Searching For Ismail Haron On The Websites

There were hundreds of searches on my blog alone for ISMAIL HARON after the news of his passing away. These activities just show how popular he was both at home and abroad. The images are only two screen grabs out of 10 that I encounted on two of my statistics counter.

Images from: Stats Blogspot.com (one week's search) and StatCounter.com (hardly two days).

Ismail Haron: Pop Yeah Yeah 60s Music Icon

According to two emails from friends and a Berita Harian on-line newspiece, Malay singer Ismail Haron (66), has passed on in his sleep at his sister's home in Jurong West yesterday.

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He was one of Singapore's top pop artistes from the mid-60s to the 70s and together with diva Anita Sarawak recorded vinyls that were popular amongst the pop yeah-yeah music followers in the region.

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The late Mr Ismail had also produced records with The Vigilantes and The Guys, two guitar groups that were well received in the same period.

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You can read about him by clicking Ismail Haron under Labels below.

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Image: Andy Lim Collection.

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http://www.bharian.com.my/articles/IsmailHaronmeninggaldunia/Article/

Decibels: 1965-1970 A Band In The Making Part 2

Part II:

Decibels drummer Jimmy Chng shares his experience as a band boy in this final episode:

Our very first gig was at someone's birthday party held in an HDB flat in Jalan Bahagia and we were paid $30. Through friends' recommendation and word of mouth, we did get quite a lot of gigs, especially on weekends. These were usually birthday parties, Dinner & Dance parties, festive occasions, Tea-Dances, etc.

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We even had an opportunity to play at the Lido cinema, providing background music to models strutting on stage in Maidenform lingerie. This was in conjunction with the screening of the movie, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (image 2).

Poster

.As the local music scene matured, the demand for bands with singers ensued. We first had a friend who would sing mostly Johnny Lion's hits. He sang with our band for less than a year. Then Evelyn Tan (image 1) sang with Decibels for a brief period too. She later joined The Siglap Five and made some records under Evey Lyn with The Siglap Five.

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Our very first taste of competition was at the Battle Of Guitars (organised by ACE Enterprises) which was held at the National Theatre. We performed well enough to get into the finals but did not win. Our second and last competition which was organised by Rediffusion, was held at the Odeon Cinema. Again, we entered the final but did not win.

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We got a 2 month contract to play at Toby's Paradise Bar in Anson Road. We were recommended by The Vigilantes as their contract there had ended and they got a better paying contract at West Point Niteclub in Pasir Panjang. Incidentally, most of the original Vigilantes band members were my classmates in Queenstown Secondary Technical School.

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The original Decibels lasted till around 1969 or 1970. We disbanded partly due to waning interest and partly due to fewer engagements coming our way. Charles, our bassist subsequently joined The Tones whilst Steven and Patrick concentrated on their job careers.

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My memories of the later stages are not too clear. After some months, I continued the Decibels band with some members from D'Quivers. We had a one month contract at Toby's Paradise Bar this time.

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After the contract, the lead guitarist left. We looked for a replacement and managed to find a lead guitarist by the name of Bernard Chua. He had a friend named Samad, who had a very good and powerful voice and we invited him to join us too. He could belt out Tom Jones numbers with ease. I can't remember how long this chapter of Decibels lasted but when we finally disbanded, Bernard went on the join The Hi-jacks.

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Image 1/Original Article: Jimmy Chng Collection. All Rights Reserved.

Image 2: Google Images.

Ismail Haron: Vigilantes, Guys, Anita (Part II)

Part Two:

In 1970, Ismail Haron went solo with his first EP under EMI titled Kehilangan Chinta (Without Love). As the year progressed, he took a break from recording and for a few months did live shows in Hong Kong.

By this time, he was under the management of Quill Organisation. They decided to form a group and had Roland and Eddie from The Guys, saxophone player Andrew Oh from Pink and Purple, John Choo with keyboard, saxaphone and percussionist Philip Koh from The Blackjacks.

They were even spotted by Robert Stigwood who was manager of Bee Gees and ex-Cream. They played in Bangkok at Montieth and at Udon Thani further North. Udon was a US base and they were playing in clubs for US soldiers and officers.When they came back to Singapore, they continued playing the clubs in 1971 and 1972. The band changed members again a few times.

Finally the group broke up but Ismail continued to record a few more solo albums: Ismail Haron & Maria (1972), Ilham Pujangga (1972), Ismail Haron (1972), Antara Pujangga Dan Insan Biasa (1973), Sutra Mulia (1974), Hulurkan Tangan (1975) and Potret Sindiran (1975).

Among his popular hits within this period were Dendam-ku Kerana Maria (I Did What I Did For Maria), Antara Anak Dan Ayah (My Boy), Tolong Damai-kan (Mammy Blue), Ilham Pujangga, Wati, Persembahan-ku, Hey Hey Sunny, Junainah, Kehilangan Chinta and Apa Khabar Sayang (Hello Darling). Again the songs were English hits with Malay lyrics, a trend that put local artistes in the popularity charts.

Between 1972 and 1976, Ismail Haron recorded a few duets with diva Anita Sarawak. The songs included Kesah Dol Di-Suatu Petang, Rahsia Mu Rahsia Ku (Sealed With A Kiss), Wanita Dan Pakaian and Pemain Piano on EMI/S-EGEP 750. Also, Alam Terpuja (You Make Me Feel Brand New), Janji Tetap Janji (My Girl), Gabus Tarbus (House Of Bamboo), Rahsia Di-Ayer Jerneh and Menunggu Nasi Minyak.

Another EP had: Keluarga Bahagia, Tiada Jodoh, Asmara and even La Aube, the Kassim Selamat greatest hit on (EIM/S-EGEP. 781). Music compositions for EMI recordings were usually by Reggie Verghese.

Many thanks to the writer who provided this very extensive article on Ismail Haron's music career and vinyl recordings.

Image/Vinyl Info/Edits: Andy Lim.

Information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ismail_Haron

Ismail Haron Queenstown Secondary Technical

Part One:

Ismail Haron (image - 2nd left), from Queenstown Secondary Technical School, had been singing in front of his school mates during morning assembly since he was 7 or 8. Later on in years, the first instrumental group he joined was The Valiants.

Then with his school friends he formed another group called, The Vigilantes to record their first EP under the Eagle label, with Malay songs adapted from English hits. These were:

Senyuman Terakhir (Green Green Grass Of Home), 
Pulang Pada-Ku, (Return To Me)
Mari Sayang (Hang On Sloopy)
Mari Menari (La Bamba).

As their popularity progressed, The Vigilantes cut a 1968 album called, Jangan Marah Lili containing the hit Enam Belas Lilin (Sixteen Candles) which remained in the Malaysian Pop Charts for 15 consecutive weeks.

The Vigilantes had also recorded an Eagle Records EP (TK 1017 - image) that included:

Till We Meet Again, 
I Fell Into A Trance, 
Love In Bloom 
Reminiscence. 

Another EP that Haron recorded under Panda in 1968 had: 

Impian Suchi, 
Tangisan Hati, 
Gadis Peladang  
Mengusek Mambang

Due to a new mix in the band line-up and a differing style in their music presentation, the group decided a name change and called themselves, The Guys. By then the band and Ismail Haron had secured a contract with EMI. 

In 1968, The Guys recorded an EP containing:

Ribin Biru (Pretty Ribbon), 
Ku Ta'kan Jatoh Chinta Lagi (I'll Never Fall In Love Again), 
Tunggu-lah Puan (Keep On Runnin') and Delailah (Delilah).

Because of his voice and the songs he sang, Ismail was labelled, Singapore's Tom Jones, but he said his main inspiration were the African-American singers and especially admired James Brown. In fact he was the first singer in Singapore to perform Brown's songs.

In the same year and in early 1969, he had more EMI/EP hits (EGEP: 667) with:

Sembilan Bulan Ku Nanti-Kan, (The Way It Used To Be), 
Kenangan Manis Di-Kuala Lumpur (Call On Me), 
Bersedia (Get Ready). 

Bebas-kan Daku (You Keep Me Hanging On) 
Sudi Sudi-kah Dikau? (Gimme Gimme Good Lovin') 
Ku Tiada Minta Lahir Ka-Dunia (The Music Played).

But 1969 witnessed the end of The Guys' recording career and their final work being put up was for another artiste, Eddie Ahmad with:

Khayalan (The Fool On The Hill), 
Rintehan, "Chipta'an-Ku and 
Hanya Mimpi". 

Ismail Haron also recorded four English songs with The Guys in one EMI/EP with:

My Elusive Dreams, 
The Rose, 
A Minute Of Your Time and 
Hungry For Love.

Image/Edited Information: Andy Lim Collection.
Information: Wikipedia.