Francis Danker, powerhouse events manager and veteran musician, is the mastermind spearheading the March 15 reunion Musicians for Musicians Benefit Concert 2020, featuring local bands from the golden era of the 1970s and 80s.

Still charming at 70, Danker enjoys talking about the good old days.

“Old Town used to be the Liverpool of Malaysia in those days,” says the drummer who grew up in that side of Petaling Jaya.

“There was a band on every corner. Can you remember the Penguins and the Flintstones?”

He played in a number of bands including The Poor Boys, Electric Orgasm (later renamed Electric Organism) and Memories.

Danker eventually put aside his drumsticks and veered into business in the event management side of music.

At the upcoming concert, he plays an instrumental part in the organising committee, as well as in the staging, backdrop and production of the concert via his events outfit Memories Entertainment.

Danker will join Memories on stage for a 20 minute-set featuring some of their best loved tunes from yesteryears.

Formed in the late 1970s as a three-piece band, Memories soon evolved into an eight-piece show band which featured numerous star performers in its line-up including Siti Sara Mohammad, Aman Shah, Jay Jay and Nand Kumar.

During the March concert, Danker will share the stage again, after many, many years, with keyboardists Steven Danker (his brother), Zul Mahat, and Osman Masri; guitarist Clifford Jayatilakaa, bassist Charlie J (Clifford’s brother), percussionist Saat Kadir and vocalists Jerry Goh, Siti Sara Mohammad and Desi Decosta.

“Back in those days, we used to dress smart,” Danker remembers. “Memories would wear all white. So for the coming show we’ll do that again, that’s our identity.”

Bandmate Clifford remembers joining Memories in the late 1970s and then taking over the helm when Danker left in the 1990s.

“We played at many clubs and hotels, but one of the things I loved best was travelling.

We went to Sabah and Sarawak and it was eye-opening to experience the different cultures there. There were hardly any Indians in Sabah. And Miri was like a cowboy town!

I really miss the music scene from the 1970s and 80s. You could walk into any club, and there would be a really good band performing.”

These days, Clifford still performs but often at different venues – “one night at the Nutcracker, one night at Navigator’s and then one night at Loco,” he says, naming different pubs in Petaling Jaya.

You have to work really hard and invite friends to come and watch.”

Danker laments these conditions, where gigs are sporadic and musicians’ salaries are determined by the number of people that turn up for their shows.

“Back in the day we had contracts,” he says. “Memories was the first band to play at Piccadilly’s. We had a six-month contract, so for half a year we didn’t have to worry. Those days are long gone.”

The band’s first hotel stint was at The Tomorrow Disco, in Merlin (now Concorde) Hotel, KL.

Danker says: “We could earn five hundred dollars a week, and we got to play with bands from Singapore. After a while, our agent even landed us a gig in Taiwan.”

The Taiwanese enjoyed Memories because of the band’s mixed racial background, and the fact that Jerry Goh sang Chinese songs.

“If we didn’t know a song that was requested, we’d go back and learn it to please our fans.”

Danker reminisces about his first band, The Poor Boys. “There was Sunny Nasi, Charles Nathaniel, Paul Cheah and myself.

We were really poor and had to borrow all our equipment, which we’d dump on a three-wheel bicycle and go play at house parties.

We’d earn ten dollars a day, enough for Hokkien Mee and take back a dollar each, but we were all very happy.”

He learnt many lessons along the way, picked up good business acumen and developed a sense of responsibility that led to his success in event management today.

“Unfortunately not everyone went into other aspects of the music business. There are many musicians in their 60s, 70s and even 80s today who are in need of financial help.

Others try and assist by fundraising in pubs especially when there is an urgent need or an untimely death.”

But with the Musicians for Musicians Benefit Concert 2020 at the Mines International Exhibition Centre on March 15, Danker and the newly formed not-for-profit association Persatuan Pemuzik Tempatan Selangor (PPTS) hope to raise half a million ringgit to change things.

“The fund will be there for those who need it. So we are appealing to our fans who used to come and watch us play back then.

This will be a reunion like no other. We want to welcome you to come with a new generation of spectators.

You can share your memories with younger family members, “I knew the drummer’; or “You know I met your grandmother at The Cellar, or the band that played for our wedding is going to be performing on March 15, let’s go watch them play.

Bring your grandchildren, this will be a great day to see your friends and relive those wonderful times.”

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.