Subscribe to free Email Newsletter

1987: Cui Jian officially leaves the Beijing Philharmonic Orchestra. He begins working with ADO, an innovative Beijing band that includes two renegade foreign embassy employees - Hungarian bassist Kassai Balazs and Madagascan guitarist Eddie Randriamampionona. These and other foreign musicians introduce Beijing musicians to reggae, blues, and jazz, and their participation brings a rhythmic dynamism to Cui Jian's rough-hewn tunes. With ADO, Cui Jian releases what he considers to be his first real album, Rock'N'Roll On The New Long March. The album includes the first recording of "Nothing To My Name" which remains Cui Jian's best known and most beloved song.

1988: At the same time as Cui Jian is making a name for himself at home, he is also beginning to receive recognition from abroad. He performs "Nothing To My Name" in a special live world-wide broadcast for the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.

1989: Cui Jian participates in the first Asian Popular Music Awards in London, as well as the "Printemps de Bourges" Festival in Paris.

1990: Cui Jian embarks on his Rock'N'Roll On The New Long March tour taking him to arenas throughout the country. Tour profits are to be donated to the upcoming Asian Games in Beijing and huge crowds turn out to see the tour. The tour is cancelled midway, but nevertheless achieves something important in that Cui Jian's appearances inspire the formation of dozens of grass-roots rock bands in China's hinterlands.

1991: Cui Jian releases his second album, Solution, consisting of songs written prior to 1989. Continuing to experiment with his sound, Cui Jian produces Solution with a new band formed from Beijing's growing community of rock musicians, as well as Japanese guitarist Amari Kyosuke who is living in Beijing.

1992: One track from Solution entitled "Wild in the Snow" is made into an MTV video which receives an MTV International Viewers' Choice Award and becomes an instant hit throughout Asia. Cui Jian gives his first performance in Tokyo.

1993: Cui Jian and and sixth generation film-maker Zhang Yuan jointly produce the experimental film, Beijing Bastards. In it Cui Jian plays the role of an underground Beijing rock musician named Cui Jian. He scores the movie's soundtrack. He also performs in Germany and Switzerland on tours with Chinese rock bands Cobra and Tang Dynasty.

1994: Cui Jian releases his third album, Balls Under The Red Flag, featuring exceptional performances from saxophonist, Liu Yuan, and guitarist, Eddie Randriamampionona. The record also highlights a three-piece rhythm section incorporating traditional Chinese percussion and oil drums. He plays a four-city tour of Japan to support the album's release. The tour receives tremendous response from both the Japanese media and audiences. In the same year Cui Jian makes his American debut at the Bumbershoot festival in Seattle.