Fans of Leslie Cheung mourn after 15 years in style

Fans of Tormented charismatic superstar Leslie Cheung, Asia’s gay icon have gathered at Hong Kong’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel to mourn the day he took his own life 15 years ago. Cheung born in 1956, was one of Hong Kong’s most famous stars during the golden era of Canto-pop in the 1980s, although he portrayed a public image of a perfect heterosexual male he was in a long-term relationship with his childhood friend Daffy Tong. It was not until 1991 that adult gay sex was decriminalised in the territory. Leslie Cheng is remembered for his films and music performances and even has his own waxwork at Madame Tussauds.

In 2000, Leslie became the first Asian star to wear a tailor-made costume by French fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier in a concert, with waist-length hair, clearly visible stubble and muscular build, wearing tight transparent trousers and a short skirt. He ended the concert with his self-revealing theme” the theme of my performance is this. The most important thing in life, apart from love, is to appreciate your own self. I won’t hide, I’ll live my life the way I like under the bright light. I am what I am, firelight of a different colour” he sang.