Andy and The Velvetones during Lorong 39, Geylang practices:
I was a neighbour and met The Velvetones by chance when they were practising in an exceptionally large bungalow near the junction of Lorong 39 Geylang and Sims Avenue, Singapore. It was a stone's throw from another bungalow owned by the former Chief Minister of Singapore, Mr Lim Yew Hock.
I remember, from the left, Aziz (bass), Adam (drummer), Teo Bock Kiong (rhythm), Andy (vocals) and Wilson (lead) as shown on the image above. They were using Hofner guitars then and Aziz and Kiong were quiet and great team players. Because he was so good looking, Aziz was always sought after by the young ladies in the crowd. Drummer Adam was exceptionally good with his skins and a pretty serious player at that. The drum set wasn't that great as it had a tinny sound. It could have been an inexpensive set.
Wilson didn't have too many problems with his lead and was deft with his fingering and ability to master the chords of many Shadows and Ventures numbers. He had leadership ability and was able to steer and encourage the group for the few months I was with them. The Velvetones were a formidable group, enthusiastic and strong during the early years of Singapore's guitar group craze.
The team was financed by a member of the family called Mr Wahab (of Arabic descent) who owned the bungalow and regular practices were held in the evenings amidst the living room comfort and middle eastern decor. A large radiogram, in the corner of the spacious hall where they met, played EP and LP vinyls for the group's pleasure and practice purpose.
To be honest, those were really great days as most of us did not have a care in the world and enjoyed our practices and gigs together as a team. There were no squabbles on financial matters and the time we had together was blessed with a peaceful calm amidst the cool surroundings of Lorong 39 which was a tree-lined lane with huge double storey bungalows.
But many neighbours knew our presence and the only sound to have disturbed the quiet neighbourhood in the evenings would have been the group playing Perfidia, Ventures style.
At the end of our practices we would sometimes adjourn to the sarbat stall at the junction of Lorong 39 and Geylang Road, sipping teh-tarek (frothy hot tea) and teh-aliah (ginger teh) in the dead of night.
Image/article: Andy Lim Collection.
The sleeve image on the right was sent in by Steve Farram from Australia and has the name of the band, The Velvetones printed on its cover. Just wondering if it's the same Velvetones from Singapore, or another one from Malaysia or Indonesia with a similar name?
