Falcons: Road Shows And Recordings (Part VI)

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Article is written in good faith and part of Joseph Chin's articles on The Fabulous Falcons:

"In 1965, we toured with Rocky Teoh, the Elvis Presley of Malaysia in our road shows within Malaysia and for one road show in Singapore. In this one show in Singapore we performed alongside some of the leading bands from Singapore like The Quests . It was during this show that an untoward incident happened and the Singapore audience, being territorial, booed us throughout our whole performance. This didn’t go down well with our own Malaysian fans. Later the action of the Singaporean audience will backfire.

Later, The Quests from Singapore had a show with some other Singaporean artistes in St John’s Hall in Ipoh. Of course the Malaysian fans had not forgotten the ugly incident when Rocky Teoh and The Fabulous Falcons performed in Singapore a few months back. Halfway through the performance of The Quests, the crowd got really rowdy and uncontrollable and starting booing and taunting the band.

As a consequence, the show had to be called off and they had to be escorted back to their hotels. This was an incident I would rather forget, but somehow the story of this one incident, will be the one thing everyone wants to hear when I mention about the band much later on in my life.

Somewhere in mid-1965, we did a recording in Kinetex Studio in Singapore. It was my first recording with the band although for the rest of them, it was their second recording (the first one being Midnight Express). We spent several days in Singapore where we befriended Vernon Cornelius of The Checkmates, a Singapore band. We recorded 4 songs on two singles. Mayflower and Hotspot on one record and Lonely Star and Misty Breeze (image) on the other.

We were disappointed that we were not allowed to use our own amplifiers as it was a requirement of the studio that we use theirs. As a result we actually didn’t get the sound we wanted. That was a big let down for us. This was something that we were sore about but had to contend with.

Though we were disappointed that offers from renowned recording labels never came our way, and record sales for our singles were not up to expectations, we were still proud of the fact that we were recording artistes, at a tender age of seventeen. On hindsight now, I guess it was down to poor or non-existent advertising on the part of our band as we were inexperienced and lacked managerial expertise. (Joseph Chin)"

Click: Fabulous Falcons to read the series on this blog. For his full memoirs read Joseph Chin's Travelling Foodie and The Falcons blog:

http://thefabulousfalcons.blogspot.com/

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Malaysia Pop 60s Music Scene Alfred Ho

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Alfred Ho is still very popular and actively singing today (image). He is also a political voice, having made comments on issues Malaysia is currently facing.

Key in Google: alfred ho malaysian pop singer

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Malaysia Pop 60s Beautiful Voice With Guitar

Saturday, April 4, 2009

ALFRED HO is the consummate entertainer with over three decades of performing experience at numerous stageshows, private functions and nightspots across the country. Although blind he has endeared himself to audiences for his interpretations of evergreen numbers from legendary crooners Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, and various country and western performers.

Alfred's mellow but powerful voice is irresistible to those who long for the days when songs had words you could actually hear and appreciate - a time when melodies were not obscured and drowned by crashing guitars, pounding beatboxes and techno rhythms.

This Perak-born performer continues to surprise audiences wherever he goes with everything from soothing ballads to rock and roll and even throws in some Spanish, Malay, Cantonese, Japanese and Hokkien numbers to prove his diversity.

Listening to the talented Alfred is a walk down memory lane, reviving gems from past that you may not have even heard on the radio of late. Alfred has such a wide repertoire that he has been known to play for four straight hours, with still some songs to spare.

Struck blind after a bout of measles at the age of three, Alfred showed a love for music from an early age. At Penang's St Nicholas School for the Blind, he taught himself to play the guitar and formed a four-piece schoolboy band called The Sharks. He later honed his craft doing the pub circuit as a solo guitarist and developed an uncanny sense of being able to 'read' his audience from the stage.

His first brush with fame came as a semi-finalist in RTM's Bakat TV, the popular talent show of the 70s. Alfred also did a few shows called Take Five with a commercial broadcasting station in that period and even cut two EP vinyl records of his own compositions.

Two songs, Train To Tennessee and Wendy's Love Song (above vinyl) were particularly popular and he recorded several cassettes back then that were played on local airwaves.

In 1984, having garnered a following and dubbed Malaysia's Jose Feliciano, Alfred finally quit his steady job as a telephone operator and went into music full time. A decade of performances later, during which no record label was willing to sign him on, Alfred self-produced an album of 22 covers of his favourite hits called "Special Gems".

Today, his loyal fanbase, from ambassadors to royalty, from vinyl connoisseurs to lovers of classic dancing, still speak of Alfred with fondness and continue to enjoy his special brand of music.

(From Website: National Council For The Blind, Malaysia/Majlis Kebangsaan Bagi Orang Buta Malaysia).

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Elvis of Malaya & Fabulous Falcons (Part I of III)

Sunday, March 15, 2009

ABOUT ROCKY TEOH:

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FROM BACK SLEEVE COVER:

(1) "Rocky Teoh, better known as Malaysia's Elvis Presley in the 60s, was born in Taiping, Malaysia on 2nd April, 1946. As a boy he loved singing more than anything and had won many talentime contests in school and throughout Malaysia.

Rocky had been with the Fabulous Falcons for nearly 3 years wich was at that time been formed. Together they have toured Malaysia performing with the Cathay Organisation Theatres for six months. They will be touring Thailand performing in popular nightclubs and theatres at the beginning of Sept. 1965 till end of November (EAP Album 7 SE 010)."

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FROM DAUGHTER ANNE TEOH'S FACEBOOK:

(2) "In 1965 Rocky also won the coveted title, 'Elvis Presley of Ipoh'. The prize included a roadshow contract to tour all over Singapore and Malaysia. He hit the road with The Fabulous Falcons and performed at Cathay's Cinemas as far away as Sarawak and Sabah.

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"If you're lookin' for trouble, you came to the right place..." During a show in Singapore, Rocky and the Falcons were booed by Singaporeans. This did not sit well with these Ipoh bad boys. Later on the tour, once back in Ipoh, there was a riot in the theater when the local rabid Rocky faithfuls reciprocated with boos and obscenities directed at The Quest, a group from Singapore.

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The show was interrupted and cancelled and the Quest had to be escorted back to their hotel to avoid a retaliatory pummeling."

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## CLICK Fabulous Falcons OR Rocky Teoh/Alfred Ho LABELS BELOW FOR THE 10 PART SERIES.

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Thanks to Steve Farram for the clearest image of ROCKY TEOH from Garagehangover website.

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Malaysia, Elvis Presley & The SILVER STRINGS! Part II of III

Saturday, March 14, 2009

It was a night to remember. THE SILVER STRINGS were on The Jubilee Hall stage in Ipoh with Rocky Teoh in 1967 when they went on their Malaysian Tour. It was also on this tour that the group met MIKE & HERB.

Audie, band leader, remembers: "Rocky sings like Elvis and he was very popular with the crowd, had a fantastic fan base in Ipoh and the rest of Malaysia. We enjoyed our gig there too as the audience was warm and cheering for us when we appeared."

Rocky Teoh has cut 2 singles, 12 EPs and 2 LPs during his reign from 1965 to 1967 with the Falcons. According to a website dedicated to him by his daughter Ann Teoh, "Rocky's quality, power-packed stage performances were a real treat to watch in the good old days."

One song, "Jacqueline," is dedicated to his wife and based on a Chinese oldie, "Yeh Lye Xiang". Rocky has passed away in 1990 but like The King his music lives on. Rocky is one of the better tribute artistes in Malaysia.

YouTube: key in: rocky teoh malaysia >>>>>>>>> above right corner of this blog.

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Malaysia's Answer To Elvis - ROCKY TEOH Part III of III

Like the Mercedes Benz beside him, ROCKY TEOH is a brand name to contend with. Although made in Malaysia and long gone, Rocky is still a challenge to many current and would be Elvis Presley impersonators. In fact I find him fascinating to listen to despite the screams and shouts in some of his recordings by his back-up group but many of the tracks are well-worth listening to.

With the charitable act of which only a Malaysian friend could provide, I managed to get a copy each of Rocky Teoh's albums, 'Cool Wind' (image) and 'Kiss Me Once' both a Tung Poh Records pressing.

Thank you very much SNOOKHAWK who not only gave me his stack of 45 vinyls but his heart and soul when, over laksa and tim-sum, he told me stories of Malaysian pop singers.

Listening to these recordings makes me realise that Rocky's fans will surely remember him like they do of The King himself.

About Rocky Teoh:

"ROCKY TEOH BENG HOCK better known as Malaysia's 1st and best Elvis Presley Impersonator and sound alike, born in Taiping, Perak on April 2, 1946, his father was a successful pork salesman. Hock was the eldest of six boys and of Hokkien descent.

Rocky was something of a teruna (Malay slang for an "adolescent male all up in it") in his late-teens. It was common knowledge that he lived above Tai Chien Coffee Shop where he could be heard rehearsing with a band."

Check out Steve Farram's write-up and music posts at http://www.garagehangover.com/ and Rocky's daughter, Ann Teoh's website at: http://www.rockyteoh.com/

Facebook: Rocky Teoh.

YouTube: key in: rocky teoh malaysia

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