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Singer strums new business notes
Xiao Zou
Shanghai_Delta
page04 2006-11-28
Lee Chi, a former member of the band Ukulele,found his career position in Shanghai as CEO of www.91Hong.com, which can make full use of all his past work experience.
Insiders noted that Lee has overcome a lot of challenges in his career path to reach his new position.
Lee told China Daily that in 2000, he sold his favorite Ovation 1990 guitar, one of only 3,000 souvenir guitars worldwide.
He explained that it was a way to bid farewell to his role as a Taiwan-based songwriter and start his career as a businessman.However, when he appeared in the public eye again in 2005, he was an EMBA student at Fudan University and attending "Winner", the first Chinese TV show for entrepreneurs.
Now Lee is working as a coach for contestants of the "Winner" TV show 2006, guiding them to show their best before the camera.
"Probably it is hard to say 'goodbye' to guitars,"he said. At the age of 17, Li Chi teamed up with his schoolmate Terry Lam to form the band "Ukulele." Li acted as the composer, and Lam the vocalist. But because of their plain looks, no record company wanted to sign them.
In 1991, at the age of 25, a record company signed Ukulele. Lee recalled that the image designer looked at them and frowned, as the designer did not know how to make them look more handsome.
However, thanks to the title song "Ren Cuo" (Apology), their first album sold more than one million copies.Ukulele became famous. In the next 5 years, the band released seven albums that still enjoy high popularity among university students.
Lee recalled that looking back to the years when they were stars, he did not feel happy.
He said he did not regard himself as a professional songwriter, and all he could do was write about the sad stories that happened to himself.He noted, "It is like tearing up my own wounds again and again, which make me even sadder."
Lee added that the rules in the entertainment business are very cruel, stars are just like fast-moving consumer goods, and it was hard to always remain famous.
So when the contract expired, neither Lee nor Lam wanted to sign again. Ukulele was disbanded.
Lee underwent a lot of frustration after stepping out of the limelight. Poor investments left him penniless, his father died and his wife left him.
One day he even tried to kill himself, but failed and started to rethink his life.
Lee realized that his limited knowledge led to his investment failures in investment. He then completed his university degree in Taiwan and went to Beijing to work in an IT company.
Lee said, "Now I am in Shanghai,in fact, my way to work in different places just follows the flow of investment, from Taipei to Beijing, now to Shanghai." |
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