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The irony is rich when Welshman Iain Inglis sings ‘red songs’criticizing the imperialism which England practiced so much in centuries past. The poignant image has become the spotlight of many web portals in China.
Iain believes ‘red songs’ to mean revolutionary tunes composed to promote socialism and communism. The singer has grown fond of red songs just as others develop affinity for symphonies or rock & roll.
Persistent Red Singer
Iain was born in the U.K. in 1978， one year before Margaret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister. She carried out market reforms in the country， cutting popular social programs. For example， she eradicated the policy of providing free milk for school children. Iain counts himself amongst the many who disliked the recently-deceased politician.
At the end of 1991， 13-year-old Iain became interested in the “red world，” and two years later， he learned his first ‘red song’ – the national anthem of the former Soviet Union.
“Why were they our ‘enemy’？ Why did it collapse？” Iain queried. “I asked myself such questions and wanted to find the answers myself.” As a result， in 1998， Iain set off for Russia. Over the following years， he traveled across Eastern Europe， studying local languages and searching for red songs.
“Communism appeals to me，” he stresses. “As an ideal and ideology， com- munism is just， fair and compassionate.”
Iain studied Russian and German at university. His global travels continued from Eastern Europe to Siberia， further to Japan， North Korea and ultimately to China.
In November 2004， after being in China for only two months， Iain made his debut. On a talent show for foreigners， Iain sang a song titled “Socialism Is Great，”which made him an audience favorite. Until then， his red songs were only a hobby.
In January 2007， Iain and his wife， a Chongqing native， settled in Sanya， a coastal city in southern Hainan Province. He was hired as a manager at the Hilton Hotel in Yalong Bay. The same year， thenChinese Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai was appointed Party Secretary of Chongqing Municipality， and he immediately started promoting the revival of red songs. Iain’s rare ability as a foreigner capable of singing red songs led to many invitations and opportunities. Exhausted from performing on top of his day job， Iain quit the hotel to become a full-time professional red singer.
Irresistible Entertainment
As a professional singer， Iain gradually found more and more opportunities. To enhance his new career， he would wear one of two costumes： a Chinese red army uniform and a WWII-era Soviet army uniform. However， when performing on a show， he usually ended up wearing clothes provided by the production team. “For one show， they wanted me to wear very ugly， exaggerated and stupid clothes，”Iain sighs， “and the costume didn’t even have anything to do with my song. But I ended up wearing it.”
Performing on television is never as easy as it may seem from the sofa. “The director would say： ‘you can’t sing this， you can’t wear that， make the song shorter， do this， do that…’” Iain explains. “On stage， I have to consider many things such as the location of the camera， the network logo， and my position. It’s a lot of pressure. It’s easy to get distracted， so sometimes I forget the lyrics.”
“Sometimes， I have to fake it，” he reveals. “But if I am not relaxed， the audience can feel it. If I’m not having a good time， they won’t either. My happiness from singing must be authentic. Faking passion is meaningless.”
When starting his career， Iain re-searched background information about each song so that he could better express its connotations. But once the show starts， everything is out of his control. “When you’re singing to earn money， it becomes different from singing from the heart.”
Nowadays， when he visits a karaoke bar with friends， he refuses to sing. “It’s my day off，” he will quip.
Back Down to Earth
Along with the fall of Bo Xilai， the popularity of red songs has also faded. In the wake of such developments， many of Iain’s performances were cancelled， which brought down his spirits.
“Lately， I have received fewer and fewer performance invitations，” Iain admits. “Perhaps I will open an English training center.” In addition， he has recently begun to work with a friend in Jiangxi Province who specializes in producing 3D promotional videos.
Iain has no plans to return to the U.K. any time soon. “I watch the news，” he says.“The British economy is in a sorry state. If I had enough money， perhaps I would go back， but it’s not easy to earn money in the U.K. now. I could probably only find work as a translator there. But in China， I can sing red songs and I know the language.”
After visiting many socialist countries and discovering differences from what he had imagined， Iain still believes communism can ultimately come to fruition.“Perhaps a hundred years or a thousand years in the future， it will finally be realized if humans are still around. Who knows？”
Iain believes ‘red songs’ to mean revolutionary tunes composed to promote socialism and communism. The singer has grown fond of red songs just as others develop affinity for symphonies or rock & roll.
Persistent Red Singer
Iain was born in the U.K. in 1978， one year before Margaret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister. She carried out market reforms in the country， cutting popular social programs. For example， she eradicated the policy of providing free milk for school children. Iain counts himself amongst the many who disliked the recently-deceased politician.
At the end of 1991， 13-year-old Iain became interested in the “red world，” and two years later， he learned his first ‘red song’ – the national anthem of the former Soviet Union.
“Why were they our ‘enemy’？ Why did it collapse？” Iain queried. “I asked myself such questions and wanted to find the answers myself.” As a result， in 1998， Iain set off for Russia. Over the following years， he traveled across Eastern Europe， studying local languages and searching for red songs.
“Communism appeals to me，” he stresses. “As an ideal and ideology， com- munism is just， fair and compassionate.”
Iain studied Russian and German at university. His global travels continued from Eastern Europe to Siberia， further to Japan， North Korea and ultimately to China.
In November 2004， after being in China for only two months， Iain made his debut. On a talent show for foreigners， Iain sang a song titled “Socialism Is Great，”which made him an audience favorite. Until then， his red songs were only a hobby.
In January 2007， Iain and his wife， a Chongqing native， settled in Sanya， a coastal city in southern Hainan Province. He was hired as a manager at the Hilton Hotel in Yalong Bay. The same year， thenChinese Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai was appointed Party Secretary of Chongqing Municipality， and he immediately started promoting the revival of red songs. Iain’s rare ability as a foreigner capable of singing red songs led to many invitations and opportunities. Exhausted from performing on top of his day job， Iain quit the hotel to become a full-time professional red singer.
Irresistible Entertainment
As a professional singer， Iain gradually found more and more opportunities. To enhance his new career， he would wear one of two costumes： a Chinese red army uniform and a WWII-era Soviet army uniform. However， when performing on a show， he usually ended up wearing clothes provided by the production team. “For one show， they wanted me to wear very ugly， exaggerated and stupid clothes，”Iain sighs， “and the costume didn’t even have anything to do with my song. But I ended up wearing it.”
Performing on television is never as easy as it may seem from the sofa. “The director would say： ‘you can’t sing this， you can’t wear that， make the song shorter， do this， do that…’” Iain explains. “On stage， I have to consider many things such as the location of the camera， the network logo， and my position. It’s a lot of pressure. It’s easy to get distracted， so sometimes I forget the lyrics.”
“Sometimes， I have to fake it，” he reveals. “But if I am not relaxed， the audience can feel it. If I’m not having a good time， they won’t either. My happiness from singing must be authentic. Faking passion is meaningless.”
When starting his career， Iain re-searched background information about each song so that he could better express its connotations. But once the show starts， everything is out of his control. “When you’re singing to earn money， it becomes different from singing from the heart.”
Nowadays， when he visits a karaoke bar with friends， he refuses to sing. “It’s my day off，” he will quip.
Back Down to Earth
Along with the fall of Bo Xilai， the popularity of red songs has also faded. In the wake of such developments， many of Iain’s performances were cancelled， which brought down his spirits.
“Lately， I have received fewer and fewer performance invitations，” Iain admits. “Perhaps I will open an English training center.” In addition， he has recently begun to work with a friend in Jiangxi Province who specializes in producing 3D promotional videos.
Iain has no plans to return to the U.K. any time soon. “I watch the news，” he says.“The British economy is in a sorry state. If I had enough money， perhaps I would go back， but it’s not easy to earn money in the U.K. now. I could probably only find work as a translator there. But in China， I can sing red songs and I know the language.”
After visiting many socialist countries and discovering differences from what he had imagined， Iain still believes communism can ultimately come to fruition.“Perhaps a hundred years or a thousand years in the future， it will finally be realized if humans are still around. Who knows？”