SINGAPORE 60's: ANDY's POP MUSIC INFLUENCE IS A PERSONAL MUSIC, MEMORY TRAIL. BLOGGER DOES NOT OWN THE RIGHTS TO VIDEOS, AUDIO TRACKS AND IMAGES. THEY ARE UPLOADED FOR FUN, EDUCATIONAL, ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES AND HAVE BEEN CREDITED. BLOG IS NOT SPONSORED NOR ADVERTORIAL IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER. INFORM BLOGGER OF COPYRIGHT ISSUES AND POST WILL BE DELETED IMMEDIATELY. DO NOT COPY THE POSTS; GET PERMISSION N CREDIT ME IF YOU DO. ANDY LIM LA (NOVEMBER, 2008) -
(新加坡六十年代安迪的流行音乐影响力), SUDI MAMPIR !
It was more than 4.3 million views on 1st September 2025. In less than a month the blog acquired another 100,000 views to achieve 4.4 million plus views.
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Lulu, Elvis Presley, The Platters, Charlize Theron, Papas and Mamas,
Tom Jones, The Rolling Stones, Cliff Richard, The Shadows,
Paul McCartney, Babra Streisand, Dionne Warwick.
Check them and others on this music blog! Four point four million plus views cannot be wrong!
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Following the trend, I am re-living comments from blog readers, friends and highlighting them. And we chat about nightclub drinks and lamsing, er dancing.
For action dancing we chose the cha-chas 'Rico Vacilon' and rock n roll hits. For the lamsing we chose slow number waltzes like Cliff Richard's, 'When the girl in your arms.'
Check them out.
Sometimes it's too close for comfort.
But it was the 60's and nobody bothered!
Patrick Chan says:
Hi Andy,
Good reminiscent. Actually, when we go to a night spot in the 60s, it's not such much for the drinks but to see the band n 'lamsing' [dancing closely] as you said. For some, they don't really know what bar drinks to order. So following others was a safe bet without looking 'sua ku' or a country boy. [2017].
Yes, I remembered Bacardi n rum coke were top of the list. But if you want to be a bit 'sekit atas' [a little bit classy] then you order Gin Tonic to impress the girls. lol. Surely you will get one or two asking 'what drink is that'. So this drink is an ice-breaker that gets you up close with the girls for the evening.
Now you know why Gin Tonic has been my favourite pouring ever since.
Andy, next time you try order gin tonic and see what happens. For the girls, if you want to be seen as a sophisticated you order Baby Cham.
The late Ms Chong YL says:
Andy,
In those years, did many ladies take to liquor? I was no night bird - had a very strict father. It was only when I started working that I did go to West Point in Pasir Panjang a couple of times. Don't remember if I tried any hard drinks. Years later, some lady friends introduced me to Campari and Seven-Up. Even then I didn't take to that well-developed some kind of allergy.
So you can imagine a situation in New Zealand when I attended dinners with the Kiwis. When asked to drink, I declined - giving the reason that I would develop a rash. When offered coffee at the end of the meal, I said no - I won't be able to sleep. I asked for 'Adam's Ale' - warm. What a 'suaku' from Singapore.
Today I quite enjoy ice-cream with some liqueur such as Lychee Martini, Kahlua Krunch, Baileys Choc Chips from Daily Scoop. [2017]
Jane Dick [Manitoba, Canada] says:
Hi Andy,
Fun to read your memories of your youth and local nightclubs; brought back some of my own memories.
Rum and Coca Cola, is one of the favourite songs, so delightful to listen to it. Years ago, I was working for an organisation that had a booth at the annual Wedding Show in Winnipeg, and I did a shift during one weekend.
During the fashion show, with lovely models showing off bridal gowns, one piece of music they played over and over was, 'Rum and Coca Cola ...' a song about streetwalkers ...! I thought that was pretty funny. [2017].
Daisy Koh says:
Oh Yes Ambassador n Airport Nightclub. Only $5 cover charge inclusive of the Rum n Coke. So packed those days, no place for fanciful dance steps. Just “Move the refrigerator,” as they say in Hokkien or 'lamsing'. I still have an old cutout or photo of the packed Airport dance floor somewhere.
We also grew up twisting away in the 60's. We girls spent afternoons practising with talcum powder on the floor to facilitate the moves. So much fun … Twist and then Ago-Go. The Twist music is still alive today… incorporated into Line-dancing and Zumba 🤣. [2024].
Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra: Rico Vacilon.
YouTube Video by: felixbautista
Stephen Han says:
I remembered dancing at the Ambassador Hotel and the Paya Lebar Airport. Rum Coke and Baby Champagne were the drinks of choice. I also recalled the sexy and lovely stripper, Eva Kim from South Korea shedding her clothes though not totally naked. I learned she bared all in private functions.
There was also a dance venue at West Point. Another one was at the Singapore Hotel where the City Plaza now stands... 2017].
*Singapore English or Singlish:
lamsing = dancing or literal meaning 'to hug' in Chinese: 'lam' with the English Continuous Tense 'sing'.
suaku = a Chinese Hokien dialect that means: 'mountain [sua] tortoise [ku]' or a country bumpkin; someone who isn't trendy or up to date.
sikit atas = a Malay phrase that means, 'a little bit classy' or literally: 'a little up there...'
BTW, 'Adam's ale' = water 😅.
Dancing = lamsing = move the refrigerator. And 'chiau sng tu' is Hokien dialect for 'move the refrigerator'. 'Move the refrigerator' was coined to describe the awkward way in which couples without basic dancing skills moved around the dance floor.
JK Lim's collection of memorabilia that includes show
tickets, posters, photographs, signatures and others.
If you check carefully, you can read
the names of the musicians and singers
who signed JK Lim's memorabilia.
UP TO 500 VIEWS
6 CHATS, COMMENTS
When I asked JK if he could do a write-up like his contemporary HH Chew about the pop concerts he attended he agreed. It took a while but here they are my dear readers, so many you would not believe. But how could he do it?
I’m like *HH Chew [connection below], chasing concerts and bands and singers! It's mainly due to my home, a building beside the Odeon Cinema in North Bridge Road, opposite Jubilee Theatre near the Capitol Cinema and walking distance to Cathay Cinema. The amusement centres in Singapore 60s were close to each other in this part of town where I lived.
And coincidentally, the girls-only school, the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus [CHIJ] was right smack in the middle of these movie theatres. And the young ladies would come out after school, at about one in the afternoon, in their white and hue blue pinafores.
The Odeon Cinema at North Bridge Road, Singapore
in the 60s. JK Lim lives in the same neighbourhood.
The school is also in the same neighbourhood at Victoria Street.
During the late 1950s and the early 1960s whenever they launched a show there's a hue and cry publicity where the actors and actresses involved, will come and sing a song or two before the show and super stars like Grace Chang [Ge Lan] 葛蘭 - 說不出的快活 電影《野玫瑰之戀 of Ja Jambo fame would have an autograph session at Level 4 [called the Hollywood Room] at the Odeon building. She would have come all the way from Hong Kong. Imagine the crowds that evening with North Bridge Road jam packed like the cinema itself!
On the other hand we had pop singers like, Johnny Lion and the Jumping Jewels from Holland performing at the Odeon. Remember them? He sang 'Let's Make a Habit of This', 'Judy', 'I Like It' and a host of other hits.
The late Johnny Lion and the neat,
smooth and velvety Jumping Jewels.
They came from Holland.
This cinema and others were all under the Cathay Organisation and the movie stars Hayley Mills and her father, John Mills came and appeared on stage before the shows. And they still keep coming today, the big stars like the Rolling Stones, Cpldplay, Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift.
Then across the road at Jubilee Cinema, which screened mostly Chinese shows had the Canto [Cantonese] stars appearing, with the likes of Fong Po Po and Chan Poh Choo. Today it's the National Stadium, where groups like Black Pink, top K-Pop groups from South Korea come bob bob bopping along.
The Jubilee Cinema, across the road from
the Odeon, showing mostly Chinese movies.
Further down the road towards Shenton Way and opposite the St. Andrew's Cathedral stands the Shaw Brother's cinema group irreplaceable, Capitol Theatre. The great Bai Kwang, Old Shanghai diva performed on stage too. I managed to attend. Chinese, English stars! I love them all.
And over at the Cathay, a short distance away, Frank Sinatra, one of the best US 60s crooners, was there. He was truly my favourite and I managed to catch him in his room at the Cathay Hotel above the cinema and got his autograph too after school. I was studying nearby at St. Joseph's Institution.
Crossing to the East side of Singapore, at Guillemard Road. It was concerts galore when Cliff Richard and the original Shadows came. This group included Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch, Tony Meehan and Jet Harris.
There was Pat Boone and Debbie Boone. It was a wonderment with tickets costing Fifty Cents to One Dollar for hard step-like concrete seats at the Badminton Hall and at the Happy World Stadium.
Yes, yes!
"Those were the days my friend,
We thought it'd never end..."
Manfred Mann: Do Wah Diddy.
REMASTERED VIDEO TRUE 1964
STEREO HiQ Hybrid JARichardsFilm
YouTube video from: jarichards99utube
Fung Poh Poh Hanky Panky
YouTube Video from: kraftwerk2012
But it did. Now in Singapore concerts cost so much more. A coming one will cost pop music enthusiasts more than a thousand dollars per ticket!
The best deal I experienced was a three-in-one concert for one dollar at the Badminton Hall where I witnessed the Rolling Stones, Manfred Mann and The Kinks. Now that was a record breaker indeed [pun intended].
And I managed to get all their autographs!
Many stars do a transit stop in Singapore here before heading Down Under in Kangaroo county, Australia. These pop stars included: Helen Shapiro, Millie Small, Blue Diamonds, Anneke Gronloh, The 3 Degrees, Stylistics, Manhattan Transfer, Herman’s Hermit and Gilbert O'Sullivan.
Written by: JK Lim.
Author: JK Lim
With his recollection and
memorabilia from the 1960s.
Images: Google and The National Archives, Singapore.
My schoolmate and good friend, Doris Chua finally sent me photos of her precious song book. This brought back a ton of beautiful memories from the 60s. Quote from Doris herself, “These few days I have been going back to the music from the late 60s and early 70s …and going through my old song book…really made me feel young again.”
The pages may have yellowed and the photos stained but the memories remain for many of us who were teenagers in the 60s and still young at heart today.
Pop star pictures from the newspapers have been
painstakingly cut out and pasted on the song book.
It was fashionable then to keep a song book. Usually it would be a hard cover exercise book bought from the neighbourhood shop. We would wrap the hard cover with white mahjong paper and embellish it with colourful pictures of our pop idols. With the girls it was either the most heart-throbbing pictures of Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, The Beatles, Connie Francis…
I remember in secondary school, there were two camps – Elvis fans vs Cliff fans. We argued over the most popular singer and defended any criticism of our idol but actually both singers were highly rated, adored and idolized. We went crazy over their hit songs. I even had my Maths textbook wrapped up with pictures of both Elvis and Cliff – an inspiration when studying became too tedious.
Singing heroes wrapped in plastic sheets that have taken the toll of time.
But it was fun, great fun to be able to keep them till today, 60 years later.
Keeping a song book was a popular pastime then. Well you can’t sing along if you don’t know the lyrics. Thanks to the request programs on Rediffusion and RTS [Radio & TV Singapore… now Mediacorp or meWatch] the latest hits were played everyday, sometimes more than once a day.
Teens like me and Doris would always have our scrapbooks on standby, ready to scribble down the lyrics of the latest hits by Elvis, Cliff, Rick Nelson or Connie Francis. We would verify the lyrics with our friends if we missed out a few words here and there. Once the lyrics had been edited, we would painstakingly copy them into our songbooks in our most beautiful handwriting and decorate the pages with pictures of the pop stars. You could forget to bring your textbook to school but you never forget to carry your songbook with you.
A singer that's never missed,
Elvis Presley was the top star those years.
It was always a joy then to get together, sing the latest hits or sing by yourself if you are not allowed to go out. The songbook was a good reference and a source of entertainment and comfort for many a teenager then and a healthy one too. Wish I had kept mine. Hats off to Doris for keeping her precious songbook for 61 years.
This was how we, teenagers survived without the cellphone (you become a prisoner because of this) or social media then.
No matter the time, the lyrics are lovingly penned on the song book with
much care and concern, without mistakes. But mistakes do happen...
Thanks to Ms Doris Chua who supplied the images from her song book and
Bootlegs are not legitimate commercial releases and are illegal but some collectors want them. It is true that all illegal items - not just records - are hard to advertise, buy or sell. So most bootlegs have little value.
In the 1960's they were called, pirated records.
They come in several categories though. Some bootleg LPs often feature tracks that have not been commercially released because the recordings are stolen ones. Some are illegal recordings of live concerts.
EPs include re-releases of rare or valuable 45s. Some bootleg 45s are exact copies of rare records with the original label graphics and numbers - these are known in the industry as counterfeits. In Singapore 60s, a record does not need to be rare. As long as it sells well, a bootleg copy is available.
During blogger's search for vinyl, he comes across many bootleg copies. Some of them are so common that they are worthless today, but some of these fakes are being sold in the market for a higher price. At the end of the day it depends on how much a buyer is willing to pay and how badly the seller is willing to part with the bootleg for the amount involved.
A cheap bootleg vinyl EP from Sungei Road,
a famous but defunct flea market.
The above vinyl, from a flea market, costs S$2.00 but may cost more today. It has a unique cover with our former Singapore sweetheart Heather's most popular song, Love Is Blue.
But what makes it special is Cliff Richard's pasted photograph below with the song Congratulations. Together with Green Tambourine, Heather (who was with The Thunderbirds and Diamonds Four), sings Kiss Me Goodbye. And the label is Hi Fi Record without a serial number.They could have been more imaginative.
Comment anyone?
Is this another counterfeit, this time of the Monkees.
