Oldie but goodie

Top: Anders Nelsson will perform a concert at Grappa's Cellar. Rebecca Lo / China Daily; Above: Nelsson (top left) with his high school band The Kontinentals in the early '60s. Provided to China Daily

Hong Kong DJ and entertainer Anders Nelsson brings back the golden age of rock 'n' roll for a baby boomer reunion concert, reports Rebecca Lo.

When he speaks, Anders Nelsson has that indefinable accent of someone who has lived in Hong Kong for a long time. The California-born son of Swedish Lutheran missionaries has called the city home since 1950. He has been part of its entertainment scene ever since he began playing with his high school band The Kontinentals in the early 60s.

Five decades later, Nelsson is paying tribute to the glory days of rock by DJing a concert to welcome classmates from King George V, his former high school.

Music from the '60s and '70s will be featured, with Nelsson taking requests from the audience and singing a few songs while accompanying himself on guitar.

"Every 10 years, there is a mega reunion for King George V grads," says Nelsson, doing some staging prior to the concert at Grappa's Cellar. "There are a lot of activities planned, but nothing specifically for baby boomers. Since I specialize in nostalgia, it is a good way to get my former classmates together. The concert is also open to the public."

Founded in 1894 and the oldest school in the city's English School Foundation, King George V secondary school in Ho Man Tin was the only choice available to expat kids during the 1950s and 60s.

Although there were students of more than two dozen different nationalities, kids would be punished for not speaking English. The severe colonial educational system meant that caning was the norm and prefects ruled the halls.

"It was totally British," recalls Nelsson. "The most common punishment we had was detention. I was caught speaking Swedish and had to write 500 lines of 'I must not speak Swedish'. "

When Anders' parents were re-assigned to continue their work in Penang and then Singapore, the 17-year-old was having too much fun making music and chasing girls to leave Hong Kong.

"Although it may sound pretentious, my biggest fear in life is being bored," he says with a bad-boy smile.

His first and most memorable acting gig was as an extra in Enter the Dragon, starring the late Bruce Lee in his final film. "I was the gweilo getting beat up in the background!" laughs Nelsson.

He has continued to act in Cantonese serials for TVB and most recently was in two episodes of a long-running Guangzhou soap opera.

Despite the glam of being a TV celebrity, Nelsson's first love will always be music.

In the '60s and '70s, he played a regular gig at The Scene, a former nightclub in the basement of The Peninsula Hong Kong hotel.

According to Nelsson, it was a 21st birthday present for his former King George V classmate Michael Kadoorie from his father Lawrence Kadoorie.

Today, Nelsson plays all over China, from private corporate functions to performing at the Macao Grand Prix and jamming with big band the Stray Katz. He is a standby DJ for radio station RTHK.

He maintains a music studio in the art community hidden within the former industrial buildings of Fo Tan, in Hong Kong's New Territories. And he looks forward to spinning all of his favorite tunes - from The Beatles to the Village People - at Grappa's Cellar.

"My generation was lucky to grow up in a golden era of music," Nelsson states.

"A lot of music today is issue-based, and there is so much of it. It's easy to record something on your iPhone and upload it onto YouTube. Music is more disposable. In my days, we didn't have videos; we had to concentrate on the music itself. Songs were crafted."

Contact the writer at sundayed@chinadaily.com.cn.