Participants & Supporters Of Local 60s Music

Friday, November 20, 2009

From Left: Jerry Fernandez is vocalist of the Neu Faces and has an events company, Veronica Young is Singapore's Millie Small, Ronnie See is leader, vocalist and rhythm guitarist from The Burns, Audie Ng is leader and bassist of The Silver Strings.

Back Row: Paul and Maria are back-up singers, Andy is a bystander, Victor Lam is percussionist with The Burns and Ging plays lead guitar.
Image: From Veronica Young Collection/Venue: Goodwood Park Hotel, Singapore, 2009.

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Cliff Richard Please Don't Tease Ronnie & Burns

Friday, July 31, 2009

Ronnie & The New Burns appeared on the Orchid CC stage, neat, stylish and resplendent. Singing and strumming the top hits of the 60s Ronnie (leader, vocalist, rhythm), accompanied by Victor (drums), George (lead) and Simon (bass), entertained the audience.

He went on through the evening, with his faultless singing and perfect rhythm. On the first night of the show, Jerry Fernandez' introduced that "Ronnie was once with The Stylers" (popular 60s guitar group).

With a wide repertoire, they sang and played, Travelling Man (Ricky Nelson), Please Don't Tease. The Young Ones (Cliff Richard) and Pretty Woman (Roy Orbison). They brought the house down with Hey, Paula (Paul & Paula) when Ronnie sang a duet with beautiful Filipino singer Maria. It was a class act indeed!

Image: Roger Poh Collection.

Original article: Andy Lim.

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Singapore National Heritage 'Those Were The Days...' Watching The Beatles Of Malaysia Rock With 60s Music. No Elvis Presley songs! Why?

Thursday, July 30, 2009

The above audience could feel the pulse of the rhythmic beat of The Silver Strings, Ronnie & The Burns and The Beatles Unlimited from Austria when these three bands performed on the 23rd and 24th July, 2009 for a Pop 60s Rock Music concert.

They seemed quiet but when the bands rocked the house down, these same people danced and shimmied to the sound of the bands. It was an active and co-operative crowd as they clapped, cheered and sang with the band and singers on stage.

Thank you for attending the concert. The organisers and performers are very grateful to members of the public, supporters, friends and families who came to see us that night.

(Blogger is also grateful to people who wish him well those two evenings in the outer hall of the ballroom.)

Image: Veronica Young Collection.

Original article: Andy Lim

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60s Rock Music Concert Souvenir Programme

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

In case you missed the show, the above image is the programme booklet for the two nights, where details of the artistes that participated are documented. It is well designed and worth the while to collect as a souvenir. There are many people who keep programmes, magazine pages, newspaper cuttings, posters and advertisements as memorabilia to remind them of past events.

This blogger has a good friend who keeps such bric-a-brac. Singapore 60s band members and singers were surprised at the amount of photographs he keeps and the signatures he collected, when he showed them his files and albums during the local gigs in town. This gentleman and many other pop 60s enthusiasts have been collecting them since.

Don't throw them away. Could prove priceless some day. The National Heritage Board has an interesting collection of these programmes and souvenirs. Well, in case you need one...

Image/Article: Andy Lim

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Roy Orbison's Pretty Woman/Ronnie & Burns

Saturday, July 25, 2009

After practices: a picture with Ronnie See, left, band leader, vocalist, rhythm guitarist and Victor Lam , percussionist (seated). Simon Tay, left, bassist, standing and George Oh, lead guitarist.

Ronnie & His Burns brought the house down with Roy Orbinson's Pretty Woman, Cliff Richard's, Young Ones and The Shadow's Apache.

Image: Andy Lim Collection

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Cliff Richard/Original Songs By Ronnie See

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Ronnie See has a group called The New Burns. They could be performing in a special one hour concert soon in Singapore, where Ronnie will play and sing using a very special guitar.

His repertoire will include Top 10 Hits from the 60s and songs composed/arranged by himself. Most of his originals are written and dedicated to his wife and represent his own lifestyle and attitude, one of calm, peace and tranquility with his immediate environment.

A non-smoker and teetotaller, he spends most of his time with his business, family and music.

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Those Were The Days Orchid CC Concert July 09

Monday, May 11, 2009

The above poster has been distributed by Audie Ng for the forthcoming get-together at Orchid CC.

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Pop 60s Culture - Ronnie & The Burns Pt 1

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Whether 40 years ago or today, Ronnie See is as handsome and articulate as ever. When Lim L.A. requested an interview, Ronnie decided to cast in stone his thoughts about the Singapore 60s pop scene from his own perspective, naming names that were important, relevant and connected to a once thriving industry. The write-up is one of a two part series by Ronnie.

Part I
Years With The Burns
"Ronnie & The Burns started in mid 1964. I thought in giving the band an easy name, with the audience, Burns was chosen because we love Burns guitars, so I thought that was quite relevant. It sounded good – Ronnie and The Burns.

The initial line up was Jeffrey Wong (lead), Roland Liaw (rhythm), Harris Noel Albert (bass), Philip Poon (drums) and me, leader/vocals. The image also shows Kenneth Gomes, next to Ronnie, who is Singapore's Cliff Richard.

The band first practised in a Singapore Improvement Trust flat in Tiong Bahru Road. It was rather elementary during start up as we could not afford any proper instrument. We had to make do with a home-made bass amplifier, another home made amplifier for rhythm, a Gibson amplifier (for lead) was something special and a Rossini drumset. The band started with Hoffner guitars as during that time we had no means to buy Burns guitars.

The PA system then was of mishmash quality as a proper sound system was just a dream. It did not matter because the enthusiasm was high and that was enough to carry us through. We continued rehearsing and the band progressed quickly. We played at house parties and saved enough to acquire a complete set of Burns guitars over time. Common to most groups however was the feature of group dynamics, the band went through several changes as we scouted for more committed players.

As the band was rehearsing and shaping a repertoire we made regular appearances playing at house parties where we were paid modest sums for the performances. The band’s modest fees were an inducement to keep going and get better. We kept on with our regular rehearsals and accepted whatever bookings came our way.

The band needed a spokesman a role which I assumed in negotiating terms for all the gigs. However the rehearsal venue in Tiong Bahru was less than ideal being a residence and the band moved to another place in nearby Margaret Drive and continued to rehearse there. At this time, the band had already quite regular gigs and earnings were ploughed back into the band to upgrade the equipment.

We purchased a second hand Vox AC30 amplifier together with some other instruments and gadgets. The band was now considered quite well equipped and with the upgraded equipment made a difference to the band's sound and it began to give the band an identity. All these, were the hardwork and commitment to get the band ahead. Eager to test their sound in front of a live audience, the band played a gig at St. Matthew's Church in Neil Road. We played to a full house with proper instruments. I sang Cliff Richard's "Living Doll", "Lessons In Love", "Thinking Of Our Love", "Please Don't Tease", "Theme For A Dream" and some other songs.

Along the way, we found new players and the band became more popular. With more competent players the band was capable of handling a wider repertoire which was starting to veer in the direction of rhythm and blues. In September 1965 Ronnie and The Burns participated in a Beat Band contest which was held at Great World Amusement Park. It was quite a grand event with about ten bands participating in the band finals. LBJ and The Presidents (image soon) took top honours with Ronnie and The Burns coming in a credible second.

In addition to the engagements in many gigs we had, the band even appeared on Istana Pesta (a local TV programme) in 1965, arranged by Zain Mahmood who was a local big wig on the music scene. In 1966, we’ve organized one of the largest events at the Singapore Conference Hall then, the event was called Ronnie & The Burns Night featuring many local top bands like, Shirley Nair & The Silver Strings, The Checkmates and The Cyclones, Naomi and The Boys, *Rony & The Echo Jets. That event night had a full house.

After the 1966 event, the band was engaged by Cathay Organisation to travel to Malaysia for a 6 months contract playing at different states in Malaysia. We travelled from Johor northwards and the show went on smoothly until Kuala Lumpur, I decided to leave the group and came home when the condition did not permit me to continue. So it was at the end of 1966 that I decided to leave the band I loved."

*Pastor Rony Tan is the founder and Senior Pastor of a mega-church called Lighthouse Evangelism in Singapore.

(Part II continues below. All Rights Reserved.)

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Ronnie See & The Stylers - His Story - Part II

Part II

Years With The Stylers.
"If I remember correctly, that must have been after my disbanding of Ronnie & The Burns around end of 1966. Paul Chua contacted me and discussed about regrouping of a band, Paul introduced Paul Kwok (from Kwok Brothers Singapore) together we further discussed about how to bring the band to popularity. I was then at the height of my music career as a pop singer, though hesitant about forming a band, and finally acceded to Paul’s enthusiasm to regroup again.

Initially, we were toying with the idea of restarting Ronnie & The Burns again but then my preference was to start a brand new name and so Ronnie & The Stylers was started from end 1966 to 1969 because that’s when I left them in search of my career. Spending three and a half years under Ronnie & The Stylers and decided to quit the band scene was quite painful then but there were only two choices; either I continue to be in the band and lead a band boy’s life or I quit and lead a different lifestyle as years wear on. In search for a career was my priority, although it was a painful decision to quit the band as the camaraderie was strong but I decided to leave without looking back.

Before leaving the Stylers, I was instrumental in making sure to get the band into recording so that they have a future too, then I met Tony Wong of Polar Bear Records and got the band into serious recording business (Chinese songs) with them. After the Stylers stabilized with Polar Bear Records, backing many Chinese singers, their income was good from the recordings. I left and went for an interview with a hi-fi store, got the job, and from thereon I work and continued to build a career path since.

In 1967, Ronnie & The Stylers was popular at the Celestial Room Tea Dance. This hotspot was owned by then (Boss of The Hock Lee Bus) Mr. Quek Sin Bock, Mr. Quek was my good friend, he asked if I could stage the band at Celestial Room Tea Dance, I agreed. So every Sunday Celestial Room was packed until many of our supporters them had to queue for entrance. We were the anchor band at Celestial Room from 1967 to early 1969 (for more than two years).

During 1967 to 1968 Ronnie & The Stylers had performed at the then National Theatre (River Valley) on many occasions. We also did gigs for the Ministry of Culture (then under Datok Othman Wok) and also at the Capitol Theatre Sunday Musical Express hosted by Tan Swee Leong. Ronnie & The Stylers had recorded a cover version EP with the Squirrel Records owned by a recording veteran Mr. Ngo Cheong. That was the first English recording we did and after that I left the band when they went into Chinese songs."

(The above article is Ronnie See's written communication with Lim L.A. in March, 2009. All rights reserved.)

Ronnie See is presently a successful and well-known business person, renowned and respected for his entrepreneurial spirit.

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--------Ronnie Without The Stylers--------

Friday, January 30, 2009

Ronnie in his specially equipped recording studio at home jamming with friends. It was a twice monthly session as they practised a repertoire of melodies from the 60s. The band consisted of friends from other guitar groups that Ronnie had gathered.

Who are these other friends? More about Ronnie and his new band of men in later blogs.

Another successful MANHUNT completed.

Image: From Andrew Lim collection.)

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A coincidence? Definitely. Steve Farrram emailed me two days ago asking about Ronnie so I told him we jammed a couple of weeks back. He sent me the cover above and I had taken some pictures of Ronnie at his palatial home during our session.

This recording has Ronnie singing 4 songs backed by the Stylers, with John Teo on lead, Douglas Tan on bass, Rann Lee on rhythm and Elving Wong on drums.

The songs are: Guitar Man, Eighteen Yellow Roses, Let's Dance (title of record) and Hey, Hey, Hey (medley that includes, Hey, hey, We're The Stylers, For Your Love, Detroit City, Satisfaction). And the singing with backing? You need to listen to the record to make your own judgement.

So Steve, this one's for you. And Ronnie, it looks like Singapore wants you back.

(Image: From Steven Farram Collection/Copyright owners of Squirrel Record).

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