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The history of her career is quite long. It began in 1985, when she was only a nineteen-year-old girl. Sandy was born in Hong Kong on April 26th, 1966. In 1982, while Sandy was still a grade school student, her best friend asked her to try out as disc jockey at the Hong Kong Commercial Radio Ltd. (CR). Her friend was rejected, but CR decided to hire Sandy as their part-time disc jockey (DJ). Back then, she had a nickname called "611". She was a popular DJ at that time, since being a DJ was every teenagers' dream. She became a full-time DJ in 1984, and in the same year, she joined CBS/SONY Hong Kong Ltd. as a contracted singer. In 1985, Sandy released her debut Cantonese album titled [Lam Yik Lin]. At this period of time, Sandy's fashion tastes and singing skill were mediocre. The choice of her songs were mostly Japanese cover versions. Luckily her producer, Fung Ken Fai, was supporting her tremendously. He chose many great songs for Sandy to perform and most of the Hong Kong audience began to recognize her as the future star! Sandy's current image was very Japanese style. Not long after Feng, another influential person came into Sandy's life. He was Clarence Hui, her producer and ex-lover. One Clarence stepped in, he discovered a lot of problems and advised Sandy on singing, dressing, dieting, and dancing. He made her quit smoking, and forced her to work out, because Sandy was known as a "fat" singer! Meanwhile, like many other singers in Hong Kong, Sandy became a part-time actress for Radio Television Hong Kong Ltd (RTHK). In 1986, Sandy participated in Television Broadcasting Hong Kong Ltd.(TVB)'s "Sunday Yum Li Dim" music broadcasting. Sandy also hosted the "Tokyo Music Festival" and the "Japan Red & White Music Competition" in Hong Kong. As a newcomer, Sandy had to do whatever she could to gain public exposure, so that the audience would remember and recognize her. You could find her singing theme songs of various TV dramas, as well as several game shows and music shows. Finally in May, Sandy released her second Cantonese album [Let Alone] which received Platinum records. Since people knew more about her, Sandy quickly released her third Cantonese album [Yi Lin] in February of 1987, and received double Platinum records. In July of the same year, she released her fourth Cantonese album [Project Grey] which also received double Platinum records, too. The theme of this album was sad and wild. Sandy had a huge hair style, and it became her image at that time. Finally a new super star was born! Sandy's singing style was full of new elements in each of her albums, and made her even more special than the others. Her singing skill and style also improved a lot since her earlier days! The musicians she worked with were creative and outstanding, which made the name "Sandy" even bigger and brighter! Also, Sandy has become a 100% singer at this time. Previously Sandy thought to herself, "Do I really want to be a half actress and half singer?" At the end, she decided to contribute her time to making and spreading her music, because music is a big part of her life. Since then, Sandy rarely appeared on TV or in movies. In June of 1988, Sandy released her fifth Cantonese album [Ready]. It was the shocking album of the year. It was criticized by many people and the media, because one of the songs, [Sweat], was the very first Cantonese song with Jazz elements. The album [Ready] was Sandy's goal. She is one of those who are willing to try new things! The song, [Sweat], was produced by Anthony Lun. Although it was widely discussed by many people, [Ready] did not sell as well as the previous album. After Sandy really started her music career in HK, her producer and record company were not happy with Sandy's execution of her high notes. What happened is that Sandy went abroad to the U.S. to study among other music techniques, falsetto lessons, so she could experiment with more styles of music with a higher vocal range. Sandy studied at an undisclosed post-secondary institution in Maryland. She had then arrived back from the U.S. and re-entered the HK pop music scene with a venegance as a new-improved singer with new "Western" jazz techniques. Now in HK, Sandy is often referred to as the "Falsetto Queen". In July of the same year, Sandy signed a contract with Warner Music Hong Kong Ltd. (WEA). During that year, Sandy was a guest on the "Japanese Music Show" in Japan and the "Yokohama Music Festival" together with Japanese composer and singer Shinji Tanimura. WEA gave Sandy many chances to open herself up, and gain more musical knowledge! [City Rhythm - Part I], Sandy's sixth Cantonese album, was released the same year. It was produced in America and made Sandy to become the speaker for women. Sandy successfully changed her image from a sad-girl image to the current "city girl" image. Fast beat songs became hits in the Hong Kong music industry. Nobody had done what Sandy did. It was another breakthrough for that [City Rhythm - Part I] received a Platinum record within a day of release. In 1989, Sandy's seventh Cantonese Album [City Rhythm Part II - Fuir La Cite] was released. At this period of time, Sandy's music has evolved from the young, cute Japanese songs, to the fast-beat Western pop songs. Sandy's performance and singing skill were getting mature. Songs like [I Still Believe], [No, No, No], [A Love To Remember], and [Burn] were major hit songs. This was possible because of Fung Ken Fai, Clarence Hui, and Anthony Lun's efforts for the past years. "Sandy Lam" became a name that represents the new style of music that was deeply rooted into the audiences' hearts. 1990 was one of the most busiest year for Sandy. In January, Sandy was a guest on the "Japanese Music Show" representing Hong Kong. In August, Sandy participated in Dick Lee's album (released in Japan). The song [Lover's Tears] received great compliments from the Japanese audiences. Sandy's eighth Cantonese album [City Rhythm Part III - Faces And Places] was released and received double Platinum records within two weeks of its release! [Paradise In My Heart], [If I Go], and [Something About You] became hit songs that year! In December, Sandy released her debut Mandarin album [Home Again Without You] in Taiwan. It sold over 100,000 copies within a short period of time! The song [Home Again Without You] was a big hit in Taiwan and the remix versions of it were another smash hit in Hong Kong. Comparing to the other artists, Sandy was very lucky because she made it BIG in the Taiwanese market. Sandy Lam became another unforgettable name in Taiwan! In 1991, Sandy's ninth Cantonese album was released in Hong Kong and Japan at the same time. It was well received by the Japanese audience. The total sales at that time was over 130,000 copies. This album brought Sandy into another stage of music with one of her greatest partners, Dick Lee. Dick Lee co-produced most of the songs in the album. It was totally different from Hong Kong's popular music. Nevertheless, many songs like [Crazy], [Mercy], [Thank You], and [The Dreamer] were hit songs in HK. In November, Sandy joined Stardust Music Hong Kong Ltd., which took care of the production of her albums, and WEA took care of distribution and marketing. The biggest event that year was that Sandy finally held her FIRST concert for seven days! All the tickets were sold out within a short period of time. People were so eager to see Sandy on stage! It also showed that Sandy has become the new "Queen of Pop" of the 90's. On the other hand, many people wanted to see Sandy's "live" performance, because Sandy did not have enough air in her lungs to perform well. In addition, her stage performance was poor. Yet, of course, our beloved Sandy would not let anyone look down on her. Sandy took dancing lessons in America, and took singing lessons with several great musicians in HK. Sandy worked very hard and the concert, of course, became one of the best concerts in HK's history. The concert received great comments. Now, Sandy has finally become a beautiful butterfly in the air! Meanwhile, Sandy released five more albums this year, they are: [Memory Is Always Tender - Sandy Lam Collection I], [Memory Is Always Lively - Sandy Lam Collection II], [Sandy Lam In Concert 1991], second Mandarin [City Heart], and her tenth Cantonese album, the changing point in her singing career - the [Wildflower] album. Many people criticized that "the album's lyric was too difficult to understand", "there were not enough fast beat songs", and "it contained only ballads". People did not adjust to the change of style. The album did not sell well at all. It was a big bomb to Sandy - an unexpected result. However, DJs showed their support for Sandy on the radio; they were willing to play songs like [The Seed of Love], [Predestine], [Promise Me], and [Flower In The Wind] from the album, though not all of them topped the music charts. [Wildflower] was well received by Hong Kong's professional music community. They have chosen [Wildflower] to be the "Best Album of The Year". Songs like [Moonflower] and [Promise Me] entered the Japanese Billboard Magazine's J-Wave Top 100 Music Chart! [Promise Me] was once positioned at No.42, and [Moonflower] was at No.49. It was the first time for Chinese songs to enter a Japanese chart. This album has given Sandy and her audience another surprise. In March 1992, Sandy and her fans were celebrating the success of releasing eight albums in 1991, which sold over 1,850,000 copies in Asia, a record of six Platinum! Around October, Sandy released her eleventh Cantonese album This album included a lot more commercial elements, however, it did not sell well either. It was attacked by Hong Kong musicians that it was impossible for Sandy to satisfy both the Hong Kong audience and her goal at the same time. Sandy was a bit lost at the time and started to avoid attending Hong Kong music awards, because there were no hit songs from her! People were questioning why she didn't receive any awards. Some people even complained to RTHK about Sandy's absence. Sandy had to step out to calm peoples' anger. Since then, Sandy kept a low profile and exposure from the media. Instead of releasing eight albums, Sandy only released one album that year. But she wasn't getting lazy! She was spending most of her time working on her first Japanese album. At the end of the year, Sandy joined Rock Record Taiwan Ltd as one of its contracted singers ONLY for the Taiwanese market. In other words, Sandy has ended her contract with WEA HK. It took Sandy a while to decide which record company to sign with. Sandy finally joined Capital Artist Ltd. for marketing her albums in HK. In 1993 March, Sandy released her twelfth Cantonese album [Begin Again] after almost a year of abuse from the Hong Kong audience. Many songs topped the charts in Hong Kong including: [Begin Again], [So What Happens Now?], [One Day Remix '93], and [Shaken]. This album also received "IFPI Best Selling Award" from one of the music awards. Although some people claimed that she should promote and appear more, but Sandy remained a low profile. Sandy also released her third Mandarin album [Doesn't Matter Who I Am]. It was Sandy's first official album from ROCK. Songs like [It doesn't Matter Who I Am] and [Basic Instinct] became hit songs in Taiwan. In summer of that year, Sandy held her second concert in Hong Kong for ten days, and another five concerts in China in two different cities. The concerts in China were wild and received great comments from Chinese audience. However in Hong Kong, her concert tickets didn't sell as well as expected. There were rumors of that only the first and the last concerts were sold out. Yet, the concert received great comments from the viewers.
Finally, in March, Sandy released the first Japanese album called [Simple], and sold over 50,000 copies. This might be a small number, but as a foreigner singer, this is indeed a very good figure. It was one of the reasons why Sandy disappeared from the Hong Kong media for such a long time. In June, Sandy released her "once-a-year" Cantonese album, also her thirteenth album [Sandy '94]. The song [Determination] remix version topped No.1 on all of the music charts in Hong Kong within a short period of time. Also, songs like: [The Story of Chicago], [Who is So Good Like You?!], [Doomed/Sinking], [More of Those], and [Naked Secret] showed Sandy's great improvements. This album was recorded in Los Angeles, and was co-produced by Anthony Lun and Sandy. It was the first time Clarence Hui was absent from the producers' list. The media questioned that maybe the relationship between Clarence and Sandy got worse. There were also rumors that Sandy was about to leave Stardust Music, and people claimed that Sandy shouldn't do so, because Clarence had helped her so much. Sandy finally left Stardust Music and ended her contract with Capital Artists. It was a transition year for Sandy and she dealt with a lot of pressure. Since late 1993, Sandy has been hiding herself from the media. In 1995, she stayed mostly in Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Canada, USA, Korea, and many other countries, but not Hong Kong - where she belongs to. ROCK Hong Kong also announced that Sandy had become one of their contracted singer, which also ended the rumor about Sandy going back WEA or even PolyGram. During this time, Sandy was working hard on her albums in all of the languages I have mentioned before. In Chinese New Year of 1995, Sandy finally released her fourth Mandarin album [Love, Sandy]. She was a co-producer in this album with two other famous Taiwanese producer. It had been two years since Sandy last released a Mandarin album. It was a HUGE impact in Taiwan. The song [Scar] stayed on the KTVB Karaoke chart for more than three months around first and second position. Even the album itself stayed at the number one spot in Taiwan's IFPI Album Selling Chart for 12 consecutive weeks. It sold over 500,000 copies in Taiwan in the first few weeks. At the end of 1995, the official selling figure of [Love, Sandy] was over 800,000 copies. The selling figure up-to-date has reached 3,000,000 (3 millions) copies Asia wide! To Hong Kong standard, this album got 60 platinum records! Songs like [This and That], [I Heard That Love Had Returned], [It Matters To Me], [Suffer For You], and [The Shadow Lovers], all became hit songs in Taiwan. In Singapore's Hits Award 1995, Sandy won the "Best Producer Award" along with her co-porducers, Jim Lee and Terry Chou; Sandy also won the "Best Female Vocalist Award." Yet, she lost narrowly by only 4% to Faye Wong in the "Most Popular Female Singer" category. The album [Love, Sandy] was a great success for Sandy. This album also helped to gain more fans in Taiwan and Singapore and many other countries. This was all because of Sandy's hard work for the past two years. Sandy also mentioned to the media that she would stop doing promotion for albums. Sandy said promotion is the record company's job, her job is to produce the 'music'. Also, REAL music does not need promotions. Although the media was upset about that, but that is Sandy's choice - she rather be normal and quiet. Around March, Sandy released her new Japanese single in Japan! It was Sandy's 3rd Japanese single [Pieces of Mind]. However, Sandy didn't sing in Japanese, instead she sang in English. And few months later, Sandy released her the second Japanese album [Open Up] in Japan. The whole album was produced in New York, and produced by New York musicians and Sandy herself. [Open Up] included Japanese, English and Cantonese songs. Many people claimed that this is another all-time-greatest album. However, it is also one of the least known album of Sandy's collection... what a shame. But please keep in mind that, the Japanese record company is not producing this album anymore. In other words, there are limited of them left in the market... nearly none! So, unless you are really lucky, you won't be able to get a copy of it! After disappearing from Hong Kong audience for almost two year, Sandy finally released her fourteenth Cantonese album [Feeling Perfect] in January 1996. Although Sandy DID NOT SHOW UP AT ALL to promote her new Cantonese album, but with the mass commercial links from Rock Record through TV, radio and magazine, [Feeling Perfect] topped No.1 on the IFPI Chart in Hong Kong. The song [Cry] also topped the No.1 spot on the Commercial Radio Music Chart and many others as well within a week or two. It was Jonathan Lee's (one of the most famous Taiwanese producer) first time producing a Cantonese album. In this new album, Sandy used a very different way to approach her audience, however, not many people like it - it was the lack of fast beat songs. Sandy used a really relax and warm emotion into her new album. Some people like it a lot, some don't. However, this also proved to us that Sandy likes to challenge herself. According to ROCK, [Feeling Perfect] sold more than 100,000 copies in Hong Kong. It broke the rumor that Sandy's album didn't sell more than 50,000 copies. Right after the Cantonese album, in February, Sandy released her first All-English album [Sandy, I Swear], also co-produced with Jonathan Lee. For promotion of this album, Sandy held a one-day concert with Chyi, a famous Taiwanese female singer, on February 13th in Taiwan. All of the tickets were sold out within six hours. Another concert was held in Singapore for the same occasion. The smash hit and also the first plug song from this album is [I Swear], and Sandy sang with Chyi, Teresa Carpio and Prudence Liew. It was one of the sweetest song of the year. [Sandy, I Swear] also sold more than 500,000 copies in Taiwan! The album was also one of the "Top 10 Albums of the Year" in 1996's Taiwan Gold Songs Award. Its position was No.9. In July, Sandy released another album, her fifth Mandarin album [The Night Is too Dark], the follow up of her smash hit last year [Love, Sandy]. The title song [The Night Is Too Dark] topped almost all the pop charts in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia. It became another big hit all over the Asia! Many other song were plugged as well included: [Never Say Goodbye], [I Understand], [Don't Cry], and [Street of Temptation]. Although this album didn't sell as well as [Love, Sandy], but this album achieved another kind/level of music. It received great comments from many reviewers. In addition, in accordance to the Taiwan Man San Post, Sandy Lam was one of the "Top 10 Best Selling Chinese Singer" in Asia in 1996. Her position was No.4, the same goes for Emil Chow. The total sales of her two albums published in Taiwan: [Sandy, I Swear] and [The Night Is Too Dark] was over 1.55 million copies! The summer 1996, Sandy began her Asia Tour called "Love Sandy Asia Tour 1996." The concert supposed to begin from Taipei from July 27th, however, because of a typhoon, her first concert in Taiwan began in Taichung (Taichung Sports Institute Gymnasium), then the second stop was Kaosiong (Kaosiong Zhong Shan Stadium), and the last stop in Taiwan was Taipei (Taipei City Stadium) on August 4th. The concert was one of the most successful one in Taiwan history. It had been a long time since Sandy's last concert in Taiwan. There were fire works in the first concert. ROCK spent 100 thousands dollars on such fire work. It was beautiful according to Taiwan news. Also Sandy wore only sport shoes for the whole tour in Taiwan! It was reported that Sandy's back was hurting and the doctor recommended her to wear flat shoes instead. Since then tons of sport shoes were sent to Sandy from her friends. It was one of the highlight for the Taiwan concert. Jonathan Lee and Alex To were the guest as well. However, it caught the media more attention to Jonathan Lee, Sandy's producer and also 'good' friend. There were rumors that Sandy is Jonathan's lover, and Jonathan was about to divorce because of Sandy. Sandy was mad and upset about such news before, during, and after the concert. Sandy told the media that there was nothing but friendship and producer-singer relationship between Jonathan and her. However, it was no use. Despite the rumors, Jonathan appeared on stage and sang a song with Sandy, it was Sandy's suggestion for him to sing a song with her, too. Sandy's concert 96 in Taiwan lighten up the hot summer in Taiwan... The next concert stop was Hong Kong and was held at the Hong Kong Coliseum from September 5th through 8th. It was named "Yi-Lin Blooming Music Show 1996". Although it was a short concert, Sandy received tons and tons of great comments on this concert from the media, and as well as the audience. It was one of the best concerts in HK history. It had been 3 years since her last concert in HK. Many Sandy fans from the USA, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan all flew to HK just to watch Sandy on stage. To Sandy's fans, it's so rare to see her, not to mention watching her in concert! It was a chance a Sandy fan shouldn't miss, and Sandy didn't disappointed her audience. As I said, it was the greatest show ever... Many artists like Anthony Wong claimed that they didn't have time to see her show, because people had been giving good comments on it. Everyone was impressed. Although some people mentioned that it might be the sign of retiring, but Sandy quickly answered "NO WAY!" Sandy attended a radio interview after the concert and talked about her feelings, and she mentioned that she would keep on singing until the day when nobody listens to her. Music is part of her life, she cannot live without it. However, she said she would not appear on TV or shows as often as before; there are too many "game" rules that she would not be able to follow anymore. Yet, Sandy will keep on singing - forever. After the stop in HK, Sandy continue on to Singapore to finish up the "Love Sandy Asia Tour". It was Sandy's first concert in Singapore in 10 years, all her fans went wild that night. It was held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Saturday, September 21st. Media called her "Red Hot Sandy"! All of the 7,000 audiences were very much enjoying her concert, Sandy performed many different songs in many languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, and English. Sandy ended the "Love Sandy Asia Tour" with big smiles and tears. It was a very successful tour, and Sandy's performance was excellent. It was the most exciting concert of the year in Asia! One thing I must mention is that Anthony Lun contributed the most for the whole tour, from music to the performance... The performance and concept of the concerts in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore were all very different from one to another. It was impressive. It is true that Sandy and Anthony worked really well together this time! In addition, right after the HK concert, on October 8th, Sandy released a new remix EP called [Love Returns]. Many people claimed that since Sandy had gained some "attention" during the Asia tour, she wanted to gain even more! However, according to Sandy, it was her idea to have a new dance beat song. She said such thing came up to her mind while she was on the tour. She just wanted to create a song to dance with, so she grouped up with her producer and song writer. THE MOST IMPORTANT thing is that it was Sandy was the one who came up with the melody! Along with the EP, Sandy came back to Hong Kong for A DAY to have an autograph session at HMV Hong Kong! There were more then 800 fans out there shouting "Sandy! Sandy!" It was a BIG crowd, and many reporters as well. This was Sandy's first time to conduct an autograph session in Hong Kong. Since Sandy does not show up as much in public, it was the only chance for Sandy fans to meet her in HK, and that was the reason why people got so excited and wild. Another surprising and exciting news reached many fans when she released her Live 96 concert cd in December. The album is called [Post-Sandy Lam Live 96]. It was an idea that Sandy "send" her voice and image through the post. Also, "post" can also mean the past...etc. Anyhow, the first edition of the album included a VCD. The live CD sold really well in Hong Kong's IFPI Chart, it stayed on the chart for 4 weeks (highest position was No.5!) The album received excellent comments from all the album reviewers in Hong Kong. Even people who don't usually buy live CDs gave this album a try. It was THE most well done live album in Hong Kong history with no cut and add, JUST LIVE! The album was still on the Hong Kong HMV Selling chart at No.5 in March. Along with it, there is an LD and 2VCDs, which is Sandy's first official VCD in her career. If you want to get either the LD or the VCD, I would recommend the VCD. People said Sandy's live performance has gone up to another level - international level? Anyway, if you do get this album, listen to the last song [I Will Always Love You], although Sandy's performance was totally different from the original version, but her emotion, energy, and singing skill was EXCELLENT. It is the most touching song I have ever heard! Sandy is a hard working singer. Only two months after, Sandy released her second English album in Asia - [Wonderful World]. Same as the first English album, it contains many cover versions like [Because You Loved Me], [Take A Bow], and [To Love Somebody]. Again, these are all Sandy's beloved music. And, Chyi, Prudence and Sandy paired up aagin to sing the song [What A Wonderful World]. The album sold more than 600,000 copies within two weeks, which makes Sandy as one of the best selling Chinese singer in English album market. ROCK also released Gold CD limited edition to celebrate such joyful news. In March 1997, fans were given another surprise when Sandy agreed to help Jacky Cheung out in his musical Snow.Wolf.Lake. She specially rushed back from her recording in USA to help out her "brother" Cheung. And what a precious find she proved to be. One day was all she needed to master all her steps and songs. By the fourth day, she was rehearsing with the team. Sandy marked yet another high in her career when she performed on all 43 shows and brought the house down with her soulful and flawless rendition of the scores.
To Sandy, 1998 was a meaningful year. She got married and became a mother in this year. Busy with these two big events in her life, she put away her music career for a while. Fans can only wait patiently for the new Mandarin album coming out in January, and for Sandy to create another splash in the Asian pop scene. by Wong Jie Lun Gerald |
Unlike other concerts in Hong Kong, Sandy's
concerts included dramas that went along with the songs. The name of
the concert "Sky & Earth & Wildflower" - was a new beginning
for Sandy. Towards the end of 1993, Sandy released her first Japanese
single [Dakarette]. It sold over 110,000 copies in Japan and was the
theme song of a popular Japanese drama! Early 1994, Sandy released her
second Japanese single [Dooshiteyo/Why?] , and sold over 100,000 copies
in a shorter period of time. It was a theme song for a Japanese diamond
commercial picked by Clarence Hui. He said the diamond represents Sandy's
music - long lasting. 
On the first day of 1998, Sandy appeared
one of the in HK Commercial Radio's Ultimate Song Chart 10th Anniversary
Variety Show and was awarded "Top Ten Singers of the Decade". She was
also the female singer with the most number of No. 1 songs on She sang
[Crazy] while her fans, who haven't seen her for a long time, ran out
from their seats and screamed like crazy. At the end of the show, Winnie
Yu asked Sandy, who was on her way to leave, to come back and present
the final big prize to