For those of you who imagine Hong Kong as a small place with tiny streets packed with locals wringing chickens necks, all I can say is that either you haven't been here or have been listening to Jasper Carrot's Hong Kong routine too much. Hong Kong is a place of diversity - you can be walking through the most ethnic places one minute, and then emerge into a neon metropolis of lights and bars the next. It is just this that brings me back to the place again and again.

First stop was a place called the Wanch, a bit of an unoriginal name for a live music bar in Wanchai perhaps, but obviously one of the major hangouts for ex-pats to enjoy live music through the night.

Locals and westerners seem to stick to their own areas of the city when it comes to nightlife, so I can only assume that there is a major difference in taste when it comes to what makes up a night on the town. We were therefore quite pleased to find that the headlining act in the Wanch was a local guy by the name of Bambie with his rock/pop quartet. The music was loud and the place was packed - we knew we were in for a good night.

Originally Bambie was a solo artist, strumming guitar and singing along to his own numbers. Getting tired with this, he then moved on to playing loud music with a group - which certainly seems to please the crowds. Singing songs by Santana, the Beatles, J.J. Cale, James Taylor and Eric Clapton inspired him to create his own music with the help of the others, and they haven't looked back since.

Bambie is the lead singer of the group and is backed up very professionally by Bass Guitar player Ricky Aranas, Vic Pumpicpic on drums/percussion and Carl Conde on lead guitar. None of the players appeared to be chained down to their instrument, however, and Ricky not only helped out on vocals but also composes and arranges some of the band's material.

The foursome certainly came across to us as very professional, and the Wanch was packed solid with punters who had come to see them play. There was a bar along one wall, a small makeshift stage opposite, and the space between was so crowded that it was almost impossible to move without physically climbing over everybody. I gather that the Wanch is one of the major live music venues, if not the live music venue, in Wanchai - clearly, more places like this need to open up.

In our recent interview, Bambie described the band in broken English as "a group of semi-old guys who don't care about our age and just want to entertain people as long as we can" Well, as you can see from the photographs, this lot certainly aren't likely to be shuffling off to an old peoples home anytime soon - so we can only assume that there must be a lack of Teenage bands in the ex-colony.

So, how would Bambie describe his band?
[of Carl, the lead guitarist] - "This pathetic guy never cares about his future, but is one of the best lead guitarists I've ever seen in Hong Kong. In fact, he's got many offers but simply prefers to play with us once in a while."
Um, charming. We think we see what he's trying to say. Of his own part in the band, Bambie has much more to say:

"I've been playing acoustic guitar all my life, and playing is my bread and butter. I do the vocals - Folk, Rock, Pop and Blues - and, of course, I am also a songwriter. I started writing songs in the middle of last year and was invited to perform, and thus was discovered by a producer from the south coast of England."

In fact Bambie is deep in negotiations to record a CD, which he is hoping to do before the end of the year. Meanwhile, the band (despite the love-hate relationship, which we seriously suspect is part of the act) will continue to play around the central nightspots of Hong Kong - mostly Wanchai, the place to go to listen to live music through the night and into a new day! You will usually find them at the Wanch, Carnegies or The Old China Hand Tavern which is open 24 hours at the weekends.

I'll leave the last word to Bambie: "After a number of major operations for Pancreatitis, I thought I would no longer be able to carry on as a singer - but I was wrong. I have more and more interest in singing in front of the people who are supportive of my act, especially the regular customers. We plan to finish the first album by this year and go for an Asian tour. It's never too late to be recognised in the music industry..."