Musical Island of leisure...

Just for the Love of it
(Popular Music in Penang 1930-1960s)
by: Paul Augustin and James Lochhead

The picturesque outlay of the book, resembling a coffee table

book with plenty of pictures and trivia information. 

From top: Penang Road, Jimmy Boyle and Runnymede

Swingtette, Ruby Rozells (aka Catherine Tejummal), Bashir Ahmad

and Syed Agil. 

When you are at the lowest rung of the social ladder and have the burning desire to unshackle the chains of poverty, the arts and leisure industry is last on your priority list. All you are interested in is the particular time tested fast-track way to wealth, hoping that that would be the panacea of all of their problems. 

Furthermore, with an ancestor who singlehandedly squandered his family wealth in a single generation by over-indulging in partying, fun, leisure and merrymaking, going anywhere near this industry was a no-no when we were growing up. In not so many words, the words of Animals' 'House of the Rising Sun' pretty much sums up our situation - "♫..it had been a ruin of many a poor boy and Lord I know I am one! ♫🎶".
As you grow older, you realise that the arts and music are equally important in making a complete person.

I can go on and on saying nice things about this book, but I do not know where to start.
In a nutshell, the authors talk about three pillars of the leisure industry in Penang - radio wave transmission, the cinemas and the entertainment parks, the various musicians and bands that had their genesis in this tropical colonial meeting point and a melting pot of many cultures.

I have to confess that despite professing to be a true blue Penangite, I am still ignorant of the many names dropped in this book. From the look of it, it appears like Penang seem to have churned many musicians and artists. In that aspect, St Xavier's Institution can be proud of the many students who led this path.

Penang, developed as a port town, attracted many cultures and soon became a melting pot for amalgamating all these cultures, East and West. Everyone brought in their own brand of music, which fascinated the local populace who tried to integrate these 'new' influences into theirs. These new sounds became music to everyone's ears. An exciting example is boria. It is said to have been brought in by Shia traders from Persia. It was initially performed as a religious presentation on Awal Muharram. Over time, it fascinated local people. It evolved into a social production involving social themes to be performed all year round. Pretty soon, clubs were organising their own shows for competitions!

It is difficult to fathom a conservative society like ours had many public dances, ronggeng being one. Many versions of ronggeng were there. Some were flirtatious, like the Thai style where the dancers imitate pinching their partners. There was a time when you could pay a small token for a short dance. Some ladies actually earned money or a living by dancing.
Before the silver screen hits the theatres, bangsawan was the primary source of acted storytelling. The Chinese and the Peranakan also held similar performances. With the introduction of movies and cinemas, their popularity waned. Their actors, too, were soon absorbed into the local movie industry.
In the 30s, all through the 60s, amusement parks played an essential role in providing temporary relief to the mind of the natives. Besides being a meeting place for the like-minded, it also provided wholesome family entertainment for connoisseurs of ethnic music, dancing, wrestling, boxing, gambling, fashion shows and even striptease.

The darling of Penang, P Ramlee, born
4A Caunter Hall, schooled at PFS

The British had their own watering holes on the island - E&O Hotel, Runnymede, Springtide, Green Parrot, Chusan, etcetera. They try to relive their home country atmosphere by having the local boys play tunes of hits of the times. This became an avenue for many young musically inclined Penang boys to dive head down into a music career.

Access to musical instruments and material were limited those days. Many aspiring musicians built their own guitars to play and self-taught themselves! Talk about talent. The Penang musicians of yesteryear were part-timers and all held day jobs as civil servants, teachers, etcetera. There was an incident when Jimmy Boyle (whose daytime job is teaching) performed as a guest musician in Bangkok. The musicians there were impressed. And somebody said, "and this guy is just a teacher is Penang!"

Amusement parks were a great attraction in Penang from the 30s all through the 60s. It encouraged the mixing of Penangites and helped promote various cultural arts, encouraged new artistic talents, and provided wholesome family entertainment. There were avenues for ethnic performances, bangsawan theatres (Chinese, Malay and Peranakan), gambling, boxing, wrestling and striptease shows.
My close friend lived in Thorpe Road, and an old theatre featuring Hong Kong movies stood in Khoo Sian Wee Road. I used to wonder who these people were. In fact, these two people were instrumental in introducing wireless service in Penang through the Penang Wireless Society. Their popularity skyrocketed the sales of wireless devices. They were transmitted from a single storey house in Perak Road. Despite their rudimentary set-up by today's standards, they even managed live performances! The premises were left unharmed during WW2, so the Japanese used it for their propaganda needs. Western songs were banned, but the intelligent locals composed local lyrics to the western tunes, which they listened illegally. Illegally because all radio devices were mandated to be 'programmed' by appointed dealers to prevent them from receiving foreign transmissions.

When the British returned to postWW2 Malaya, they found natives with a new mindset. Slowly economic situation improves.

A different era, different attire, different outlook, different social mores! 

Most of the posh watering joints were exclusively reserved for the colonial masters. However, in 1951, ownership of E&O changed hands to the Choong family. Admittance was open to all.
The 1950s and 1960s can be said to be the golden era of music and musicians of Penang. The prestigious Municipal Band was a nidus for many aspiring musicians. Movie cinemas also held musical performances and singing competitions to promote their shows, e.g. Elvis Presley, Cliff Richards, etcetera. Rediffusion waves filled the air with live music. Open live performances in parks, school halls and community halls were the order of the day. Everybody wanted to hold a guitar and be a Beatle or a Shadow!

Even though the British were known to be open to freedom of expression, it was only for their own kind. In the early years of introducing movies in Malaya, the colonial masters were sceptical of letting the natives view them. They were worried that the admiration that they garnered from their subjects would be tarnished by the depiction of white men as drunkards, skirt-chasers, fornicators, robbers and liars! It was viewed as bad for the business of colonialism.

Boria performances had their own drama. They sometimes become the tool of different minded politicians and their gangs.

Radio Malaya Penang branch takes the credit for introducing many radio personalities to the forefront. Malaya was introduced to Ahmad Merican, Zainal Alam, Jimmy Boyle, Ahmad Daud, etc. Radio RAAF Butterworth also play a pivotal role in satisfying the musical needs of many hip Penangites.
The book further introduces readers to many long-forgotten stars of the bygone era - Joe Rozells (made his own Hawaiian guitar), David Ng (piano prodigy,) Albert Yeoh, Larry Rodrigues, Peter Pregas (a true blue Sabahan later), Ahmad Nawab, Ooi Eow Jin, The talented Rajamoneys and many more. There is a salutation to the many bands who used Penang as their playground. The irony of it all is that, all in not, most of the musicians were part-timers and had their day jobs. They played music just for the fun of it (the title of the book!). The book, I loved it.

As if putting the cherry on the icing, the book comes with a complimentary CD with 24 locally composed pieces. What more can you ask for... A dreamy, nostalgic trip down memory lane!

Did you know that David Arumugam started off as David Thiagarajan? The change was that he was becoming famous, and Thiagarajan was difficult to pronounce. Furthermore, there was another famous Arumugam then -R.Arumugam, the Spiderman!