A memorial service was held Wednesday for renowned Hong Kong lyricist and actor Peter Lai, who died Aug. 5 at age 76, drawing longtime friends, fellow performers and former co-stars to the school where he once served as a board member. The event at Tseung Kwan O’s Yan Chai Hospital Lim Por Yen Memorial School featured musical tributes, heartfelt eulogies and a pre-recorded farewell from pop icon Sam Hui.
Lai, often called the “genius lyricist” of Cantopop, penned hundreds of classics for superstars including Sam Hui, Alan Tam and Leslie Cheung. His acting career spanned decades, most recently as a regular on TVB’s long-running sitcom “Come Home Love: Lo And Behold.” He died from complications after a brainstem ischemic stroke suffered in a nursing home fall in late April, according to close friend and MC Chung Chi-kwong.
The memorial opened with a performance by the school’s guzheng ensemble playing Lai’s compositions. Attendees included former bandmate Kenneth Chan, actress Lam Suk-man, actor Sin Lap-man, singer Suen Suet-ha and many from the “Come Home Love” cast. Lai’s son, wearing a mask, joined family members onstage to bow in gratitude as the audience sang “A Drifter’s Heart,” one of Lai’s signature works.
A video message from Sam Hui showed the legendary singer strumming a guitar and singing “This Song for You,” which he and Lai co-wrote. “Peter’s passing fills me with deep regret,” Hui said in the clip. “On our musical journey together, we created so many classic songs. He was truly my best partner.” Hui ended with: “Rest in peace, Peter.”
Kenneth Chan recalled meeting Lai in the 1970s when both were wiping their cars in a parking lot. “I was his No. 1 fan. He used the pen name ‘Chai Kofu’ for his column — a joke on ‘driver’ and Tchaikovsky,” Chan said. He recounted how Lai, then working as a chauffeur, was hired to write lyrics for the TV show “The Wynners’ Fantasia” for HK$150. Composer James Wong later revised the song “Play a Little,” but kept several lines. Chan praised Lai’s words as “every character precise, every phrase hitting the mark.”
Chung disclosed details of Lai’s final months: a diabetic with failing kidneys, he was hospitalized after coughing up blood around Christmas 2025. Private hospital costs of HK$100,000 per day forced a transfer to public care, where he lost all kidney function and required thrice-weekly dialysis. An infection from unsanitary home conditions led him to move into a nursing home, where he was well cared for until his fall in late April. “He had incredible will to live, holding on for months,” Chung said. “He told me his life was a tragedy, so he chose to play comedy and spread joy.”
Lam Suk-man and actor Hui Ka-ki described Lai as a “young at heart” foodie who always treated colleagues to meals. “He seemed flirtatious but was utterly proper — never a curse word or lewd remark,” Lam said. Sin Lap-man declared that “Hong Kong’s music scene owes Peter a real reckoning — proper recognition and respect” for elevating Cantopop to new heights. He and fellow actors sang a reworked version of “Monica,” changing the refrain to “Thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks, Peter Gor.”
Entertainment company boss Cheung Kwok-lam announced two charity concerts in December at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts to honor Lai and raise funds for Yan Chai Hospital. Confirmed performers include尹光 (Wan Kwong), Fama, JW Wong, Vivian Lai, Agnes Chan and Kenneth Chan. Cheung said they are in talks with Sam Hui. “That is our ultimate wish,” he added.
Lai’s legacy endures in the hundreds of gold records and timeless Cantopop anthems that continue to resonate across generations, cementing his place as one of Hong Kong’s most influential musical wordsmiths.
