When Mr. Piano Player Meets Mr. Twinkle Toes

At 70 plus years you'd think that the dancer would stop his prancing on the ballroom floor and that the pianist would stop his tinkling on the grand piano. Not so for Singapore 60s champion, celebrity dancer Sunny Low (2nd right) and former Quests keyboardist Jimmy Chan (lst left).

When present singer/guitarist and company CEO Ronnie See from The Burns (with tie)organised a lunch with former broadcaster Larry Lai (3rd right) and I to meet these two gentlemen at the Grand Shanghai Restaurant at the Grand Corpthorne Waterfront Hotel for a Tiong Bahru gang get-together, untold stories poured from them, like wine from a rare vintage label.

While Sunny is still tutoring students in his Sunny Low Dance Studios at Riverwalk Galleria, Jimmy is still at his keyboard in the Marina Mandarin Hotel. And boy oh boy, do they have stories to tell. Together, their contribution to the 1960s pop music entertainment scene in Singapore add up to about 140 years of dancing and piano playing. They were hot in the early years and still are today. Twinkling toes and fancy fingers. Wow!

There will be postings on Sunny Low and Jimmy Chan soon.

(Ladies present: Mrs Jimmy Chan and Media Consultant, Simin).

Original article/image: Andy Lim Collection.

Check out postings on Ronnie & Burns, Larry Lai by clicking 'Labels' below:

What Terrible Twins? Larry Lai And Tan Swee Leong

Singapore had its first independent cable station in the 60s called Rediffusion. Back then the term DJ or Disc Jockey was practically unheard of in conservative Singapore. I still remember using the term, Announcer during the 50s when listening to such programmes on the radio.

To be a DJ in the 60s was the ultimate. It is a profession that promises fame and fortune. Larry Lai and Tan Swee Leong were two of the most prominent personalities at Rediffusion. With their faultless and fluent British accent on air and sometimes cheeky capers, Larry and Swee Leong became household names. "Like Kleenex!" Larry remarked.

So here they are again, the Terrible Twins. But how terrible can they be? Both were just carrying out their duties. Larry Lai (left, in case you still don't know and haven't been reading this blog too carefully) was up the ladder of shelved Long Playing records, searching for vinyls to spin for his new show Disc Jockey Parade which aired in September, 1960. Slim and trim, he was still a teenager then, at 19 years young.

Tan Swee Leong (right) was at the Rediffusion studio recording his Jazz Beat programme which aired on Tuesdays at 9.45pm. "Latest" photograph could denote they were new on the broadcast scene and still learning the ropes? Both were clean-cut and widely admired by our Singapore ladies.

The two images are from the weekly 'Rediffusion Times', a magazine in English, Chinese and Malay, produced by the first ever cable company in Singapore. I could not connect the site to this blog. Sorry, perhaps they are restrictive with copyrights too. If there is any objection regarding this posting please inform and it shall be deleted. Andy Lim.

To read more about Larry Lai and Tan Swee Leong click topic under Labels below:

Mr Blue Diamond Riem de Wolff, Quests, DJ Larry Lai: 60s Music Meet In Singapore Shopping Mall

Image seated: Andy Lim (The Silver Strings), Riem de Wolff (The Blue Diamonds), Larry Lai (Rediffusion Broadcaster). Standing: Jap Chong, Vernon Cornelius (The Quests).

Vintage Brothers:

Shoppers screamed, Seniors extended their arms for a handshake when pop group The Vintage Brothers appeared for lunch, at one of the shopping malls in Singapore.

Questing For Diamonds:

Fans with CDs in hand jostled their way to the front of the queue and everyone wanted to have a picture (Image 2) taken with Jap Chong and Vernon Cornelius (The Quests), Riem de Wolff (The Blue Diamonds) and Larry Lai (Rediffusion Broadcaster). One fan even brought his Blue Diamonds vinyls for Riem's autograph.

Dream On:

So for those surfers in Singapore who missed the, "Dream On, You 60s Celebrities" gig, here's a picture for keep sake. By the way it's 2011 now, not 1965 but they had gigs in Singapore recently.

Riem De Wolff:

Seriously though, the du-wop duo from Holland, The Blue Diamonds' chart topper Ramona is still selling internationally and Riem is up to his neck in diamonds. Twenty-five million copies sold and counting... Riem has a successful solo career now but sings with his son too. Listen to Riem, with steel and slide guitarist Sarah Jory, on the sensitive duet-written, How I Love You in his 2005 Back On Track album (Image 1 ). He had appeared in some concerts in December 2010.

Vernon Cornelius:

Vernon (Quests) is busy with his gigs and has recently appeared with Reim as a duet, singing Blue Diamonds melodies of yesteryears. Vernon is much into archival activities and has a large collection of past goodies, much from Singapore. Vernon fronted the Quests from the 60s -70s and recorded with EMI.

Jap Chong:

Jap (Quests) is taking it easy and still plays when there are reQuests for him to appear. This gentleman looks very young for his age. He's used to the rhythm of local pop stardom. Jap Chong played rhythm guitar with the Quests from the 60s - 70s and recorded with EMI.

Larry Lai:

Larry co-ordinates the masses and is still the maestro, using his baton more as a magic-wand to make celebrities appear and disappear. The usual, "I-know-that-voice" phenomena still persists when he's around. Strangers pass him by and call his name when they hear him talking.

Larry was the most popular DJ and one of the top broadcasters in Singapore from the 60s - 90s at cable Rediffusion and the Singapore Broadcasting Company. He has since retired. There are about 9 postings about this gentleman on the blog (click Larry Lai below).

Image 1: http://www.bluediamonds.nl/

Image 2: Andy Lim Collection.

Rediffusion Request Programs in the 60s - The Larry Lai Interviews (Part IV)

Nasi Goreng and Ox-Tail Stew:

(Image of Larry in his disco suit on the left.) It will take a myriad of postings to document Larry Lai's tales and adventures as a broadcaster, so I have decided to write snippets of what he told me in the past weeks while we were busy enjoying our nasi-goreng, ox-tail stew and mango-ice cream. These postings will never do justice to his varied and interesting career at Rediffusion and his expertise as a broadcaster in Singapore, but here goes.
Rediffusion Requesters:
My chat with Larry in the 3rd interview ended when I asked him about Rediffusion requesters. Many Singapore youths who lived in the early 60s knew that it was fashionable among pop song requesters to have their lengthy, western names announced over the air. Cheap thrill if you call it, but it was youth culture then.

These ego-maniacs found it exciting to hear their names on the airwaves. When I discussed with Larry about Rediffusion 'friends' like, Elvis Jonathan Wee, Cliff Ricardo Tan and Cilla Debbie Soon, he explained that besides having unique names, they also had strange habits.

"When they found out where my future wife lived and where I parked my car during my visits to her home, they used my windscreen as a postbox, slipping their heavily decorated, request postcards between the wipers. Every morning it was extra work for me, as I had to clear the tons of mail accumulated. And if it rained the night before..."

He took his listeners seriously and made sure he answered every postcard and request for songs on air. Woe betide Larry Lai if he failed to do so because there would be repercussions. He would be in trouble... The requesters would write him nasty letters.

Larry remarked that oddities like these came with his work. But it made the only cable station in Singapore a hit with our 60s youths. The exceptionally popular request programme stretched from one to four hours daily.

Other Request Programmes:

There were many pop music request programmes those years. On radio there was Claude Doral with his, 'Saturday Date', Kingsley Morando (Mr Talentime) with, 'To Each His Own' and Maisie Concaecio with her morning 9am stint called, 'Calling All Hospitals.' where she answered requests for hospital patients. Larry had much competition those days but according to seniors today (they were young once), nothing beat Larry Lai's request programme on Rediffusion, where he really played the latest and the best.

(Only music and personalities from the 50s to the 70s are posted on this blog. This article is the fourth posting about Larry Lai. For 3 previous interviews Click Larry Lai under labels below.)

Image: Larry Lai Collection. (All rights reserved)

Original article: Andy Lim

'Oh Moby Dick Was So Big And Slick' - The Larry Lai Interviews (Part V)

*Moby Dick:

An idea cropped up in late 1967 when record hops became popular and the Singapore live music scene began to wane.

With local bands becoming more expensive and Phillipino bands taking over the night clubs, Larry thought it would be an ideal opportunity to start a mobile disco which made some business sense.

What was needed was a good sound system, lighting effects, a vehicle and a few a-go-go ladies. At the end of 1969, he partnered with a friend to set up the mobile discotheque. With quality speakers, custom-made power amplifiers, turn-tables, mixers and music sources, the business venture was set up.

Like the already popular Larry Lai branding, Moby Dick quickly became another household name. By the early 70s, the go-go girls were gyrating and patrons were:

"Prayin' for this moment to last,/Livin' on the music so fine,/Borne on the wind,/Makin' it mine, /Night fever, night fever... (Composers/Singers: Gibb Brothers)."

An agreement with the popular Kelong Restaurant at the Cathay Cinema to have Moby Dick's presence there, resulted in another successful venture by Larry.

And as the shimmering disco balls twirled in the strobe lights and the adrenalin was pumping in every disco-maniac's body, cash was flowing in. "Oh Moby Dick was so big and slick, There was never such a whale... (Frankie Laine)"

*Larry's favourite literary fiction by Herman Melville. Name 'Moby Dick' comes from 'Mob-ile Disco-theque'.

(This is the final posting on Larry Lai. For 4 previous interviews Click Larry Lai under labels below.)

Image: Larry Lai Collection. (All rights reserved)

Original article: Andy Lim

Mr Cool: Under 21 Show, Rediffusion Discoveries, Rado Show. The Larry Lai Interviews (Part III)

Her faults are fewer, her lips are truer, my China doll - Slim Whitman:

Put him on stage and he swoons the crowd with his bass baritone voice, perfect diction and immaculately tailored, Six Million Dollar Man suits from *Danny's. But off stage, Larry Lai was so shy when he first met his wife that he did not have enough courage to ask for her telephone number.

The Rosee D'or was the place where he first set eyes on his pretty "China doll." In the 60s this night club was above the old Lido Cinema at Orchard Road and veteran singer Ahmad Daud with the late Saloma were both performing then. Larry Lai and Tan Swee Leong were in charge of a live recording of the show for Rediffusion.

After he was formally introduced to the young lady by a friend they were together for 5 years before Larry married her in 1965. So this year, as Singapore celebrates its 45th National Day, they celebrate their wedding anniversary too!

There's no people like show people, like no people I know - Ethel Merman:

It was my third meeting with Larry as he reminisced his years at Rediffusion . "I was with the broadcast station from 1960 to 1978 and remember the first few weeks. It was my first show at the auditorium called Under 21 and as I approached the microphone, my knees were shaking so badly, I had to hold them. Actually there was an audience of only 300 people."

There was another occasion when his boss had an accident and Larry, at the very last minute, had to host Rediffusion Discoveries at the Odeon Cinema in town. Although he was ill-prepared, the show went on smoothly as he faced an audience of about 1,500 people. "There was hardly any entertainment in the 60s and people were just flocking to these shows."

Comparatively, Larry considered Rado Show (image) his most challenging as it was his television debut. He had agreed to do the show after he left Rediffusion in 1978. It was a quiz and entertainment programme recorded live. The show was a success but he recalled an occasion, when the programme exceeded its transmission time by three minutes because of a technical glitch.

So that evening, through no fault of theirs, when The Trailers, a pop guitar group, was closing the programme with an instrumental number, it played into news-time i.e. beyond its 9 pm schedule. Larry managed to save what could have been a disastrous situation. He exclaimed: "Nobody goes beyond the 9 o'clock news!" He's not called Mr. Cool for nothing.

Music man play your song for me, Music man play my soul, Music man play a melody, Music man take control - Chaka Khan:

Larry added that adequate preparation was the key to being a confident and good compere. But there was no guarantee that every show or broadcast would be a success and felt that he was fortunate he faced no major problem during his own career.

Larry remembers that his work as a DJ was just as interesting. He has a very good memory and this ability has allowed him to remember the many songs, singers, composers and bands in the music scene. They may well run into the thousands and Larry enjoyed sharing the music and trivia with listeners who had either written to him or telephoned him during his tenure at Rediffusion.

As the interview became more interesting and I started asking him about regular Rediffusion requesters in the 60s with names like: Elvis Augustine Neo, Ursula Katerina Ong and Cliff Alphonso Beng, he suggested a mee-siam break at Ang Moh Kio...

More about MR COOL in future postings. Would you like to share your thoughts about him?

*Popular with Singapore celebrities in the 60s & 70s.

Image: Rado Show/Larry Lai Collection.

Original article: Andy Lim.

Leggy Fashion Models, Drooling Band Boys

A long time ago in the 60s and 70s, way before Jade Seah and Nadya Hutagalung appeared on our local catwalk, Singapore had its share of beautiful, leggy and sexy fashion models. One of the more popular modelling agencies that had these damsels was Joan Booty's.

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Annual dinner and dance events held by business organisations had top bands, pop artistes, comedians and variety shows to entertain the staff but they were incomplete without these agencies providing models to strut the stage of the hotels, theatres and nightclubs in Singapore. So wherever the get-together was held, these ladies provided the oomph and glamour and the more revealing the girls were, the larger the members in the audience and louder the wolf whistles.

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When I spoke to the 60s band boys about such events and the live music they provided as the models appeared on stage, one comment was, "We try to play the simplest tunes with the simplest chords because we'd rather drool over the girls and their swimming costume changes than think of our guitar chord changes." The statement is meant more as a joke because the bands take their music accompaniment of models on stage seriously, so woe betide those bands that are frivolous or non-professional because they will not get another contract the next time around.

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[Note: Spelling of 'boutique' to 'Bootigue' understandable but why 'gue' and not 'que'? The above advertisement appeared in a souvenir magazine for White And Blue Nite at the Victoria Memorial Hall on Saturday, 28th February, 1970. The dance was to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of the P.I.E.U. Bridgestone Branch and sponsored by Bridgestone Singapore Company (Private) Ltd. Anyone attended this function?]

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The band in attendance was The Stylers and the compere was Larry Lai. Hey LL, you remember this one?

Original article: Andy Lim

Image: Randy Lee Collection.

Naturally BBC: English Gentleman Without The Stiff Upper Lip - Larry Lai Interview - (Part II)

"You speak and behave like an English gentleman. All you need is a bowler hat, an umbrella with a whangee handle and polished leather shoes. Like John Steed in The Avengers?" That was the truth about this celebrity broadcaster because he did not have a phoney accent and spoke as naturally as the announcers on BBC. And according to him, "The BBC was where I learnt my trade... yes... listening to the station daily... from home." So as we started on our Katong laksa, Larry Lai, who never liked to talk about himself, reluctantly related in impeccable Queen's English his 18 year relationship with Rediffusion.

He came with his family from Shanghai, China, had his education at Pearl's Hill Primary and studied commercial subjects at Outram Secondary. He started as a Rediffusion announcer in 1960 with Tan Swee Leong. They had replaced Tan Hock Lye and Steven Lee who left for Radio Singapore. Being a broadcaster was challenging but he loved his profession at the station, working with the Rediffusion family until he retired as manager and producer in 1978.

Larry remembered how difficult the job could be. Besides doing the routines where he had to broadcast, make announcements, play music requests, prepare scripts, etc. in the studio, Larry had also to carry out extra curricular activities outside.

When his boss Len Thorne phoned him in December, 1961 to interview U.S. crooner Frank Sinatra at Singapore Airport, he lugged his heavy, bulky tape recorder and sped all the way to the tarmac hoping to get a scoop. He was excited when Sinatra finally emerged from the plane but before he could approach "Ol' Blue Eyes", the singer made an about turn and disappeared. Larry was so upset, he refused to play Sinatra records on air for a week!

On another occasion, he and Tan Swee Leong climbed a tree, risking broken bones, to catch a glimpse of 60s Calypso singer Harry Belafonte at the Raffles Hotel. When the singer saw them perching precariously beneath the pale moon and fearing their safety, he quickly agreed to the interview. It was an exclusive for Rediffusion and a pat on the back for the "terrible twins" (Lai & Tan).

But then there were other moments of joy too when Larry compered game shows with beautiful, perfume scented ladies. Like when he hosted and interviewed Philippino songbird Teresa Carpio, Hong Kong superstar Jennie Tseng (sidebar image), Cathay Pacific's ambassador, Frances Yip (above image) and other glamorous celebrities during live shows at the National and Victoria theatres, cinemas, shopping malls and the Rediffusion auditorium.

At this point of the interview I interrupted him and asked, "And the lady in your life, Larry. Tell us about your very pretty wife. We've been introduced, so perhaps you'd like to recall how you met her the first time? "

"Oh," he said, "that's with Saloma and Ahmad Daud... at the Lido Cinema. And she was with this gentleman. But it's another story... "

Image: Larry Lai Collection: (The lady next to Frances Yip is Katherine Kan from an earlier metamorphosis of Media Corp, possibly RTS. It was backstage at the National Theatre during an end-of-year show in the early 80s.)

Original Article: Andy Lim.

Check out: Saturday, May 08, 2010
Larry Lai King Of Singapore 60s Airwaves (Pt I)

Marie Tang Talks About Talentime, Larry Lai, Stylers, Charlie Lazaroo, The Man From UNCLE

MARIE TALKS ABOUT UNCLE LARRY, UNCLE CHARLIE AND THE MAN FROM UNCLE:
Hi Andy,

Wow! This is really a surprise! The one and only EP I cut was with The Stylers, and I have some very fond memories of the many practice sessions we had during those days for my record, which also contains the song from The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Uncle Solo! Oh my goodness! I was only 15 years old then...

You have a very interesting blog and it will surely bring back many wonderful memories and smiles for many of us who contributed to the music scene during the 60s. Your **posting of my mum... I've just sent it to her through MSN and she too was mesmerised and surprised.

1969 Talentime... Host, Larry Lai - addressed him as Uncle Larry then - best host in Singapore, compared to some of the existing ones. Uncle Charlie (Charles Lazaroo) was such a wonderful and helpful musician.

During those days they had prizes for the top 8 contestants. I was 7th and I think I won myself a watch with changeable straps... ha, ha, ha... the simple life. I also competed in a few more talentime contests organised by Cathay Cinema in conjunction with the movie The Oscar and took first prize with my song, Fireball XL5.

Hey, I got myself an Oscar trophy, which is still in my home. And in the same year I took another first prize for a talentime organised by Boys Town but can't remember the song I sang. My singing talent was definitely my mum's genes but there were other priorities for me and I did not pursue a singing career.

Thank you once again Andy, for bringing back such good old memories.
Cheers,
Marie (Tang): 21st May, 2010.Thank you so much Marie for sharing. Really appreciate!

**Saturday, December 27, 2008:
Ocean Park Hotel Singapore With Wilma Tang

Image:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3093/2543814906_17ac440dc9.jpg

Larry Lai King Of Singapore 60s Airwaves (Pt I)

When I first met Larry Lai in the mid 60s, it was amidst the hustle and bustle of a busy stage at St. John's Ambulance Brigade Headquarters in Beach Road. He was the Master of Ceremonies (MC) or compere for the dinner and dance that evening as he made a formal introduction to announce my performance.

After nearly 45 years, I met this kindly gentleman again, but this time around it was amidst the solitude of a neat and air-conditioned coffee house in a vintage suburb at Serangoon Gardens in Singapore. Larry was busy with his lap top as he coaxed it to play Frankie Cheah's Woman In My Life, Sugiman Jahuri's Misty and a number by Peggy Tan I couldn't remember. "That's a brand new lappy I just got free," he remarked. As we sat in a corner and before our conversation even started, a lady at the next table called across.

"Hah," she said, "I can recognise that voice anywhere! You are Larry Lai aren't you, from Rediffusion?" It was more an announcement rather than a question. Because he is such a gentleman, Larry continued his conversation with her a while. At the end of the chat, she proudly claimed that she was still an ardent fan despite the years that had gone by. I looked at him and said quietly, "Wow. That's how powerful you are!"

So as Larry sipped his thick *kopi susu and I my **teh-tarek, he decided to tell me, after much persuasion, his long and interesting love affair with Rediffusion. As he was about to recall the year he left Outram Secondary School, I suggested lunch first...

(Many of you, in Singapore and abroad, know Larry Lai. Perhaps you'd like to tell your story too about this very pleasant gentleman.)

*For the uninitiated: *coffee/milk **frothy English tea/milk.

Thanks to Larry Lai for the drinks, meals and interview.

Image: © 2010 Larry Lai Collection. All rights reserved.

Orginal article: Andy Lim.