Way back in the ’60s, Singapore had a vibrant music scene. Bands like the Quests and Naomi & the Boys shimmied at gigs around town, flooding the island with surf rock ditties. And then the iron fist of the authorities came slamming down in the ’70s. Rock ’n’ roll was banned. Long hair was demonised. Jukeboxes were silenced.
Strange – but beautiful – how that has all changed. Local music is now being trumpeted by the very authorities who clamped down on them decades ago. And to celebrate the long and mired 50 years of Singaporean music (#SG50), creative studio fFurious is putting together an exhibition of the scene’s best moments, with support from the Singapore Memory Project’s iRememberSG Fund and The Substation.
Titled So Happy – it takes its name from a track by power pop act the Oddfellows – the show culls archived photos, writings and other memorabilia from 1965 to the present day. And we’ve got a few exclusive previews for you, right here. Remember: rock ’n’ roll can never die.