Background
She was born in Shanghai, China, and emigrated to the United States. in 1949.
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Esther Wong
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After fierce initial resistance, she became a punk rock and new wave music promoter. Greenstein"s persistence, and the fact that he had already given the nearby "Atomic Cafe" a new lease on life (cross-pollination between owners" children worked the magic), caused her to agree to a trial run in Fall of 1978. Initially, under Greenstein, a showcase for unsigned, unbookable punk-bands, Madame Wong"s was one of few places such bands could perform.
With the exit of Greenstein, Madame Wong"s morphed into a power-popular palace with bookings more influenced by a now-interested Wong.
Notable bands that she showcased included a “who’s who” of rock music, including The Knack, The Police, The Motels, Fishbone, The Go-Go"s, X, The Alley Cats, The Bangs, Oingo Boingo, Naughty Sweeties, Los Illegals, Candy, Guns North" Roses, Black Flag, Daniel Amos, Fear, Bad Actor, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Twisters, and The Ramones. Eventually this led to her nickname, the “Godmother of Punk.”
She closed the original “Madame Wong’s” after a fire in 1985 and “Madame Wong’s West”, 2900 Wilshire, in Santa Monica, California in 1991.
The original "Madame Wong"s" unofficially reopened for a brief period in 2009/2010, when Ben Kramer, Stuart Friedel, and Rob Cudd, who were living in an apartment that now occupies the premises, hosted concerts in their living room, using the name Madame Wong"s in homage to the original venue. Acts that year included Devendra Banhart, Vampire Weekend"s secret 2009 Halloween show, The Answering Machine, Wavves, Smith Westerns, Jounce, Pearl Harbor and the Explosions, Backbiter, Salvador Santana, The Growlers, Harlem, and others
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Born
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Died
August 14, 2005 (aged 88) -
Nationality
People's Republic of China -
Ethnicity