Singapore Musician Ivor Lesslar Compared To Scotty Moore & James Burton

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I thought it important that our Singapore artistes be highlighted on this blog, so when accolades poured in after Ivor's performance I thought it best to post these comments.

REFERENCE: 

Hilary Francis Concert Esplanade Outdoor Theatre, 20th May, 2022.

SUBJECT: 

IVOR LESSLAR, SINGAPOREAN GUITARIST - A GIANT!

[1] ANONYMOUS:

I saw Hilary Francis and the SINGAPEACE band yesterday at the esplanade. Never seen any of the band before. I was blown away by Ivor's tone... Brilliant tone that clearly was down from fingers and not pedals. Economical but swinging guitar lines that clearly had drunk from the well of *SCOTTY MOORE.

I had to look him up and search for him... thank you for this background.

[2] UNKNOWN:

Thanks Mr Bangar for the write up of Mr Lasslar. I came to music very late but glad to know that he was from Cell Unlimited Unlimited. Mr Lasslar a very humble man, but when he is on the guitar, he becomes a giant, yes, truly professional, made me feel very comfortable when singing with him playing lead, hope to meet you again Mr Lasslar, cheers n God bless 🙏👏👏

ANDY:

Thank you both for writing to make your comments. I have already sent your mail to them. Also the comments are on Facebook under SG pianist, Mr Jalani Mohd's postings.

I try to promote our local musicians and music. The world will listen if we make our voices heard. So sing louder in a more melodious voice. And like IVOR LESSLAR, play like the great masters. But he's original too.

Cheers to Ivor and Michael.

Then the third letter came...

[3] JIMMY PRESLEE:

Thank you Mr. Michael Bangar for your true to life persona of Mr. Ivor Lesslar and thank you for the details of his younger days and I didn't know he was a member of the popular CELLS UNLIMITED. He is humble and lets his 'fingers do the talking'. You too Mr. Bangar share the humble and friendly character.

Yes, Mr. Lesslar reminds me of *JAMES BURTON backing Elvis and Ricky Nelson. I have the honour and pleasure to jam and share with Mr. Lesslar on stage twice.

Thoroughly enjoyed them. All the best to you both Mr. Lesslar and Mr. Bangar.

Cheers and God Bless.

And a fourth...

[4] FRED CHING (Facebook):

I can’t describe how lucky I feel because I have had the opportunity of a lifetime: seeing and hearing James Burton and Ivor Lesslar perform in Singapore. Incidentally Burton was here with all the original band members and singers to perform “Elvis The Concert” at the Indoor Stadium and Ivor, when he performed with The Quest Band at Queenstown Community Centre Auditorium during My Queenstown Festival. I had goosebumps pretty much during the whole show and Ivor makes anything look sexy with that hot red guitar. Here’s the homegrown band that once knocked The Beatles off the charts👍❤️🥰…

More about Ivor: 

https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/2020/09/ivor-lesslar-tall-dark-handsome-sg.html

NB:

It's good to know that at least now our local audiences and music fans have a platform to comment. We never had one...

 

*Scotty Moore and James Burton:

They were both powerhouses with the guitar, the former was with Elvis Presley most of the way during the King's career and performances. 

James Burton too, like Moore was one of the leading pop guitarists those years, backing Ricky Nelson, Johnny Cash and even Frank Sinatra.

Here's an article on Scotty Moore written by Henri Gann from California.

Click below:

https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/2016/08/scotty-moore-influenced-me-henri-gann.html

Both guitarists: one a lead, the other the rhythmist: 

Ivor is on the left, Michael on the right.

Images: belong to Ivor Lesslar's and Michael Bangar's Collection.

Rock and Roll Comes To Singapore: Michael Bangar

Rock n Roll Comes To Singapore by Michael Bangar, Professional Musician.

Hi Andy! 

I just want to share with the blog readers, my version of how the British music invasion of the 1960's forever changed Rock & Roll and Pop Music throughout the world.

It was the 1950's, and most of us were probably in school. Those who owned Radiograms (Hi-Fi Sets in today's terms: image 3 right) were quite well off. Most of us grew up listening to the radio, and the radio stations were Radio Singapore & Radio Malaya, broadcasting in our four languages. Some even owned Rediffusion sets (if you recall those cute rectangular shaped black audio-box sets with a speaker built-in: image 2 left). Rediffusion had The Silver Network in English (few hours in the morning were allotted daily for the Malay listeners) and The Golden Network in Chinese (few hours were also allotted daily for the Indian listeners).

TV only arrived on our shores in 1962! The music that came out of those music contraptions played by the DJ's from that period, would mostly be classified as Standards today. Songs by artiste such as Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, Perry Como, Johnny Ray, Andy Williams, Vic Damone, Frankie Lane, etc. and female artistes like Doris Day, Rosemary Clooney, Debbie Reynolds, Jo Stafford, Cleo Laine, Kaye Starr and even Marilyn Monroe.

Then in the year 1955, a new kind of Beat Music was slowly sweeping across the USA. It took the youngsters by storm and they were all dancing to the beat. A young DJ named Allan Freed was watching all this action. He dreamt the phrase Rock and Roll because these kids were rocking and rolling to this music and that was how that genre came about. This new music landed on our shores in 1956.

I had just started school. Primary One to be exact, at Telok Kurau Primary School in Lorong J, Telok Kurau Road (image: last below). Almost all of the young kids on this side of the world, including myself were suddenly taken over by this new music called Rock & Roll. To some extent with some of us, our school work took a back seat. I used to cut out and even collect photos and features of these new music stars from newspapers and magazines.

First to arrive here via vinyl records (78's and a bit later 45's and 33's - remember) were Pat Boone, Bill Haley and His Comets, Ricky Nelson, Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps, Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, etc. The King, Elvis Presley took a little longer to get here but when he did - it came down on us like a ton of bricks. WOW!

All of a sudden, our airwaves were invaded by songs like, Love Letters In The Sand, Rock Around The Clock, Poor Little Fool, Be-Bop-A-Lula, Peggy Sue, Summertime Blues. The King then took us by storm with Blue Suede Shoes, Hound Dog, Teddy Bear, Jailhouse Rock and the list goes on. Then Great Britain gave us their Rock and Roll Stars: Tommy Steele, Marty Wilde, Frankie Vaughn, Billy Fury and a year or so later Cliff Richard accompanied by The Shadows. What A Time It Was! Life was never the same after that.

B.B. King, Albert King and Freddie King: The 3 Kings of the Blues.

They were all Caucasian artistes and their music was classified as Rock and Roll. The African American Artistes like Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Ray Charles and Bo Diddley, didn't quite make it big time over here. They were classified as Rhythm and Blues but they were a huge influence across the Atlantic, in Great Britain especially. 

Other Blues artistes like Muddy Waters, Albert King, Howling Wolf, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Freddy King, etc. were the heroes of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Animals, The Spencer Davis Group, The Searchers, Gerry And The Pacemakers, Freddy And The Dreamers. These were artistes that were involved in the so-called Great British Music Invasion of the mid 1960's, and that changed popular music forever.

Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps sings one of his biggest hits, 'Be-Bop-A-Lula'.

In the mid 1950's over in the U.S.A., the people in charge were not too pleased with the arrival of this new music categorized as Rock and Roll (calling it the black man's music and even the music of Satan) and tried their best to suppress it even to the point of destroying it. They didn't like the way the young were absorbing the music and grooving to the rhythm and the beat. Prime movers to this notion were the heads of religious organisations and church leaders. They were of the opinion that this music was corrupting and would eventually destroy all the American Youth. Looking at it now, and how it turned out, they were so wrong! Even church hymns and songs have incorporated Rock and Roll rhythms into their music. 

Therefore, when Rock and Roll was sweeping the US, they went on a rampage to destroy the first generation of Rock & Roll stars. They charged Jerry Lee Lewis and eventually imprisoned him for marrying his 13 year old niece (daughter of his bassist). Chuck Berry was also jailed for income tax evasion. Worried that he might be next Little Richard (Richard Penniman) took up religion and became a pastor. Apparently, he threw all his jewellery into a river. Ricky Nelson took a step back away from the spotlight. 

B.B. King sings with his guitar called, Lucille. From YouTube Video

The King, Elvis Presley, was drafted into the Military and sent away to Germany. A few years later, when he returned he toned down and lost a bit of his raw Rock And Roll edge. In 1957 Eddie Cochran, died in Bristol, UK, while on tour when the taxi he was in collided with another vehicle. Then in 1959 while on tour, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper were killed when their plane crashed into the side of a mountain. Almost all of the first generation rockers were out of action.

It was then that the record companies in the US created this new breed of pop of stars who were very marketable, clean cut and wholesome and they took over the pop music scene. Frankie Avalon, Fabian Forte, Brian Hyland, Johnny Tillotson, Bobby Vee, Bobby Rydell, Bobby Vinton, etc.. That probably inspired Jerry Lee Lewis’ famous quote, "Suddenly there was a whole lotta Bobbies!" Ha Ha Ha! Good one Jerry! Soon after, an exciting 5 piece band called, The Beach Boys came on the scene and enjoyed a string of hits with their surfing songs.

In 1962, Chubby Checker came along with The Twist (above) and had a string of hits, which also sparked a new dance craze. So while real and exciting first Generation Rock and Roll was watered down in the US, it made a great impact across the Atlantic in the UK on the young English people. Through records, movies and television the British were influenced by what is now termed Classic Rock and Roll.

Meanwhile in the year 1957 in the US, The Ventures started The Guitar Instrumental Band trend with their first hit Walk Don't Run. The following year, Britain gave us The Shadows with their massive hit Apache (now voted The Best Guitar Instrumental Song of all time) and they became stars in their own right. Just a year before, they were known as the backing band for one Cliff Richard (now Sir) who gave the world his first hit Move It followed by Please Don't Tease, Living Doll, Travelling Light, etc.

Best regards,
Michael Bangar

Written by Michael Bangar (image 1).
Copyrights Reserved.

 Telok Kurau Primary School in the 1960's on the east coast of Singapore.

Michael has written nearly 2 dozen postings for this blog and they all stem from his first-hand experience as an established and professional musician in Singapore since the 1960's when he was very young. 

Please go to the Content Column on the right of this page, scroll down, look for MICHAEL BANGAR and click. His stories are ripe for readin'.

Thank you very much Michael.

Michael Bangar, with his trade mark sunglasses during one of his concerts at a famous tourist spot on Sentosa Island, Singapore in May 2017. Image from Fabian Foo. Thanks Fab.

Michael Bangar With His Multiple Bands: Part Two

Here's Part Two of the Michael Bangar story, a man so cool that even if all the six strings of his Fender Strats broke, he would still be at the mic singing.

As Michael explained his association with the numerous bands, I was amazed how he could remember the names of each group he played with. 

There was Baby Low and His Hawaiianaires, where the baby hawaiian guitar was played by Tony Chua, and himself on guitars. Edward Chua was on bass with Joe Ahmad on drums and Walter Koh vocals. Walter was dubbed the Pat Boone of Singapore in the 60's.

Michael explained how proud he was when he played with The New Notes band because, at their peak, it became a full time band that performed at large functions.

"Myself and Donald Thaver guitars, Jeffery Pinto bass, Ramon Francis drums. In January 1987 I had a one night gig, but was not with any band. Ramon (or Raymond Francis) suggested I called Donald and Jeffrey. That's how it got started. A short while later, we became a five piece with Jerry Murad (The Dukes) on saxophone and flute."

Smilingly Michael revealed, "The New Notes were also a band with multiple names but on the same line. If it was a contract I acquired, we would call ourselves The New Notes. If it was Donald's gig we were The Country Gentlemen.  If it had been Jeffrey's gig we were Mixed Combination and Jerry Murad's gig, Tropical Katz or Katz Connection. 

The group carried on for twelve years. When Donald Thaver left he was replaced by Ivor Lesslar. Currently for Ivor's gigs, he used the name Transit. Two years after that, Ramon left to be replaced by Patrick Fernando. Whoever received the contract became the band leader for the evening. That was how the group operated. 

Here is a list of Michael Bangar's gigs he was involved in these last two years:

30th March, 2016: 
The Park Royal Hotel, Beach Road, The Katz Connection with Brian Richmond doing a couple of songs together with the band.

31st. December, 2015, New Year's Eve:
The Orchid Country Club Ballroom with Michael on guitar, Hans Solo guitar and keyboards, Hanafi saxophone and flute, Eddie Munir bass and Joe Ahmad Jr. on drums.

24th December, 2015, X'mas Eve.
The Movenpick Hotel, Sentosa as a Strolling Band with Michael and Hamdi on guitars and Stephen De Souza on double bass.

Michael explained that his group had played at private condominiums. They were at the Neptune Court once where he played with one other member - Jerry Murad and at a Bukit Timah condominium with Stephen De Souza. 

Duets, trios, quartet, quintet and a full band. You name it and Michael is as versatile as the way he handles his guitar, with ease and dexterity. He has a large repertoire that comes in handy during request time at dinner and dance functions.

Songs by Elvis, Jim Reeves and other solo singers or The Beatles, Everly Brothers and other vocal groups, his list grows with every request his audience makes. A professional indeed.

And Michael Bangar's last words for this interview?

"After watching you all from afar in the past, it's an honour and a pleasure to be playing with the present members of the Silver Strings."

Actually Michael, with your years of experience and playing style, it is an honour for me to be accompanied by you on the guitar. 

Thank you for agreeing to be interviewed. It has been a pleasure.

Today he sings with the SILVER STRINGS: Nick Stravens, Andy Young, Audie Ng, Rickie Chng, John Cher and Michael Bangar.

Original Article (copyrights reserved).

Read Part One of Michael's story. Click connection:

http://singapore60smusic.blogspot.sg/2016/06/michael-meets-melodians-moonglows-part.html

Images: A Personal Collection.

Irene Ryder (黎愛蓮) Ryding Hong Kong Pops 60s Part 1

Hong Kong Island Memories

Hong Kong island has brought back pleasant memories of Tsim Sha Tsui's shopping district and the hunting around for old vinyl records.  Here's one HK pop artiste I used to listen to in between the Indonesian groups and Singapore ones.

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Dedication to Her Songs:

What impressed me about this particular lady after listening to her both on vinyl records and CDs was her dedication to the numbers she sang. Whether it was an appeal about Nobody's Child or a teenage angst where she found, Lipstick On (Your) Collar, she delivered them with sincerity and feeling.  

Eurasian Good Looks:

Those years, some Asian artistes simply made covers of western hit songs to sell and she was one of many singers. But with her youth, Eurasian good looks and singing grace she was different and stood out from the crowd, as she was able to charm her record buyers and her audiences with these assets.

English Diction:

Irene Ryder or Li Ai Lian (黎愛蓮), a Eurasian born in Hong Kong in 1949, had an English father and Chinese mother.  She was able to interpret her songs and her English diction was above par, perhaps better than some Asian lady singers in the 60s and 70s. Irene speaks Cantonese very well too.

A-Go-Go-Queen:

In 1966 she acquired the unofficial title of A-Go-Go-Queen from a dance talent contest where she earned her fame. After the contest, Irene and her dance partner were invited to perform in Singapore and Malaysia and promote the dance craze, doing seven to eight shows daily.

Vic Cristobel:

With this exposure, she was approached by music arranger and producer, Vic Cristobal of EMI Records who started her singing career in 1967.  The first single she pressed was a cover of Lulu's, To Sir With Love. She became the top singer in the territory three months after her song was released.


Osaka Exposition 1970:

The single was called *Baby Baby (video above) and it was this recording in 1968 that established her fame as a singer.   She was the only female singer chosen to represent Hong Kong at the 1970 World Exposition in Osaka Japan.  

Bruce Lee

Part 2 Next Week:

(Read Part 2 when she had to end her singing career.)

Images/Video: Google, Uncle Ray 101CD Box and YouTube (Shatinterry).

Information: from Shatinterry (YouTube), Wikipedia and Websites.

Bruce Lee's Brother:

Among the other singles that she recorded was a duet with Robert Lee, a former member of Hong Kong's beat band The Thunderbirds. and the younger brother of martial arts star Bruce Lee. Robert also has a recording about his famous brother called, The Ballad of Bruce Lee.

A Many Splendoured Thing: Han Suyin's Legacy

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SONGS I LOVE:

I usually post the image of a book cover (below) when I wish to discuss the pop song connected to the book.  When the classic novel  A Many Splendoured Thing (1952) by world renowned author *Han Suyin was made into a successful Hollywood movie in 1955 starring William Holden and Jennifer Jones, the song came together with the movie.

Han Suyin

The song, Love Is A Many Splendoured Thing, was not only publicised in the movie but went on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Music was by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Paul Francis Webster.

The best selling version was recorded by The Four Aces (above), issued by Decca Records.  It hit the second spot in the UK Singles Chart and first spot on both Billboard in 1955. It had been recorded since by Johnny Mathis, Ringo Starr, Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams, Nat King Cole and Barry Manilow. Neil Sedaka and Connie Francis recorded the song in Italian.

Now here's another sound bite. Author Han Suyin was a staunch supporter and lecturer at Singapore's Nantah or Nanyang University (now NTU) teaching contemporary Asian Literature and Linguistics from 1956 onwards when the university began its existence.


Image from Penguin Books

I must admit that I never read the book having pooh-poohed it as romantic fiction especially for a young boy living in the 1950s.  And I never got to reading it afterwards so when the author passed away at the beginning of  this month - 5th November 2012 - I decided to borrow a copy from our library. Sad to say, not even one is available. No more said.

Seniors who are familiar with the song can enjoy it again on YouTube. For the young 'uns, do listen to a composition that held many people spellbound when it was first released. Truly one of my favourites.

*Han Suyin was a Eurasian doctor/writer who was born in China. She passed away in Lausanne, Switzerland, on November 2nd at 95 years young. She had written about 40 books.

Information: Wikipedia. Images: Google. YouTube by: Scout4Me1.

Tracing 'Sidaislers' Or 'Friday Girls' from 1967 Vinyl

In March 2011 I posted a quiz and asked if readers could name the choir I featured.  After more than a year I received mail (below) from a research writer regarding the choir. Here is the posting again with the answers intact and images to help you along the way:

Some Sleeves Speak:

"The first thing that strikes most people about The Sidaislers (above vinyl record image) is our name. It merely means that instead of walking up the middle aisle of the aisle, we stick to the side aisle!

We have often been confronted with an embarrassing, 'Well, what are The Sidaislers? I mean, well... what are you?' The answer comes in two words: We sing. We sing of what the world means to us, we sing of Singapore, we sing of love, hope, faith and of running and catching the wind.

We have grown tired of sitting down and arguing with people about faith and charity. So instead of yelling pointlessly for hours on end, getting bad tempers, sore throats and headaches, we sing. We have found that music is a language everyone understands, and so we use music as our medium of communication.

Started in 1965 by the St Andrew's Cathedral, the group originally consisted of girls from St. Margaret's Secondary School. We later expanded to include men and girls from the various denominational groups and are now based at St Andrew's Cathedral.

The Sidaislers have appeared over TV Singapura and Malaysia and made broadcasts over Radio Singapura and Rediffusion, besides singing in churches and concerts halls.

This album is a live recording of one of our performances. Two of the numbers, Dem Bones and Go Tell It On The Mountain, are spirituals which have been rearranged by the group, and the Christmas Calypso On A Day is an original tune based on words by Dr D. T. Niles.  Morning Town Ride is one of the many folksongs sung by us, while The Great Spirit, composed by the Colwell Brothers, is one of several MRA songs often sung by the group."


Here's the letter that was written in June 2012:

Hi Mr Lim,

I came across your post on Can You Name This Singapore 60s Mystery Group and was wondering if the group you were referring to was the Sidaislers?

I'm a freelance researcher/writer working on an upcoming documentary on Singapore's national music, and am actually trying to track down existing members of the Sidaislers or Friday Girls (images), whom I believe was involved in the creation of songs such as Singapore Town and To Build A Rugged Society.

Was wondering if you might by any chance have any clues to the whereabouts of any of the members, or could provide any further information, as I've not been able to find much about them. If possible would greatly appreciate it if you could drop me a mail.

Thank you!

Regards,
DC

When I replied DC came with another note:

Hi Andy,
With regards to the Friday Girls, I believe that they were also a part of the Sidaislers group from St Andrew's Cathedral so my leads pretty much stem from there.

I actually met a Mr C. recently, who used to be part of the Sidaislers, but unfortunately he doesn't remember who any of the girls are, only that they were students at St Margaret's and that they were mostly Eurasians.

Also came across a book entitled Songs of the Sidaislers in the reference section of the National Library, which contains lyrics to some of the songs they performed. The words and music for the song, There is an Island have been credited to a Susan Cheng but I'm afraid I don't know anything else about her. The other names mentioned in the book were Vernon Perreau and Albany To if that rings any bells.

There was also a Michael Cheng mentioned, but I understand that he passed away many years ago.
I believe they performed as part of the Sidaislers in a National Day Special on RTS in 1967 or 1968 if that's of any help.

Regards,
DC

Information from record sleeve (image 2) Philips 338706 PF: From left to right are  Peggy Daroesman, who is the lead singer, Sandra Bruford, Yvette Chin, Susan Cheng and Rolana Barker.

"The group is accompanied by *The Boys singing Rigi-Rigi and  (1967), an Indonesian song. This was the A-side of the group's very first record. They were teenagers at that time The Friday Girls had gone into the recording studios of Philips, Singapore as the backup vocals for Heather Batchen from The Thunderbirds, but ended up with their own record contract (from You Tube comment by Joe Wu, Seattle USA)."

*The BOYS, the top selling band at Philips (Singapore): ROBERT SURIYA was the lead guitarist; PETER THOMAS, rhythm guitarist; MOSES TAY, bass guitarist and keyboardist; while ALPHONSO SOOSAY was the drummer.

If you can help DC with her research please write to me in confidence on the Comment page and I shall convey your message. And to the Friday Girls, if you are reading this, write in. Keep our heritage alive.

Images/article: 1 ami Records/back sleeve cover. 2 Philips Records. Andy Lim Collection.