In 1965, Wong Jum-sum hosted a cultural programme called ‘Youth Club’ on Rediffusion TV. For this, he resurrected his stage name Wong Jim, thus putting the latter into public lexicon for the first time. Subsequently he used Wong Jim’s name to act, create lyrics, compose songs, write columns, encountering many ‘first-time landmarks’ in his life.

In this section, we have selected five such ‘first-time’ music exercises by young Wong Jim. All of them were created in the turbulent 1960s. As Wong himself probably knew, these were unmistakably exploratory, immature works. But because they were immature, they displayed a directness that bore the honest imprint of a young mind and an untried time.

In his later years, Wong said he treasured his youth. He enjoyed being monkey-like – always naughty, sometimes naïve, perennially playful, forever young. In this sense these Wong Jim exercises are irreplaceable records of a monkey-like character and an era that set free the monkey in all of us.

Auld Lang Syne (1960)

The first song lyrics Wong Jim ever wrote. It was 1960. The song, sung in Mandarin, was produced by Lui Hung, one of the renowned Canto pop singers of the time. An ironic and interesting time indeed.

原作：蘇格蘭民歌 (Auld Lang Syne)
作詞：黃霑
主唱：呂紅、陳均能

良朋摯友　一旦分離　
問何時再重聚　
當初共祝　友誼萬歲　
約誓永遠相隨

此景相伴　別離重聚　
執手心如醉
念君此去　幾年可見　
離未語先流淚

親愛離開　不能相隨　
難免黯然落淚　
且將歡笑　舉杯共對　
稍釋別情離緒　

沒有今朝　分離痛苦　
哪有將來歡聚　
為了重逢　快樂相聚　
高唱友誼萬歲