Dave Tong

David Tong began his music career as the bassist for “Joe Jr. and The Side-Effects.” The group was formed from 1967 to 1969 with lead singer Joe Rodriegus Jr when Joe’s former group “The Zoundcrackers” disbanded. Diamond recording company recruited 4 musicians for Joe and named the group “The Side-Effects.” Dave was a newcomer to the music scene who successfully auditioned for the bass position. The music trends of the band at that time were heavily influenced by the British rock of the 60’s. With Joe’s mellow-toned voice, he and the band chose to play cover songs by Cliff Richard, Herman’s Hermits, The Peacemakers and The Hollies etc… The group wrote some of their own material as well. During the years ‘67-’69, 2 albums and several singles were recorded under the Diamonds Label in Hong Kong (now the defunct Polydor.) The group’s hit single “HERE’S A HEART” was the best-selling single in Hong Kong music history in the 60’s.

After Joe Jr. decided to go solo on his own, Dave left the Side-Effects and joined “Black Jacks,” the only psychedelic band in Hong Kong back in the late 60’s and early 70’s. This underground group consisted of Richard Yuen on keyboard and Peter Ng on guitar and established themselves as a top psychedelic group among local heavy rock bands. Black Jacks recorded all their own material under the E.M.I. Label. Their most successful single which received the most radio air-time was the anti-war hit “MUSHROOM CLOUD.” Their creativity in music stirred quite an excitement for their fans and was appreciated by local stars like Sam Hui, Alan Tam, and Michael Samson. The peak of the group’s music career did not last too long before they had to look for a new lead singer. Being an underground group, auditions for a replacement was unsuccessful.

After 16 years out of the music limelight, Dave made a comeback to the music scene in Canada with several group line-ups and finally formed Dynasty Music Group. Under Dave’s leadership, DMG has grown from playing in small restaurant venues to becoming the prime choice for large corporate functions and backing group for Hong Kong artists. David has now retired from his role as bass guitarist and manager and stepped behind the scenes to provide a supporting role.