Alan Tam holds birthday celebration for fellow HK singer George Lam

Hong Kong singer Alan Tam (left) and singer George Lam have been friends for more than 40 years. Photo: Alan Tam/Weibo

Singer George Lam turns 74 today (Oct 12), but singer-actor Alan Tam decides to celebrate his birthday three days early with a group of friends.

On Saturday (Oct 9), Tam, 71, posted on Weibo several photos of the festivities. He wrote in Chinese: "I have the fortune today to celebrate Ah Lam's birthday earlier."

The two have been friends for more than 40 years. They were full of smiles as they toasted each other and even posed playfully on a rock structure.

Tam, a member of Cantopop band The Wynners, did not give a reason for the early celebration. But some Hong Kong media speculated that Lam would be returning to mainland China soon as he is currently appearing in the third season of the Chinese variety show Singing With Legends.

Also appearing in the photos are celebrities such as singer Gary Chiu and actor Roland Law, both of whom also shared the post.

Chiu, 35, quoted numbers such as 30624700 and 3062477 from Lam's classic song, A Life Of Numbers, and wished his senior a happy birthday.

George Lam's wife Sally Yeh had recently posted photos of her with white hair on social media as she turned 60 on Sept 30. Photo: Sally Yeh/Facebook

Law, 37, echoed Chiu as he wrote on Weibo: "I'm like a young fan after meeting Brother Lam. I keep thinking of a song, which is made up of four words."

The moustached Lam is famous for hits such as A Man Should Stand Strong, a theme song for the martial arts film Once Upon A Time In China (1991), and the romantic duet Choice with his wife, singer Sally Yeh. They married in 1996.

Yeh had recently posted photos of her with white hair on social media as she turned 60 on Sept 30.

In a Facebook post at the stroke of midnight on Oct 1, she wrote: "I hope you all can accept me as I am, white hair with my cutey wrinkles. Lam really enjoys it cos now I can keep him company and look like twins," referring to her husband's white hair.

"I don't know where my whole self will go from here, but I'm really going to look forward to all the natural progressions my mind and body will be taking," said the singer famous for the song Xiao Sa Zou Yi Hui, which roughly translates to "walking gracefully through life". – The Straits Times/Asia News Network