Singapore Straits Times (LIFE)

Sallying forth again
Hongkong crooner Sally Yeh, back with a new album, says she'll act for free for Zhang Yimou or Lee Ang

By Clara Chow

WHILE singer-actress Sally Yeh has made a musical comeback, her film career is still on ice.

The 41-year-old, who took five years off to enjoy marital bliss with mustachioed Hongkong crooner George Lam, has not received any film offers recently.

''I guess at that time I turned down too many offers. People got tired of hearing me say no,'' she said.

Her previous films include cult Hongkong works like The Killer and Peking Opera Blues.

But, she added with a tinkling laugh: ''If Zhang Yimou or Lee Ang asked me, I might do it for free.''

The 1.67-m-tall 1980s Cantopop star was in town for Channel 8's PSC Special variety show on Sunday night.

Despite the extensive media coverage on the show going head to head with Channel U's Ren Ci Charity Show in the same time slot, Yeh said she was not aware of the competition.

''I thought PSC was the only show in town,'' she said.

She also seemed surprised when told that Hongkong star Andy Lau was in town for the charity show. Eyes wide, she asked: ''I haven't seen him. Have you seen him?''

The singer also found time during her visit to promote her latest album, You've Heard.

The CD, which contains eight Cantonese tracks and two Mandarin ones, went on sale last month. While distributor EQ Music is unable to provide sales figures, the first single, Hurt, has spent three weeks on 93.3 FM's charts and is currently at No. 8.

At a press conference on Monday, she said she was making a comeback because she missed singing and her fans.

Looking sleek in a black denim jacket, black pants and diamante-trimmed beige top, she handled questions linking her return to showbusiness to her financial situation politely.

The Taiwan-born celebrity, who holds Canadian, British and Hongkong passports, replied in fluent Mandarin: ''My financial status is very stable. I'm not afraid of not having enough to eat.''

During a one-on-one interview with Life!, she chatted in English.

Asked about her two-record deal with company Music Icon, however, she was tight-lipped about the advance sum she was paid.

One thing she was constantly candid about is her marriage to Lam, 55. They wed in 1996, almost two years after he divorced his wife of 11 years, former record producer Ng Cheng Yuen.

Yeh's decision to quit the entertainment scene then was partly due to her reaching a musical impasse, and partly because of the well-publicised romance.

She said: ''I felt I wasn't helping myself by having more news about my personal life than my music.

''Now, I talk about my marriage because I have a good one and I can help people with relationship troubles.''

Motherhood, however, is not on the cards. Her husband already has two grown children.

She said: ''He's already been through Disneyland and growing pains. Would he want to do it after 10 years?''

During her hiatus, she kept busy by collecting miniature furniture like Le Corbusier chairs.

The devout Buddhist is equally sanguine when it comes to losing popularity to younger singers in her absence.

''Whether I was there or not, they'd have come up because they're talented in their own way. I want to go down gracefully.''

New acts which catch her fancy include Jay Chou, S.H.E. and F4. On Singapore songbird Stefanie Sun, Yeh stressed with a long-drawn vowel: ''She's cuu-te.''

But she declined to give the newcomer any advice: ''Maybe she should give me some. She's doing fine on her own."

You've Heard is out in stores.

MONEY'S NOT THE ISSUE: Yeh says her return is not because of financial problems. 'I'm not afraid of not having enough to eat,' she says. -- DESMOND FOO

聯合早報

再復出　葉蒨文擔心沒人欣賞

香港女歌手葉蒨文5年前淡出歌壇，前天她風采依舊，到新加坡為她的新專輯《你聽到》作宣傳。相隔多年再出專輯，葉蒨文既開心有機會再唱歌，卻又緊張是否還有人會欣賞她的歌。

能找到知音已是幸運

現在流行歌壇是年輕歌手的天下，市場口味要求新潮，葉蒨文說，若她能找到知音，就很幸運。葉蒨文算是幸運的，她的專輯《你聽到》中的歌曲《傷逝》，在香港的5個流行榜奪冠。葉蒨文更重踏頒獎台，在香港無線勁歌金曲頒獎禮，以《傷逝》奪得一首金曲獎及4台聯頒音樂大獎的歌曲獎。

談回之前淡出歌壇的原因，葉蒨文說，主要是唱歌的方向不是她想要走的，再加上媒體將她的歌唱事業與私生活混在一起，使她覺得應該暫時停唱。當時，葉蒨文甚至考慮過不再回到歌壇。

若有孩子代溝會很大

這5年來，葉蒨文忙著“研究”如何經營一段美好婚姻，一件她認為能“研究”一輩子的事。她有感而發說，不單單是煮飯、洗衣那么簡單，還要互相遷就。葉蒨文強調，不能單靠對方帶給你幸福，自己需要私人空間，做自己喜歡的事情。

至于是否打算生小孩，葉蒨文坦誠擔心撫養孩子不容易，更何況她已經41歲，若有孩子，之間的代溝會很大。

現在葉蒨文重新出發，是因為她很想唱歌，而在簽約前，葉蒨文就考慮了很久，畢竟責任很大。葉蒨文也打算今年4月在本地開演唱會。