Bức Tường (English: The Wall) are a Vietnamese glam metal band, formed in 1995 from Vietnam's National University of Civil Engineering in Hanoi. The band is one of the first professional rock bands in Vietnam, and is considered to be the leader of Hanoi's rock scene.[1][2][3]

Bức Tường
Bức Tường live in (2011).
Background information
OriginHanoi, Vietnam
GenresHard rock, heavy metal
Years active1995 (1995)–2006 (2006)
2010 (2010)–present
LabelsThang Long Audio & Visual
MembersTrần Tuấn Hùng
Tăng Xuân Kiên (Kiên Cun)
Vũ Văn Hà
Phạm Trung Hiếu
Past membersTrần Lập (deceased)
Nghiêm Mạnh Tuấn
Trần Quốc Khánh
Nguyễn Hoàng
Trần Nhất Hoàng
Nguyễn Duy Hùng
Nguyễn Đức Hiệp
Phan Thanh Bình
Trần Hồng Trường
Võ Anh Tuấn
Nguyễn Minh Đức

History

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In early 1996, Bức Tường had the opportunity to introduce themselves to the students and national audience with the song "We are Bức Tường" or "We're the Wall" in the opening game of SV96 between three teams: Hanoi University of Technology, National Economics University, and National University of Civil Engineering. Then, four years later, in the SV2000 finale, with upbeat tunes, vibrant of "Bình minh sinh viên 2000" and "Đường đến ngày vinh quang" or "Road to the glory", Bức Tường had impressed the audiences. This event was remarkable and a turning point in their musical career.

The band was chosen as the representative of Vietnamese contemporary music to attended the Festival "Vietnamese Faces – French Faces", which is organized in Cahors, France, from 26 September to 7 October 2003.[4]

On 25 April 2004, Bức Tường became the first band to perform a live concert in Music and friends of VTV3.[5]

In November 2005, Bức Tường was the first band to tour across Vietnam. 4 concerts "9 +" was continuously held in Hanoi, Hai Phong, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City.

After nearly 12 years, on 2 December 2006, a farewell concert called "The Last Saturday" was held. It took place in front of 20,000 fans at the Giảng Võ Exhibition Center in Hanoi, and is considered the largest concert with the biggest number of fans in all of Bức Tường's concerts.[6][7]

Death of Trần Lập

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In November 2015, the band's lead singer Trần Lập was diagnosed with rectal cancer. In January 2016, Bức Tường held their last live show with him, "Hand of Fire", in Hanoi, attracting 15,000 spectators. On 17 March 2016, five months after being diagnosed with cancer, Lập passed away at his home in Hanoi.

Discography

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Albums

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  • Tâm hồn của đá (2002)
  • Vô hình (2003)
  • Nam châm (2004)
  • Ngày khác (2010)
  • Đất Việt (2014)
  • Con đường không tên (2020)
  • Cân bằng (2023)

Singles

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  • "Đường đến ngày vinh quang" (2002)
  • "Những ngày tháng tuyệt vời" (2019)

References

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  1. ^ Dale Alan Olsen Popular Music of Vietnam: The Politics of Remembering 2008 "Bức Tường" pp100-104, 108–109, 127–128
  2. ^ Barley Norton Songs for the Spirits: Music and Mediums in Modern Vietnam - Page 51- 2009 "Following the karaoke craze in Vietnam in the mid-1990s, young popular musicians have found inspiration in diverse idioms including jazz, pop, rock, and rap: there is now a thriving rock scene in Hanoi led by the group Buc Tuong (The Wall);"
  3. ^ Asian music journal of the Society for Asian Music: Volume 39 Society for Asian Music – 2008 "Love is a not a frequent subject for Vietnam's rock lyricists. Instead they engage, as one writer on an online bulletin board has said about Buc Tuong, with issues like "ideology" (tu tuong) and "education" (giao duc), much as communist political ..."
  4. ^ "The Wall dự Festival Cahors ở Pháp". vietbao. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  5. ^ "Ban nhạc Bức tường "Nam tiến"". tuoitre. 17 April 2004. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  6. ^ "Ban nhạc Bức Tường biểu diễn live show cuối cùng". vietbao. 29 November 2006. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  7. ^ Huyen, Pham Thanh (28 November 2006). "Ban nhạc Bức Tường và "Ngày thứ 7 cuối cùng"". qdnd. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2013.