this year, however she insists that she won’t come out with a new album until she has a good song for it. Many years ago, George Lam wrote the song 《零時十分》[“Ten After Midnight”] for Sally, which shot her to fame – with the advantage of being married to George now, why doesn’t Sally just have him write her a good song? Is it because of the ‘rumor’ that back in those days, George was only able to write good songs because he was unhappy [with his previous relationship] and now that he is married, all his inspiration is gone? Sally confidently replied: “No! That’s wrong! Actually, many years ago, I had discussed the same matter with Eric Kwok – that time, Eric had asked whether George is able to write songs any time he wanted to or whether he needs to be in a certain mood (for example, happy or sad). The answer is that George can write songs any time he wants – in fact, he has written many songs throughout the past couple years, it’s just that he has them ‘hidden’ somewhere. Why doesn’t he let me sing those songs he wrote? Because sometimes, when I listen to the song, I’ll tell him: ‘Hm, that song is not too good!’ – he’s probably mad so he won’t let me sing it, haha! But recently, he’s been working on re-writing a song that someone else sang before and it really took me by surprise because the song is really really good!” With the way Sally and George interact, how could this couple possibly be going through marriage problems?

Mingpao Weekly, Issue 2255 | Translated by: llwy12