When Andy 60s Music Goes Roaming In Singapore Meeting Friends.

It's March 2025 and there's been delays in posting 

photographs on this blog. Here are a few taken 

near the end months of 2024.

No showing off; just camaraderie!

"Old friends, old friends

Sat on their park bench like bookends

A newspaper blown through the grass

Falls on the round toes

Of the high shoes of the old friends..."

[Simon n Garfunkel]

The guitar champ.

With Ivor Lesslar, lead guitarist, black cap. 

We were @ Novena Square. August 2024.

The Pop Pianist n Singing Wife.

With Mr. Sammin Ang and his wife Esther, two very accomplished musicians. 

Of course there's Mr. Everywhere Jimmy Yap in the flowered shirt.

It's at a Singapore HDB coffee shop neighbourhood.

September 2024

The Elvis of Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Tall Happy Tay, the Vancouver Elvis and James Kwok 

after a coffee session at Clementi Mall in 

Singapore when Happy visited our island.

August 2024

I saw this sign in another country. Can't remember where. 

Could be Thailand or Japan. Not a bad idea but I don't drink.

Singapore Recording artiste Tony Goh

With the very talented recording artiste Tony Goh who owns 

a huge recording studio himself near the business district 

around Shenton Way. Tony was from the pop 70s group, 

TONY, TERRY and SPENCER. The vinyl costs some today.

Jean Granger/France and the Late Alfred Wong

With Jean [John] Granger from France and the late 

Alfred Wong who passed away in late 2024. We

were at a music pub in the Novena area. Alfred used

to provide free jam sessions at his apartment 

with coffee, milk and a huge spread.

'Old Friends': Simon and Garfunkel

YouTube Video by: kylecrazyford.

Which song are these lines from? 

Have a guess.

Mr Tan's Mystery Singer n Dancer

Tan Soo Khoon's [left] garden party guests in February, 2025.

One lady was a well-known singer, the other a dancer.

Know them?

Another verse of lyrics from a well-known song. 

Can you guess the title? Roaming in the desert?

"Riwayat mu-ini..."

We met by the Bengawan Solo River near

Serangoon Gardens in February, 2025.

                With Jimmy Yap, Larry Lai, Andy, Trevor Nerva and Terry Nair.

When Ricky n Rickie Meet

Fun jamming at Ricky Wong's [far right] home with friends 

that included Ricky Chng [checked shirt] and others. Meals were provided. 

Comments are always welcome.

And Alphonso Soosay 

sums it up on 3.3.25:

"Buddy Andy Young. Missing our 60’s days and catching up with our Ole friends fills our hearts with bittersweet nostalgia as our memories linger on as You have always shared with keeping closeness even though we are a distance away. Cheers."

Images: A Private Collection. Copyrights Reserved.

Alphonso Soosay: Memories Of Naomi n The Boys

Alphonso Soosay: 

Percussionist with Naomi and The Boys 

from Singapore Music in the 60's, one of the 

most famous bands that decade and beyond.

My Memories of “Naomi and The Boys”

By: Alphonso Soosay.

Pop music of Singapore in the 1960’s became naturally feasible and heavily influenced by Rock and Roll in its purest form and was gradually overtaken by Pop-Rock, Country-Rock, Blues-Rock, Folk-Rock and later by Psychedelic-Rock, which had progressed in popularity. The Country-Rock and Folk-Rock influenced style associated with the mid half of 1960’s Rock Music, reproduced a distinctive generation of performing Bands and Song-Composers in Singapore who wrote and performed their own compositions and achieved a No1 spot on the local charts with international acts like Cliff Richard & The Shadows, The Dave Clark Five, Elvis Presley, Rolling Stones, The Seekers, The Beatles, and just to name a few. 

Now, Looking Back at Singapore’s 60’s Music History, I would like to mention that “Naomi and The Boys” were very popular on Radio with their first original hit song "It's All Over" on Philips Records. 

It was their Passion and Love for Music that took them to the “Top of the Charts” in Singapore and Malaysia’s TV and Radio. Their envisioned aim was to just entertain music lovers and they found their Fans all over Asia and all the way to Holland. 

I was fortunate to have met Robert Suriya sometime in mid-1965. With regards to clarifications of my memories, I recollect Robert enlightening me about how “The Boys” first got together in 1963 with talented musicians like Peter Richards, Moses Tay, Henry Richards and Joe Ahmad. They were just performing at gigs and at British Forces entertainment venues at weekends and occasionally performing in Night-clubs and took on tour performance to Sabah & Sarawak but “The Boys” according to Robert at that time were not making any progress.  

At the same time, Robert noticed that the Pop Recording Music scene in Singapore was starting to boom and he had to come up with new ideas and new sounds to keep achieving with what was already happening in Singapore. So Robert decided to look for a “Female Singer”. He found a few through musician’s suggestion, tried them out but none of them was up to his expectations as a Pop singer. At that point in time, Naomi Suriya was acknowledged as a remarkable singing talent on Singapore’s TV. It was a talent competition that was held somewhere in Anson Road. Naomi’s younger sister Fiona remembered it well because as she used to be her chaperone. Naomi got through her auditions and that night at the final competition Naomi sang “Silver Threads and Golden Needles”, the famous Skeeter Davis song. 

It so happened that Robert and his band were the backing bands for an entire lot of artistes that night. Naomi won the competition and it was flashed on RTS news that night. Mr Lee King. “Philips Records” manager happened to be there on that night and approached Naomi, asking if she was interested in a recording contract. Naomi was only sixteen years of age then. It was then that Robert had a chat with his band members and decided that Naomi was the best-esteemed Singer for the Band and decided to name it “Naomi & The Boys”. 

Subsequently as a result of knowing enthusiastic show promoters like Robert Chua, Robert had gigs for local shows and Naomi had significant practices with the band until she was ready to perform on stage and face the competition with then-popular female-fronted groups such as “Susan Lim & The Crescendos”, “Shirley Nair & The Silver Strings” and a few other popular recording artistes. At that stage, “Naomi & The Boys” were endorsed very promptly with a contract to achieve their first EP. Robert had to swiftly work on ideas that would showcase Naomi’s vocals and also create uniqueness for his Band.

By that weekend Robert had an idea of the four songs he wanted to record. Then all of a sudden that Monday week “Naomi & The Boys” were asked to go to the Kinetic Recording Studio (the finest at that time in Singapore) and they recorded their first EP. That EP was released in June 1965 which included three original songs named “It’s All Over”, Poncho, Blue Mist. The only cover song was Tennessee Waltz. Roberts composition “It’s All Over” became a No1 hit in Singapore & Malaysia.

In spite of these righteous things happening, there were disagreements already with their philosophies as “The Boys” argued among themselves as who should be the Band Leader as well as which direction their music should originate. Very soon Peter Richards, Henry Richards Moses Tay and Joe Ahmad decided to leave the Band leaving Robert singlehandedly. That was the moment when Robert Suriya decided to make a major change of musicians for a more modern and up-market sound as he had ideas to experiment with the band to the universal music world.

While this was taking place, Robert still had the recording contract with Philips Records and wanted to have a new impression of recording sounds. He started looking for younger Musicians for “The Boys”. He found Peter Thomas at a jam session and after a nice chat, he found Peter as a like-minded musician who also composed songs. At that time Peter was with another Band called The Stompers who had just won “The Shadows” of Singapore competition. I believed Robert sensed that Peter would be an asset to “The Boys”. Robert asked Peter if he would join “The Boys” and Peter graciously decided to become a member of “The Boys”. Meanwhile, Robert knew that Moses Tay was a versatile Musician and decided to ask him to come back and team up with the new line-up of “The Boys”. Moses sincerely decided to come back as a member of “The Boys”. 

At this stage, Robert decided to act fast as he already was given the green light by “Philips Records” to record another EP as soon as possible, but had to discover a Drummer to his liking and to round up “The Boys”. However while looking for a Drummer that week. Glen Knight a Guitarist friend told Robert that he knows a Drummer performing at the Champagne Night Club at Anson Road working with a Pop Group named “The Flares”, (I had performed with Glen Knight previously with a group “The Midnighters”) and that night 

Robert did not waste any time and turned up at The Champagne Night Club at about 11pm and introduced himself to the band leader Edmund Tan and Robert asked if he could jam with “The Flares”. Edmund Tan was delighted to allow Robert to jam with his band at the final session of the night. Robert came prepared with his expensive guitar and started jamming with the repertoire of “The Flares”. Then Robert asked if we knew the song “Take Five” and we said yes and he started straight away. It was a common song known to most nightclub musicians then. I was very impressed with his style of guitar playing; Robert then looked at me and said, it’s your turn. So I knew I had to do a Drum Solo and I did perform to my satisfaction. 

Other songs we jammed were “The Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt”, “Apache”, “Wipe Out” and “Shindig”, plus a few other Cliff Richard’s tops of the charts songs. Later that night Robert asked me if I would join him for supper and Coffee at Albert Street Sarabat stall and I said yes. I remember it was about 2am and just after supper; Robert asked me if I would be interested in becoming a member of his band “The Boys”. As I was very impressed with his guitar playing and the guitar sounds he produced that night at The Champagne Night Club, so I decided to accept his proposal and said, certainly I will.

The next event I remember was meeting Naomi, Peter, Moses and Robert at the Kinetex Recording Studios at Wan Toh Avenue off upper Serangoon road. On that day we rehearsed the whole morning and after lunch, with Mr Lee King we recorded “Happy Happy Birthday Baby” and “I Know”. The following day we came back to the studios and recorded “Please Baby Please” and “Have I Told You Lately That I Loved You”. 

From memory, this EP was released very quickly by Philips Records in October 1965. Then very soon some miraculous happened with their new line-up of “The Boys”, collectively with “Naomi” the group shot into fame with a more successful double hit EP. Very soon after this successful cover song “Happy Happy Birthday Baby”, there was another surprise for Naomi & The Boys as Roberts’s composition “I Know” also succeeded the No: 1 spot in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. It was a song from the same EP as “Happy Happy Birthday Baby”.

Remembering Naomi & The Boys Fans Response Was Very Positive At Live Shows As “Happy Happy Birthday Baby” Became Their Favourite Hit Song And It Was On Radio Every Day And Surprisingly It Went To No: 1 On Singapore’s, Malaysia’s And Indonesia’s Hit Parade Chart And Stayed In That Position For Few Weeks. Later That Month We Were Told By Our Recording Manager That It Was Also Aired On Hollands Radio Stations Hit Parade. 

I remember in December 1965 it was voted by the media as the best song of 1965. Following this success, Naomi & The Boys were offered several live performance treaties (Touring Concerts) to most of the states in Malaysia. They were organised and produced by a creative show promoter Robert Chua who now lives in Hong Kong as a very successful TV shows Producer/Director. 

The many “Live Shows” Naomi & The Boys performed were events that appeared quite spectacular, like “Miss Lion City 1966” it was a beauty contest show at the National Theatre in December 1965. “The Top Talent Show” in 1966 took place at the National Theatre. “Show Time 66” at the National Theatre in June 1966. “Peep Pop Show” at the National Theatre in December 1966. “Ready Steady Go Show” at the National Theatre. “Poly X ’mas 1967” a Christmas show in December 1967. “Musical Express Show” was an early Sunday morning performance at the Capitol Theatre in April 1967. 

Then frequently under then-popular show promoter Robert Chua, there were many other “Live Concerts” he organised, and then it was an endeavour across the causeway at Jubilee Hall in Johore Bahru Malaysia, Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Ipoh, Kedah, Butterworth, Penang and many more venues in Malaysia. All these Live Performances supported in promoting “Naomi & The Boys” record sales. As for TV show “Naomi & The Boys” performed at the “Hiboran”, this was a local show just like the American Shindig concept and a few other TV shows followed up soon after.

Mr Lee King the manager of “Philips Records” realised that he had a credible Band on his hands and decided to become the manager of “Naomi & The Boys”. The band leader was very pleased and so were we. At that time requiring money to upgrade our musical instruments was not a problem at all. Naomi & The Boys managed to get the best of Musical instruments and most of the money was paid off within six months from “Naomi & The Boys” recording royalties.

Signatures, a rare treat from The Boys, Naomi and especially from Alphonso Soosay, who managed to get everyone to sign this picture. 

NB:

I must thank Alphonso Soosay for allowing me to post his above article verbatim from his FB page.

This article is copyrighted and belongs to Alphonso Soosay.

Alphonso Soosay: Leaves "Flares" Joins Naomi's Boys

'Your request to know more about The Flares.'

This simple and short line from Alphonso Soosay (drummer from Naomi and the Boys) showed his willingness to share stories about local 60's pop music. He put it up on my Facebook posting. 

When I asked him further if his story could be posted on this blog he responded positively for the second time. Thank you, Alphonso, for your story; appreciate the time you took.

Alphonso Soosay, clean-cut, well-groomed drummer with The Flares, in action.  

From What I Can Remember, The 1960’s Were Often Considered The Best Decade Of Music In The World And Singapore. “The Flares” Was The Unknown Mystery Singapore 60’s Band. As Mysterious It May Seem From The Distance Of Over 50 Years, ”The Flares” Burst Out Of The Gate From Fun Practices, Once A Week, To Working At The British Camps Weekend Gigs At Changi. 

This Ideal Provided The Flares With An Opportunity To Get A Regular Paying Gig Every Friday And Saturday. And It Was A Test For The Band's Materials. Performing At Catholic Church Charity Functions Was Also A Joy For The Band. It Also Helped Polish Our Performance Before A Live Paying Audience. 

Then One Day Came A Night Club Offer For A Six-Month Gig. The Band Would Never Modify Much From The Clattering Guitar Shine Pop Of The Shadows And The Ventures Because of Edmund Tan, Our Lead Guitarist, Who Would Sing Many Of Cliff Richard’s Songs.

This is the band "The Flares" that Alphonso (drummer) was working with at the night-club in Anson Road.

Also, Another Vocalist In The Band, Frankie Cheam Rhythm Guitarist, Would Sing Most Of Elvis Presley’s Songs With Much Realism. Paul Soon Was Our Bass Guitarist And Was Happy To Sing Back-Up. 

The Band Developed A Well-Thought-Of Repertoire And That’s Why It Was Easy For The Flares To Get Nightclub Contracts When Auditioning For Them. Beside Performing As A Group At Night, Edmund And Frankie Had A Full Time Day Job; Paul Was A Student At Singapore University And Myself A Full-Time Musician Then. 

By 1965 The Recording Band Popularity In Singapore Was Seriously Blossoming. Although The Flares Did Not Take-Off With Any Recording Offer They Held On To A Two Year Contract Working In A Night Club In Anson Road As Resident Band.

Cheers.

Then one day, in the midst of a jam session, Robert Suriya walked in and offered Alphonso to join his band called, "Naomi and The Boys". The rest, of course, is history.

And that, folks, is another story.

Any comment?

Alphonso Soosay with his huge automobile in Perth Australia where he lives.
He has written a book, 'My Passion, Audio Awareness' which is all about audio recording and live sound experience: 

www.soosayalphonso.comwww.Xlibris.com/Bookstore.com

Copyrighted Images: A Private Collection. 
Article by Alphonso Soosay 
(Copyrights Reserved.)

Alphonso Soosay with Jerry Fernandez, Robert Suriya,
Audie Ng and Andy.

https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.sg/2012/04/when-boys-meet-to-discuss-past-n.html

Ronnie Ong: Black Hills Of Dakota, 10,000 Miles, Vinyl Recording Sessions

Handsome and a hit with the ladies, he used to play with a band (picture below) in the 60s and 70s. Ronnie Ong also recorded Buttons And Bows, together with 10,000 Miles on Side One and on Side Two: The Black Hill Of Dakota and Dear Heart And Gentle People.

Recorded in Singapore: TNA TEP 213 EP. (image), the selection is 1950s cowboy songs.

Do you remember Ronnie Ong? He was known as Singapore's Trini Lopez. Is that him far left in the picture? Would you like to tell us about him? Do share with us your memories as Ronnie Ong was popular in the 60s too. He is also a crooner and sings jazz standards. Where is Ronnie Ong now?

Updated on 2nd February, 2025

Photo from left to right: 

Arthur Phua, Ronnie Ong, Albert Ventura, Yusof and Alphonso Soosay. Known as The Top Cats, they performed in the early 70s at The Pink Pussycat, located at Prince Hotel Garni at Orchard Road.

Horace Wee and Vinyl Recordings:

Famed legendary guitarist Horace Wee was in action during the recording. It was the first time a new guitar effect was used locally. There have been some discussions so comments are always welcome but keep them positive please. According to Mr Wee income was good then and he had gone through many such sessions but unable to remember specific ones. 

Horace Wee

Author

Alphonso Soosay and Pink Pussy Cat:

I remember Ronnie Ong was popularly known as the Trini Lopez of Singapore then. He was our lead Singer with “Top Cats” and also very popular with the ladies.

The Pink Pussycat Nightclub was formerly known as Prince’s Garni Hotel on Orchard Road, it began rebranding itself as a “Popular Music Club” with two resident bands nightly to draw the crowd and it was packed almost every night.

Ronnie’s nightly popular by request songs were: La Bamba, Lemon Tree, I Am Coming Home Cindy, If I Had A Hammer, Jeanie Marie, Sally Was A Good Ole Girl and many other popular hit songs of the charts then.

Alphonso Soosay

Author.

Some pieces of information were provided by Horace Wee, Jerry Fernandez, Alphonso Soosay, Michael Bangar and Ivor Lesslar. Thank you gentlemen. Appreciate corrections, if any.

Images: Google. 

Horace Wee (c).

Alphonso Soosay (c).