Ronnie Yuen Chi Wai

Biography

Ronnie Yuen Chi Wai is a Hong Kong singer born on 28 May 1962 in Shek Tong Tsui, Hong Kong Island. He grew up in a family that practiced feng shui, with his grandfather working in the trade in Shanghai, and Ronnie began learning its basics at the age of five or six. His father was a seaman who brought animals such as chimpanzees and foxes home when returning to Hong Kong. Ronnie studied at St. Louis Primary School and enjoyed football and singing, then moved to Yuet Tsiu Primary School in Macau as a boarding student. In 1974 he entered Lingnan Secondary School, where he began playing the guitar and formed a small band with classmates. He migrated with his family to Paris in 1977 after completing Form 3, studied at Lycée Buffon where he learned French and drawing, then attended École Boulle and obtained a higher diploma in applied arts majoring in graphic design. He returned to Hong Kong in 1986 to participate in the 5th New Talent Singing Contest, and although he did not make the top three, he caught the attention of renowned producer Lam Mok-tak, who hired him to sing jingles for advertisements such as Coca-Cola, have him sing backing vocals with Du Duk-chi, and arranged for him to study singing under Tsang Lo-tak. He signed with EMI Records in 1988 and spent two years preparing his debut album "Lonely Girl," released in 1990 as the start of his music career. Ronnie performed well-known songs such as "You Qing Tian Di" and "I Wait for You by the Window," and sang at the farewell ceremony for Governor David Wilson in 1992 and at the Hong Kong handover ceremony in 1997. In 1991 he was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, which caused bulging eyes, and was forced to withdraw from the spotlight due to poor album sales and the resulting psychological pressure, after which he returned to managing the family feng shui business. Ronnie returned to the spotlight in 2018 by appearing on the television program "Cantopop at 50," where he sang his famous song "I Wait for You by the Window." In April 2017 he contracted typhus during a work trip in mainland China, fell into a coma, and was admitted to the intensive care unit at the Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, where his heart briefly stopped before he was resuscitated and remained hospitalized for three weeks. After stepping away from the music scene, Ronnie continued to manage the family feng shui business to this day.