Friday, May 08, 2020

A Tribute: Millie Small Sings With Singapore’s Winston Koh

Winston Koh from The Flying Phantoms has a posting of himself and the group on this blog. 

I remember he took a picture with Millie, so I posted it but in his own humble way never told me what he was doing with a famous star.  Only when I asked him did he reveal his story. At that time from 1971 to 1973, Millie Small was living in Singapore but except for some in the music community, most Singaporeans were not aware of her presence.

But let Winston tell his story. Thanks Winston. You’re always a winner, all the way!

“I had my big break in Jan 1971 and sung a duet with International star Ms Millie Small (My Boy Lollipop) at the National Theatre Charity Show “STAR of STARS” to raise funds for Telok Blangar Constituency Scholarships’. We sung MY ELUSIVE DREAMS together at the show and at RTS studios. The backing band had living guitar legend Horace Wee and members from RTS’ music makers.

She was a very humble person and was living here in Singapore for awhile. I had the opportunity to show her around our island. She described to me both the similarities and differences in the make up of our islands. She also joined my tour to Kuantan, Malaysia for a couple of days with Sharp Night (a popular Chinese variety show on TV), then hosted Mr Zhang Wei (above image).

Whenever we went for our meals during the tour she would always ask for one special dish. Millie loved to eat roast pork (char siew) truly her favourite meat and cuisine.

Very sad to learn of her passing. May she Rest In Peace. 
God bless her soul.”

My Elusive Dreams:
And now all we have is each other 
And a little memory 
To cling to and still 

You won't let me go on alone
I know you're tired of following
My elusive dreams and schemes
For they're only fleeting things
My elusive dreams

(Songwriters: Billy Sherrill, Claude Putman Jr., Curly Putman.)

Article and image from Winston Koh.
Copyrights Reserved.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

What a memory to be singing “My Elusive Dream” with the hit maker ,Millie Small.Winston Koh was also lucky to to touring with her and Zhang Wei all the way to Kuantan.RIP Millie Small and thanks for the lovely song”My Boy Lollipop”.

Hafizah said...

Hi Andy! It's nice to take respite from my school work to visit your blog.
I feel saddened to hear of the passing of Millie Small and hopes she rests in peace. Nonetheless, it was heartening to see pictures and learn that Winston himself had the opportunity to work with her. It again makes me feel honored to have met both you and Winston!

Unknown said...

Greetings from Adelaide - I just had a few WhatsApp messages from Singapore stating that Brian Richmond on his Sunday show mentioned that Millie Small stayed at Jalan Hock Chye - my old kampong is it true?

CEDRIC COLLARS PERTH AUSTRALIA said...

Hi Andy here we are again putting our lives on pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic and yet in the parallel side we have lost Millie Small and Little Richard to name a few to the ravages of normal illness. May we not forget the magic of their music. Cheers buddy 😷👍

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

on The Vintage Showcase on Gold90, Brian Richmond paid tribute to Millie Small and Little Richard.

Anonymous said...

Winston Koh is an experienced singer on the pop songs performance stage and is one of the most unassuming local stars I know. He sings well and his versatility shows. He sings exactly like Cliff Richard and was highlighted on this show because at that time the organisers thought he had to potential to excel in Singapore show biz. He did!!!