More than 100 musicians and 30 iconic bands from the 1970s and 80s have agreed to perform for free in support of their musician brothers and sisters.
Many original band members are flying back to Malaysia from their respective homes overseas to re-unite with their former band mates and perform together after decades, like Sharan Premela Isaac from today’s featured band Pieces.
The Benefit Concert 2020 is truly a unique never-to-be-repeated-again biggest reunion concert that offers a marathon 10 hours of non-stop music. You definitely should not miss this historic event.
In this first article of a series on the iconic bands that played the pub and live music circuit in the 70s and 80s Malaysia, we talk about Pieces.
But first, a little background is necessary for the benefit of those who are joining the party just now.
The musicians who performed in live bands in the 70s and 80s grew up in 1950s Malaya. Their parents probably had a collection of 78rpm lacquer discs which were later replaced by 33 and 45rpm vinyl records.
In the 1950s, P Ramlee was building a huge fan base with his music that creatively combined folk songs and western dance rhythms with Asian music.
These musicians’ childhoods would have been spent listening to their parents’ favourites like Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, Harry Belafonte, Ray Charles and Johnny Cash.
The influence of Rock and Roll
In their teens they moved on to 1960s groups like Cliff Richard & The Shadows, Pat Boone and upstart rock and rollers like Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry.
So in the mid-1970s it was not surprising to see Malaysian live bands doing cover versions of groups like Santana, the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, Bob Marley and Bob Dylan.
Simultaneously local bands like The Alleycats, Discovery, Carefree and Cenderawasih lead the way to modernise Malaysian Pop music while solo singers like DJ Dave, Hail Amir, Sudirman and Sharifah Aini took Hindi-influenced Malay music to its peak.
By 1979 the popularity of The Blues Gang and Singapore’s hard rocking outfit Sweet Charity changed the Malaysian music landscape forever.
Now, back to Pieces. In 1978 after he left school, co-founder and drummer Edwin Nathaniel, 61, formed Pieces with brothers Wilfred and Albert Christian.
Pieces performed at the hottest spots
The fledgling three-piece band was so good that they landed a gig at then happening watering hole Smuggler’s Inn, before moving on to the hottest spot in the Klang Valley, Peyton Place.
Albert left soon after, to be replaced with Allan Perera and his keyboard. Pieces continued to gain fans as it played in popular hangouts D’Palace, Rasa Sayang and Swallow Bar in Furama Hotel.
Pieces chalked up history with a number of firsts, being the first band from peninsular Malaysia to be contracted with the Holiday Inn Kuching, performing at the Rajang Bar.
Subsequently in 1982 they were offered a contract at the Royal Selangor Club, to replace The Solianos who held court there for an amazing 12 years. This meant expanding Pieces into a full band, so they roped in one of their biggest fans, Bakat TV music contest winner Paul Ponnudorai.
Sticking with the Bakat TV music contest winner theme, they also took on another winner, singer Sharan Premela Isaac to complete their new line-up after passing her mother’s rigorous interrogation.
The Royal Selangor Club beckons
Pieces entertained members and their guests at the Royal Selangor Club for a few years, even being offered a recording contract and a chance to tour Germany, both of which they turned down.
In 1988, Nathaniel left the band for a full-time day job with Yamaha Music, and the other members began exploring opportunities to grow their own careers. By 1990, the band was literally in pieces.
This set the stage for Perera and Ponnudorai to form the highly-acclaimed band Made In Malaysia, which will be detailed in an upcoming article so do keep your eyes peeled for it.
After a whopping 30 years, the Pieces alumni will reunite to perform at the Musicians for Musicians Benefit Concert 2020, to be held on March 15 at the Mines International Exhibition and Convention Centre.
Tickets are priced at RM100 and available at www.airasiaredtix.com. You can also call Edwin on 012 209 8849 or Raj on 019 229 7156.