Saturday, February 26, 2022

Ukulele Music Group Singapore Entertains PM Lee Hsien Loong: Anna Law

My ukulele group, GYUS performing at PM Lee Hsien Loong's 
garden party at Gardens by the Bay in 2017. PM sang,
'The Young Ones'.

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Anna Law, solo on stage, performing at Chevy 57 in Katong, 
East Coast with Leonard, lead guitarist of band, That's Life.



GYUS on stage: 10 May, 2018 @ a graduation function 
organised by The Ministry of Health.

GYUS performed at Changi Airport in 2017, 
around the Christmas season.

GYUS performed at Changi Airport in 2017, 
around the Christmas season.

The Teepees... question is, which one is Anna?

Anna with Peter Chua at Sentosa Island

Anna Law leads the Ukulele group GYUS 
with 'The Young Ones' and 'Let's Twist Again', 
during a Passion Fiesta performance in 2016.

Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Tan have been in touch with me since we last met for a huge lunch they provided after a successful pop music show in 2019. I wrote recently to ask Mrs. Tan [a.k.a. Anna Law from girl group, The Teepees] if she could do an article on her famous ukulele group that had been hitting the headlines for some time.  Anna is not only a talented musician and singer but a poet and an artist too. Below is her recollection. Thanks so much dear Anna.

Hi Andy,

If music be the food of love, play on. Music is my passion and it might stem from the fact that I come from a musically inclined family, Hawaiian guitarist dad, pianist mum and 2 brothers, Daniel and David who played professionally on the guitar and piano, respectively. I was from Katong Convent School and love to write and compose poems too 😀. With the family and self introduction done, I will proceed with my own music path.

I will talk briefly about my music career with my band, a 4 piece all- group called The Teepees. I was a guitarist/ singer with the other 3 girls on the keyboard, bass and drums. We had contracts in Singapore and Malaysia. Sadly, due to family commitments, we had to disband and parted  ways. 

But many years later, we were approached by Jerry Fernandez from The Neu Faces to perform at the Concert Hall, Esplanade. That was in 2012. We were quite hesitant as we had lost touch with our instruments. After much persuasion, we decided to give it a try and practised relentlessly. Years later we were asked to perform at Pek Kio CC

That was our last gig. We moved on with our lives. I moved on and continued with my passion for music. 

A Date With Friends 14th March 2019 at the Esplanade. 
The lady in green kebaya is Anna Law. Listen to DIANA, HOUND DOG & other hits. Also their original Teochew Song. Video from: johnsonchusc

It was in 2012 when I took over the helm of the ukulele group, GYUS ( The Golden Years Ukulele Strummers) from my Instructor who succumbed to an illness, and with 13 members in tow. 

Initially, I was reluctant to take over the baton from him, but after much persuasion and consideration, and support from my husband, Vincent, I decided to give it a shot. It was from word of mouth and the members, mainly Seniors, grew to a hundred and more. Jamming sessions were held weekly at a Community Club (CC). It was a happy sight to see them letting their hair down, strumming and belting out songs from yesteryear. 

We had a lot of performances. We were honoured to perform before President Tony Tan at the Istana, at VIP functions attended by the PM, Lee Hsien Loong and the Ministers. Our last ukulele performance was at the Concourse, Esplanade. The Teochew song which we played on that day went viral. Can you believe that? For the Teochew song, I listened to the clip sung by Peter Chua. No lyrics were provided. So I painstakingly listened to the song and wrote down my own lyrics and put in the chords.

We are not going to “Blame it on the Bossa Nova”, but all hell broke loose when Covid-19 created havoc. Haha! Oh well, like they say, all good things must come to an end. It has been two years since we last jammed. Anyway. It’s not over for me. Life has to go on and the sound of music continues for me. 

Music keeps the mind active, and with that in mind and also to stay sane, I am still in touch with my guitar and ukulele, jamming occasionally at places of friends. After a storm, there will be sunshine. 

Here’s a little poem composed by myself. 

In body and mind, continue to be strong,

As the road to recovery is nothing but long. 

Parts if played well, all will be fine,

Darkness will disappear, say hi to sunshine. 

Times are trying, they will pass,

Believe that not all bad occurrences will last. 

Wishing good blessings to each and everyone of you,

May what you dream and wish for come true. 

Best wishes,

Anna Law

Vincent Tan and wife Anna.

Anna accompanying Andy
during lunch fun in 2019.

Images: An Anna Law Collection/Copyrights Reserved.

27 comments:

johnny yeow said...

well done Andy always on the lookout for talent

Cedric Collars said...

Music was my first love and it will be my last songs John Miles and this is my greetings to Anna. Please carry on with your gift of music and the support to your group. They are living life as we should .. happy and stress free. Well done 👍

ALFRED WONG [ENTREPRENEUR] said...

Keep on jamming, singing and leading the Ukulele group Anna.

RICHARD RAJOO said...

10 POINTS TO ALL.
LOOSEN UP.
GOOD FOR SINGAPORE!
THANKS FOR SHARING.

Judy Chong-Lee said...

Music! singing dancing poetry in motion
This spirit makes no room for the ageing notion
On any instrument be it voice, drums or ukulele
Keep on playing the sounds that make life happy
With cheers to the young once
From Judy

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Thanks Judy for the poetical response.
Yes, we need to go on life's journey with positivity and daring.
And scatter petals along the way.

J.D. [CANADA] said...

Hi Andy,

Thank you for this. I have sent it on to several of my friends who are
pop music lovers, some of whom play ukulele.

The video link to the Ukelele Orchestra is a true delight!

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Thanks J.
Glad you enjoyed reading and listening to the post.
Appreciate your response.

Danielle said...

Cool Ukelele group GYUS and lovely performances, thank you for sharing the videos and photos Andy!:) Love the spirit you carry Anna- even though we are in the midst of a pandemic, it doesn't mean music has to stop. Truly, music keeps us sane in the midst of trying times!

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Hi Danielle,
Thanks for your very encouraging comment for Anna.
Yes, she is one with lots of spunk, hasn't she.
And versatile too on both the guitar and ukulele.
It's no easy task to lead a group of players on stage.

Hopefully the pandemic will find its way out of this atmosphere.

RUMINI [TEEPEES] said...

Hi Andy,
That's really cool that PM sang a song with the group.

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Thanks Rumini for kind words from an old friend of Anna.
We should all meet again for a lunch.

ERICBRONSON WONG [HONGKONG] said...

She really is a good entertainer,,
l see that she will keep on singing for music is forever part of her life,,
😎😃😁😍💪🤘✌️👍🎶🎸

HIROSHI DEGUCHI [JAPAN] said...

It's been a while since I saw Anna and Andy perform together at some lunch party.
Oh I was not there but saw the video but enjoyed a lot.

FREDA HANUM TEEPEES said...

This is indeed a so wonderful article of dear Anna, and a beautiful write out from her... thank you Andy you are a real sweet to put up an article for her.... I just saw this in fb this morning... as usual your posting always late to pop up at my newsfeed... Lovely article 👍

MICHAEL LEE from SYDNEY AUSTRALIA said...

Anna is still looking good.
Music is not only food for love but also for mind, heart and soul.

KOH SUI PANG - KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA said...

Oooooooh your PM can sing ....!!!!!!!

FACEBOOK said...

THANKS TO THESE FOLKS FOR LIKING ANNA LAW'S MUSIC STORY

Freda Hanum
Stephen Han
Jimmy Appudurai-chua
Koh Sui Pang
Michael Lee
Rose Khoo
Fred Ching
Hiroshi Deguchi
Peter Lim
Jenny Soon
Koh Daisy
Ser Kiong Tan
Myo Min Htun
Roop Singh
Ben van der Laan-Hatikustia
Raymond Cho
Michael Fonseca
Belinda Poh
Somkid Lakhawat
Bernard Hamon
Tom Tan
Kim Seoyun

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

THANKS FOR THE LONG AND SINCERE LIST OF FRIENDS AND FANS SUPPORTING ANNA LAW AND HER UKULELE GROUP. THIS GESTURE MEANS A LOT TO THEM ALL

THANKS TO FREDA, ERICBRONSON [HONGKONG], MICHAEL LEE [SYDNEY], KOH SUI PANG [KL] n HIROSHI DEGUCHI [JAPAN] for loving Anna's posting.

CHRISTIE YEOH said...

Good Morning.
Thank You for sharing.
I love Singapura.
Stay Safe❤️

FREDA HANUM TEEPEES said...

Thank you Christie and you are so welcome, have a wonderful Tuesday, stay safe and take care always 🙏😊

CHRISTIE YEOH said...

Good Morning. Thank You for your Greetings. Have a good day. Stay Safe❤️

FACEBOOK said...

THIS POST HAS BEEN SHARED ON FACEBOOK BY

BERNARD HAMON
FREDA HANUM
CHRISTIE YEOH

THANK YOU ALL.

ANNA LAW[AUTHOR OF THIS POST] said...

Dear Andy,

You have my admiration for keeping everyone, especially “The Young Once” in tune with the music scene. Keep up the good work!

Thank you Andy and all here in this blog for your kind words and comments. They mean a lot to me. Yes, music will forever be a part of me as “I believe in music.”

“ Music makers, that’s who we are,
We strum, we sing, we do the cha cha. “

Always have a positive mindset, my dear friends, and live your lives happily.

Take care, stay safe and let the music play……

Best wishes,
Anna

CHIT CHAT said...

Andy Young
"Music keeps the mind active, and with that in mind and also to stay sane, I am still in touch with my guitar and ukulele, jamming occasionally at places of friends. After a storm, there will be sunshine. " ANNA LAW. COME ON GUYS, GIVE HER A CHEER, A 'LIKE' & COMMENT...

Andy Young
Thanks IVOR, STEPHEN HAN, ROSE, ANN ROWENA n STEPHEN FRANCIS for being the 5 early birds to LIKE this post.

Andy Young
Hi WEN HING. Thanks for the visit. Appreciate.

Michael Lee
I only know Freda who is multitalented. In my opinion as a music researcher Anna and the other members of TeePees are also multitalented - That is the reason The TeePees were successful.

Andy Young
Michael Lee yes, that's true. A group of multi-talents proves a successful girl band. And Anna is fierce on the guitar but with a lovely and soothing voice. Thanks for visiting again Mike. Hope the floods have subsided in Sydney?

Michael Lee
If I am correct, The TeePees were not only very good musically but all the beautiful ladies of the band can also sing - something not many bands can do. That is why the Beatles were so successful. The too were very good musically and can sing.

Poh Huat Tng
So much of talents those days.

Michael Goh
Those were the days we were so fortunate to have an all girls band, “The TeePees”….all beautiful and multi-talented musicians and singers.

Freda Hanum
Am really overwhelmed to see this article of Anna again....This is history of the making from Andy's blog....so proud for our Anna....Thanks so much Andy and your music blog..and also special thanks to Michael Lee and Michael Goh for so kind comments too, real grateful from us TEEPEES 🙏❤️

Andy Young
Thanks to everyone who LIKE this post, going second time around. CHEERS.



CHIT CHAT said...

Freda Hanum
Ivor Lesslar
Michael Lee
Stephen Han
Rose Khoo
Koh Daisy
Ann Rowena Lim
Winston Koh
Stephen Francis
Moody Cash
Kali Dass S
Doris Xin
Hawk Chen
Ben van der Laan-Hatikustia
Belinda Poh
Ser Kiong Tan
Yip Dick
Chow Wen Hing

THANK YOU ALL FOR LIKING
THIS POST ABOUT ANNA LAW

CHIT CHAT said...

FRED CHING
Greetings Brother Andy. So happy that this posting came to my feed. Anna Law is so beautiful even with the passage of time. And her voice with her ukulele group, GYUS are just so divine to hear.

Kudos to all and your blog once again Brother Andy. Oh my gosh! This album so aptly describes how I feel after watching their Passion Fiesta performance.
Have a blessed day. Stay happy and safe everyone.
Cheers
👍❤️🥰…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5e2JE_Kzh4

Andy Young
Fred Ching THANKS, you are so exceptional with your comments and write-ups.
They just sum up the essence of the group's performance with the song you chose.
🙂