Sunday, April 30, 2017

Aubrey Miles From The Bambinos RIP


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Condolences to the family of the late Mr Aubrey Miles

Aubrey Miles from the vocal trio, The 3 Bambinos, has passed away on 30th April 2017, according to the Straits Times obituary announcement. He was not only a school teacher, Mr Miles was also a well-known singer and entertainer on Singapore radio and television.

Together with good friend Malcolm Hyder and Thomas Paul, The Bambinos were a very entertaining act when they performed on stage in the late 50's and on the b/w TV screen in the mid 60's. 

There had been changes with the third member, so there were M. A. Gani and Herbert Chan to replace when Thomas Paul was absent.

But they were always The 3 Bambinos and had appeared way before TV came to Singapore i.e. on Radio Singapore, and was a well-known vocal group that sang jazz standards and 50's hits at dinner and dance parties and other social functions in Singapore. They made the most number of appearances in the original, Rolling Good Times. Yes, four times !

Aubrey Miles, May Your Soul Rest In Peace. 
The 3 Bambinos with Aubrey Miles (centre), Malcolm Hyder and Herbert Chan.

Image from Straits Times Press.
(This posting was slotted later after the newspaper obituary.)

Mr Aubrey Miles by Michael Bangar:

Just to mention that I was a student of his, in Secondary One to be exact. The year was 1962 and I was in Tanjong Katong Technical Secondary School. He was my teacher for two subjects, English and English Literature. I was also a member of the school National Cadet Corps that year and he was our National Cadet Corps Master. I moved on to St Patrick's School.


On the subject of The Bambinos. Their first line up was himself, Mr Malcolm Hyder and one Mr Thomas Paul. From time to time when one of them could not make it to a gig they took on stand-ins. 


NB
05/05/2017:

Just A Thought:

It is a sad thing indeed. Aubrey Miles was a pop music celebrity during the mid 50's up to the 60's but his name was not mentioned in the newspapers these last few days. If a news piece about him has appeared then I missed it.

35 comments:

DEREK McCULLY (TORNADOS - LEADER/ LEAD GUITAR) said...

Thanks for sharing Andy.

JERRY SARAM said...

Yes I read his obituary in today's ST. He was a friend of mine. May his soul rest in peace.

RICHARD TOH said...

Yes... have met him. My teacher, Malcolm Hyder was also in a group. RIP, Mr Miles.

MERLIN LIM (SILVER STRINGS, ORIGINAL RHYTHM GUITARIST) said...

When I was in Tanjong Rhu Primary School, I did hear someone mention that one of our school teachers was from the group BAMBINOS. I personally have no contact with this teacher/singer but that group Bambinos remains in my mind.

Mr. Aubrey Miles, may you rst in peace. God Bless to the Family. We are sad for your loss. Please stay and remain strong. God Bless.

DICK YIP (UKELELE PERFORMER) said...

Just received news from my ex-colleagues from Serangoon Sec that Mr AUBREY VIVIAN MILES,the leader of the Bambinos trio...has passed away age 82 on 30 April 2017.
His obituary is in the Straits Times.
I knew Mr Miles as his only son Jonathan was my student.
In addition, Miles was very supportive of the PSG activities in the school and I had
on a few occasions performed with him at our sch functions...he on guitar and me either on guitar or Ukulele.
He was a lovely singer and knew lots of old songs.
Gone but will never be forgotten.

VICTOR LAM (DRUMMER: MYSTERIANS AND THE BURNS) said...

Yes, I remember THE BAMBINOS. Very good vocal group. RIP Aubrey. Condolences to his family.

PHILIP CHEW said...

I remember Malcolm. He was a school teacher. He knows my wife, Mary Ee. They were colleagues in a school.

PETER LIM said...

Just curious, Andy!!! .. any specific songs that they sung during the heyday of their singing career..??..be mist delighted to know! ! THANKS. .😆😆

JIMMY PRESLEE (ELVIS TRIBUTE ARTISTE) said...

They appeared on TV and sung Rhythm Of The Rain

TERRENCE KENNEDY said...

They sang the jingle for Singapore's first general election.

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Hi Peter, Very vintage. Songs are: RAG MOP, TWO HEARTS, HUMMING BIRD, CHOCOLATE WHISKEY VANILLA GIN. :-) Thanks for asking.

Thanks to all who wrote in. Appreciate you all still remember Aubrey and The Bambinos.

STEPHEN HAN said...

I remembered this Eurasian group appearing on the b/w tv.I think they say a song Chi Wah Wah ,Chi Wah Wah.

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Stephen, it's CHI-BABA, CHI-BABA. One of the most popular songs by PERRY COMO. Thanks for the memories, sir. We could teach the young readers a thing or two, Stephen. :-)

PETER LIM said...

Thanks a million, Andy
..it's so interesting to discover that Singapore has its own musical talents all along ... since the early 1950's ...... anyhow, I learn a lot these days from your blog, Andy. ..always a delight to read your blogs ..keep up with the great work!!👍👍👏👏👏👏

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Thanks so much Peter. You have been a great supporter. We had a very vibrant music scene before Cliff Richard and The Shadows came to Singapore.

CHEN DAVID said...

Yes I remember The Bambinos sang with very good harmony.

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Hey, David, thank you. I'm glad you remember our unsung heroes (pun intended).

NYONYA JENNY YEO said...

Oh yes I remember them I was still a little girl watching black & white TV at Neighbours house

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Thanks Jenny. Mighty nice of you to provide some background. Yes, Bambinos were popular on b/w TV in the mid and late 60's.

JIMMY APPUDURAI CHUA said...

I remember them very well..though I remember Aubrey ( my drummer's cousin) and Malcolm Ryder.. . I forgot who the third member was..

BILLY LOH said...

Thanks Andy for the info. For years I have been trying to remember the name of the group. They impressed us (The Stardust Latin Rhythm Boys) with their unique vocal harmonies and rhythm at a Radio Singapore Talent Time competition in 1960. Needless to say they won the competition.

That evening we met the late Rahim Hamid who invited us to take part in a Latin American Band competition. My drummer was the late Joe Ahmad, the first drummer of Naomi and The Boys. Joe Ahmad was also my drummer at the Oasis Nite Club with Bobby Bacsafra on the piano.

RAVI GANESAN said...

we had many things talent loyalty intelligence but now what is left is stupidity and idiocy

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Thanks Ravi. I'm just hoping my blog will allow others to discuss the local music we had yesteryear. Not much time left for some of us to tell our stories.

If you lived through those years, let loose your music memories and I'll put them on my blog. We all have tales to tell. Every person is a story-teller.

chakap chakap said...

630 READERS FOR THIS POST. AND MORE TO COME.

Words of the Eternal Goddess, Maha Shakti said...

A great family friend and a lovely man. he was friends with both my brothers. They were 15 years older.

STEPHEN HAN said...

The Bambino’s was so popular in the 50s and 60s.The trio was led by Aubrey Miles and was a clear favourites in the Talentime series.

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Still a month and half to go and AUBREY has many readers checking his post already. That's how popular he was. RIP AUBREY.

ricky chng said...

"A school teacher in Tanjong Katong Technical School in the early years.

MALCOLM HYDER (3 BAMBINOS) said...

May God Bless His Soul.
Amen.

nurwangi said...

Mr Malcolm Hyder used to teach me when I was in Swiss Cottage Sec School. At that time, the Principal was Mr Mosbergen.

Those were the good ole days with the Bambinos. What about that other guy; malay guy, forgot his name, maybe, Ghani

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Thank you Ma'am for your letter.
Great to know Malcolm was your teacher.
He's a jovial and pleasant man and sings much.
Yes, I am familiar with Rudy too.
He also jokes much in class.
Ghani, I think, was an earlier Bambino.

Please visit this blog again.
You are welcome to make more comments.

[Tomorrow, there's a posting for Hari RAYA
It's about Lorong 40 Geylang, where many singers and actors used to gather.]

nurwangi said...

Hi Andy
Glad to know about Mr Hyder. How young is Mr Hyder now? Of course I remember him as the jovial and good teacher he was, even when he was serious.

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Hi nurwangi,
Thanks for your response.
Best is for you to provide me your email address.
I will not publish it on the blog but I can send it to him.
I am in touch with him thru WHATSAPP.
Perhaps you can communicate with him.
Cheers.

Eppie said...

Hello,
Mr Miles was my school principal.I remember him being firm with students but also very gentle and kind. He was always ready with his guitar and sang with us during assembly. Many of my best childhood memories are framed by his presence. I never knew what a grand star he was! It's nice to know he remains in so many people's hearts.
May his soul rest in eternal peace!
Aneela

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Hi EPPIE,
Thank so much for writing in and providing some feedback regarding Aubrey.
Yes, may he rest in peace.

Do visit this blog again and fill in some blank pages for me and the readers.