YouTube Screens Singapore 60s Music - Joe Wu

Dear Andy,

I must quickly confess that I was just a brat and was never a performer during the Golden Era of Singapore Pop Music. But I am defintely an enthusiast for this genre, and have been one ever since I got hooked big time on Rediffusion in the early 60s. The good old days of "Top Tunes Of The Week" when our local artistes would compete so successfully with the international artistes for the #1 position week after week.
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Andy, thanks to information from our mutual friend, Joseph Pereira, in 2003, I first heard of you and your place in the history of The Silver Strings. I must congratulate you for being the first lead vocalist with that distinguished band. Surely you must have some great memories of the music gigs with the band.
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I always had dreams of fronting a great pop band like you did, but, alas, such was never to be my pathway to fame, and I could only live your life vicariously. I heard you left the band to focus on (your career) shortly after The Silver Strings started accompanying Veronica Young, and then there was Shirley Nair, and also Vernon Cornelius for a few months. What a sterling history.
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I live in Seattle, and was not able to attend the concert (pic) at VivoCity... friends gave me raving reports of the concert... three big cheers to all the performers... organisers... folks in the audience for suporting the heroes of Singapore 60s Pop Music.

Best Regards,
Joe Wu

*Minimal editing of letter.

Stylers (Chinese Pop), Robert Song (Baba Pop)

You cannot discuss Singapore Chinese Pop without The Stylers. Like most local bands, this group started at home parties.

They had since made it big accompanying Chinese singers, comedians, appearing on Singapore tele and recording instrumentals that became very popular.

The recordings were similar to James Last non-stop ballroom music only the local versions used Cha-Cha & A-Go-G0 music. One that I like is their version of 'Stupid Cupid'.

Robert Song (far left) who was a baba and Singapore's Johnny Ray, sang with them. In the early 60s they played at a home party where I was MC. Song had sinced passed away and as a friend he was always humble and pleasant. I will never forget Robert Song for his kindness and goodness.

Original article: Andy Lim.

YouTube: Key in: the stylers

Sakura Teng: Pop A -Go-Go Yodel Lady Who?

They are like sisters on stage but there's a way to differentiate Rita Chao & SAKURA TENG of which this article is about. The former is quiet, the latter animated although both sing Singapore-style Western pops just as well. New World Amusement Park was the place where Sakura Teng, a well-known 1960s Malaysian songbird, launched her music career at age 17.

During her heydey in the 1960s and 1970s, the A Go-Go Queen as she was nicknamed, cut more than 50 records and was best known for her yodelling. Sakura aka Ying Hua was one of the more popular female Mandarin singers and had sung in a variety of languages, from Mandarin to Bahasa Melayu, English, Japanese and a few other languages.

                            Sakura Teng Medley Video from: eosyeo

Many of her recordings were accompanied by top pop guitar group The Quests. Ask any Singaporean and the answer would be the same, that she was a household name and appeared frequently on Radio and Television Singapore's (RTS) Chinese Variety Show, on local radio stations and looming larger than life in Singapore's nightclub scene during yesteryear.

This yodelling queen rose to fame with her rendition of, I Don't Care If Tomorrow Never Comes. With more than 50 albums behind her Sakura's recordings included many Western songs that were translated into Chinese. Many recordings were also done with Rita Chao.

Sakura and her family have a new life in the U.S. today. She has been to Singapore recently and appeared in a few shows. The 60s fans are still around to buy her concert tickets to cheer her on.

Image: Google.

Article: compilation from Website information.

RITA CHAO - Pop A-Go-Go. For William's Dad

Hi William,
Remember her? I think your dad could have been one 60s fan who listens to Rita Chao. Singers like Rita and Sakura Teng were popular with the non-english speaking crowd. But she's eye candy and was most popular then.

If you've seen her performing at one of our venues please write in. Rita was a draw with a-go-go, hala-hala and off beat cha-cha enthusiasts with music from the west like Woolly Bully etc. But where is Rita now? Anyone?

There are many Rita Chao websites at GOOGLE SEARCH.

Record Players And Vinyl: Yesterday And Today

Written in 2009:

"Find a wheel as it goes round, round, round, As it skims along with a happy sound..." sings Perry Como. I know. I am at it again. 

No news about local bands today but harping about 60's paraphernalia. But don't forget, without these gadgets we won't be able to play those black vinyl records like the singles, EP's and 10 and 12 inch LP's.

I remember having one (picture) while my very rich friends have radiograms with built in stereo speakers and record cabinet.

It was a joy to place a record lovingly through the spindle and watch it fall gently on the turntable. Then the playing arm automatically falls on the spinning record and the song begins... scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch. Now with technology everything's too perfect, too clinical.

Written in 2017:

Today after so many, many years, from the 1960's for the modern record player and late 1800's for the gramophone, this machine still exists but it's a digitalised version. You can now insert a thumb-drive (image: left of machine) to record whatever vinyl you put on the turntable. And you're looking at recording hundreds or thousands of songs, depending on the size of your thumb-drive.

But it's not an automatic player. Records have to be placed individually, which is the proper method. And it's inexpensive, having bought one a few years ago. 

But I hardly record any song, preferring instead to just listen to a few melodies with its stereophonic sound from a richer and more natural tone from the simple loudspeakers and amplifier I own. But the scratch, scratch sound is still there. It's a choice, I guess.

                    The Teddy Bears: To Know Him Is To Love Him.

From Honey by Bobby Goldsboro to Mr Twister by Singapore group The Crescendos, it's actually the process, most times, of taking the vinyl out of the sleeve cover and placing it on the turntable, then reading the literature provided, than listening to the song itself. Quite an operation for our younger generation. But for us Seniors, the routine is in our blood stream.

So dear readers, with the information explosion and millions of songs on You Tube and elsewhere, do you need a player. Think again before purchasing one. It may be more of an ordeal than a blessing.

Yes, and don't forget, you still need to clean the records, store them for easy search. Not like mine. Quite messy in the cupboards that I shelved them in. Took time looking for my first single record that I bought, To Know Him Is To Love Him by The Teddy Bears. 

Images: Google

Andy 60s Fiat 600 1964 Model Silver Strings Overload

#This story was featured on 9th November 2014 during Brian Richmond's 90.5fm radio show, Sundays With Brian during the Reminiscing with Andy segment. 

A Memory Trail:

We didn't know how but Audie, bass guitarist of the Silver Strings, owned a Fiat 600 in the 60s and the 5 or 6 of us squeezed into the tiny car with two doors.

We were entangled all over like a human octopus, limbs dangling, with probably three sitting in front and four seated behind, with at least 3 Fender guitars, a snare drum, and sticks. We knew how sardines felt after that. Compact travel. It was fun though as our driver went round before that picking everybody up. The cramping got worse as the numbers increased.

Wilfred, Danny Boy, Andy, Audie and David during one of the first few gigs at the old Kallang Airport Dance Hall.

If I remember correctly, the usual troupe was in the car, handsome Hainanese boy David Chan lead guitarist, Wilfred Chew rhythm, the rich young man from a bungalow house in Katong, 'Danny Boy' or Osman our drummer and our taxi-driver Audie Ng who owns the car, the band, and the bass. 

Somewhere in that mess, I was inside too. Five so far. Sometimes a fan would come in; he would help carry our guitars. You wouldn't believe it but the car can take in five people easily.

Audie still does it now, picking band members up and sending them way back home in the night from as far as Yishun and Pasir Panjang. I remember him driving home the band boys after our studio practices in November 2008. He drives a bigger car now. This particular car took us home during the racial riots (check postings) in 1964.

I bought one in the mid-60s too. Kiasu. Red in color; no choice. Second hand. The above illustration shows the two doors opening V-shaped, facing the engine. They were wide when opened, very wide indeed. It was easy to enter and exit the car because of the wide gaps the two doors made (image). 

Once I fooled a friend, telling him that the Fiat 600 didn't use any engine [image below]. He was shocked when I opened the front bonnet to prove it. The space for an engine was empty. If only I had shown him the boot, where the engine was. 😂
Good old Eddie is still around today. I'm just wondering if he knows...

My first car ever!

The engine is behind? Fooled a friend who was shocked

when he saw there wasn't any...

Classic Cars and Music of the 50s

YouTube Video from: 1970s English Teddy Boys

This fantastic video took a lot of patience and energy

to produce. Thank you very much guys.

With Brian Richmond during the recording session at MediaCorp which was at Caldecott Hill. He is a DJ at Singapore's 90.5 FM Radio Station.

Image: Google and A Personal Collection.
This post has been rejuvenated from 1.1.2009.

The Dukes- Remembering - Tea Dances In 60s

Discussing Prince's Hotel Garni in the mid-60s is incomplete without mentioning the band that established it as one of the best places for tea dance.

At 200 Orchard Road the large Singapore crowd crammed the dance floor at Prince's Restaurant each Sunday. From 3.30 to 6.45 pm., paying ten dollars for entrance, they shimmied and twisted with The Dukes and singers Bobby Lambert & Winston Walters.

I spoke to Zainal Abidin, band leader and bass guitarist of the Dukes. He is now a retired army captain and business man extraordinaire. He promised to meet me after New Year to explain why he gave away a few thousand copies of his CD above.

Image: CD Cover of Dukes' songs produced by Zainal Abidin and Joseph Pereira.

Chuck Berry In Singapore! No The Esquires Are

Would be interesting to note what band members of the 60s are doing now? Are they still singing and working at the clubs and hotels? Are they working in other fields? Have they migrated?

The gig at VivoCity (image) made me realise that the music community is important. The crowd and supporters that watched the concert were wonderful, cheering us all the way, responding to our every move and dancing to the music.
Image: Mike & Herb Collection.

The Transistors Triumphed Throughout...

So when the transistor radios were perfected and sold cheaply for about S$20.00 each in the early 60s, sales skyrocketed. While some listened to Rediffusion, others listened to the transistor radio.

Request programmes were also the craze and listening to your name being announced over the airwaves was exciting. It became an obsession to many people. So transistor radios & requests became synonymous. Portable, personal and a phenomenon!

And you thought there was nothing before MP3?

Image: www.flickr.com

REDIFFUSION And The Magic Music Box.

The Box! You see it everywhere. They were in coffee shops, offices, apartments, houses, wet markets, barber shops and hawker stalls.

And when the latest songs were requested, Rediffusion played them. The local bands and singers were featured too. From The Silver Strings to Shirley Nair, from The Mysterians to Mike and Herb. Mike Ellery, Tan Swee Leong, Larry Lai, Eric Lim and Tan Hock Lye became household names.

Image: from Victor Koo Website.

Rediffusion: There Yesterday, Gone Today...

Rediffusion Office at Clemenceau Avenue, Singapore

With transistor radios, music became portable early but there was one special station which broadcast 24 hours a day. It was cheap to invest in one and the subscription didn't deter anyone from getting 'the box.

REDIFFUSION became the craze then and the box was seen everywhere. By the 60s Larry Lai, Tan Swee Leong, Tan Hock Lye and Eric Lim became household names.

My Memories by Phil Tay:

"I started listening to Rediffusion in the 50s when I was staying at Race Course Road.  The early morning Chinese Evergreens was my favourite. Then I was attracted to the evening stories of the Monkey God in Teochew, Water Margin, etc.

I stayed in Balestier , Bukit Merah, Ang Mo Kio and few other places on and off. Mother and wife liked stories on this box so we had Rediffusion too.. In subsequent years we turned to RTS Radio Channels as it was more convenient and easily accessible.

The death of this iconic media company has to come as new media technologies bring in new demands making the delivery and content obsolete. There were attempts to introduce digital radio using the DAB technology but it was too few channels too late. When MediaCorp decided to switch off DAB I knew  its death is near. Thanks for the memories."

Image from Google.

Article with permission from:

http://memoriesofcaldecotthill.blogspot.sg/search?updated-max=2012-10-31T14:19:00-07:00&max-results=7

Nancy, Sluggo, Transistor Radios, Change Alley, T-Dance In Singapore 60s

In reply to Lucy's note, Sluggo, Nancy's boyfriend, provided a warning shot:

"But then Lucy, I was with Nancy and if you see our personal snapshot (above) here she wouldn't have allowed any hanky panky so going to tea dances with you would've been a no-no."

I cannot remember the context of the above quote but found it somewhere during a read. 'Lucy' could have been the kay-poh (busy body) girl in the other strip series, Peanuts and with whom Charlie Brown had problems (left image). 

But then how the Lucy character could wander into Nancy's comic strip kept me wondering. She might give Nancy's transistor, A Heartbreak Radio. 

For me, the interest were the keywords, the combination of Nancy and Sluggo cartoon characters, tea dances and the transistor radio on the image. This formula, I thought, would make interesting music stories.

Nancy Comic Strip In Newspapers

Nancy and Sluggo became famous from about 1933 after the introduction of the Fritzi Ritz comic strip in 1922. Nancy soared in popularity up to the 70's and beyond, syndicated in nearly 900 newspapers all over the world.

This comic strip was part of the fun I had during the 1960's when transistor radios also became very popular. 

Transistor Radios

Meanwhile, as I grew up, patronising tea dances in the middle of the day at a cinema in Katong wasn't part of my schedule but it was interesting to know that such a past-time existed.

So one day, cycling all the way from my house in the East, I bought my first transistor radio in 1960, from a row of shop houses at North Bridge Road (image for illustration) but have lost this beauty somehow. National brand it was, popular and cheap.

This transistor invention and revolution relieved me of having to sit beside my father's PYE radio and my neighbour's Rediffusion set just to listen to pop music. I could just carry it around. Portability!

I still keep one transistor radio today (above) but this one has AC/DC attachment; so it is being used at home.  I bought it in the early 80's.

Change Alley

I remember too taking a bus all the way to Clifford Pier or was it Shenton Way to look for a more expensive and exclusive transistor radio. And they sold these pocket radios at a place called Change Alley. It was about opposite Clifford Pier, an alley with rows of shops on both sides, selling stuff from fountain pens, watches, tourist souvenirs, curios to clothes and toys. The alley penetrated through to the other end to a huge departmental store called Gian Singh.

Change Alley was actually a shopper's paradise and catered to most tourists wanting to experience an eastern shopping atmosphere. I remember going there because you could bargain for a cheaper price for whatever you wanted to purchase. To avoid the crowds I would go there either before lunch or the best bet was to visit it at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. It was a very shady alley and reasonably cool because it was open-air.

Heartbreak Radio: Roy Orbison

YouTubeVideo from: hirosh58

Thank You.

Tea Dance

Tea Dances too were the in-thing those years when it started. You could go dancing on a week-end afternoon at some of the dance halls at cinemas like the Odeon-Katong and Palace in the East or the one called the Celestial Room where Dhoby Gaut MRT stands today. And a soft drink was like two Singapore dollars. Buy a glass and dance the whole evening to your hearts' content. Two bands were usually on stage to rock your souls out. One band would be the highlight of the evening and the other, the guest band.

So for the younger readers - how many new words have you learnt today? Transistor radio? Nancy and Sluggo? Change Alley? Tea Dance and, snapshot? Now that's a word I haven't heard in years.

A Tea Dance in Singapore 60s night spot. 

Crowds of teenagers sweat the evening away.

*PYE
https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.sg/2012/08/searching-for-my-favourite-chinese.html

Original article: Andy Lim.

Videos and Images from YouTube and Google.

Paya Lebar Airport Singapore 60s

Paya Lebar Airport with its distinguished iconic fountain

This was the old Paya Lebar Airport in the 60s. We used to haunt this very popular night spot where professional bands played during the weekends.

For a drink that costs about $6.00 each we danced the whole night, which usually started early at 8 or 9 pm and we usually reached home at 4 a.m. after sending the ladies home. 

On the dance floor lights were dim, the atmosphere romantic, especially when the bands played soothing instrumentals like 'Theme to Peyton Place' and 'The Godfather'.

Sometimes local crooners sang Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra numbers like 'Too Young' and "Fly Me To The Moon'. It was a haven for young lovers. We had no Singapore Air Shows then but lots of singers and dancers flying to the moon like Sinatra.

Image: from National Heritage Board

Original article: Andy Young.

The British Invasion On Sunday Afternoons...

The Prince's Garni Hotel in the 60's which is along Orchard Road.

Recognise this place?
What building has replaced it now?
Beside the tea dances at the cinemas, tell us your weekend experience at this famous Singapore hotel. Clue: The Dukes.
More about them soon.

Image: Google.

Michael Gold - Easy But Deep & Mysterious Too.

Michael Goh or Gold is a pleasure to listen as the songs recorded suit his style: easy, calm, reassuring and provocative. There's an incitement about his vocalization, deep and mysterious.

He sings for pleasure and was part of a duet with his brother when they won the Amateur Nite Contest at the Capitol Cinema in the 60s. Michael went on to sing at functions, nitespots and recorded songs by Martin & Presley in his own elegant manner. His Xmas album has a truly yuletide feel.

Gold is a pseudonym as the CDs were released in the U.S. only and not for local consumption.

Michael Gold stands tall with his CDs.

Images: from Michael Goh CD covers

Original article: Andy Lim

Dean Martin Of Singapore - Michael Goh (Gold)?

If my memory isn't failing me, I remember that Singapore's Dean Martin was Ahmad Daud popular on radio and telly. Did he sound like Dean Martin?

Because of the recent gig in Nov 2008 at VivoCity I heard recordings from someone whom I thought could sing like Dean Martin. With his sensual voice I heard MICHAEL GOH's rendition of Dino favourites.

Audie (bass guitarist) introduced me to Michael who sang Dean Martin songs at the 60s reunion concert.

Image: Michael Goh CD cover.