Local bands in the 1960s
Local bands had a strong following in the 1960s. Due to the presence of British servicemen in Singapore, and later American servicemen because of the Vietnam War, local bands often performed at military camps, mess halls and servicemen's clubs as well as at dance halls, and on television and radio. Other venues for live music were the Singapore Badminton Hall and the National Theatre.9 Popular nightclubs such as the Golden Venus at Orchard Hotel employed resident bands, among these The Checkmates, The Quests and The Trailers.
Several local bands were signed on by recording companies. Most bands covered versions of popular British and American songs as these were in demand. Naomi and the Boys, The Quests, The Cyclones and The Trailers were among the first bands to release original compositions that did well on the local charts.11 In 1964, “Shanty”, the original song by The Quests, became the first song by a local band to reach the top of the Singapore charts, displacing The Beatles' “I Should Have Known Better” at No. 1.12 In 1963, The Crescendos’ first record, Mr Twister, outsold an imported record of the same song by Connie Francis. Its success showed the untapped business potential of local bands, prompting the record label Philips to sign more local acts, and other labels followed suit.
While local 1960s music featured the sounds of what are referred to today as pop, rock and blues, it also demonstrated the multicultural diversity of Singapore and a blend of Western and Asian influences. Popular bands that performed in English included The Silver Strings, The Thunderbirds and The Crescendos.14 Malay bands included A. Ramlie and the Rhythm Boys, Mike Ibrahim and the Nite Walkers, and Ismail Haron and the Guys. P. Ramlee, besides being a talented film actor and director, also transformed Malay popular music by incorporating traditional Malay instruments and Western influences into his music. One of The Trailers' biggest hits was “Phoenix Theme”, an instrumental rendition of a popular Chinese New Year tune. At the height of their popularity, Singapore bands were well-known locally and regionally. Some bands went on overseas tours to countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and the Philippines. The bands were greeted with hysteria by fans, and their appearances in some places caused near riots.
The Crescendos were a popular Singapore band of the 1960s. Formed in 1961, the pop band comprised John Chee, Leslie Chia and Raymond Ho, and vocalist Susan Lim joined the following year. It became the first Singapore band to be signed on by an international record label. The band scored several hits with songs such as “Mr Twister” and “The Boy Next Door”. The Crescendos disbanded in 1966 and never regrouped after the death of lead singer Lim in 1970.
The Crescendos started out as a singing group comprising Chee, Chia and Ho from St Patrick’s School. In 1961, they took part in Radio Singapore Talentime, a programme for finding new singers and musicians. For the Talentime contest the following year, the group decided to add a female lead vocalist, Lim. A friend of Chia’s sister, Lim was then a student at Raffles Girls’ School. The band signed a contract with record company Philips International, even before reaching the competition finals, becoming the first Singapore band ever to sign on with an international record label. The band was later joined by Israel Lim on bass guitar and Peter Soh on drums, who enabled the band to perform as an electric band. It was previously a vocal quartet with only acoustic guitar accompaniment and had to depend on other bands for musical backing.
In 1963, the band released its first single – a cover of Don Conway’s “Mr Twister”, with a cover of Neil Sedaka’s “Frankie” on the flipside. The single was an instant hit and sold more than 10,000 copies in Malaysia, placing it on the Philips World Top 10 list and locally outselling even American pop singer Connie Francis’s version of the song. The band’s next single was an original composition, “The Boy Next Door”, which also entered the Philips International Top 10 list in July 1964 at second place. Other memorable songs followed, mostly covers like “Everybody Loves A Lover”, “Silver Threads and Golden Needles” and “Has Anybody Seen My Boyfriend”. The band also demonstrated its versatility, by recording Malay songs such as “Lenggang Kangkong”, “Waktu Fajar” and the traditional Indonesian favourite “Bengawan Solo”.
The Quests
The Quests was a popular Singapore band of the 1960s. Formed in 1961 by Jap Chong, Raymond Leong, Henry Chua and Lim Wee Guan, and later joined by guitarist Reggie Verghese and singer Vernon Cornelius, the band was considered the most successful local band of that era. It started out by performing cover versions of British and American songs but went on to record a number of singles and albums containing original compositions. The band is best known for its original hit song “Shanty”.
In 1960, Chong, Leong, Chua and Lim often listened to British music records featuring the electric guitar. They were students still in their teens at the time and lived in the Tiong Bahru area. Inspired by music acts such as Cliff Richard and The Shadows, the four practised singing and playing the British group’s songs.9 While they did not have formal training in playing instruments or reading music, they acquired these skills through imitation and practice.
In 1961, the four formed The Quests, with Chong (referred to by his nickname “Jap”) on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Leong on lead guitar, Chua on bass guitar, and Lim on drums. The name of the band was derived from the school magazine of Queenstown Secondary Technical School (now Queenstown Secondary School), where Chong and Leong were students.
The Trailers
The Trailers was a very popular Singapore band in the 1960s. Formed in 1964 by Victor Woo and Eric Tan, the band was a regular feature at live music venues and events, and had released a number of commercially successful records. Among these were some original compositions. The band is best known for its original hits, “Do It Right” and “Don’t Laugh (You’ll Cry)”.
The Trailers was formed in September 1964 by Victor Woo, the lead guitarist, and Eric Tan who played bass guitar. They were joined later by Tony Zee on rhythm guitar and Suppiah on drums. The member line-up changed over time. Edmund Tan started out with the group as a rhythm guitarist and later doubled up as the lead vocalist, while Tony Zee replaced Suppiah on drums. In late 1963, the band invited Vernon Cornelius to be the lead vocalist (which he accepted). Cornelius was replaced in 1965 by Benny Koh,3 who became very popular with fans.4 The band also introduced Michael Teo on keyboard. Teo was eventually replaced by Jimmy Chan. Chan left in October 1967 and was replaced by Patrick Foo.
As band members changed, so did the band’s style and sound. While The Trailers had started out playing instrumental music, the addition of Cornelius, with his flamboyance and showmanship, introduced vocals and gave the band a more professional image. His successor, Koh, had a vocal style that appealed to a younger audience, while keyboardist Teo created a more contemporary sound. Later, Chan’s playing popularised the use of keyboards. The band again changed its sound in its last record, which featured Woo and Eric Tan on the saxophone. Several Trailers alumni, in particular Cornelius and Chan, went on to become members of The Quests, one of the most popular Singapore bands of the 1960s
The Thunderbirds
The Thunderbirds was a Singapore band that was popular in the 1960s. Formed in 1962 and anchored by guitarist Derrick Fitzgerald, it was probably the longest-running band in Singapore, having played for almost two decades at the Carriage Bar at York Hotel.1 The band is best known for its original hit songs “My Lonely Heart” and “My Hula Girl”.
The Thunderbirds was formed in 1962 with Tony Chong, Harvey Fitzgerald, Freddie Tan and Derrick Fitzgerald. It won the Beatles Versus Rolling Stones of Singapore band competition in 1965. The band’s member line-up evolved over time to include Heather Batchen on lead vocals, William Wee on bass and Freddie Tan on drums.4 Another Fitzgerald brother, Ivan, also joined the band as percussionist. The late 1960s saw the addition of bassists Alan Lyford and Richard Danker, organist Freddie Kang as well as Philip Monteiro and Shediq Marican on drums.6 Bassist Harris Hamzah came on board in 1976.
The most significant change to the line-up occurred when Harvey Fitzgerald and Heather Batchen married in 1970, and then emigrated in 1975. The couple visited Singapore in the 1980s as part of the lounge act Trilogy and played at Le Vendome at Dynasty Hotel. As the line-up changed over the years, lead guitarist Derrick Fitzgerald remained the mainstay of the band.10 He was well respected as a guitarist in the local music industry and known particularly for his slide guitar skills. In 1965, The Thunderbirds released its first recording under the Philips record label. Its release the following year, “My Lonely Heart”, topped the charts in Singapore and Malaysia. Written by Harvey Fitzgerald and Gerry Pasqual, the song featured Derrick Fitzgerald on slide guitar. “My Lonely Heart” became the band’s signature tune and has remained popular over the years.
Farewell Robert Suriya, band leader with the 1960s teen spirit
Robert Suriya and his band reigned supreme with their distinctive music during Singapore’s golden age of pop in the 1960s
Robert Suriya, the band leader of Naomi & The Boys who were dominant in the transformation of the Singapore pop music scene in the 1960s, has died at the age of 80.
His five-piece band was among a distinctive generation of groups who performed their own compositions and galvanised teenage years on both sides of the causeway in the ‘60s. Suriya fashioned Naomi & The Boys with a tight approach to their music, placing emphasis on sure intonation and intentions that were always clear and serious.
The band’s biggest hits, ‘It’s All Over’ in 1964 and ‘Happy Happy Birthday Baby’ in the following year, had a tinge of tears, with Suriya’s sister Naomi saying goodbye to her ‘baby’. On June 17, musicians and fans of Singapore’s golden age of pop, bade goodbye to Suriya, who died of liver failure in Guam.
Veteran pop band The Silver Strings back again
The Silver String with Shirley Nair
“We want to bring back the memories of yesteryear. It’s going to be an exciting show, even though we are all seniors!” said an enthusiastic Audie Ng over the phone. “Especially since I’ve laid off playing for over 40 years — but I still can play!”
The founder of one of Singapore’s most versatile bands of the 1960s, The Silver Strings, is understandably excited. Ng and some of his former bandmates will be getting together to perform two shows: A sold-out charity concert for Boys’ Town this weekend and a gig at a club next weekend. For these shows, The Silver Strings’ two original singers, Veronica Young and Andy Young, will be fronting the band as they perform not only their past hits but also songs by other Singapore groups from that era.
While there have been other get-togethers in the past, Ng said this year’s reunion is a bit more of a landmark as it commemorates the 50th anniversary of the founding of The Silver Strings. But Ng wasn’t keen to play that up. “To be honest, only three of us are from the original group from 1963/64: Myself, Andy and Veronica. The rest are the so-called second or third generation members of the band,” he explained. “And one or two more are from other bands who were around back in the 1960s. “I didn’t think it was appropriate to call it our 50th anniversary show because I couldn’t get all the people back in. I would have to get all the singers and musicians, all seven of them. But it’s difficult to do that.”
The Blue Diamonds
Ruud and Riem de Wolff (The Blue Diamonds), August 1962
The Blue Diamonds were an Indonesian and Dutch 1960s rock and roll duo, best known for their million-selling chart-topping single, "Ramona". Indo (Dutch-Indonesian) brothers Ruud de Wolff (12 May 1941 – 18 December 2000) and Riem de Wolff (15 April 1943 – 12 September 2017) founded the group shortly after immigrating to Driebergen-Rijsenburg in the Netherlands in 1949. They were born in Batavia (now Jakarta), Indonesia.
Called the "Dutch – Indonesian Everly Brothers", the Blue Diamonds covered many Everly Brothers songs, but became famous in 1960 with their version of "Ramona", a song originally written for the 1928 film, Ramona. The song was written for promotional appearances with Dolores del Río (star of the film) but not featured in the film itself. The Blue Diamonds up-tempo version of it (changing it from an original
Although their last hit was in 1971, they continued to perform together up until Ruud de Wolff died from bladder cancer at the end of the year 2000. Riem de Wolff continued to perform and release albums until his death in 2017. At the time of his death, Riem had just been diagnosed with lung and liver cancer and had been suffering from the effects of a recent stroke
Singapore Local Music
Ask anyone on the street about the “Singapore sound” – and some will be able to name much more than the patriotic lines to Home, Where I Belong, and other NDP songs and the list of Stefanie Sun ballads we’ve all turned into ritualistic screech-fests at Teo Heng.
The truth is that local music has been quietly but steadily growing – while it still receives significantly less radio airtime than American or Korean tunes, local bands such as The Sam Willows, Hanging Up The Moon and The Observatory have each racked up a sizable following. Talent on our shores is plentiful – seek, and you will find. Here are some of my favourite 50 songs from the last 5 decades of Singaporean local music, and the talents behind them. Plug in your earphones and get ready for an aural treat!
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve most probably caught the gem that is the #SG50 promo video, “You’re the Boy”, and heard the legendary Shirley Nair’s maudlin crooning on its soundtrack. But Shirley Nair & The Silver Strings weren’t the only musical acts making waves back in the 60s! In fact, the swinging 60s was by far the most remarkable period in the history of local music – this era saw the birth of not only the Singapore’s first international recording artiste, but also legions of adoring fans who frequented the many tea dances and nightclubs where their favourites regularly performed.
The Singapore Record Industry in the 1960s
Local Music reaches a Crescendo in the 60s
Following its establishment in Singapore, Philips recorded local band The Crescendos, whose first record in 1963, Mr Twister, was a great success. Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.
Despite the significant changes that had taken place in Singapore’s record industry in the 1950s, few could have predicted the even more dramatic transformations to come in the 1960s. At the start of the decade, the record industry in Singapore was still dominated by EMI (which had originally been known as Electric and Musical Industries, hence the initials). The few independent record labels that existed were relatively insignificant in market terms, and no other multinational record company had yet shown an interest in establishing a presence in Singapore.
EMI was famously conservative when it came to signing up local talent in its main Asian markets of Hong Kong and Singapore. The company enjoyed a virtual monopoly in these markets in the early 1960s, and they saw little reason to expand beyond the well-established forms of local popular music.
Most Singapore recordings in the late 1950s and early 1960s were either traditional Chinese opera, or Malay and Chinese film or pop songs of the period sung in Chinese or Malay. There were very few local recordings in English aimed at the emerging youth market, which at the time was almost completely dominated by imported British and American (and some European) records.
