Paul’s Records: How a refugee from the Vietnam War found success selling vinyl on the streets of Hong Kong

Blacksmith Books

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- Size: 13 (L) x 18 (W) cm

- Binding: softcover, 136 pages

- Language: English

- Author: Andrew S. Guthrie

- Publisher: Blacksmith Books, 2016

As a youth in Saigon’s Chinatown of the 1960s and 70s, Paul Au was greatly affected by American “hippie” culture and Rock and Roll. He was smuggled into Hong Kong in 1974 to escape the South Vietnamese military draft.

At first living in rooftop squats, he started to trade used vinyl records on the streets of Sham Shui Po, and finally established an underground reputation for his eclectic blend and unending supply of recorded music.

This full-colour book uses sample records and sleeve art to depict the evolution of popular music in Hong Kong since the 1970s, and describes the down-to-earth part of Kowloon, with its walk-up buildings and street markets, that Paul Au has become synonymous with.