Wang was born in British Hong Kong as the son of a former Shaw Brothers actor, Wang Hsieh. He moved to Taiwan when he was 17. Before landing his first record deal in 1988, Wang wrote songs for other singers under pen-names such as "Little Grass" and "Northern Wind". He worked as a Tae Kwon Do instructor, ice-skating coach, taxi-driver, delivery-man, waiter, bartender, and cook. He also spent three years in the Taiwanese military to obtain a Taiwan ID card, despite holding a Hong Kong British passport. His first marriage ended when his wife at the time left him while he was serving in the military.
Wang released his Chinese debut album, A Game A Dream (一場遊戲一場夢), which sold over 500,000-copies in December 1987, which was used as the theme song in the 1988 telemovie The Game They Call Sex. Another of his hits, "Bits of Sadness, Bits of Craze" (幾分傷心幾分痴), released in 1988, shares the same melody to "A Game A Dream" but sung in Cantonese with different lyrics. It was an insert song on Looking Back in Anger and the music video features Yin Szema.
He found success in Hong Kong during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Many of his songs were used as the theme songs of popular TVB series. He is one of the few artists from Taiwan to break into the Hong Kong market, with four years of chart-topping record sales. He is likewise successful in other markets such as Malaysia, Singapore and mainland China.
Wang migrated to Canada in 1994, after his second marriage on 1 April 1993. He carried on releasing 2-Chinese albums a year until 1998. On 1 June 1996, It was moved to officially released a new Chinese album under a different label names Pony Canyon Taiwan, which ceased operations in Taiwan in late 1997 due to the Asian financial crisis. Altogether, he had released a total of five Mandarin albums in just a period of two years at Pony Canyon with notable hits like "I Love You (我愛你)".
On 20 December 1999, Wang made a comeback in the Hong Kong music industry and signed a recording contract with Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG). In January 2000, the album Giving was released with a few new songs as well as remixes of his older classics. Following the success of this album, Wang held a major charity concert in late February of the same year at Hong Kong Coliseum in Hong Kong.
Two years later, he released his latest Cantonese album (though called L'Amour et le Rêve 愛與夢). Around the same time, he participated in various movies including Jackie Chan's New Police Story.
He performed his first Beijing concert on 26 November 2004 and another in Xi'an on 16 September 2006. In January 2007, he released his latest Mandarin album Goodbye Madman (別了瘋子); like his previous Mandarin album Regaining Consciousness (甦醒), it was not heavily promoted.
After his 10-year contract with EEG expired, Wang held his 'I am Back' Concert on 23 October 2009 at the Hong Kong Coliseum.
He held a series of world tour concerts from August to November 2010 in Beijing, Singapore and Tianjin. He stated during a television interview in July 2010 that he would retire from the music industry after the tour. He then clarified in September that it was only song-writing that he would be leaving, after the completion of the album he was working on, and that he will still continue to perform in concerts.
On June 10, 2017, he announced he will eventually retire, saying his voice is no longer as good as it should be, as it was damaged due to an unknown offender that drugged him, affecting his voice many years ago.
In 2018, Wang released a digital album, I know I'm no longer a popular singer (我知道我是一個已經過氣的歌手), and retired in Canada.
Musical style and output
His music and lyrics can be described as being melancholy and haunting in a blend of rock, ballads and blues, which is attributed to his impoverished and tough upbringing. Wang is also an established songwriter, having written many of his most popular songs but also covers songs by other artists, both from Asia and other continents.
To date, he has recorded 26 studio albums in Mandarin and 11 in Cantonese. In addition, numerous compilations of his popular songs have been released.
1993 4th Taiwan Golden Melody Awards – Most Popular Male Singer
1993 1st Singapore Hit Awards – Most Popular Male Singer
1994 5th Taiwan Golden Melody Awards – Best Song: Going Home《回家》
1994 2nd Singapore Hit Awards – Most Popular Male Singer
1994 2nd Singapore Hit Awards – Best Song: Road《路》
References
123浪子王杰，悲哀的一生，全因为在香港不入群[Prodigal son Dave Wang, sad life, all because in Hong Kong is not in the group]. 163 (in Chinese). NetEase. 18 November 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2026.
↑求你别再问了！[Please stop asking!]. Sina Corporation (in Chinese). Sina Corporation. 22 December 1999. Archived from the original on 24 October 2002. Retrieved 30 September 2026. １２月２０日，王杰正式和英皇娱乐唱片公司签约，并举行 记者会进行签约仪式 [On 20th December, Dave Wang officially sign a contract with Emperor Entertainment Group, and will hold a press conference for signing ceremony]
12"王杰-明星资源". 华视娱乐传媒(广州)有限公司 (in Chinese (China)). Archived from the original on 23 January 2025.
12siibillamlaw (6 October 2017). "New Police Story". The Asian Cinema Critic. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
