Monday 16 May 2005

A Hair Raising Evening with The Alley Cats!!

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

When I got news that The Alley Cats were making their way to Londra, I tried to remember their songs. They have some wonderful hits but I just couldn’t remember any cos I think I must have left the country just as they burst onto the music scene. So, I badly needed help to enjoy my dinner and dance with Malaysia’s famous boy band last Saturday. It so happened that some friends were visiting and I enlisted their help to jog my memory. So, while sipping tea and eating crepe au chocolat with banana at a café in Whiteleys, one by one tried a few lines unsuccessfully. But everyone remembered …..Masseehhhhh!

In desperation, I called up kak cik who managed something like this…de de de de de de…which sounded more like an old engine revving up without success. I gave up and made a quick phone call to Aberdeen and still nothing remotely Alleycatish. I suddenly remembered my brother ajie who used to haunt karaoke lounges in the city. He was shopping at Bintang Walk but obliged me with a nasal rendition of Hingga Akhir Nanti, complete with .. Trima Kasehhhhhhhhhhhhh reverberating in the mall.

Right, with that I was ready to enjoy my evening. I even have the perfect nasal voice for the do, with the annoying hayfever that has been with me since the start of spring. Set off for the Royal garden Hotel with JC and wife RC. JC actually remembered that the Alley Cats hail from Penang….haiyaaa…Penang mali, and more importantly from the same area! So, I tried my luck and asked JC to do a rendition of an Alley Cats number…all he managed was an embarassed ha ha ha ha!!! Well, these Penangites have each carved their names in different areas. The Alley Cats sing while JC makes shoes. JC somehow noted rather sadly or enviously that the brothers still have their famous Afro mops while he is already thinning on top.

We all knew someone with that hairstyle; a brother, a cousin, a friend – or even an uncle. But they all outgrew the Afro look and opted for a more conventional short back and sides especially those who are now corporate figures and government servants or even politicians. But I bet they still treasure pictures of themselves with that hair do, complete with platform shoes and bell bottoms and big medallions around the neck!

The diners and revellers who turned up that night were what you would say in Malay “yang sewaktu dengannya”. Those who slept, breathed and grew up with these unforgettable tunes and lyrics that made their courtships all the more sweet and memorable.

Thus we couldn’t gobble our dinner fast enough and even waved away the dessert. But it was worth the wait. The cats marched in – all six of them, but only two original - David and Logan, and belted out: “Sampaikanlah salam cinta ku pada nyiaaaaaa…….” David was the vocalist or rather the nasalist while Logan arched and swayed like a true cat on heat, working the crowd to a frenzy.
Image hosted by Photobucket.com

We really couldn’t get enough of their “Hingga Akhir Nanti”, “Jika Kau Bercinta Lagi,” “Kerana Mu” and “Sekuntum Mawar Merah”. And of course there were many many more.
I simply had to get their “40 Hit Nombor 1” and since then kids and cats had to endure “Hingga Akhir Nanti” until I get it out of my system.

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

By the way, they are also making an appearance at Oriental City, North London this Saturday. You can bet your last dollar that I’ll be there swaying away with Logan. Must go to Portobello Market and get one of those Afro wigs just to get in the mood while I jiwanging away! It'd look odd on me but what the heck. So, as a born again Alley Cats fan, I'll sign off now by saying...Trima Kasehhhhhh"

40 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kakteh, ku tunggu dengan penuh sabar liputan secara tak langsung dari kota london....

Anonymous said...

Dalam kerinduan...
Yang memuncak membunuh
tak ku sedar kiranya cinta kita telah hampir pudar
di goda khayalan...

Kulihat mawar merah segar
di jejari manismu
tapi mekar hanya seketika
lalu ia kering layu...

Trima Kasseeeyyyy....
(alleycats - Dalam Kerinduan)

shidah said...

eh, dah gemuk si penyanyi tu ye? bukan setakat rambut je, pipi dia sekali.... last time i terjumpa kat ampang park...so skinny one! p/s kak teh, yang ni ambik gambar, jangan peluk-peluk no.....;)

atiza said...

'sampaikan lah salam chintaku padanya'
('nya' tuh kena add idgham skit)

maseeyyy...

Unknown said...

Angin pantai
Dingin mencengkam
Ombak laut
Mengajak pulang

Di sini ku rindu
Kampung halaman
Yang lama kutinggalkan

Betapa indahnya negeri orang
Tak seindah tanah tumpah darahku
Wajah sanak saudara yang tercinta
Bermain di mataku di kala sepi


Berita Dari Rantau... Alleycats

Kak Teh said...

anon: trima Kasehhhhhhh! silakan baca coretan yang tak sepertinya ini.
kampo & jiwa: wah...ni mesti hafal lirik!!
shidah: oh Tidaaaaak!
atiza; yes, i realised that itis nyiaaaaaaa!
yan: its worth investigating. Will do that if i meet them again. will be a real hair raising experience.

Anonymous said...

Ku terpegun di jendela bila
Hujan gerimis senja
Tak ku lihat dihadapanku
Diriku dalam lamunan
Tiada lain yang ku bayangkan hanya
peristiwa itu
Dosa-dosa yang ku lakukan tetap
mengganggu batin

Tanyaku pada diri
Apakah ini semua cobaan belaka
Kesalku tak berakhir menduga keyakinan ku kepadaNya

Batinku menjerit
namun tiada suara

Aku cuba menyatukan semua
harapan yang berkecai
Tuhanku, bimbinglah diriku
agar kesal ku hilang
Gerimis sungguh mencengkam
Tiada dapat ku tahan lagi
Sungguh-sungguh tak ku menduga
hingga jadi begini...

AuntyN said...

Se kuntum mawar merah, sebuah puisi, untuk Kak Teh. I like that song from Alleycats.

OOD said...

many years ago, i bumped into David at the Mall. Sampai sekarang tak habis cerita lagi!

Grew up with their songs. Time tu sapa pon tak kenal M.nasir although he wrote most of their songs.

Scratch the cat's heads for me Kak Teh!

Oh, remember David jadi penyampai one award show kat tv tak? 'dan colan-colannya adalah..' hehehe

Kak Teh said...

po: ish ish ish...
auntyN: terima Kasehhh!!
OOD: looks like I have to roll up my sleevs for that task..Can't i just tickle the chin? its easier.
ms bizwack: sure - will do ..tell me where to send it.

OOD said...

scratch their tummies lah. easier. (but if you scratch their heads, u might just discover whether their hair betoi ka palsu!)

Ewok said...

Kakteh, If I go, would love to meet you. Hoping there's no work to be done that weekend.

Hajar said...

kak teh... tak terasa nak meng'afro' kan diri ke? hehehe...

i had that kind of hair when i was... urmm.. 3, 4 years old kot. took a picture with my uncle, who's hair back then was as bushy as the Cats. hehe..

anedra said...

eh, why u need a wig? bukan ke rambut you memang afro already? hehehehehe! ampun!ampun!

ps. open a blog for papa too ok?

Anonymous said...

lagu berita dari rantau yg jiwa tulis lirik tu mengamit kenangan silam. tringat 1st time merantau masa umur 18 thn dulu..sedih sgt bila putarkan kaset lagu tu..sensorang dok kat dorm di kelilingi minah2 saleh.

aurora

Anonymous said...

kak teh, can you give me the info on how to get to Oriental City and the time of their show? We MUST watch them!!

Kak Teh said...

ewok, they are performing three times..starting at 4pm. See u there.
kak teh teringin juga tapi nanti tudung nampak kembong!
ms bizwack - i've got the album for you..signed to Ms Bizwack!! tell me how to send to you.
aurora - memang most of the songs sayu sangat...tapi best.
anedra: hep!! of course will do one for papa - but what's the title?
sc- hmmm memang macam pied piper!
anon: will publish a map to oriental city once i get it, okay. basically its on the north circular road - near hendon. It is in Colindale along Edgeware Road.

OuiOui said...

my uncle used to have afro , very much influnced by the Alleycats. There was a picture of him standing by the beach with his afro hair swayed sideways making the afro looked lopsided!!

really this saturday? yay, there is a chance I might spot you as well. any clues? hehehehe

Unknown said...

kakteh,
I'm trying to picture you with afro hair, holding a mike........Batinku menjerit, namun tiada suaraaaaaaaaaaaaa..........

Lollies said...

alleycats sangat klasik. In a way thanks to M. Nasir

Anonymous said...

I like alleycats' songs!!
nostalgic gitu..

Sunfloraa said...

wah wah wah Alley cats does Londra and Kakteh does Alleycats. Too bad I can't watch them at Oriental City. Have fun Kak teh!

MA said...

Kak Teh :

The Brood are ardent fans of Alleycats - all thanks to me. Jangan marah - bila they all berkaraoke the only Malay songs they'll sing are Alleycats songs. So, it was a dream come true when we went for a on-a-spur holiday to Bukit Merah in Taiping last year to find out that Alleycats was performing FREE for the guests of Bukit Merah Laketown Resort.

The next morning, at breakfast - who would stand next to me by David Arumugam himself !

My kids were so excited that they almost peed in their pants !

We took pictures with David - and my kids were a bunch of happy camper for a long, long time.

Enjoy !

Kak Teh said...

ouioui, do come and meriahkan majlis...alah nampak mak cik blur tu - kak teh lah.
anasalwa, dont even imagine the unimaginable! scary mary!
lollies and MA - i had nice chat over dinner with them last night...cerita kisah lama2.
sunflora - wish you are here - boleh kita pi sekali. hah - sekarangni pun dah banyak tangkap gambar dengan depa!

Suzan Abrams, email: suzanabrams@live.co.uk said...

Hi dear Kak Teh,
These guys seem to be the Cliff Richards of Malaysia, don't you think. Dari kecil lagi, sampai sekarang, rupa semua nampak sama. Lagi muda! Don't they ever age? Ask them their secret, please...

Atok said...

aaa... the cats'.
among a few songs i still sing today. in addition to of flybaits, abeit, sudirman, kembara...
yes, i'm locked in the 70's & 80's, my growing up years haha.

Suzan Abrams, email: suzanabrams@live.co.uk said...

Hi Atok,
I didn't think of you to be anywhere near the '70s...he-he..
anyway, here's hoping you and your wife and beautiful girls are keeping well. *best wishes*

OuiOui said...

kak teh,

one big question. Exact time to bile? There'd be the 4 of us coming this Saturday, only need the confirmed time!

yay! I know how to spot you. The one who is blurry and pakai afro wig! :)

Kak Teh said...

susan, look closer, we all age...hehe
atok - memangseangkatanlah!
ouioui - they start singing at four - datang lah awal sikit - they sing three sets sampai ke malam. yes, kak teh will be the blurry one with the afro look..just to get into themood!

Atok said...

susan,
hehhee...
i still remember the very first cassette i bought, it was Carefree [and it was a ciplak one, cheap]. probably followed by Black Dog Bone, Flybaits, etc.

fokd said...

Oh Alleycats, like Atok I grew up listening to their songs and Pokku knows it pretty well since i always request their song plus dlloyd's & arwah sudir's on radio pencen.

Wow they sang at OMEC's function? Sure those M'sians & pseudo-Malaysians do enjoy their performance.

Wish I were in London this weekend. Too bad we will be in North Wales this weekend.

Terrima kasssey.

SK

Kak Teh said...

sk, yes, u shd be here and enjoy the fun at oriental city.
ajie...alah, kalau tidak how u know the songs. tapi, memang kak teh akui, ajie memang ada sengau alley cats lah!!

Ewok said...

Kakteh,
Kita ni memang sekampong lah. My nenek nye rumah was at Jalan Kota Tanah dekat dekat corner jalan and JKR, and masa kecik mak selalu bawak pi Lorong Ayaq Puteh and kawasan dekat dekat situ pi visit adik beradik. Tah tah kita ni ada kena mengena kot? Tapi tak berapa ingat sangat sebab we all pindah dok Titi Gajah in late 70s.

Kak Teh said...

ewok, ish, kak teh memang ramai adik beradik di lorong ayarq putih tu. mak kakteh dia tau semua orangkut tu..tapila ni dia di kl dah. rumah kosong. kalau u tanya makyou, rumah Hajjah wan yang dok juai bunga melork tu, mesti dia kenai!
ayu: youmade me laugh so much!!! hahaha! your 'brush' with fame!

Anonymous said...

kak z,

finally manage to read your posting today, make me laugh ah reading about your experience meeting 'em =)

tak sabar tunggu cd's now!

rafthah @ masneh.

Ewok said...

kakteh, i sent email because kalau tulih kat sini panjang sangat.

Mutiara said...

KakTeh,I pun tumpang sekaki.lagu sekuntum mawar merah...sebuah puisi tu,ada cerita di sebaliknya.cerita masa muda2 dulu masa kat Honolulu.entah2 Kak Teh kenai orang yg tuju lagu tu kat I.

Anonymous said...

A'kum Kak Teh..

been reading ur blog for quite some time n i like it.

ni t'keluar topik sat. sori.
nk tanye psl sardin roll tu boley?
how do u make sure that kulit roll tu tak terbukak after u roll it? akak press ke camner? and how thick should it be? ade cam kulit karipap tak?

hehe thanx yeah!

atenah said...

kt, i hafal suma lagu depa, just like lagu the beatles, scorpions. these r my bros and sis faves. btw, in the pic are all original members except one.

Kak Teh said...

rafhtah: kak teh dah hantar CD to you...and you might gett in five or six days.
mutiara, sapa tu yang dedicate lagu kat you?
anon: kulitnya setebal kulit yang kita buat curry puff tu. and tak payah tekan sangat sebab memang dia tak terbuka. tapi kalau nak juga boleh sapu sedikit telur putih.
atenah: yang original only David and his brother Loga...yang lain agak barujuga.