Hello, and welcome to another edition of China Beat, I'm your host Paul Kendall. Last week we introduced to you Confucius Says, a rock band formed in the 1990s. Today, we're going to continue the rock theme and travel a bit further back in time to bring you one of China's oldest and probably best selling bands, Heibao, or Black Panther. The story of Black Panther began when Li Tong and Guo Chuanlin got together to set up a band back in 1987.

Over the following years the band saw many members come and go, making for a rather uneven musical style. Ding Wu was the original singer of Black Panther, but after only one year he left to set up his own heavy metal band, the now famous Tang Dynasty. In 1990 lead vocalist Dou Wei and keyboard player Luan Shu joined, and together with new drummer Zhao Mingyi, this line-up recorded their self-titled first album in 1991. The album was an instant success and is still considered to be one of the best albums ever released by a Chinese rock band.

So let's listen to Wu Di Zi Rong, or Utterly Ashamed from the band's first album. The song helped establish the band's fame and marks a period in the 90s that is often described as Chinese rock music's golden age.

I will never believe in any reason. People have become so indifferent. I will never turn to memories. They are all concerned with the past. These are some lyrics taken from the song Utterly Ashamed, and written by the rock band Heibao, or Black Panther. For many singers and rock bands, the first album is definitely the best, and this axiom holds true with Black Panther, although the band have released a total of five albums over the years. As an old school rock band, Black Panther successfully managed to balance a heavy-metal style appearance with soft music and personal lyrics. Another song that enjoyed a popularity equal to today's first featured track was the mellow Don't Break My Heart. Maybe it will sound to you more like a slushy love song than rock music, but let's take a listen anyway.

That was Don't Break My Heart by Black Panther. Compared with China's godfather of rock, "Cui Jian," and other rock pioneers Tang Dynasty, who have strived to be more localized and find their inspiration from traditional culture, Black Panther's music caters more to the tastes of everyday people. Black Panther sing of themes such as the pursuit of ideals and the sense of loss linked with love affairs. Indeed, many people would prefer to refer to their music as pop rock, rather than pure rock music. Next are two songs from the first album Take Care and Don't You Ruin It. The latter is an anti-war song, showing that the band was prepared to tackle humanist concerns as well as personal matters in their lyrics.

Most of the songs from Heibao's first album are co-written by Dou Wei and Li Tong, with Li Tong said to be one of the best guitarists in China. This talented duo helped to bring the band to its zenith in the early 90s, but months after the debut album's release, Dou Wei left the band. Later on he started a successful and eccentric solo career, which included the famous album Hei Meng, or Black Dream. Luan Shu would replace him as lead vocalist, and in1993 the band released its second album, "Spirit of Light", which can by no means be compared to their first album in terms of quality or musical importance. In the next year Luan Shu also left and Qin Yong joined the band in what seemed then to be an endless stream of lead singers, although Qin Yong has proved more resilient that his predecessors to remain as Black Panther's headman even today. In 1996 a third album, "No Right or Wrong" was released, and this was followed by "Can't Let My Troubled Mind Have No Chance for Expression" two years later. The next two tracks we'll be hearing are both from Heibao's fourth album, the title track and "Our Generation".

You just heard the songs, "Can't let my troubled mind have no chance for expression" and "Our Generation." The band has now been established for almost 17 years, and as one of the oldest bands in China, Black Panther has frequently performed all over the country as well as in various European and Asian countries. In August, a large rock festival with a line-up of 18 bands was held in Yinchuan, Ningxia Autonomous Region in the northwest of China. The first day was brought to a successful conclusion with the performance of the headliners, who were none other than Black Panther. The band played a number of new songs from their new album as well as a couple of classics backed by the choral singing of thousands of rock fans. The essential charisma of the band has remained intact despite the ever present problems of piracy and a lack of investment by record companies. Vocalist Qin Yong insists that music is not like sport and that a band does not need to rely on speed and youth. For him, music requires acute senses and the accumulation of experiences, both of which will only grow over time. The outcome of Black Panther's years of accumulation is their fifth and most recent album, which was released this year. Let's have a listen to the track Illusion, which stayed in the top ten for lengthy periods of time on all of China's various music charts, and can often be heard in Karaoke Bars.

That was Illusion from Heibao's new album. The album was produced by the fairly small record label Kirin Kid Productions, to whom Heibao signed in 2002. The post-production of the album was finished in Britain, in what may be a new move for Chinese bands, as a previously featured band of ours, Wooden Horse, did a similar thing with their new album, except they send it to Australia. Plainly, there is not just a lack of money but also a lack of expertise when it comes to the domestic production of Chinese popular music, otherwise such bands would not need to seek outside help.

Anyway, returning to Black Panther, next up is another song from their last album, with the title "Fly on".

Compared to other bands, Black Panther have simply proved to be more productive and more diligent. According to Qin Yong, market and individuality don't contradict each other, and that's why Black Panther have retained their own style and kept their footing in the market over the passing years. Though to many rock fans, Black Panther are now no longer a pure rock band, the fact speaks for itself that they are still one of the most popular and best selling acts within the guitar genre of Chinese popular music.

We'll leave you today with a track from its first album, Close to Me, and the hope that you can get closer to us at China Beat with some comments or suggestions, so please write to us at English Service, China Radio International, Beijing, China, with the postal code 100040. You can also drop us an email at chinabeat@crifm.com or visit our website at www.crienglish.com. I'm your host Paul Kendall. See you next week.