Lam Leng was signed with EMI (Singapore) and recorded several early Mandarin songs with The Quests as the backing group. The songs were “Under The Boardwalk”, “How Do You Do It”, “Boys”, “I Feel Fine”, “Wedding Bells”, “Solid Gold Rickshaw” and “Love Song” (duets with Suyin). Lam Leng was the purveyer of “western” Mandarin songs and the later explosive popularity of Sakura Teng and Rita Chao with The Quests. In a way, listening to Lam Leng is also liken to a dissection of the anthology of the great band, The Quests.
Following the widely success of the release of the first Mandarin language record (Yu Ping) from East Malaysia, Nanyang Radio Store had another “first” – an Iban language record. Christopher Kerry, accompanied by The Peaks Band, sang four songs: Bulan enggau angin ny adi saksi tua, Terima kaseh ka budi nuam, Aku tesat, Ngesal pulai baru, Ketegal apai indai tua beserara.
(KEEP ON RUNNING)
Keep on running
Keep on hiding
One fine day I’m gonna be the one
To make you understand
I’m gonna be your man
Keep on running
Running from my arms
One fine day I’m gonna be the one
To make you understand
Oh baby
I’m gonna be your man
*Hey hey hey
Everybody is talking about me
It makes me feel so bad
Hey hey hey
Everybody is laughing at me
It makes me feel so sad
Indo-rock was a fascinating subculture of Dutch-Indonesians musicians who repatriated to the Netherlands after the independence of Indonesia in 1949. Boy & The Rollin’ Kids left an imprint with their two 1963 SP releases (Midnight in Malaya and China Rock, Sunrise in Malaya and Tabu).
Boy & The Rollin’ Kids, 1961 – 1963 lineup: Boy Jansen (lead), Bart Carels (guitar), Bert Jansen (guitar), Henri Peter (bass) and Vico Gagliardi (drums).
Heather Batchen was a British girl staying in Singapore. She teamed up with some British servicemen to form Heather with The Diamond Four. The 1966 SP with Day-dreaming (the version featured here) and If we are only friends was well received. Heather was later backed by The Thunderbirds. They did a re-make of Day-dreaming. Heather’s interpretation of Love is blue (I’amour est bleu) was splendid. Her other more popular hits were: I’ll never be the same, We two forever shall be one, Nobody’s child, Mr. tambourine man. Heather married Harvey Fitzgerald, vocalist and rhythm guitarist of The Thunderbirds.
The Four Diamonds (Ray Johnson)
Heather & The Thunderbirds
(LOVE IS BLUE)
Blue, blue, my world is blue
Blue is my world now I’m without you
Gray, gray, my life is gray
Cold is my heart since you went away
Red, red, my eyes are red
Crying for you alone in my bed
Green, green, my jealous heart
I doubted you and now we’re apart
When we met how the bright sun shone
Then love died, now the rainbow is gone
Black, black, the nights I’ve known
Longing for you so lost and alone
Gone, gone the love we knew
Blue is my world since I’m without you
(DAY DREAMING)
Day dreaming, dreaming of you
Day dreaming, that’s all I do
Whiling away, the minutes and hours
Dreaming of love, a love like ours
Day dreaming the whole day through
Day dreaming, lost in a cloud
Day dreaming, my mind’s whirling round
Thinking of times I’ve spent with you
Thinking of things we can do anew
Day dreaming the whole day through
* I’m miles away all through the day
Lost in a world of my own
Floating along on cloud number nine
Dreaming that you will be mine (will be mine)
Day dreaming, thoughts running wild
Day dreaming, of your sweet smile
Your eyes that shine with love for me
Our hearts together like they ought to be
Day dreaming the whole day through
They were the Dutch answer to the Everly Brothers. The two brothers, Riem and Ruud de Wolff, moved from Indonesia to The Netherlands in 1949 at an early age. In 1960, they scored a hit with Ramona. It was No. 1 in The Netherlands and topped the charts in several European countries, SE-Asia including Singapore, Malaya (before the Federation of Malaysia) and Indonesia. Their rendition of Sukiyaki(Ue o muite arukoo) in English was very memorable, another one of many chart toppers for them. The Blue Diamonds did not forget their roots. They toured the region regularly, and were well received by their fans here.
Ramona, The wedding, Sukiyaki (English/German), Guantanamera, Always, Have I told you lately, Let it be me, Hello Mary Lou, Little ship, Mister Sandman, Mona Lisa, Oh Carol, Red sails in the sunset, Sunny, Rio nights, Ole sioh sajange, Siempre, Terang Buland.
(SUKIYAKI)
The charms of Sukiyaki,
The arms of Sukiyaki.
Are all I long for since I left old Nagasaki.
Why did I roam,
Far away from home?
I hope that she will wait for me.
Her smile cannot deceive me.
Sweet almond eyes don’t leave me.
My whole life through I’ll be true
Darling, please believe me.
That if I say,
I’ll be back someday.
Promise that you will wait for me.
When orange blossoms are starting to bloom,
We’ll be united as a bride and a groom.
I’ll take my Sukiyaki,
And make my Sukiyaki.
The only queen to be seen in old Nagasaki.
And from our home,
We will never roam,
When i make Sukiyaki mine.
(whistle)
Why did I roam,
Far away from home?
I know that she will wait for me.
When orange blossoms are starting to bloom,
We’ll be united as a bride and a groom.
I’ll take my Sukiyaki,
And make my Sukiyaki.
The only queen to be seen in old Nagasaki.
And from our home,
We will never roam,
When I make Sukiyaki mine.
(whistle)
And from our home,
we will never roam,
When I make Sukiyaki mine.
When I make Sukiyaki mine.
All mine.
Teresa Teng 鄧麗君 (pinyin: Dèng Lìjūn) was an immensely popular singer with distinction. Renowned for her velvety voice and endearing songs, she was the Queen of Chinese pop. In 1964 at age 10, she won her first major singing contest organized by China Radio Station (Taiwan) with Visiting Yingtai from Shaw Brothers’ opera movie “The Love Eterne” (梁山伯與祝英台). Many of her songs became standards such as “When Will You Return?” (何日君再來), “The Moon Represents My Heart” (月亮代表我的心), “Goodbye My Love” (再见，我的爱人), “Fragrance of the Night” (夜来香) and “Girls Of Alisan/High Mountain Green” (阿里山的姑娘/高山青). Her popularity spanned three decades. She recorded in many languages and her songs enjoyed huge popularity among Korean, Japanese, Thai, Malaysian and Indonesian listeners, as well as Chinese in Communist China despite strenuous government censorship. It was said that “Deng Xiaoping rules China by day and Deng Lijun rules China by night”. Tragically, Teresa died of an asthma attack in 1995 at the age of 42.
Teresa was the first ever Chinese female singer to perform under contract at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. She was also the first singer to win the All-Japan Record Awards for four consecutive years (1984-1988). Her songs have sold more records than any east Asian singer in history. All her awards would be too many to be listed here.
(月亮代表我的心 THE MOON REPRESENTS MY HEART, English translation)
You ask me how deep my love for you is
How much I really love you
My affection is real
My love is real
The moon represents my heart
You ask me how deep my love for you is
How much I really love you
My affection does not waver
My love will not change
The moon represents my heart
* Just one soft kiss
is enough to move my heart
A period of time when our affection was deep
Has made me miss you until now
* You ask me how deep my love for you is
How much I really love you
Go think about it.
Go and have a look [at the moon]
The moon represents my heart
1966 – 1969: Lawrence Lim (vocals), William Lim (lead), Jeffrey Low (rhythm), Dennis Lim (bass), Ronnie Kriekenbeek (harmonica, organ), and James Tan (drums).
1970 – 1972: Jimmy Appudurai (lead), Lim Thian Soon (guitar), Dennis Lim (bass), Terry Tan (vocals-organist), Jeff Angus (drums).
The Straydogs were regarded as one of the pioneering rebel bands in Singapore, playing an alternative music of blue-rock. The first outfit recorded Mom’s too pampering and I can only give you everything (Van Morrison) in 1967. The second outfit recorded Good morning and Freedom in 1971. This SP went to No. 1 on the Malaysian charts. In 1972, the SP with Repent and Rocking our blues came out .
WUB: Chris Vadham (guitar, vocals), Peter Mangkok (bass), Abel Gan (keyboards), Ziani Shedick (Sidek Marican) drums, Benji (vocals)
When High Ground disbanded, Chris Vadham formed Rubber Band in 1969 which was to evolve into WUB. The first LP “Western Union Band” was released in 1977, produced by Reggie Verghese of Quests fame. This album, containing the pop gems “Sausolito” and “Howzit”, was again released on CD by EMI-Singapore Timeless Pieces series in 2003. WUB also released “We’ve Got Love” LP in Hong Kong produced by Tom Brown. Chris Vadham passed away in UK in 2007.
Western Union Band (WUB), EMI Timeless Pieces, 2003: Howzat, Did you boogie, Move star, Wise man, We all fall in love sometimes, Needles and pins, Come together, Livng next door to Alice, Nights are forever, First cut is the deepest, Paper roses paper dreams, Slipping away, Stand by me, Sausolito
(SAUSALITO)
Once upon a time
I was in New York city
Trying to make some money there
Everybody’s running, isn’t it a pity
They are very busy like everywhere
They are very busy like everywhere
San Diego, San Francisco
All the places where I’ve been
There are still a lot of places
That I’ve never ever seen
There’s one place that I know
That’s the town where I was born
There’s one place that I know
That’s the town where I was born
I’ll go back, Sausalito
I’ll go back where I belong
It’s quite nice, San Francisco
But I’ll go back where I was born
But I’ll go back where I was born
Veronica Young was from Pulau Brani. After the family moved to mainland Singapore, she started to attend the popular Tea Dances with friends periodically. She met Silva Choy (of The Cyclones) who invited her to sing on stage. Before long, she was singing regularly at the South East Asia Hotel. She eventually joined The Silver Strings as singer. They competed in the Millie Small contest and won. Veronica Young later left to pursue a solo career. She recorded a successful EP on Philips label backed by Sonny Bala & The Moonglows: The thrill to love you, Lollipop, Dreams of love, Thank you for your kindness. In 1967, she did a stint with The Impain Bateks in Vietnam. Before migrating to France, she recorded a compilation CD titled “Down Memory Lane”.
This blog is intended for showcasing the best of the local singers and bands in the Far East in the 60's. To display Asian characters properly, you may need to update your browser for additional language support. Since the music files are constantly being updated, you also need to refresh and clear the cache in your browser to hear the changes. I encourage listeners to actively support the local artists and recording companies. You can do this by purchasing commercial re-release of the songs if you have enjoyed them here.
Contributing articles and info are welcome and will be properly credited.
1) The Quests, Part 1
2) The Quests, Part 2
3) The Quests in Malay (with Malay artists)
4) The Surfers
5) The Thunderbirds
6) Susan Lim & The Crescendos
7) Naomi Suriya & The Boys
8) Heather & The Diamond Four, The Thunderbirds
9) Shirley Nair & The Silver Strings
10) Rose Iwanaga & The Avengers
11) Suyin (舒雲) & The Quests
12) The Fabulous Echoes
13) Off-beat Cha Cha with Kong Ling ( 江玲) & The Fabulous Echoes
14) The Early Years: Wong Ching Yian (黄清元) & The Melodians. The Stylers
15) Radio show – Retrospective Part 1 (The Decade)
16) Radio show – Retrospective Part 2 (Instrumentally Yours)
17) Radio show – Retrospective Part 3 (A Spiritual Sojourn)
18) Sakura Teng & The Quests.
19) Rita Chao & The Quests, The Surfers
20) Hot August Nights: Rockin’ with “RJ” in Manila
21) QBS Christmas Party (Keep Christ in CHRISTmas!)
22) Gong Xi Fa Cai! (Chinese Year 4714)
23) Happy Valentine’s Day
24) Happy Mother’s Day
25) Reg Guitar 乐雅吉打乐队 (Part 1)
26) Reg Guitar 乐雅吉打乐队 (Part 2)
27) Remembering Jap Chong (of The Quests)
28) The Inimitable Teresa Teng (鄧麗君)
29) The Tielman Brothers (Andy Tielman)
30) Remembering Reggie Verghese (of The Quests)
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