Indie-pendence Day - Singapore Birthday Bash

Saturday, July 31, 2010

6 Aug 2010, Fri
It’s indie-pendence day as we open the celebrations for the birthday bash at the Outdoor Theatre. Get your fix of great music from some of the most celebrated Singapore bands today.

7.30 – 8.15pm A Vacant Affair
8.45 – 9.30pm B-Quartet
10 – 10.45pm
The Great Spy Experiment
7 Aug 2010, Sat
Relive the sounds of the 60s to 80s!

The Mysterians will perform their hits such as Please Don’t Tease, while 60s heart-throb crooners Henry Suriya and Andy will reunite with the Silver Strings. Top off the evening in a Sing-along with The Mysterians when they play familiar favourites!

Hosted by Brian Richmond.
7.30 – 8.15pm The Mysterians
8.45 – 9.45pm Henry Suriya and Andy with Silver Strings
10.15 – 11pm The Mysterian

8 Aug 2010, Sun

Melissa Fitzgerald – daughter of Thunderbirds front-man Derek – gives new life to the band’s top hits. The talented Vadham family reunites with Moses, performing Gingerbread classic Roses, Regina delivering good ol’ country tunes and the siblings singing Sausalito in tribute to the late Chris Vadham of Western Union Band.

Terry Mortimer of Tony & Terry, and Peter Diaz of The Surfers, will bring you memorable rock and roll hits.

Hosted by Brian Richmond.
7.30 – 8.15pm Melissa Fitzgerald
8.45 – 9.45pm The Vadhams
10.15 – 11pm Terry Mortimer & Peter Diaz

Images/Information: artitude-u-art.blogspot.com/2010/01/esplanade...
http://www.esplanade.com/whats_on/programme_info/a_journey_through_local_music1/index.jsp

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Singapore's 60s70s October Cherries' Website

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Read all about their history, tours, CD releases on their own website at: http://www.octobercherries.com/

The October Cherries, a group that has existed since the mid sixties, were a highly successful band in their country Singapore. Unfortunately music piracy destroyed almost everything. Far Away Now is one of their hit songs that made it to number one in Malaysia.

They moved on to conquer Europe and they are still recording today. Jay Shotam (Lead singer): Far Away Now was on the first October cherries LP entitled, Meet the Cherries, a copy of which was given to Dick James, President of Dick James Music, in the UK, a big name in the Music industry. He liked the band's song writing ability.

In the early seventies when our manager Bal Shotam visited him to try and get a publishing tie up, Dick James commented on another track on the LP called, Na Na Song and said that it might be suitable for a new artist he had called Elton John. Nothing transpired. But Bal recalls another person who was with Dick and him, who heard the songs on the demo tapes.

Edited version, from You Tube: keithyoong (April 01, 2008). Check it out! Great website!

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(3) Beautiful Sunday, Blue Monday, Ruby Tuesday, Wednesday Evening Blues, Thursday, Black Friday, Another Saturday Night.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

The days of the weeks feature in many song titles too. Limiting them from the 50s to 70s compositions, there are already a few hundred songs.

Beginning from *The World Hits 'Beautiful Sunday' Album (1972 - image) by the October Cherries, a Singapore group, there are titles like, Blue Monday by Bob Seger, Sunday, Monday Or Always by Frank Sinatra.

Ruby Tuesday is by The Rolling Stones, Melanie, Twiggy, Bobby Goldsboro. Wednesday Evening Blues by John Lee Hooker, Thursday by Jim Croce, Black Friday by Steely Dan, Another Saturday Night by Cat Stevens, Sam Cooke, The Bay City Rollers, The Eagles and Earth Wind & Fire.

Sunday Best is by Bobbie Gentry, Sunday Morning Coming Down by Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, That Sunday, That Summer by Nat King Cole, A Monday Date by Louis Armstrong, Rainy Days and Mondays by The Carpenters. The list goes on...

*Beautiful Sunday, available by October Cherries on World Hits 1973 Single ES6-A, A Baal Production on Elastic Record. Composer/original recording is by Daniel Boone.

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SINGAPORE MUSIC HALL OF FAME - PeterDiaz

Monday, March 16, 2009

(1) So what's in a name? It's the person behind the name that counts and Peter Diaz (image), without much introduction, has been in the music scene since the 60s.

Peter, true son of Singapore, joined the 'The Surfers' ('October Cherries' in later years) then. It is one of the most popular recording and live band this period. They enjoyed tremendous success not only in Singapore and Malaysia, but also in Hong Kong and Japan. Then they embarked for Europe in late 1971; Belgium, France and Germany were the next countries they worked in.

In Belgium the band was the very first to record the so-called 'Top 40 Budget Album' comprising of songs from the Top 40 Charts. They recorded 8 albums in all and were a runaway success. Peter composed, recorded and peformed with the band for about nine years, before finally leaving when the band returned to Singapore. He felt that he needed to advance his career and so returned to Europe.

Listen to Peter Diaz sing his own compositions on his website.

(Extract with kind permission from Peter Diaz at: myspace.com/peterdiazmusic)

Thank you Peter.

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SINGAPORE FILMS - 'FOREVER FEVER' MR DIAZ

(3) Peter Diaz returned to Singapore in April, 1997 to arrange the music and collaborate in writing the reunion CD of the 'October Cherries'. Since returning home, he had a few marvelous opportunities and walked away with the first prize writing the theme song for the NTUC Paradigm Club and had the privilege to arrange and co-produce the soundtrack for the movie 'Forever Fever'.

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