Mayday (Taiwanese band)

Mayday
File:Mayday 28.jpg
Background information
Origin	Taiwan
Members	Ashin Monster Stone Masa Ming (Guan You)
Website	Mayday's official website Template:Zh icon

Mayday or Wu Yue Tian (五月天), is a Taiwanese rock band that originated in the late 1990s but has since become one of the biggest rock bands to hit Taiwan pop culture. As one of Taiwan's million-selling rock artists, they have received a range of accolades as well as moving records all over the world.

They are locally regarded as the best rock band after Beyond, a popular rock band that is based in Hong Kong. Mayday's songs resonate greatly with many Taiwanese youths who can identify with their themes of love, world peace and growing up. They are also influenced by The Beatles, which is their favourite group whom they aspire to be like.

They sing songs mostly in Taiwanese and Chinese although some fans profess that their Taiwanese songs are more emotional and touching. Unlike some rock bands, they also project a clean and healthy image and have never been seen smashing musical instruments willfully, drinking, or gambling. Mayday represents the zeitgeist of the Taiwanese and Chinese youth who identify with the band's themes of innocence, childhood, dreams, aspirations, loneliness and determination. At the same time, the band's unique outlook on life has attracted many fans who find their views refreshing.

History

Mayday has officially been together since 1998, but they have had already sung in pubs, clubs, lounges and fastfood joint openings prior to that, which gave them solid foundations in building their successful music career. They shot to fame in 1999 with the wildly popular single Peter and Mary (志明與春嬌) and later that year on the 28th of August ascended the Taipei Sports Complex stage for a concert. In that time, they also gained popularity rapidly in other countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, etc.

However, in 2001, they temporarily took a break at the peak of their popularity as vocalist Ashin, guitarist Monster, and bassist Masa were called up to be enlisted in national service. To mark their temporary hiatus from the music scene, they organised the "Where are You Going?" farewell concert in several countries, which was a hugely emotional affair for the fans and the band.

Due to health reasons, Ashin and Monster returned to the band after serving temporarily in the army. While waiting for Masa to return to the band, Ashin and Monster collaborated with other young artists and underground bands from Taiwan to release a compilation album. At the same time, the remaining bandmates, Stone and Ming were studying to improve their proficiency in music in England and the United States respectively.

In August 2003, Masa returned and the band was finally reunited. They then held a reunion concert at the Taipei Sports Complex - the very place where they held their debut concert. It was a record-breaking affair with 40,000 fans attending, breaking Taiwan's record for the largest number of fans at a concert, a record previously held by Michael Jackson.

Most of Mayday's songs are written by Ashin (the other 4 members took part in lyrics and song-writing starting from the album "Time Machine"), which also showcased their talents in both composing melodies and playing musical instruments. They are regarded as the 'Heavenly Band' by the Taiwanese media because of their popularity and talents.

Also, near the end of 2006, on 29 December, they released their 6th studio album, Born To Love. They made an unconventional announcement, shocking yet delighting the media and fans alike, saying that they would not hold autograph sessions but instead, would hold concerts in Taiwan. The tickets were included in albums which the fans bought. However, they decided to hold ten concerts to let all the fans see them.

Despite saying that they will not hold any autograph sessions, they still did, right after the countdown 2007 performance in Taipei, It lasted for 10+ hours from 1am to 12nn. At first, they had proudly told the media that they would accompany fans to see the first light of dawn, and had been told to sign slower just to fulfill this act. However, during dawn, they realised that after signing autographs for thousands of fans, they still had around 3500 fans to go. But they persisted on, all the way to noon, making that autograph session to be the first of the year 2007.

Members

ASHIN

File:Ashin 16.jpg

Ashin - Vocalist of Mayday

• Real Name: Chen Hsin Hung (陳信宏)
  • Date of Birth: 6 December 1975
  • Place of Birth: Taipei, Taiwan
  • Instrument: Vocals/Guitar
  • Height/Weight: 180cm/74kg

The vocalist of Mayday, Ashin is the reason many first come to know of Mayday. Fans rave about his unique vocals and his insightful lyrics towards life and music. Talented in composing and writing lyrics, he is responsible for many of the band's famous songs eg. Peter & Mary (志明與春嬌) and Fool (憨人). Ashin also helped a lot of other artists like Fish Leong, Wang Lee Hom, Twins and so on to write lyrics and compose melodies. In 2006, Ashin released a book named " Happy.Birth.Day", This book is described as a collection of " Rock Poems ".

He projects a very naive, boyish kind of appeal and yet is able to discern complex pearls of wisdom about life. He is, at the same time, a deep and yet simple person.

Apart from his exceptional music talent, Ashin is well-known by his talent in graphic design. Recently, he has been invited by a French Cosmetic Brand to be a spokesman to promote his own-designed perfume.

MONSTER

• Real Name: Wen Shang Yi (溫尚翊)
  • Date of Birth: 28 November 1976
  • Place of Birth: Taipei, Taiwan
  • Instrument: Guitar
  • Role: Leader of Mayday
  • Height/Weight: 168cm/62kg

The leader of Mayday, Monster is dedicated and passionate towards the band, often staying up till ungodly hours to practise and improve on his guitar playing. He is a well-organized person who is in charge of daily operation of the band. He pays attention to small details even the pathway of the concert location to ensure the safety of fans. When the time his mother has fallen seriously ill, his dedication towards Mayday remains the same. At one point, when his mother was hospitalised, Monster continued recording their album and did not give up halfway.

STONE

Stone - Mayday's Guitarist

• Real Name: Shi Jin Hang (石錦航)
  • Date of Birth: 11 December 1976
  • Place of Birth: Taipei, Taiwan
  • Instrument: Guitar
  • Height/Weight: 172cm/67kg

The first married member of Mayday, Stone is well-known for his deep love for his wife whom he proposed to at their 2001 concert. He appears to be the most mature and sensitive guy in the band even though he says he was considered temperamental during his teenage years. His marriage has helped to tame him and he even revealed that he would leave Mayday if his wife asked him to. An incredibly passionate guitarist, Stone is at his best during concerts, rocking out with Monster or when lost in his music.

MASA

• Real Name: Cai Shen Yan (蔡昇晏)
  • Date of Birth: 25 April 1977
  • Place of Birth: Kaohsiung, Taiwan
  • Instrument: Bass, Guitar, Piano, Harmonica
  • Height/Weight: 172cm/66kg

Known for being outspoken and direct, Masa is unanimously the guy with the mouth in Mayday. Quick-witted and never one to mince his words, Masa left the band temporarily for 2 years in 2001 to do his military service. He has also been romantically linked to Fish Leong.

Guan You

• Real Name: Liu Yan Ming (劉諺明)
  • Date of Birth: 28 July 1973
  • Place of Birth: Miaoli, Taiwan
  • Instrument: Drums, Keyboards
  • Height/Weight: 178cm/60kg

He is the 4th drummer of MayDay. Originally known as Ming, he changed his name to Guan You because of a fortune-teller to be luckier. However, according to him, it does not seemed to have worked. The oldest member of the group, Guan You admits to being the stingy one in the group. However, he is also very filial. He proposed to his girlfriend during a Mayday concert in Beijing in November 2005 and was married in June 2006. His daughter was born in October 2006. He becomes the first Dad among Five. He is also the one that is most teased by the other Mayday members.

Discography

Further information: Mayday discography

Books

• 2001 素人自拍
  2001 素人自拍
• 2003 搖滾本事 photo collection
  2003 搖滾本事 photo collection
• 2005 下課後，怪獸家點名!
  2005 下課後，怪獸家點名!
• 2006 Happy.Birth.Day - 阿信.搖滾詩的誕生與轉生
  2006 Happy.Birth.Day - 阿信.搖滾詩的誕生與轉生

Trivia

• Had held sold out concerts throughout their career despite leaving the scene for a mandatory army stint in 2002.

External links

• Template:Zh icon Mayday's official website
• Template:Zh icon Mayday's blog on their latest album, Just My Pride
• Template:Zh icon GoGoRock, Mayday's recording company
• Template:Zh icon Hong Kong Mayday Fans Club
• Template:En icon A fansite on Mayday. Contains precious Mayday quotes on life and youth.
• Template:En icon Template:Zh icon mdmd.net forum, an Unofficial Community of Mayday Supporters from Singapore, partial English and Mandarin, website (http://www.maydaymayday.net) on hiatus.
• Template:Zh icon Malaysia's Mayday Fans Club
• Template:En icon One Day in May an English Mayday fansite