Veteran Hong Kong singer Sam Hui will give a solo concert in May at Shenzhen Bay Sports Center.

Also an actor and songwriter, Hui is credited with popularizing Cantopop both with the infusion of Western-style music and using popular, street Cantonese jargon in his lyrics writing.

Hui started his career as a host on a youth music TV show on TVB in the 1970s. At that time, he was the lead musician of his band The Lotus. In the early years of his career, Hui performed English songs that were popular in the West. He wrote the theme songs for the comedies produced by his brother Michael and started performing Cantonese songs.

Hui’s music appealed to the Hong Kong masses, particularly the working class, with simple lyrics and a light-hearted nature which was popular in Hong Kong music in the late 1970s.

One of his most popular songs during the mid-1970s was the theme song of the film “The Private Eyes.” It was a humorous reflection on the plight of the harsh working life of the middle and lower class in Hong Kong. He wrote most of the compositions and personally wrote most of the humorous lyrics. While some of his songs are light-hearted, others have philosophical messages that are brought out with artful use of Chinese words that have multiple layers of symbolism behind them.

Hui also collaborated with several popular singers, such as Leslie Cheung, both musically and on-screen culminating, in the hit single written by Hui and composed by Cheung entitled “Silence Is Golden.”

Hui held a farewell concert in 1991 and 1992 but returned to the show biz in 2004 and held multiple come-back concerts in which he was welcomed by sell-out shows.

Time: 8 p.m., May 13

Tickets: 180-980 yuan

Booking: 400-610-3721

Venue: Gymnasium of Shenzhen Bay Sports Center, No. 3001, Binhai Boulevard, Nanshan District (南山区滨海大道3001号深圳湾体育中心体育馆)

Metro: Line 2, Keyuan Station (科苑站), Exit A