Wakin Chau

Wakin Chau (born 22 December 1960), also known as Emil Chau predominantly throughout the 1980s and 1990s, is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese singer and actor. Chau's popularity has spread throughout Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mainland China, and parts of Southeast Asia. As of August 2007, he has released more than 40 albums and held several international concert tours.

Biography

Wakin Chau was born in a rice store owned by his family in Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong. Growing up as the fourth son in his seven-member family, Wakin learned to play the guitar when he was about 13 years old. In 1979, he left for Taipei to major in mathematics at National Taiwan University. During his college years, he sang and played folk songs in local coffee shops. This activity was a tradition among NTU students, and it is how Wakin learned to sing in Mandarin, which would be key to his future as a music-maker in Taiwan.

Wakin had high hopes to establish a career as a recording artist, and he actively sought out contacts in the music industry. But a persistent lack of interest eventually led him to give up trying to become a performer – instead, he could sign on as an assistant producer at Rock Records, where he wrote marketable pop songs for other artists.