Cui Jian back on festival gala after two decades away

Cui Jian, a renowned Chinese rock singer, has been invited by China Central Television (CCTV) to perform on its annual Spring Festival gala for the first time in more than 20 years after Cui was banned from performing at large venues in the 1990s, Cui's manager You You said on Monday.

"We are still working on the details," You told the China News Service, declining to giving more information.

When asked if Cui had received the invitation from CCTV to perform at the gala, You replied "you could say so."

Cui began recording in the 1980s and was dubbed the "father of rock" in China. Previous media reports said he is likely to perform "Nothing to My Name," one of his signature songs, at the 2014 Spring Festival gala.

Cui's first personal album, Rock'n'Roll on the New Long March, released in 1989, was also the first original rock'n'roll album in China.

Cui was banned from performing large-scale concerts in 1990 due to the political content of his songs, but in recent years, he was able to perform at some music festivals to sizable audiences.

Cui maintains a low-key public persona but recently criticized young people in China for what he described as their indifference to politics.

Cui was awarded "the Chinese Dream Practitioner" award in 2012 by the Southern Weekly and Shanghai's Dragon Television. The Southern Weekly described him as the "first Chinese rock'n'roll artist that has won international recognition" and called him "one of the symbols of China's reform and opening-up."