Artists support rocker with cancer

Rallying support: Rocker Tran Lap, who has cancer, is seen in a poster of the concert Buc Tuong and Friends: The Hands Bring the Warmth. The concert aims to support him financially and spiritually.

Lap, who is also the band's singer and a musician, was informed about his health problem in the beginning of November. The 42-year-old then underwent a surgery to eliminate a tumour and is now under an intensive treatment.

"All of the us were very shocked when we heard the bad news about Lap. We decided to do something to let him know that we are always by his side during his tough and costly fighting with death," said guitarist Tran Tuan Hung.

Their idea has received the absolute support of many others, from artists to music directors, from event organisers to stage equipment suppliers.

"We decided to name the concert simply Buc Tuong and Friends: Hands Bring the Warmth, expecting the show to reflect the warmth of friendship and compassion," Hung added.

Rocker Lap has produced the concert emblem, which features two hands nurturing a flame.

The concert, to be held on Saturday night, will feature all the hits of the band during its 20-year history.

To join hand with Buc Tuong, other famous rock bands such as Hac San, Microwave, Oringchains, and Small Fire, will also take part in the concert.

Many leading singers will also perform at the event to show their support to the ailing rocker.

In a clip sent to yesterday press conference about the concert, Lap said he is undergoing a daily chemotherapy and had to bear the pain that forces him to move by wheelchair.

"Despite being in a wheelchair, I will be on the stage, together with my teammates, who we consider ourselves brothers, to sing our tunes," Lap said.

According to music editor and MC Anh Tuan, a member of the concert organising board, if Lap's health condition got better on Saturday, the rocker, who is also a motorcyclist, will join a parade with members of his motorbike club through some Ha Noi streets before arriving at the Giang Vo Centre for the concert. Here, Lap will present gifts to some cancer patients.

A majority of the proceeds and funds raised from the concert will be given to Lap, while the rest will be donated to other cancer patients across the country.

Composer Quoc Trung said the concert will also raise public awareness about cancer, which an increasing rate of Vietnamese people have been stricken with in recent years.

Founded in March 1995 and consisting of five students of the Ha Noi University of Construction, Buc Tuong quickly achieved tremendous success, becoming arguably Viet Nam's most popular rock group.

A year after forming, the band became popular among young people with a hit song called We're the Wall in a TV show for university students. Four years later, they created a stir with another hit Duong Toi Ngay Vinh Quang (Road to Glorious Day).

The pinnacle was a first live show called Tam Hon Cua Da (Rock's Soul) in Ha Noi in 2002 that attracted 10,000 fans.

There were then a series of albums and awards, including one for the best hard rock band at the first Rock Viet Festival in 2004.

In September 2006, the band announced their break-up and held the last live show, The Last Saturday, that drew 20,000 fans who came to say a tearful goodbye.

However, in 2010, the band regrouped, but with an important change – it no longer performed hard rock and metal rock, switching instead to modern rock. The band also released an album called Ngay Khac (Another Day) to mark the change.

One year later, the band held a live show featuring their old hits but with a new arrangement. It attracted 10,000 people, proving the band had lost none of its appeal after two decades in the business.

Last December, Buc Tuong presented their fifth album, Dat Viet (Vietnamese Land), followed by the music video Nhung Chuyen Di Dai (Long Journeys) which is also featured in the album.

Tickets for Saturday concert are available on http://ve.buctuong.com.