Tourists Ordering Coffee In Singapore: Kopi Oh No!!! 'Java Jive': Ink Spots and Gracias Choir

A Coffee Song: One of the Korean lady singers from 

this fantastic and cute singing group called Gracias Choir. 

https://www.youtube.com/c/GraciasChoir

KOPI, CAN?

https://blog.seedly.sg/10-good-coffee-places-you-have-to-visit-based-on-real-user-reviews/

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40 CHATS, COMMENTS

The first joke I heard about coffee and tea was during my teens, when a Chinese friend of Hainanese dialect related it.

An English couple who were tourists visited a coffee shop at *Victoria Street in Singapore. They sat and ordered two cups of black coffee when the waiter came to their table.

The waiter shouted, "Kopi Oh, no!"

English man, "Okay, no coffee. Let's order two cups of tea then!"

The waiter shouted again, "Teh Oh, no!"

Englishman tells his wife, "What? No coffee? No tea? And it's supposed to be a coffee shop. Let's get out of here!"

Minutes later two cups of black coffee and two cups of tea were seen on the table. The waiter couldn't find the couple.

https://kopi.guide/

Explanation:

In Chinese Hainanese dialect:

1] Kopi Oh - pronounced /ou/ = Coffee without milk or just black coffee with sugar.

2] No - pronounced /nor/ = Two, as in two cups.

So: Kopi Oh, no = To the British the phrase sounds like: Coffee, oh no! 

The waiter was shouting the couple's orders to his worker in the kitchen.

Actually it's not a joke; it did happen? 😃

Any comment?

*History: Victoria Street was specified because there was a large Hainanese community in that area those years.

Korea's Gracias Choir Girls - The Best 👍

'Java Jive' is a song written by Ben Oakland and Milton Drake in 1940 made famous and recorded by the fabulous The Ink Spots. 

I used to listen to this song in the 1940's when I was still a child. It's been recorded in my mind forever!

Do watch the videos below, the cute version and the original one. Enjoy.

'Java Jive', 

I Love Coffee, I Love Tea. [Gracias Choir]  

The First Prize Winner of 2015 

International Chamber Choir Competition 

Marktoberdorf

The Ink Spots: Java Jive [1940]. YouTube Video: RReady555

Images: 

Screen Shots of 'Gracias Choir', 'The Ink Spots' are from YouTube Videos.

Coffee Singapore Style.

and

Tea too Singapore music.

Tea Break - The Quests 

YouTube Video from: Seang Guan Chan.

Thanking FL for the suggestion.

FL is a constant reader of this blog for many years.

Singapore's Illustrious Solidarity: Soiree & De Rigueur: A Letter From Jean

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Actress, Singer: Jane Birkin 

Famous for her song: 'Je T'aime'.

and the Hermes Birkin bag, which is named after her.

https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20170529_02902097

Jean Writes From The Past:

*Hello Andy, 

I know I'm a bit late with this post as I came across your blog while looking up Amber Mansion's Celestial Room. My late mother (who was a Eurasian from Katong in Singapore) often talked about the tea dances there and how jovial & classy they were. Everyone made an effort to dress smartly for a soirée back then. Elnett sprays for girls and Brylcreem or Tancho for the boys were de rigueur.

Thanks for the picture. It gave my search an added identity to my Mum's anecdotes about her teen years in her beloved Singapore in the 50/60s. She was so proud to have come from a rich multiracial society that was/is Singapore. Such solidarity is illustrious and unseen elsewhere in the world.

Cheers Andy!

Yesterday Yes A Day - Jane Birkin. 

YouTube Video by: Nikita Chen.

This song is for Jean, one of her favourites.

Hi Jean,

Thanks for the beautiful tale about your late mother. She must have been quite a 'cool cat' those years.

Glad to hear about Elnett, Brylcreem and Singapore's multi-racial face. You are right about solidarity being "unseen elsewhere in the world."

Appreciate your visit. I went to your profile but could not link to your blog...

Writer *Jeanne

*Hi Andy,

Excuse me for the late reply due to heavy workload.
I have no blog yet. I meant to seriously open one about my passion for Egyptian and Greek archeology but just never got round to it yet LOL. No time lah. One day soon I hope.

I go through your fabulous blog whenever I get the chance. Its a comfort zone for nostalgia buffs like me. Thank goodness for the Internet that's changed almost everyone's lives in creating a global village with communication at the touch of our fingers.

Cheers Andy!

Jean,

Thanks so much for your huge support. It's letters like yours that keep me going. If you're still reading this blog, please reply. Thirteen years is a long time.

[This note from Jean, written in May 2009, is a re-post.]

*Jean or Jeanne to the Francophiles. I'm trilingual and love my dog and cat, animals and their welfare, music, The Golden Girls, jogging, the ocean, Spain, weekends, sleeping, sweet desserts. I grew up in Asia and London before moving back home. Schooling was unconventional to say the least but I always got good grades anyway. My heroes are my parents, Mother Theresa of Calcutta and Aung San Suu Kyi.

Amber Mansion in the 60s. 

And where Dhoby Ghaut MRT is located today.

Sunny Low Singapore Dance Legend Had A Cha Cha Funeral Send Off

Sunny Had A Rousing Send-Off.

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Video from YouTube: Straits Times: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl_0iiOand0

A special posting from friend, Vincent Tan, who provided me Sunny Low's funeral send-off videos which had included Cha Cha Cha dance from family and friends.

RIP Sunny. 

Tribute to Sunny, connect below:

https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/2022/05/rip-sunny-low-of-sunny-low-dancers.html

https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-late-sunny-low-his-life-his-family.html

Video: from Sunny Low's Family. Copyrights Reserved.

1957 Singapore: Rock n Roll Might Encourage Riots

                    Topic: That Singapore Youth Is Not Given Enough Independence.

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Even in the late 50s, Singapore students argued about "not getting enough independence" from their parents. A friendly debate amongst a family of three mission schools, St Andrew's, St Margaret's and St Hilda's resulted in a battle of words with rock and roll music as target.

Saints' school badge.

One speaker suggested that rock and roll was the result of parents trying to control their children excessively. Another member of the team agreed that the music was "healthy fun" but pessimistic parents thought it was an "inclination to riot."

Saint Margaret's School badge.

An opposing member of the debating team argued that if independence meant rioting on the streets after viewing a rock and roll movie, then she would have, "none of it." And as the dance became a hot issue another debater suggested that rock and roll meant the independence of youth. To show his support, a classmate from St. Andrew's, Wong Peng Koon shouted, "Long live rock and roll!" He was a school debater and is now a prominent lawyer.

St. Hilda's School badge.

But the debate was brought back into focus when a speaker quietly suggested that independence carried responsibilities such as "obeying the law." So who says youths in the 50s are quiet and reserved? Not true. We've had our say. And rock n roll is here to stay. And who won the debate? Ah, you must read it from The Straits Times Press Singapore.

Were you in this debate? Tell us.

Information from: The Straits Times Singapore (page: 3, 27/07/1957) and original article has been edited by Andy Lim.

Image: from Google Images

This posting was taken from the back pages because of the interesting topic it discusses, a Singapore favourite Google word search currently - riots.

Rock Your Socks Off Says Rhythmist Peter Thomas



In 1994 a television interview was conducted by hosts Douglas Oliverio and Lauretta Alabons (image left) on Rollin' Good Times, a show about 60s music in Singapore. Their guest for the evening, Peter Thomas was rhythm guitarist for Naomi and The Boys and presenter/producer for the Radio One programme on the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (image below). The video is on You Tube and was contributed by Joe Wu from Seattle USA.

Introducing Thomas, Oliveiro asked how he came to be in the local music scene. Thomas replied that as a  teenager he was interested in music and owned a guitar and a Gibson Skylark amplifier.  Like other boys he learnt to play the instrument by 'copying' from famed guitar gurus Hank Marvin and others.  After forming a group called The Stompers they participated in the Shadows of Singapore competition and won the top prize.

After leaving the group, he formed another with Robert Suriya who played lead while sister Naomi sang.  To complete the band Alphonso Soosay joined as drummer and Moses Tay played keyboard. They called themselves, Naomi and The Boys (image below).

Those days guitar group followings were massive.  Thomas described that whole families would follow a group and they would include mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts "and pets also."  Like the Quests and others, each group would have their followers to support them during shows at the National Theatre.  According to Thomas the National Theatre was the "proving ground" for pop bands then.  He likened the Theatre to the Apollo in Harlem.

Thomas related a story when The Boys opened for Cliff and The Shadows.  When he went into the dressing room to look for the pop guitar group he was surprised to meet Hank Marvin (image right) dressed only in shorts with a fan blasting on him.  Apparently the Shadows lead was practising his scales before the show. Imagine the situation. "It floored me!" he exclaimed and had all admiration for Marvin's dedication and professionalism.

He also recalled the night clubs at Orchard Road and labelled them "can die" places to hang out.  One of these nightclubs was the Hotel Garni and the other Golden Venus which was "no bigger than half the Badminton Hall". 

Thomas emphasised that an average of  200 people at one time could be seen dancing with tremendous energy to the pulsating music. The crowd was so thick there that dancers placed bets with each other to see if they could "fall down and not stand" in the middle of the floor.  Most times they did it successfully even with a beer in hand.  What made the place more attractive was that band boys who were not doing gigs on Sundays were there. You could probably find "three lead guitarists, four bassists and seven drummers... "  They were either jamming or enjoying the scene (image above for illustration only).

Thomas explained that while the Checkmates could be at GV with Siva and James Choy, the Trailers (image left) were holding court at Roxy (or Palace?) Cinema. They removed seats from the front rows and converted the floor for dancing. They called these sessions Tea Dances and they were held for one reason.  "Forget your genteel earl-grey tea and cucumber sandwiches," he said. "You went in there to rock your socks off!"

At the end of the interview, Thomas discussed how Naomi's  song, I Know became a big hit in Europe after it was released there.  Although the basic tracks of the song were done in a Singapore studio at Sennet Estate the  orchestration and chorus were done in Holland.

Information from: Singapore Broadcasting Corporation, You Tube, Joe Wu.
Images: You Tube and Andy Lim Collection.

Checkmates, Trailers, Golden Venus, Palace

It was Saturday night on the 12th of December, 1964 and obviously about 2 weeks before Christmas. Nightclubs were full and so were the spirits of youths in Singapore. The above advertisement (image) from the Straits Times Press, Singapore, shows the Golden Venus at Orchard Road and the Grand Palace theatre at East Coast Road doing brisk business.

And on Sunday, bands were in full swing with Robert Song and the Checkmates and The Trailers fronted by Vernon having the rockingest time ever.

Although admission was free, patrons paid for their drinks. Usually they bought one drink for the whole afternoon, well sometimes two. But nobody bothered because each couple was trying to show the rest on the floor that the cha-cha-cha, twist, shake and rock would rule the T-Dances that day. After all it was the Dave Clark Five & The Animals Twist & Shake Special.

(Image from: Straits Times Press, Singapore/National Library Board, Singapore.)

The above idea was initiated by Dennis Tan.

Amber Mansions, Celestial Room Andy n Silver Strings

The image is of Amber Mansions, at the entrance of Orchard Road (left), where guitar groups played in the mid 1960s during Tea Dances at The Celestial Room on the floor above. Art galleries, quaint decor outlets, coffee houses and restaurants are terraced on the floors below. It was a place where the young nineteen sixties crowd would want to be seen at.

The Silver Strings was the guest band for many months at the Celestial and we had a taste of what tea dances were like when we performed there. It was a baptism of fire because it was the first time when the band had a regular weekend stint. We started off as a band that took over the resident one in between sets of 45 minute sessions. Sometimes there were as many as five sets per night.

Silver Strings in later years had Mike And Herb

 to sing their own original songs: 

'Don't Want You Around Anymore'

YouTube video from Audie Ng

The band's repertoire consisted of song hits like Apache, Kontiki and slow dance music like, Wonderful Land and I would take over with, When The Girl in Your Arms but heat up the Room with I Saw Her Standing There. The music would always be a mix of Cliff, Shadows, Beatles and Elvis, if we can manage. About twelve songs or more.

I first introduced a song that was popular in the living room at home. It became a hit when the TV  series Fireball XL5, a sci-fi marionette-based show, became popular with Singaporeans. The title song became our calling card for some time and fans were asking for "Fireball" when we came on stage.

The lead guitar was DAVE CHAN and not Dickie Tan (above).

I was unable to acquire past photographs. This image is from a 2009 magazine.

The music was fast, the dancing was fast and so was the business. The brisk and efficient club ran for a while raking in some for the boss. He just knew what to do with his band of boys and with this novelty T dance craze.

The person in charge of Celestial Room was Mr Quek Sin Bock, a rather robust business man, frank and full of good cheer. He loved the band and I remember we turned resident and acquired more and more gigs from other nightspots. We were known as "Andy and The Silver Strings" and performed at the venue in the mid 60s, way before other bands did.

The building has since been replaced by Dhoby Ghaut MRT. 

Images: From The National Heritage Board Archives and Personal Collection.

"We're gonna rock, rock, till broad daylight, We're gonna rock around the clock, tonight."

The Dukes- Remembering - Tea Dances In 60s

Discussing Prince's Hotel Garni in the mid-60s is incomplete without mentioning the band that established it as one of the best places for tea dance.

At 200 Orchard Road the large Singapore crowd crammed the dance floor at Prince's Restaurant each Sunday. From 3.30 to 6.45 pm., paying ten dollars for entrance, they shimmied and twisted with The Dukes and singers Bobby Lambert & Winston Walters.

I spoke to Zainal Abidin, band leader and bass guitarist of the Dukes. He is now a retired army captain and business man extraordinaire. He promised to meet me after New Year to explain why he gave away a few thousand copies of his CD above.

Image: CD Cover of Dukes' songs produced by Zainal Abidin and Joseph Pereira.

The British Invasion On Sunday Afternoons...

The Prince's Garni Hotel in the 60's which is along Orchard Road.

Recognise this place?
What building has replaced it now?
Beside the tea dances at the cinemas, tell us your weekend experience at this famous Singapore hotel. Clue: The Dukes.
More about them soon.

Image: Google.

Palace Cinema Katong - Lido Cinema Orchard

The former Lido Cinema at Orchard Road was one of the venues where tea-dances were held and the nitespot cum restaurant upstairs was called Rosee D'or.

There would be a main band like The Silver Strings in attendance and a Guest Band. It had a dance floor where the 60s youths soaked their shirts & pants out!

The Palace Cinema at East Coast Road was another hangout. The Trailers was the regular band here and lead singer Benny Koh fronted them.

Tea dances, usually held from 3.30 pm to 7 pm weekends, cost $3.50 each for entrance and a drink.

And Larry Lai, Rediffusion DJ extraodinaire, met his wife at the Rosee D'or in the Lido Cinema building.

Images: National Heritage Board/Shaw Brothers Organisation.