He played a major role in developing the Cantopop scene in the 1980s as he was known for singing romantic ballads with modern arrangements.

[4] Today he is regularly seen across the media in Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, and various parts of East Asia participating in all types of entertainment-related events and charity activities.

He is son of football player Tam Kong-pak (譚江柏), who represented the Republic of China national team during the 1936 Summer Olympics.

[1] They subsequently entered an amateur singing contest and took the first prize to begin a career in the entertainment industry, appearing in a number of TVB variety shows.

The Hong Kong press frequently reported a fierce rivalry between Tam and fellow singer Leslie Cheung.

Since 2006, he has been helping his godson Kelvin Kwan establish a career in the Hong Kong pop industry.

[1] He decided to pursue opportunities in Taiwan in 1980, and starred in renowned director Pai Ching-jui's A Girl Without Sorrow.

[2] He subsequently starred in more than ten films in Taiwan including The Funny Couple and Part Time Job.

[1] On 11 January 2008, Tam was elected as president of the Hong Kong Performing Artistes Guild.

"[23] After the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Tam helped set up a relief committee to look after the livelihood and schooling of orphaned children.

[24] In 1997, an announcement was made in Admiralty, Hong Kong to launch a Star East Entertainment restaurant concept boasting 40 celebrity investors.

It was one of the most publicised investments made by Tam in collaboration with his best friends Natalis Chan and Eric Tsang.

[26] During the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, and after "worldwide coverage for Hong Kong’s police force utilizing heavy-handed tactics against student demonstrators",[27] Tam sided with the police and attended a pro-police rally, saying "No one in the world has ever seen law enforcement officers attacked like that".