Frances Yip

Frances Yip Lai-yee is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer. She is best known for performing many of the theme songs for television series produced by TVB in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Born on 22 Oct 1947, Frances is of Hakka ancestry, Yip hit international fame with her signature tune, The Bund from the TVB drama of the same title. Before her success, she tributed songs in her earlier albums originally performed by singers such as Adam Cheng, Roman Tam and Jenny Tseng.

In her 41-year career, Yip has released more than 80 albums, mostly of songs in American English, Indonesian, Thai, Malay, Mexican Spanish, Japanese, Tagalog, Cantonese and Mandarin. She has performed on television, and in films, concerts and cabarets in more than 30 countries on five continents. Her linguistic skills, with unique interpretations of lyrics in English, Cantonese and Mandarin, as well as several other Asian languages, have led to a fan base across a wide range of cultures and countries. She has worked with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, the Macau Chinese Orchestra, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, the Youth Orchestra from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Thammasat University Philharmonic Orchestra in Bangkok as well as large orchestras in Kuala Lumpur.

Frances achieved worldwide recognition when she was selected by the Hong Kong Government to be a co-presenter at the British Farewell Ceremony to mark the transfer of sovereignty in Hong Kong. The event on June 30th 1997 was watched by a television audience estimated at 120 million, in more than 80 countries around the globe.