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An introduction to the music scene which flourished
in Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore in 1964-1969
click the tracks for hyperlinks to the music files |
In the Sixties, Mainland China was busy with the Cultural Revolution, which branded Rock & Roll as a sign of Western decadence. Nevertheless, the "Beat Wave" hit big in two Chinese territories that remained open to British influence, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Hong Kong
The Beatles concert in Hong Kong in 1964 marked the birth of the golden age of the Hong Kong pop scene. From 1964 to 1969, a great number of bands appeared. They sung in English, as Cantonese and Mandarin songs were considered to be old fashion. These bands normally did cover versions of songs from the UK or the US. This scene reflects the multicultural diversity of the city. Musicians of different nationalities were active in the Hong Kong band scene: Chinese, British, Swedish, Macanese, Portuguese, Pilipinos, Singaporeans and Indians, among others. The most popular venues for stage shows and gatherings for youngsters in Hong Kong and Kowloon were called "Tea Dances". These weekend afternoon dance parties took place in night clubs and Chinese restaurants, providing Hong Kong bands with an opportunity to play live. Major bands were signed by Diamond, a subsidiary label of Polydor: Teddy Robin & The Playboys, The Mystics, Joe Jr. & The Side Effects, Menace, Lotus, Anders Nelson & The Inspiration, The Fabulous Echoes, D'Topnotes, Mod East, Magic Carpets, Danny Diaz & The Checkmates, to name a few. EMI on the other hand concentrated on the Mandarin song market, recording artists from the Shaw Brothers (the largest Hong Kong Movie company), such as Connie Chan (Chan Po-chu), Josephine Siao (Siao Fong-fong) and Nancy Sit, who recorded Chinese versions of international hits. Bands who joined EMI were relatively less active and less successful in the market: Thunderbirds (whose lead singer Robert Lee, was the brother of Kung Fu star Bruce Lee), Thunders (from Macau, the only band that successfully crossed over to Hong Kong in the 60s), The Reynettes (who were a Filipino brother and sisters group), The Quest, from Singapore, who were stationed in Hong Kong in 1968. Most of the bands disbanded in 1969. In the 1970s. Teddy Robin, Joe Jr and Sam Hui (of Lotus) all became solo singers. Yet the glory days were over. In the mid 1970s, Sam Hui single-handedly invented a new Canto-pop market. It proved to be very successful in the coming years, thus putting a final stop to the so called "Golden Band Era of Hong Kong".
> read more: Hong Kong 60s Re-capture
Singapore
Here, groups were formed, signed, with records being released weekly. Furthermore, in multicultural Singapore bands were playing music but singing them in English (which was the major language), Malay and Chinese. Therefore fans had three streams to choose from. Cliff Richard and The Shadows played a concert in Singapore in late 1961 and that marked the beginning of the Beat group era with bands which were strictly instrumental. Most times, singers were an adjunct to the band. The arrival of the Beatles in 1963 changed the emphasis from the instrumental band scene to self-contained units with singers and instrumentalists, although strictly instrumental bands flourished for a long time yet in Singapore ? as there was a need for instrumental music in many situations. Singapore's musical scene was a mix of different influences sung in English, Malay and Chinese. They ranged from popular bands like Quests who came from the early Sixties era, Naomi and The Boys who had a successful four year run, Antartics who personified the second wave of R&B tinged groups, then Malay groups like D'4 Ever, Les Kafila's, Mike Ibrahim and The Nite Walkers, Swallows, Ismail Haron and The Guys and two guests from Thailand - Dynamics and Fox. The music ranges from Pop R & B, early Heavy to the plain weird. It is a mix of Western influences and Asian ethnic diversity produce something unique that can only be called Singaporean pop.
> read more: '60s Singaporean Bands
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Teddy Robin & The Playboys
Breakthrough |
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1: A Little Bit of Me, A Little Bit Of You
2:There Is A Kind Of Hush
3:A Summer Song
4: I Am Not Your Stepping Stone
5: Green Green Grass Of Home
6: I can't Grow Peaches On A Cherry Tree
7: I Got to go Back
8: Poor Side Of Town
9: Time Won't Let Me
10:All My Sorrows
11: I'm A Believer
12: On A Carousel
"Breakthrough", mono LP-1032, Diamond, Honk Kong, 196_
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The Menace
1. I Love you
2. 1, 2, 3, Red Light
3. Baby Come Back
4. Strawberry Sundae
5. Hello I love You
1.Yummy, Yummy, Yummy
2.It's Nice To Be With You
3.You D'on't Even Wink Your Eye
4. Medley: woman Woman / Young Girl / Lady Willpower
5. Birdie, Spider, Lion, Honeybe And Me
"The Menace", LP, Diamond, Honk Kong, 1968
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The Quest
Questing
01. Instrumentally Western
02. You're Telling
03. Look in My eyes
04. Lengang Kankong
05. She Is The One
06. Drivin Me Mad
07. Shadow Of Your Smile
08. Shanty
09. In A World Of Your Own
10. Honey House
11. Yang Di Man Satu
12. All My Sorrows
13. Please Try And Understand
14. My Favorite Thing
Questing
DSingapore, 1966, EMI 330SX-7775
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The Quest first LP includes their great instrumental hit Shanty (see the single next). 4 tracks are selected for downloads here: a song, Honey House (which beat reminds of the Fleshtones, and 3 instrumentals: Instrumentally Western, Shadow Of Your Smile, and the Rodgers -Hammerstein standard which is known better through the John Coltrane version, My Favorite Thing. |
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Teddy Robin & The Playboys
01. Language of Love
02. Don't Go out into The Rain
03. San Fransisco
04. Norman's Fancy
05. She'd Rather Be With Me
06. (I Dreamed Of You) Last night
07. Come on Down To My Boat
08. We Can't Go On This Way
09. Friday on My Mind
10 Sands Of Time
11. Windy
12. The Boat That I Row
'365 Days", LP, Diamond records, Hong Kong, 1967
TR&P was the n01 band in Hong Kong during that period.
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The Mystics
01: Send Her Back
02: Going Out Of My Head
03: Sweet Soul Music
04: ICan't Help Myself
05 When A Man Loves A Woman
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06: Soul Time
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07: Don't Leave Me (Baby Baby)
08: What Makes You Run
09: Midnight Hour
10: Ain't Proud Too Beg
11: I Wan't To Talk With You
"Best Of"mono LP-1038, Diamond Records, Honk Kong, 1968
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click picture to enlarge
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Rita Chao with The Quest
side 1
01: Wooly Bully
02:Pretty Flamingo
side 2
01: Let true Love Begin
02: Love Is Me, Love is You
EP, Singapore 1960's
link to Rita's discography: >the EPs / >the LPs
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Nancy Sit
Nancy Sit hala hala a'gogo
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01: Wooly Bully,
02: Hang On Sloopy
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01: Love Potion No. 9
02: Shakin? All Over
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EP, Squirrel records, Singapore |
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click on picture to enlarge
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Rita Chao with the Surfers
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side 1
01: Yummy Yummy Yummy
02: Donna
Side 2
Master Jack
04: I Gotta Find Cupid
EP, Singapore , EMI ECHK 609
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The Quest
1: Shanty
2: Gallopin
Singapore, 1964, EMI, 7", 45rpm
The Quest's debut single on EMI, Shanty, an instrumental written by bass player Henry Chua knocked off the Beatles "I Should Have Known Better" off the top of the 1964 Singapore charts.
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Ronni Ong
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side 1:
01: Buttons and Bows
02: 10 000 Miles
side 2:
01: The Black Hill Of Dakota
02: Dear Heart Anfd Gentle People
Singapore, TNA TEP213 EP, 45rpm
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The Sundowners
accompanied by The Tornadoes
Malaysia Wonderful
Singapore EMI, CHK 1008, 45rpm
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click on pictures to enlarge
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The Stylers
side 1:
Track 01
Track 03
track 04
side 2:
track 04
The Stylers, Singapore, STRLP 6003
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Travellers
side 1:
Track 02 (8.1MB/160kbps) 7:02
The Best Of (Vol 2) Singapore, Sina HBLP-1609
Instrumental. Should this music Style be called "Mandarin Exotica"?
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click picture to enlarge |
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Chan Po Chu (Connie Chan)
The lady Black Cat
Hong Kong 1968 EMI EPH3021
dicography (chinese):
http://www.vinylparadise.com/4pop_can/1/013CBC0A.htm
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Chan Po Chu (Connie Chan)
Hong Kong 1968 EMI EPH3029
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Chan Po Chu (Connie Chan)
Hong Kong 1967 EMI PHK1029
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Chan Po Chu (Connie Chan)
Hong Kong 1967 EMI PHK1022
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