张国荣喜欢有时代感，性格倔强的女孩子，他说： 「在圈中，我喜欢MAGGIE（张曼玉），我喜欢她的外形。」 「对她可有性幻想？」 「不会啦，大家太熟络了，早在她选港姐时我已留意她，后来跟她合作『缘份』，哗，看见她骂导演很凶，哈哈。」张国荣口直心快。 「钟楚红也漂亮呀。」提醒他。 他说：「是，不过我觉得她大过我似的，她衬发仔会好看一点。」 然后，说了一大堆名字，包括夏文汐、叶童、李丽珍、柏安妮……，张国荣都说对她们没有幻想。

那麼，谁令他有非非之想？ 他坦白的答：「中森明菜，我喜欢倔强的女孩子，我对她有幻想，有一次听闻中森明菜来香港，可惜没有人给我『通水』，要不然我去的士高撞她。」 至於中森明菜的亲密男友近滕真彦，张国荣直言不甚欣赏他。 他无端爆了一则漏网新闻。

他 说当年近滕真彦来香港表演，他们在新秀中碰头，张国荣礼貌的上前跟他说：「你表演得很好。」 谁知近滕真彦板著脸孔跟他说：「点解？」 这记闷棍吃个正著，张国荣好生气，说对方没礼貌，他说：「可能他视我为情敌，那时候近滕真彦与阿梅（梅艳芳）很好的。」 张国荣无意泄露了近滕真彦为阿梅争风呷醋的趣事，真够精彩。 张国荣这次小休复出拍戏，简直可以用「神采飞扬」四字来形容他。

In the article, the flamboyant late HK singer-legend Leslie Cheng described the women that he liked. I guess that was before he declared his homosexuality. He proclaimed that he liked strong and  opinionated women. He started by saying that he liked Maggie Chueng because of of her looks, but denied that he was seduced by her sexually, because of their close friendship off-screen. He said that they are close friends and he had already noticed her during her pageant days.  When they collaborated on the film “Destiny”, he had a good chuckle watching her having a strong argument with the director. He also praised Cherie Chung’s beauty but due to her seniority over him, felt she was more suited to Chow Yuen Fatt. After that, he rolled off a list of names that included Pat Ha, Ye Tong, Loretta Lee, Anna Bridgewater etc.

So, who does Leslie have sexual designs on? He replied honestly, “Akina Nakamori. I like women with strong personalities. I fantasize about her. I once heard that she came to HK, but unfortunately, no one leaked that secret to me, or I would have bumped into her at the discotheque. As for Akina’s close beau, Matchy, Leslie declared that he doesn’t admire him, and revealed an interesting incident.

He said “When Matchy came to HK to perform some years ago, we met at a show, and I congratulated him courteously on his performance, to which he rebuked “What for?”.” Leslie had obviously not forgotten the incident and felt very angry because he thought that Matchy was rude. “Maybe he thought I was his rival in love because he was very close to Anita at that time”, he said.

It’s a little tabloid tidbit but it’s good to know that Akina has a fan in Leslie. I am not so sure that Leslie actually fantasized about her sexually more than actually wanting to dress up in Akina’s dresses. I think they may have been nice girlfriends, but I wonder how Anita would feel about that.

hey guys, here are some shots i’ve taken on my iPhone. alot of these were taken discreetly (i was either at the concert venue, or cd stores) so please pardon the quality. i hope this helps you to “visualise” a lil bit of the action going on around Diva’s release, and the Empress Live concert.

tonight’s show was marketed as “Folk Night” and positioned as an additional special show for the “Empress Live” concert, after the concert was sold out. to get tickets to tonight’s show, you need to get the Folk 2 Limited Edition CD. it was supposed to have a slightly different song set, or additional songs. but lo and behold – it was the EXACT SAME FUCKING SHOW.

when the sequence of the songs was the same, we felt something was strange (even tho I had earlier jokingly offered the possibility of Akina removing “Woman” and “I Hope So” to make it a “Folk Night” it was meant to be, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt, and didn’t know my nightmare would materialise). then when she did her final set combo of “I Love You”, “Koi”, and “I Hope So”, I thought maybe she’ll do an encore set (which she didn’t on all other shows)…

and then the house lights came on, and the post-show announcement came on the system. i was left dumbfounded, ajar mouth included… my head shaking in disbelief.

this feeling of getting shortchanged is by now no longer a stranger – what with half-hearted limited edition releases containing half-fucked lame studio recording footages as bonus DVD material, more best compilations than you can count with 2 hands, 5 different coloured versions of the same album cover, Destination concert tour pamphlet marketed as ”世界最強“ which turned out to be sucha mega flop, I can go on with more examples… and don’t even get me started with rehashed, recycled costumes! but tonight, tonight takes the cake outta everything else. it’s the ultimate cream pie smashed flat on her very own fans’faces.

granted, Akina may not be involved in the marketing of the concert and could in an extreme case of being the ill-informed, uninvolved, devil-may-care-i-just-wanna-sing-my-songs-dun-bother-me-with-anything-else (which explains fuglier than fug album cover art of late) singer, not aware her company had so unethically marketed an additional “Folk Night” show to lure naive fans into spending more of their hard-earned money, waste their time/effort, and the worst of all crimes – squander their support and good faith. But that is no excuse. can she wake up her idea?

i’ve had an O.D of Akina, having watched 3 shows of her gluing her butt to her stool. actually, I had contemplated on not going for the 3rd show to listen to “DIVA” in the hotel instead. that was how maxed out I was with her angst-ridden, tortured, pained face she dishes out at will every night. i pay to get entertained, damnit. but now, i like her a lil less each time i see her perform live.

i’m not sure if i’ll be doing her career further harm by airing my disgust here. but i know many fans who are victims of tonight’s wicked manipulative marketing ploy will be so ever-forgiving, and crawl back into their own worlds in denial, and sleep it off. but i won’t take this laying down. unethical, irresponsible corporate behaviour needs to be exposed and addressed.

you can only cry wolf so many times before eventually, no one will come to your rescue, even at your most genuine, neediest time. i for one, will take everything with a pinch of salt henceforth. “Folk Night”? my arse.

please, don’t abuse your fans like this (whatever number of fans you have left anyway). we deserve better. be the Legend of Diva for the right reasons.

i would like to wish Ranbi san a very Happy Birthday! i have a remix specially made for your big day!!! check your inbox!! hope you like it. =) enjoy your special day, and thank you for sharing your love for Akina, and all things Japanese with us. i look forward to a great August in Tokyo together with you and the other VAMPires! Love You, Ranbi!

No one. Her red wine and cigarettes maybe.

Thank you for keeping the discussion on Akina alive. It helps to band the fans who’re peppered around the globe. =))

Anyhow, the bad news first – my new memory card reader requires an adaptor and I didn’t bring it. =( So I will not be able to upload any pictures taken so far. Gomenasai. I’ll upload them when I return, of if I can lay my hands on an adaptor here.

But I thought I’d still go ahead with a text report for you eager beavers.

FOLK AKINA COMPLETE VOL.1

The official album release date is 24th December, X’mas Eve… which is today. But 2 days ago, Ranbi-san managed to lay his hands on a copy in the morning when doing his round of shopping (the CDs haven’t been displayed and were still in the box), and he brought it over to our room as a breakfast surprise for Kenji and myself. He got the Pink limited edition press that comes with the DVD (seeing it in the flesh, cover is still hideous). We watched the DVD first – It was the usual lame visuals of her recording the songs in the studio… there was a selection of about 4 songs.

Onward with the album – my personal verdict for it is this will be both a shower and grower. It should go down very well with fans. No major frills nor surprises there, but in return she offers this mature piece of work which is musically solid which has the stamp of an evergreen classic. She sounds slightly different (as with many of her previous releases cos her vocals keep changing, deteriorating, improving, and she also adapts her singing style to suit her altered pipes) but this time, you’ll agree she sounds better, with more clarity and less strain. I wonder if she did go for the rumoured throat operation, and if this was the result. =)) Emotionally, well, Akina never fails to nail them right?

Upon the first listen, you should have a couple of instant favourites. Mine were “さよならをするために” and “恋”. But, upon a few more spins, you’ll start to fall in love with other tracks which are beautifully restrained in their execution. I am enjoying “「いちご白書」をもう一度” now. I know Ranbi and Jamez both love this classic which has been covered to the nines by other artistes, both were apprehensive about matching their favourite singer to this number, BUT, Miss A doesn’t disappoint. DJ Suzy’s favourite track is “22才の別れ” (she sounds different on this track, almost like she’s singing right next to you, the vocals are super organic) . So there, all good tracks. And we’re bound to end up discovering a new favourite 2 years down the road… on some rainy lonesome night… (sidenote: I got struck by “Standing In Blue” from Cruise a decade older… a song which I used to skip… on a cool, quiet night by myself)

The Original Press looks the best. The Limited Editions – all hideous, but if I were to pick the worst one outta the dismaying lot, it’ll be the orange and green one. the CDs match the colour of the covers, as well as the print on the back (which is different from Original Press). Booklet photos should be the same if I’m not wrong, and are tastefully done. A mixture of shots of her in the studio together with some macro shots of recording equipment/studio.

They were selling the CDs at the Dinner Show (I scooped all versions – Can you tell I really love this woman? I blow my hard earned cash on pieces of Andy Warhollyshit!) and you get a poster (the same one which appeared on the TV programme). If you get the CD in the store, you’ll get a postcard. I have so many posters now. Any takers?

At Yamano CD store in Ginza tonight, I was mega pleased to see a prominent set up for the release (I took some great shots dun worry! But I got told off by the store attendant whilst in Operation Sneakaround.) There was even a TV screen showing the promo clip for the album (basically the 4 min clip from the DVD with text overlay).

Both Anthony and myself agree that the subtitle “Complete Vol.1″ is rather redundant. Is there an incomplete version in the first place? It all depends on how she’s going to position the upcoming Mood Kayou album. Will that be “Complete Vol.2″ then?

In summary, I’m heartened that Akina continues to make music for the soul. There will be no one else who can fill the thirst and void I have in my system, after spinning the Seikos and Ayumis in this world. Not even the Kobukuros.

Thank you for the wonderful X’mas pressie, Akina. I love you.

A second newspaper source confirms the Christmas Eve release for Akina’s new cover album.

Ｘマスイブにリリース明菜が歌う７０年代フォーク

歌手、中森明菜（４３）がＸマスイブにフォークの名曲をカバーしたアルバム「フォーク・ソング－歌姫・叙情歌」をリリースすることになった。

累積出荷１００万枚を突破したカバー・アルバム「歌姫」３部作、そして演歌を歌った「艶華」に続く名曲集で、「誰もが口ずさめる曲を歌いたい」という明菜の希望から７月に制作をスタートしたという。

収録曲はりりィ「私は泣いています」、風「２２才の別れ」など１１曲。松山千春の「恋」は８０年の作品だが、明菜はデビュー当時から千春の大ファンで、今年６月に千春がツアー先で倒れたことに心を痛め、早期の回復を祈って歌ったという。

音楽評論家の富澤一誠氏は「７０年代のフォークの世界と明菜のキャラクターはピッタリ合っている。しかも、明菜が歌うことで新鮮さが生まれるかもしれない。りりィのハスキーボイスと明菜のボーカルは意外に合うかもしれませんね。早く聴いてみたい」と話している。

It doesn’t offer much new information except the date of release and the confirmation of some songs and the slight variation in title, which basically still says “sentimental songs”.

It is revealed that Akina started this project in July and her wish was to sing songs that people could hum to, which is why she chose 70’s folk music. Akina was also a big fan of 松山千春 (Matsuyama Chiharu) who was injured during his tour in Jun. She chose his 80’s number 「恋」, a bonus track for the album as a prayer for his early recovery.

In the final section, a music critic feels that the 70’s folk music world fits Akina’s character well, and believes that Akina might be able to breathe new life into this world. He doesn’t feel that Akina’s voice is similar to the husky voice of the singer  りりィ, but he is interested to have an early listen to the album.

The other most interesting bit is the photo that is attached to the article. It is not a good photo of Akina but at least we see her whole face and it is new. I just don’t like her perming her fringe all the time.

After having more free time to listen to the Youtube performances of the original singers, I am enjoying the songs more, and I hope that the new producer will breathe some life into those songs, so that the album doesn’t sound too lifeless or just one note throughout.

Still, it is always good to know that she is still releasing new albums, albeit covers, and attempting new challenges. I am now looking forward to the cover art to see how she is going to make me break the bank by buying more than one copy. LOL.

お誕生日おめでとうござます！ The VAMPires met up for a gathering to celebrate Akina’s bday today. 

We had a splendid dinner (おまかせ）at this restaurant “Kizu” @ Cuppage Plaza.

Here are food pics (Jamez, you are sorely missed again….):