Singapore Heritage Fest: Jiving Through The Ages

Happening is on Friday, 15th May, 2015 outside The Cathay Cinema, from 7pm @ Handy Road. This show is sponsored by The National Museum of Singapore @ Stamford Road.

Four bands performing within the space of an hour. Except for Andy, these are guitar groups and vocalists who have been entertaining in the local hotels, theaters, nightclubs and private clubs since the 1960s. Listen to them play and sing as they belt out hits like DIANA, MY WAY, MEAN WOMAN BLUES, SHADOOGIE, YOUNG ONES, WORLD WITHOUT LOVE, THE BOXER, RUNAWAY, LA BAMBA, I FEEL GOOD, WOOLY BULLY and many other pop tunes of the 60s and 70s.

The Esquires begin the fast paced evening with their rendition of hits by Queen and James Brown followed by Andy Young singing Paul Anka and Elvis. Then Winston Koh comes on the scene fronting The Trailers with Shadows and Cliff Richard numbers. Terry, Robyn and Friends keep the pulse thumping with their vocals and harmonizing tunes by Simon/Garfunkel and Peter/Gordon.

Before the music subsides Jerry Fernandez hots the Cathay evening's SG50 celebration even more with his Neu Faces echoing Sam The Sham, The Pharaohs and Wild Cherry . Nearly two dozen songs to jitter your nerves and  make you wanna boogy, shake and jive.  So come on down and meet our local artistes and dance to the beat as they prove to you that History, music history that is, can be fun. Play that funky music...

(A tablet is used since computer is down, so there has been much difficulty producing this post and photographs.)

Images, as provided, from the top: The Esquires; Jerry and The Neu Faces; Andy Young; Terry, Robyn and Friends; Winston and The Trailers.

Dan Enterprising Man 60s Music - Esquires.

Singer and leader of the Esquires for the VivoCity gig is Dan, the hot and fiery rock and roll man who brought the house down that night, with his repertoire of hit oldies. Dan also plays the saxaphone.

He has a shop that fixes electronic stuff that includes amplifiers, guitars and other multi-media paraphanelia. He has many photographs, pictures and posters, plastered all over his shop, showing his music history with his former bands.

His shop also rents studio space for young music enthusiasts to practise their trade or hobby in music. And he's still in the same business. Great.
Another successful manhunt.
Image/Article: Andy Lim Collection.

The Esquires - Hot November Night - Vivo City

There are also 60s musicians who are tutors in music schools now, and while some are busking on the sunny streets in Singapore, others sing under the moonlight. They do not earn much, work for many hours and can be found at Orchard Road and other street venues.

Farid (left) was on lead guitar during the VivoCity gig. The Esquires also accompanied Wilson David, a well-known Elvis Presley impersonator, when he fronted them during the show singing, Mean Woman Blues, Wooden Heart and Mona Lisa.

There were numerous 60s artistes who had performed in Singapore's night-spots, cinemas, theatres and hotels. Singapore nightlife was truly vibrant, captivating and unforgettable.

Some of them are still playing at private clubs and hotels, while others have either gone into business or quit the scene for more lucrative careers.

Khalik (left) was the bass guitarist for The Esquires that evening and all their musical instruments were provided by Dan of Dan Enterprise at Peninsula Plaza. He was the leader and saxaphonist for the band.

The Esquires were men of steel who braved the night to heat the stage up at the VivoCity Concert in November 2008. They were the band that started the rockin' and rollin' that evening. Some of them are more than half a century young but they were in top form.

The concert also featured The Silver Strings, Veronica, Mike & Herb, Andy, Wilson David, Max Surin, Michael Goh and The Trailers. Jerry Fernandez was the MC for the evening and the other Jerry was on the drums (right).

Images: all 3 from Mike & Herb through Steven Farram - Australia.

Roll Over Beethoven - Shades of Chuck Berry!

More pictures coming in, this time from Steven Farram in Australia. Steve is a great fan of 60s music and flew all the way down from Darwin to watch the VivoCity Concert in Nov 08.

Here's one of The Esquires. They kicked off the night with their rock numbers setting the pace and mood for the show.

Notice the stage? Open air and lots of space. So different from SBH.

More about each band member in later blogs. Roll Over Beethoven!

Chuck Berry In Singapore! No The Esquires Are

Would be interesting to note what band members of the 60s are doing now? Are they still singing and working at the clubs and hotels? Are they working in other fields? Have they migrated?

The gig at VivoCity (image) made me realise that the music community is important. The crowd and supporters that watched the concert were wonderful, cheering us all the way, responding to our every move and dancing to the music.
Image: Mike & Herb Collection.