We called ourselves “Walter and Jack” after the two characters in “The Odd Couple”, and the name stuck because it was true: We were Asia’s odd couple of the music industry, and also, very possibly, the most successful. It worked to have one of us who talked softly and carried a big stick and the other who enjoyed being a big stick and having some thinking he was a whack job who had a short fuse.  Norman (Cheng) and I read the tea leaves extremely well. We almost magically and

Once upon a dim sum  We heard the bells  go Ding Dong We knew we were back  And chilling in the Kong The city called Hong Kong  There was music playing  And people singing  There were beats  out in the streets Music was heard everywhere  This was the soundtrack  to our being and lives  And living the coolest  Cheongsam life style   Copyright ©️ Hans Ebert, 2026 It’s tough growing up, and, sometimes, when having to grow down to fit in with others and “network”, which is a stra

Like needing a shot of rhythm and blues, especially during these very uncertain times, we all need heavy doses of inspiration to get us motivated, because when this inspiration washes over you, it’s like a revitalisation and replenishment needed to go from surviving to living- really living. I’ve been thinking about this more and more, and how the more I am too often around those who don’t give me this nourishment, I retreat into a deep, dark void to listen to the silence, in

I know some extremely good and multi talented creatives in leading multinational advertising agencies- award winning Creative Directors- who have tried and failed to go the distance when trying to make horse racing something more than what it has been for decades and decades with a cherry on top and before the wheels coming off. Showing horse racing in its best possible light and in an ONGOING way seems to be mission: impossible and one probably knows why, but let’s not dwell

Those were the times and whether for better or worse, it’s what it was and depending on one’s career path, it’s what led us to wherever the hell we were going with no Google Maps to show us the way. Were we fraught with problems and danger and careful about where life took us? Not really, because as the Stones’ once sang, we were caught in a crossfire hurricane and it was alright, because there was nothing to compare it to- something was there and we had to try it no matter h

It seems like years since I have been to the Champagne Bar at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, and maybe it has even though I have actually not been there for a few months. I should because they have one of the best bona fide Jazz singer I have heard performing in Hong Kong. The real deal, so to speak. But, as always, it’s people who make a city and everything else… The Champagne Bar was our favourite meeting place for so many reasons. There was the convenience of the venue which was j

When McDonald’s opened its first restaurant in Paterson Street in Hong Kong, my then girlfriend, who became my wife and I were there with a McConga line of people including Commercial Radio disc jockey Mike Souza along with the always attractive Rebecca Ng. Rebecca’s husband and co-owner of the franchise in Hong Kong, Daniel Ng, was busy mingling with guests and cutting various ribbons. Being Creative Director with McDonald’s advertising agency Glenn Graphic, which evolved in

We come into this world alone and we slowly close the door and leave this world alone. In the middle is lots of, well, stuff, most of it unnecessary, but one often becomes a hoarder. Amongst all this could be some good stuff- like those who become lifelong friends. You might fall in love, marry, maybe you become a parent and you might reconnect with your own parents as you now understand them what they were going through so much better. When in your bed, you often enjoy being

“Being in Hong Kong, where it’s the favourite pastime of many, why not see how horse racing can help reintroduce Hong Kong to the world- or even reintroduce the world to itself- and be a medium of its own?”.  This was someone very close to me talking about today’s Hong Kong, yes, and also the “healing power” of people coming together. I was taking in all she said, but also trying to make light of it by saying that she was sounding like Barbra Streisand singing about “people w