The concert, entitled Tro Ve (WayBack Home), will be held on April 17 at the National University of CivilEngineering, the band's second at the venue 21 years after the first.
“Lap and I were always looking forward to the opportunity to re-organisethe show to pay tribute to the National University of Civil Engineering anddemonstrate our achievements,” said Hung.
“It is not understandable why such a simple wish has not been fulfilled for thepast 21 years. After Lập passed away, we told ourselves that we had to make itby all means,” he added.
Way Back Home was also intended to take place last year tocelebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the rock band butwas cancelled due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year, the event will coincide with the fifth death anniversaryof Lập and also mark the 26th anniversary of the founding ofVietnamese students’ favourite rock band.
According to Hung, The Wall had received a couple of invitations to perform attheir former school but waited for the right moment to returnfor a show with the best sound, lighting and backdrop conditions.
According to Associate Professor Nguyen Hoang Giang, Vice-Rector of theNational University of Civil Engineering, The Wall has always been the pride ofthe university.
The music of The Wall has supported the dreams and aspirations of young peoplein Vietnam and of the university, he added.
This band’s return trip will feature 20 songs composed in the past 20 years.
“We want to tell the story of where we are from, who we are, how we work, howwe contribute, where we have reached and what we can fetch,” said Hùng.
“We have to consider hard which songs to perform in almost every programme andwhich songs have to be left out. Besides the majority of familiar songs thathave been associated with our band’s name, the audience will enjoy new songsincluded in our 2020 album Con Duong KhongTen (The Untitled Road),” he noted.
Way Back Home also arouses much emotion for guitarist Vu Van Ha, amember of The Wall. He recalled that although Lập was not a student of theNational University of Civil Engineering, the university was where his careerwas nurtured.
“I feel that the National University of Civil Engineering meant a lot to Laphimself. In this show, he will come back as an own child of the university,” hesaid.
Theconcert organisation board reveals that the former leader of The Wall willre-appear and reunite with other members on the stage of Way Back Home.
"Lap will certainly return in the most special way. Formembers of The Wall, no one can replace Lập. He has always been present besideus in his own way," Hung said.
"Therefore, insteadof trying to find a replacement for our leader, The Wall has worked withother singers so that the band could continue".
In the past five years after Lap’s death, The Wall has worked with nearly 30singers, the most recent of whom is singer Phạm Anh Khoa.
Way Back Home will feature other guest artists, including singerNguyen Viet Lam, the winner of The Wall Cover Singing Contest 2018, singer PhamAnh Khoa and boy band Khau that also originated from the NationalUniversity of Civil Engineering.
The majority of tickets sold have been sold to Civil EngineeringUniversity students and only a small amount has been sold to outside fans.
Established on March 26, 1995 from the students’ musical campaign of theNational University of Civil Engineering, The Wall first consisted of threemembers – Tran Lap, Tran Tuan Hung and Nguyen Hoang.
Many songs by the band became hits, particularly among Vietnamese students,like Duong Den Ngay Vinh Quang (Road to Glory Day), Tam Hon Cua Da (Soul of Stone), and BongHong Thuy Tinh (Glass Rose).
At their peak, their leader, main singer and musician Tran Lap died of cancerin 2016./.