Comments on: Review: 100 Greatest: Singapore 60s http://s-pores.com/2009/06/100-greatest/ new directions in singapore studies Wed, 15 Feb 2012 01:41:09 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Joseph Clement Pereira http://s-pores.com/2009/06/100-greatest/#comment-3797 Joseph Clement Pereira Wed, 15 Feb 2012 01:41:09 +0000 http://s-pores.com/?p=223#comment-3797 Dear Joseph, Just to let you and your readership know, my book on Singapore Sixties Part One was released in November 2011 by Select Books. The title is Apache Over Singapore. It is available at Select, Kinokuniya, Times and other bookshops. This book covers the bands and singers that emerged between 1960 and 1965. There will be a second book which will cover the years 1966 to 1970. Regards. Joseph.C.Pereira Dear Joseph,

Just to let you and your readership know, my book on Singapore Sixties Part One was released in November 2011 by Select Books. The title is Apache Over Singapore. It is available at Select, Kinokuniya, Times and other bookshops. This book covers the bands and singers that emerged between 1960 and 1965. There will be a second book which will cover the years 1966 to 1970.

Regards.

Joseph.C.Pereira

]]> By: Richard Lu http://s-pores.com/2009/06/100-greatest/#comment-850 Richard Lu Sun, 17 Oct 2010 09:56:09 +0000 http://s-pores.com/?p=223#comment-850 Hello Joseph Please let me know if there is another album of songs from the Singapore 60's coming out. I am a great fan of our 60's music and cannot get enough of it. I am looking forward to own another CD set. Regards Richard Hello Joseph

Please let me know if there is another album of songs from the Singapore 60′s coming out. I am a great fan of our 60′s music and cannot get enough of it. I am looking forward to own another CD set.

Regards
Richard

]]> By: Alphonso Soosay http://s-pores.com/2009/06/100-greatest/#comment-414 Alphonso Soosay Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:06:35 +0000 http://s-pores.com/?p=223#comment-414 Hello Joseph What a great overall review of the 60’s Also on the 100 greatest Singapore 60’s music CD. I believe another double CD is coming out soon by Universal Music Singapore. Cheers Alphonso Soosay Perth. WA. Hello Joseph

What a great overall review of the 60’s
Also on the 100 greatest Singapore 60’s music CD.
I believe another double CD is coming out soon by Universal Music Singapore.
Cheers

Alphonso Soosay
Perth.
WA.

]]> By: Joseph C Pereira http://s-pores.com/2009/06/100-greatest/#comment-225 Joseph C Pereira Thu, 30 Jul 2009 07:33:40 +0000 http://s-pores.com/?p=223#comment-225 Dear Sam, Interesting questions from you. Were we poor ? Yes. Salaries were smaller but buying power was greater. Teachers earning $400 were driving cars. Fancy anyone driving car today even with $4,000 salary. The impetus to form a band was very strong then. The appeal and glamour was bigger. Musicians and singers appeared larger than life. They wore suits when performing on stage. Imagine a stage show in some local hall and the musicians are in suits. That is glamour. Government disapproval. I am not sure about that. In the sixties the youth phenomena was world wide. Sure they worried that our young were too preoccupied with pop culture but I doubt if they understood the extent of it. Poverty also meant sharing and that made for communal experiences. I remember a classmate calling a few of us to go to his house to hear the latest single by some up and coming act. Imagine having a gathering to hear two songs. And the discussions over the two songs. We listened together and then gave our opinions. Maybe the experience was richer for that. Some songs would be played over and over again till we tire of it. Charts meant real sales. A number one hit would signify twenty five thousand units sold or in that region. It was not manipulated phony request type charts that came later. It meant real amounts sold. The pop magazines of that time, Radio Weekly and the later successor Fanfare were eagerly waited as they were harbingers of popular culture. Eventually books on Singapore's sixties culture would come out. Question of when. Regards. Joseph.C.Pereira Dear Sam,

Interesting questions from you. Were we poor ? Yes. Salaries were smaller but buying power was greater. Teachers earning $400 were driving cars. Fancy anyone driving car today even with $4,000 salary. The impetus to form a band was very strong then. The appeal and glamour was bigger. Musicians and singers appeared larger than life. They wore suits when performing on stage. Imagine a stage show in some local hall and the musicians are in suits. That is glamour.

Government disapproval. I am not sure about that. In the sixties the youth phenomena was world wide. Sure they worried that our young were too preoccupied with pop culture but I doubt if they understood the extent of it.

Poverty also meant sharing and that made for communal experiences. I remember a classmate calling a few of us to go to his house to hear the latest single by some up and coming act. Imagine having a gathering to hear two songs. And the discussions over the two songs. We listened together and then gave our opinions. Maybe the experience was richer for that. Some songs would be played over and over again till we tire of it.

Charts meant real sales. A number one hit would signify twenty five thousand units sold or in that region. It was not manipulated phony request type charts that came later. It meant real amounts sold. The pop magazines of that time, Radio Weekly and the later successor Fanfare were eagerly waited as they were harbingers of popular culture.

Eventually books on Singapore’s sixties culture would come out. Question of when.

Regards.

Joseph.C.Pereira

]]> By: Joseph Tham http://s-pores.com/2009/06/100-greatest/#comment-139 Joseph Tham Tue, 28 Jul 2009 01:41:26 +0000 http://s-pores.com/?p=223#comment-139 Thanks for your comment as well as bringing up some interesting points with regards to the political-social climate/context in Singapore during the 1960s. I think instead of radio, there was quite a bit of influence and presence of Rediffusion locally. People might not own radio or a Rediffusion box but some actually went to friend's house to listen in to the programmes played over the air. Of course, the impact of English pop and rock was limited to a certain sector of the local population as I have explained a bit in the article. Some one should research on the local Malay, Chinese and Indian pop/rock scenes to allow us to have a fuller picture. But the audience of English pop/rock would be the English speaking youths basically plus the expat soldiers from USA and UK. And they were more local middle class upwards, perhaps. As for books on how ordinary local Singaporeans lived then maybe Cheng Tju or another person would be more qualified to recommend? Thanks for your comment as well as bringing up some interesting points with regards to the political-social climate/context in Singapore during the 1960s. I think instead of radio, there was quite a bit of influence and presence of Rediffusion locally. People might not own radio or a Rediffusion box but some actually went to friend’s house to listen in to the programmes played over the air. Of course, the impact of English pop and rock was limited to a certain sector of the local population as I have explained a bit in the article. Some one should research on the local Malay, Chinese and Indian pop/rock scenes to allow us to have a fuller picture. But the audience of English pop/rock would be the English speaking youths basically plus the expat soldiers from USA and UK. And they were more local middle class upwards, perhaps.

As for books on how ordinary local Singaporeans lived then maybe Cheng Tju or another person would be more qualified to recommend?

]]> By: Samuel http://s-pores.com/2009/06/100-greatest/#comment-60 Samuel Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:10:44 +0000 http://s-pores.com/?p=223#comment-60 It's an interesting article, although I wonder what it was really like to form a band then. How much did government disapproval matter? Who was the main audience? I can't say this for sure, but after talking to my Dad, I realized that people were generally poor in the 60s. I think it's safe to say most people didn't even have a radio. You would have to go to the coffee shop or something (that is if you were not living in the kampung). So exactly how significant were these acts to ordinary Singaporeans? Did the English pop charts matter and when? It would be great if there was more information on how ordinary Singaporeans lived. Well, maybe I'm just not reading the right books :/ Googling is hopeless! It’s an interesting article, although I wonder what it was really like to form a band then. How much did government disapproval matter? Who was the main audience?

I can’t say this for sure, but after talking to my Dad, I realized that people were generally poor in the 60s. I think it’s safe to say most people didn’t even have a radio. You would have to go to the coffee shop or something (that is if you were not living in the kampung). So exactly how significant were these acts to ordinary Singaporeans? Did the English pop charts matter and when?

It would be great if there was more information on how ordinary Singaporeans lived. Well, maybe I’m just not reading the right books :/ Googling is hopeless!

]]> By: harold http://s-pores.com/2009/06/100-greatest/#comment-50 harold Wed, 17 Jun 2009 05:19:13 +0000 http://s-pores.com/?p=223#comment-50 “We might have our very own Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, the Stooges, MC5, the Velvet Underground, Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, Pink Fairies, Les Rallizes Denudes, Os Mutantes, Keiji Haino, Soft Machine, Gong, Can, Ash Ra Tempel, Faust and Blue Cheer in our hands if the bands here were given the time and opportunity to experiment and grow.” well, now we have it!!! kakaka http://www.myspace.com/idclownz http://www.myspace.com/utvsband http://www.myspace.com/meddleband “We might have our very own Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, the Stooges, MC5, the Velvet Underground, Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, Pink Fairies, Les Rallizes Denudes, Os Mutantes, Keiji Haino, Soft Machine, Gong, Can, Ash Ra Tempel, Faust and Blue Cheer in our hands if the bands here were given the time and opportunity to experiment and grow.”

well, now we have it!!! kakaka

http://www.myspace.com/idclownz
http://www.myspace.com/utvsband
http://www.myspace.com/meddleband

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