Can You Name This Singapore 60s Mystery Group?

CAN YOU NAME THIS CHOIR FROM THE 60s?

SOME SLEEVES SPEAK:

To keep the mystery intact, an edited version of the sleeve-liner from the back-cover of 'ami' Records (without serial number) tells you about this group. Each blank ( _ ) represents a word. Try it:

"The first thing that strikes most people about _ _ is our name. It merely means that instead of walking up the middle _ of the _ _ _ , we stick to the side _!

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

We have grown tired of sitting down and arguing with people about faith and _ . 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 _ .

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

The _ _ have appeared over TV Singapura and Malaysia and made broadcasts over Radio Singapura and Rediffusion, besides singing in _ 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 folk-songs sung by us, while The Great Spirit, composed by the Colwell Brothers, is one of severa MRA songs often sung by the group (anonymous)."

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The clues are all there. So one last clue. Five of the girls would have formed a pop girl group and cut records with Philips (Universal Music Singapore) in 1967. Can you name the above group and their place of practice?

Image/article: ami Records/back sleeve cover.

Image of St. Andrew's Cathedral from: http://www.victorianweb.org/

Dorothy And Vampires - All-Girl Group (Pt II)

The image on the right, taken from a souvenir magazine, shows The Vampires. From the vinyls recorded and publicity given, the girls were very popular and had appeared in a number of variety shows and private functions.

The description and position of each member in the magazine image is clear. From Dinner & Dance Magazine - 2nd October, 1965, "standing (left to right): Connie Fong is 18 and is a student at the Nanyang Academy of Arts. She plays the rhythm guitar and took up music some six months ago.

Rebecca Fong (with moon-glasses) is 18 and the lead guitarist and leader of the group. She is a student of the Sacred Heart School and took up music a year ago.

Front row (left to right): shows Gladys Ang, 17 years and is a student of Geylang Methodist School. She took up music nine months ago. Cynthia Fong is in the centre and attends Fairfield Methodist School. She took up the drums a year ago. Montaz Akib is the 2nd lead guitarist, is 16 and student of Geylang Methodist School. She took up music a year ago.

They had all gone for a TV audition and were accepted to appear on the small screen, so be on the lookout for this sensational teenage group. They are under the able hands of *Harry Martinez, Singapore's well-known music tutor."

The left image shows a Philips (438302 QE) recording of the same group. It features the same members (I think?) accompanying a vocalist called Dorothy. They pressed four Chinese (Mandarin) songs. These girls are unique within the Singapore 60s music circuit because I cannot think of another all-girl guitar group that plays Chinese music. Can you?

The band is known as Du Le Di in Chinese and the four songs translated into English are: Love Is Like A Balloon, Singing A Never Ending Song For You, Ah Lah Nah (Alanah) and Lian Hen (another Chinese name?)

*(Harry Martinez lived at Siglap in the East Coast and was a popular music tutor in the 60s who talent scouted his own students and grouped them into successful pop bands. The Silver Strings was such a group.)

Were you one of the band members? Is this the same group that were with Satellite Records? Do write in to tell us.

Image/Original article: Andy Lim Collection.

US All-Girl Groups Made Impact On Our Bands

GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAThe Vampires all-girls from Singapore could have been influenced by the US female vocal groups that flourished in the late 50s and 60s. One such group and one of the first female R&B vocal groups to have nationwide success were The Chantels (left image: http://www.thechantels.com/ ).

These ladies were also considered by many to have been the best female group of all time because their choir-like sound and close-knit harmony brought a new dimension to rock n roll and rhythm n blues songs. They played instruments too.

Their 1958 hit Maybe was considered the standard by which other girl group songs were judged. Lead singer Arlene Smith was one of the very first female rock performers to write her own material. They are still performing today.

The Crystals vocal team was Phil Spector other big girl-group mainstay of the early 60s, cranking out classics such as Uptown, Then He Kissed Me, Da Doo Ron Ron, and He's A Rebel. Some of these songs have been covered by our Singapore bands.

Then came the Marvelettes and they got Motown their first number one hit, and in the process established the girl group as an undeniable hit-making genre of its own with songs such as Please Mister Postman. They set precedence for the other Motown greats like The Supremes.

There was The Ronettes, the girl group that best defined the Phil Spector Wall of Sound with their classic hits Be My Baby, Baby, I Love You, and Walking In The Rain.

The Shirelles too, the girl-group pioneers who scored some of the genre's earliest and iggest hits with Soldier Boy, Dedicated To The One I Love, Mama Said, and Will You Love Me Tomorrow and Everybody Loves A Lover.

Remember, Where Did Our Love Go (1964), Baby Love (1964), I Hear A Symphony (1965) , and Stop! In The Name Of Love (1965)? Originally a quartet, the Supremes (right image) were formed in 1959 under a different name.

"These girls gave Motown a successful base from which to build their label. The Supremes defined the girl-group aesthetic that projected an air of romantic grace and personal style essential to the genre. They helped establish a beachhead for American music at the height of the British Invasion (About.com)."

But how many all-girl groups did we have? The Vampires played their guitars and were an instrumental group backing a singer. Other Singapore all-girl teams, The Tidbits, Friday Girls and Girvin Sisters were vocals groups. I wonder if our local experts and gurus can provide an answer?

The above edited article is only a morsel of what readers can expect from the Website itself. So check out below for more reading:

http://oldies.about.com/od/girlgroups/Girl_Groups.htm

Singapore Vampires At Cavanagh Bridge (Pt I)

The ladies in the image were once a group that played Chinese (Mandarin) songs. They were called, The Vampires but they were not characters from the commercially successful Twilight series of the four vampire-themed fantasy romance novels by American author Stephenie Meyer.

In fact, these sweetheart Vampires from Singapore came at a different period and time. They haunted the dance halls, theatres and clubs in the 60s. This all-girl guitar group featured on the EP cover had only five members but added another, a vocalist called Du Di Na.

According to the sleeves, she joined the group two years prior to the release of this vinyl. Apparently the instrumental group itself had won many fans among Singapore youths and Du Di Na was added to front the original band.

From A blog called Mod-ified Music, one of the songs featured on the Satellite brand record was Han Yu Qu (Chilling Rain Song). It was a popular Chinese song instrumentalised by this group. The Vampires could have been just as successful in the mid-60s but without Bella Swan from Twilight fame.

Wearing dark jackets, short, tight skirts and white boots, the girls looked smart and neat, posing in front of heritage protected Cavanagh Bridge. Behind them is the Victoria Memorial Hall with its imposing clock-tower.

There were not many all-girl guitar groups in Singapore were there? Are you familiar with this group and do you know who they are?
Image/information: http://modcentric.blogspot.com/

'Tidbits' Female Teenage Trio: Island's First RCA/Cosdel Artistes In 1968 - I Believe

1968 - 29th February: National Theatre, Tank Road, Singapore.

Tears of triumph streamed down the cheeks of the three young school girls backstage, as the packed crowd roared with approval when they heard the announcement over the loud speakers. It was the moment the Tidbits had dreamed of since the day they participated in the 1967/68 Radio Television Singapura (RTS) Talentime.

They could not believe it had actually happened and when compere Tan Hock Lye asked the three young winners to come up to the microphone to say a few words to the audience, Melina Wee (12) could only sob. "We are so happy we are crying." The other two Tidbits, Serene Wee (13) and Bernadette de Souza (12) sniffed in agreement. The occasion had over-whelmed them.

It had been a touch and go affair as all the finalists at the competition exhibited a high standard even though they were amateurs. But the trio "emerged as the undisputed champions (when) they sang their way into the hearts of all through their scintillating number, I Believe. And it was just the beginning..."

1968 - 1st June: RCA - Cosdel Cocktail Party, Singapore.

Three months after winning the competition and rounds of singing engagements, the trio were in the lime-light again. It was another memorable day on June lst for The Tidbits when they signed up with Cosdel (Singapore) Ltd, on the world famous RCA label, to record four songs for an Extended Play vinyl: SGE - 0001, beautiful digits indeed.

Since they became the first to record for RCA in Singapore and that it was ground breaking day, top officials from Cosdel and RCA were present to witness the union. Backed by Cosdel's pop guitar groups The Trailers, the songs were: I Believe, Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, Never My Love and Lace Covered Window.
1969 - 2nd Album, 'California Dreamin': RCA Victor, Singapore.

According to the producer's note on the back sleeve of their second EP, the Tidbits "have matured tremendously in their vocal harmony work (and) each individual singer in the group is now extremely polished and are soloists in their own right." The producers believe they had selected the most appropriate songs for the girls because of their "calibre of singing."

The EP title song, California Dreamin' (image - SGF 0017) was given a strong vocal harmony by the girls, backed with an infectious beat and a strong rhythm. The ballad Scarlet Ribbons' rendition was tongue-in-cheek but heart-throbbing. Bernadette contributed the lead voice with "beautiful harmony work" by the other two.

Tragedy had been given a brand new arrangement and the fourth and final song, Come Softly To Me was "unique with an augmentee to help the girls feel their vocal harmony". The note explained that a George Lim was the man behind the girls' success. The trio were backed by RCA artistes, the X-Periment, one of the "slickest band in town" then.

Comment anyone?

Image/Information/Quotes: You Tube. Tidbits RCA record-sleeve covers. Souvenir programmes (1968/1969).

Original article: Andy Lim.

(2) Late 60s Soul Music In Funky Singapore

PART 2

The Shing-A-Ling, Boogaloo and Funky Broadway hit the Singapore music scene in the late 60s as it did a few years before in the U.S. Soul music captured the hearts of many people then, so when three real-life and beautiful sisters from Indonesia hit the circuit with their record Soul Source.

Singaporeans fell in love with both the music and the shimmering siblings. Their close, vocal harmony dominates as they give their best by coaxing listeners to, "do that funky music baby" with The X-periment.

Linda, Lolly and Elsie Idaly have also recorded, Sweet Inspiration, Knock On Wood, Oh What A Fool I've Been and Will You Love Me Tomorrow. Combining as a group proved a success as they were soloists before teaming up in 1967. The sisters are from a musically inclined Indonesian family of ten.

With Soul Sauce (image), they recorded, Unchained Melody, Micro-Mini, Don't Fight It, You've Lost That Loving Feeling/Soul And Inspiration, I Second That Emotion, A Place In The Sun, To Love Somebody, Soul Sister Brown Sugar, Everyday Will Be Like A Holiday, I Lost Someone and Funky Broadway.

Besides backing the sisters, members of The X-Periment featured vocally on some tracks. They had cut another LP in later years and also written original compositions. Siva Choy and Joe Chandran are vocalists and musicians in their own rights.

Image/original article: Andy Lim Collection.

(1) The X-Periment/Idaly Sisters Soul Sauce

PART 1

Believe it. It's all in one Long Play, Latin-Boogaloo, soul sisters in short, short skirts and one of the best bands in the late 60s. When the Idaly Sisters, cut a vinyl with The Experiments it featured the blending harmony and distinctive styles of two of the best groups of recording artistes in the 60s.

After some shuffling of band members and a change of name from Comancheros (song title) in late 1965 to The Experiments at the tail end of 1967, the versatile group was well known for their appearances at the Hilton Hotel, Golden Venus and other hot spots in Singapore and Malaysian cities. Starting out as a Hindustani band the group concentrated on soul music afterwards. The Soul Sister, Brown Sugar phenomenon started its craze in the region then.

The line-up for the LP (image) was Mervyn Nonis (Electric organ, Piano/Harpsichord/Vocals), Tony Shotam (Lead guitar/Tenor Saxaphone/Vocals), Frisco Lim (Drums/Vocals), Kenny Barket (Bass Guitar/Vocals), Joe Chandran (Lead Vocal/Guitar) and Siva Choy (Guitar/Glockenspiel/Vocals). Their final official title on record was The X-PERIMENT.

The pictures were taken at The Baron Nightclub in Singapore under Bernard Salosa's Production.
Reference: RCA Victor Long Play: SGS0001. "I jammed during varsity when they had lunchtime concerts and with a guy called Joe Peters (best double bassist in Singapore) who later formed the NUS Band and the NUS Music Department in the 70s. Actually this was how I got my first job in the IT industry whilst playing as a musician.

It was fun playing 3 months here and there - the Jade Lounge at Ming Court Hotel with David Ng/Julai Tan Quartet, The Rang Mahal Restaurant at the Oberoi Imperial, a Japanese club/restauant called the Okoh at Supreme House and on the ground floor of Hyatt Hotel (if you walk through the main entrance today, the lounge was on the right side.)

Sadly many musicians from those years have passed on or become taxi drivers because there was no future in the local music industry. You must have heard about Joe Chandran and the X'periments - he became spiritual - after is stint at the Los Horizon discotheque at the Shangri-la.

Extract by: Peter Chan from 'Good Morning Yesterday' by Lam Choon See.

Image/original article: Andy Lim
Extract: Peter Chan
Collection.http://goodmorningyesterday.blogspot.com/2006/11/tom-obrien-remembers-beauty-world.html