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Paul Kay

As he prepares to celebrate his 80th birthday on June 10, it is fair to say that Anders Nelsson has witnessed more of Hong Kong’s evolution than most.
Since arriving in the city in 1950 aged four, the California-born son of Swedish missionaries has found fame as a musician, singer-songwriter, composer, concert promoter, record producer and actor, all against the backdrop of a city emerging from post-World War II gloom to become a vibrant global metropolis.
Along the way, he has helped shape Hong Kong’s musical tastes across multiple eras, rubbed shoulders with pop megastars, and even fought kung fu legend Bruce Lee on the big screen.
But more than just living through Hong Kong’s golden age, Nelsson – who is fluent in Cantonese – embodies the qualities that have driven the city’s success: a relentlessly can-do attitude, resilience, a flair for reinvention in the face of change, and a knack for being in the right place at the right time when opportunity comes knocking.
We meet in an industrial building in Fo Tan, in Hong Kong’s New Territories, at what he describes as his “man cave” – a space he uses as an office and to store some of the many souvenirs he has accumulated over the years.
Surrounded by shelves packed with a motley collection of books, DVDs and ceramic cats, as well as an assortment of music and martial arts memorabilia, guitars and awards, it is the perfect setting to begin a journey through both the city’s musical history and Nelsson’s remarkable life.

Getting sold on rock ‘n’ roll
Growing up nearby in Sha Tin in the early 1950s, Nelsson’s earliest memories of Hong Kong are largely devoid of music, save for the hymns he would hear as his parents prepared for Sunday services. Indeed, it was on a trip to Sweden that he first fell in love with music, listening to his uncle playing classical pieces on the violin. The same uncle also gave the young and inquisitive Nelsson his first – and longest-lasting – words of advice on the value of music.
“I’d say, ‘What’s good music? What can I play that’s good?’ And his answer has stuck with me all these years,” Nelsson says. “It’s sort of connected with Cantonese. ‘Dim sum’ means to touch your heart. And he said, ‘Music that touches you emotionally, makes you laugh, makes you cry or just interested, or makes you dance, is good music. And if it doesn’t touch you in any way, then just move on. It’s not your music.’”
Back in Hong Kong, Nelsson’s musical education gathered pace when he discovered he could pick up broadcasts from radio stations at United States military bases around the Asia-Pacific region on his father’s radio, some of which would play the latest hits coming out of America.
“I would sneak down when everybody was asleep, put my ear right up against the speaker and twiddle the knobs,” he recalls.
“There was all kinds of great music, and hearing things like Little Richard screaming at the top of his lungs, pounding the piano, I was tempted to go and pound on our piano in the middle of the night. I would have woken up the whole neighbourhood!”
It was a transformative experience for Nelsson, and he remembers feeling as though he was “almost levitating”. Inspired, he begged his mother to buy him a guitar, and “That was that. I was sold on rock ‘n’ roll.”
Around the same time, another formative moment helped shape Nelsson’s outlook on life. When he was nine years old and attending Kowloon Junior School, his class was visited by Maurine Grantham, the wife of the then Hong Kong governor Alexander Grantham.
The teacher asked the class what they wanted to be when they grew up, and when it got to Nelsson’s turn, he said, “I want to be a singer and a composer and an actor and a reporter.” All the other children laughed, and his teacher admonished him that without a clear ambition, he risked becoming a jack of all trades and master of none.
Grantham, however, strode straight to where Nelsson was sitting and said, “Young man, you must do what you want to do. And if you can make people happy along the way, so much the better. You just do it.” They were words he would never forget.

Strings of success
When Nelsson moved up to King George V School, he tried to take his interest in music to another level by joining the school band, but was rebuffed by the older students. That was until, at the age of 13 or 14, the sudden departure of the band’s bass player presented Nelsson with an opportunity that he seized, despite not really being able to play the bass.
It would not be long before he formed his own band, The Cagey 5 – a play on the abbreviated name of his school, KGV – which then evolved into The Kontinentals.
After cutting their teeth playing on Friday nights at KGV, The Kontinentals gained a reputation as one of Hong Kong’s hottest bands. They were soon playing to packed dance floors at Tsim Sha Tsui hotspots such as Bayside Restaurant & Night Club and The Golden Phoenix.
Around this time, Nelsson discovered the Orbit Records Bar in Chungking Mansions, which was owned by Gery Scott, a well-travelled British jazz singer who had formerly been signed to Parlophone by The Beatles’ producer George Martin. Desperate to learn all he could about the music industry, Nelsson asked her for an after-school job. He soon found himself picking up boxes of singles as they arrived by freighter at the wharf on Canton Road to transport back to the shop by rickshaw.

Soon after, Scott announced plans to start her own independent label, Orbit Records, and Nelsson immediately asked if she would sign The Kontinentals. She agreed, and they went on to release two singles that topped the charts in Hong Kong in 1965: “I Think Of Her” and “I Still Love You”.
“I think we had more fun back in the day,” Nelsson says. “We weren’t just chasing the dollar. I’m sure we got cheated by everybody. I’m not sure we were ever paid any royalties from the two singles we made, but we had fun. We had a lot of fun. And it was an amazing time in Hong Kong.”
Nelsson’s music career was disrupted when he turned 18 and was briefly drafted into the Swedish army, but after being declared “totally useless for all military purposes”, he returned to Hong Kong with renewed gusto.

An unexpected break
Over the next decade, with Grantham’s advice still ringing in his ears, Nelsson continued to build his reputation with a succession of successful bands, including Anders Nelson & The Inspiration and Ming. He also spread his wings into journalism as an entertainment columnist for The Star newspaper and, thanks to a chance encounter with one of the 20th century’s most iconic figures, began acting.
After bumping into fellow musician Robert Lee at a newly opened dim sum restaurant in late 1971 or early 1972, Nelsson found himself sitting next to Robert’s much more famous brother, Bruce, who had recently made a splash with The Big Boss.
To the star-struck Nelsson’s surprise, Bruce asked him if he was free the next day, and told him to be at the corner of Nathan Road and Middle Road in Tsim Sha Tsui at 7am. He duly followed these instructions, and ended up making his acting debut in The Way of the Dragon, as a thug that Lee dispatches with whirling nunchucks.
“You couldn’t really ask for a better introduction to the field of acting,” Nelsson laughs.
He would go on to appear in numerous Hong Kong films and television series over the years, including Divine Retribution on ATV and TVB’s The Drive of Life and Trimming Success, but not before adding yet more strings to his bow. He went on to become a record producer, composer and all-round music impresario, and brought Billy Connolly, Elton John and Bob Dylan to Hong Kong, among many other acts.
‘I never planned anything’
Nelsson has returned to the stage in recent years, having formed the ever-evolving band Infinity. They delight music lovers of all ages with surprise performances, such as a special Mother’s Day show in May 2026, where he got everyone from toddlers to a 98-year-old up dancing.
On the secret of his longevity, Nelsson credits his tendency to “always look on the bright side of life”, as well as his continued participation in fulfilling creative and charitable projects with inspiring friends. For example, he regularly joins Hong Kong acting legends Helena Law Lan and Alexander Wong Wan-choi to entertain the residents of elderly care homes, and he is currently working on the music for a children’s play with actress Lily Poon.

As has traditionally been the case, Nelsson’s projects still tend to come together from following his creative spirit and the relationships he has built over the decades rather than as the result of any master plan.
“I never planned anything,” he says. “I did all of the things I said I wanted to do and more. Just by being in the right place at the right time.”
Eight decades in, it is a knack that Nelsson still has in spades.


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The fascinating life of Hong Kong musician/actor Anders Nelsson, who once fought Bruce Lee

Hong Kong-based musician and actor Anders Nelsson plays his bass guitar during an interview at his studio in Fo Tan, in Hong Kong’s Sha Tin district, on May 13, 2026. Photo: Eugene Lee

Nelsson relaxes in his “man cave” in Fo Tan, Hong Kong, during an interview on May 13, 2026. Photo: Eugene Lee

Young Nelsson meets Maurine Grantham, the wife of the then Hong Kong governor Alexander Grantham, at Kowloon Junior School. Photo: Anders Nelsson

The cover of The Kontinentals’ 1965 single “I Still Love You”. Photo: Anders Nelsson

Old photographs show Nelsson as a young man during his military service. Photo: Anders Nelsson

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Nelsson talks about playing in one of Hong Kong’s hottest bands, his fight scene with Bruce Lee and the secret to his longevity


Nelsson talks about playing in one of Hong Kong’s hottest bands, his fight scene with Bruce Lee and the secret to his longevity.


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The fascinating life of Hong Kong musician/actor Anders Nelsson, who once fought Bruce Lee

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Nelsson talks about playing in one of Hong Kong’s hottest bands, his fight scene with Bruce Lee and the secret to his longevity

Nelsson talks about playing in one of Hong Kong’s hottest bands, his fight scene with Bruce Lee and the secret to his longevity