Calvin Poon Yuen Leung
Biography
Calvin Poon Yuen Leung is a Hong Kong lyricist, film screenwriter and director, football commentator, calligrapher, actor and programme host, known as the "Wanderer Lyricist." His ancestral home is Xiaotang Township, Foshan, Guangdong Province. He was born at Ying Hing Maternity Home on Shui Chuen Dao in Mong Kok, Kowloon, and grew up in a Tong Lau building on Tung Choi Street in the same district, where his family ran an ice shop. During primary school, he delivered takeaways for restaurants to help support his family, while also participating in football activities with classmates. He attended SKH All Saints' Primary School and Memorial College of Maryknoll Fathers' School, and graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong with a degree in journalism in 1981. During his studies, he volunteered at Commercial Radio's "Breakthrough Moment" programme. After graduation, he formally joined TVB News as a foreign news translator. In 1981, he moved to RTV (predecessor of ATV) as an assistant director, working on series such as "The Legendary Fok" and "The Fist." In 1983, he transferred to RTHK Television Drama Unit as assistant director and screenwriter, producing "Hong Kong, Hong Kong" and "Warm Collection," with his first published lyric work being the theme song "Warm Current in a Turbid World." In 1984, he joined Cinema City as a screenwriter, writing scripts for "Full Moon" and "The England Song." In 1986, he joined D&B Films, directing his first film "Season of Love," and in the 1990s wrote screenplays for "This Man Is Dangerous," "The Heart," "The Wild Lover," "The Sniper," and "Virtual Combat." By the 1980s and 1990s, he had accumulated 620 lyrics. In 2015, he began writing under the pen name Yuen Leung Pun, penning all lyrics for Eason Chan's Cantonese album "Getting Ready." That same year, he held the "Who Loves Calvin Poon Concert" at Hong Kong Coliseum. In 2016, he held a joint exhibition "Light Source 50" with artist Yau Wing Kwong, showcasing his calligraphy for the first time. In 2019, he performed "Calvin Poon's Spicy and Not Spicy Cantonese Show" and received the CASH Music Achievement Award from the Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong for his significant contributions to Hong Kong popular music.