Guitarists Henry Chua And Horace Wee Pay Tribute: Post II

The TMA logo on most of Mr Tan's shop offers. Pix by Gordon Pan from FB. He explains: "The guitar is a 1962 or 1963 Fender Jazzmaster identifiable by the Spaghetti logo bought from TMA around the same time. It was probably the 2nd most saleable Fender model at the time when Surf bands were using it instead of Stratocasters."

The Tributes:

The letters keep pouring in about Mr Tan in response to his passing away last week. Henry Chua, the former bassist of The Quests and Horace Wee, guitarist with RTS Orchestra, wrote a comment each for the blog and because both had much to share I decided to share their stories. Thank you, Henry and Horace.

Mr Tan of TMA by Henry Chua.

"My recollection of Mr Tan is still vivid in my mind. This man struck me as a kind and helpful human being.

I studied at Raffles Institution at Bras Basah Road in the 60’s. I was given just 20 cents for bus fare to and fro to school from my home in Tiong Bahru. Had to change buses for each trip. One the way home I need to take the STC bus from the St Andrew’s Cathedral and then changed to a No 6 Hock Lee bus at North Canal Road. Very often just to save 5 cents I walked from school to North Canal Road.

The walk was money saving and also it provides me some time to visit the music stores along the way. The first was Swee Lee at the Capitol Cinema complex. Then Sassoon, next to the Union Jack Club at the open car park next to Capitol. Sassoon was the importers of Vox guitars and amplifiers [image: Henry Chua].

The last stop was TMA at the junction of North Bridge Road and High Street. It was opposite the Metro departmental stores. There was also B.P. de Silva and Polar Café along TMA’s side of High Street.

I would always make a visit to the TMA shop to look and drool at the guitars. I was a 12-year-old kid and had dreams. There was a circular display in the middle of the shop. Vinyl record racks on the left and a glass showcase on the right as you enter the shop. On this glass case were displayed a few Fender guitars. 

I recalled seeing a Stratocaster priced around S$700, megabucks in those days for a kid with 20 cents in his pocket. There was a sound room to listen to the records you wish to purchase. I remembered the friendly uncle who put on a Dave Brubeck LP for me to listen. My first introduction to jazz including the 5/4 Take Five and 7/8 rhythm.

Some years later in 1964, we (The Quests) got to befriend Mr Tan. He was helpful and loan us the whole set of Fender guitars and amplifiers for our gigs. We just had to pick them up at his home along Mountbatten Road. That house is still there. He even allowed us to pay for the things we purchased from TMA by instalments. No contracts, just gentlemen’s honour.

He even rewired Reggie’s Stratocaster to achieve the neck and bridge pick up combination. He kept this rewiring secret between the Quests and him alone. That’s where we got our sound. Thanks to Mr Tan. Of course these days most would know how to acquire this fix. 

He was the service engineer for TMA. I usually find him in his little room fixing and repairing things. No matter how busy he was he would always find time to have a chat. He was a very patient man and I had never seen him enraged even on a difficult day.

We bought a Fender spring Reverb (S$400) from him and most of our guitars from him. At one stage he loaned us a Fender analogue tape echo to test, but unfortunately, there was just too much wow and flutter and the echoes were flat so we couldn’t use it. Finally, he imported the famous German-Swiss Echo and that was our tape delay for all our recordings since Shanty.

How could I not remember him as the friendly, kind uncle who helped us in our musical journey?

RIP Mr Tan, the Singapore music world loves you."

"Hi, Andy,

My take on Mr Tan of TMA 

This has to be one of the kindest persons I have ever known. Besides being a great salesman, he was able to relate to and support the young of that time who aspired to be a famous band or musician. The comments on your blog attest to this.

Every time I look at my Fender Twin Reverb, Stratocaster guitar and Swiss Echo machine (all of which I still own) I still think fondly of Mr Tan of TMA from whom I bought these instruments in the sixties. Much has been said on how he offered the Fender instruments on loan, instalment payments and other generous offers of sponsorship and promotion. 

But the friendship I formed with him was a passion for electronics and at that time the dawn of guitar effects pedals. He would share his information on circuits with me and likewise, I would do the same. 

When he was about to leave for Canada, he took the trouble to see me in order to introduce his US contacts to me in order that I might be able to have some business connections with them. Something that he did not have to do, but it illustrates the generosity and big-heart of this man [image: Horace Wee].

In all the years that I've been in music, there have been very few music stores or salespersons (IN THE WORLD) that I can say that I was happy to have bought from them. Mr Tan of TMA is one of them.

RIP M. Tan. It was a privilege to have known you, I shall never forget you and I hope to meet you or someone like you again, in some other lifetime.

Sincerely,

Horace Wee."

Part One Connection:
https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/2016/01/godfather-of-local-pops-tan-peck-soo.html

Images: A Private Collection.

Articles: Henry Chua and Horace Wee Copyrighted.