Saturday 23 January 2010

Waiting for Search

The songs coming from the sitting room were very familiar; songs of yesteryears by the late P Ramlee and R Azmi.  The children were singing these songs, entertaining our guest – a captive audience who was much amused that with so many new songs from new artistes, the children were belting out these oldies.

"Don’t you get to hear new hits from home?"  she asked.  This was in the early nineties, you see, when youtubes and downloads were unheard of.  We had old cassettes of Sharifah Aini, Uji Rashid and yes,
R Azmi.  The children listened to these as well at the childminder's.

So, it was there and then that she decided to send us some new cassettes – and one of them was an album by SEARCH.  The children were hooked on Isabella and I heard nothing else but "Diaaaaaaa Isabellaaaaaaa…..!"

That was my introduction to Search, the rock group which was making waves in Malaysia at that time.  And whether by fate or design, on 18th November 1991, I found myself seated in front of the ‘voice’ of Search, Amy.

It was just as well I had heard his songs, so I could ask the right questions and made the right noises.
He was pleasant and I couldnt
keep my eyes off his complexion. And such beautiful curls too.

In my diary on 18th Nov 1991, I had written, “Went to interview Amy Search and Ali Bakar. Not bad.” Not bad indeed.

That interview was for the BBC. I had earlier interviewed Ahmad Daud, Sheila Majid and Jins Shamsuddin.

Next month, I will meet the ‘voice’ again, Insyaallah for SEARCH will be performing in London.

Fantasia Bulan Madu is now playing in my mind.

Another popular band performing at the same time is Hujan.

For those interested, here are the details:

Organiser: OrangKita  - a wholly Malaysian-owned promotions and events company based in Dublin, Ireland. info@orangkita.eu


Dublin

Date:
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Time:
7:30pm
Location:
Button Factory,
Street:
Curved Street, Temple Bar,
City/Town:
Dublin, Ireland

London:

Date:                        Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Time:                         5 pm

Location:                  Delima Restaurant
                                 36, Southwick Street, Sussex Gardens.

Price of ticket : £40 (buffet & performance as well as ticket to concert at Scala London on 18th Feb)


Venue:                        Scala London
Date:
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Time:
7:30pm
Location:
Scala,
Street:
275-277 Pentonville Rd,
City/Town:
London, United Kingdom


Liverpool

Date:
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Time:
7:30pm
Location:
The Cavern Club,
Street:
10 Mathew Street,
City/Town:
Liverpool, United Kingdom

Price: £25.00

To get tickets for shows in London, contact: Nik Imran - 07846240651

Or visit this link : http://www.scala-london.co.uk/scala/event.php?id=1253

According to Orangkita: “There will also be a special Up Close & Personal dinner held at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, 17 of February at Delima Restaurant London. Tickets for the event are priced at £40 and will include a full buffet dinner as well as a ticket to the concert at Scala. Lucky fans will have the rare opportunity to meet band members from both Search and Hujan, as well as enjoy an intimate unplugged performance by Search on the evening. 


We are currently holding a lucky draw for all tickets purchased from now until the end of January. Twenty lucky fans will win a special pass to see the bands conduct their sound check before the concert in Scala London. Winners will also get to meet the bands in person backstage after the concert.  Additionally, 10 of these lucky winners will also receive an official tour t-shirt”

25 comments:

Alinlai said...

wah menarik ni... :)

Kak Teh said...

alinla, ya memang menarik. Dulu dia banyak rambut - mayang menguri, sekarang nak tengok macam mana pulak.
I love hs song- Isabella and Fantasia Bulan Madu!

NanaDJ said...

Kak Teh,
Search in UK!!! I love Amy. Isabella and Fantasia Bulan madu are among my favourite songs. Amy is still stylish and could teach the younger rockers how to look and stay good, inspite of getting on in years.
Salaam and love.

Kak Teh said...

nanadj, i tahu dua saja lagu Search - nampaknya kena bergaul dengan anak-anak muda rock nak pi concert ni.
Ya, I think Amy has done well, and looking well. Sejak nterview dulu, tak pernah jumpa dia lagi.

mekyam said...

kt, i love search and amy's voice!

i too don't know many malay songs except for the oldies. my knowledge probably stopped at sudirman or maybe jamal abdilah or perhaps sheila majid [whoever was last famous among them].

and of the bands, only alleycats and search. so they have a very special place in my heart. thank you for this.

Zendra-Maria said...

Amy is still looking good and his voice amazing. And if i am not mistaken he is Tuan Hj. Amy now :)

Kak Teh said...

mekyam, you said the magic word - alleycats!!! aaaah, am now week at the knees! nanadj is so kind to give me an alleycats album.

zendra, oooops - maaf, tuan haji! I must address him as befitting someone with the title. I hear Scala is a night club - so says my daughter - well, that will be quite an experience for me. watch this space.

tireless mom said...

Amy Search is 50 something already kan? The energy he has in him, amazing! Alhamdulillah, he experienced a paradigm shiftm after he performed after he returned from Mekah. Roccckkkk, Kak Teh! Peace!

Anonymous said...

Kak Teh: Better start practising the songs, Kak Teh. Amy of Search might need a backup to duet with him. *hee hee* Looking forward to all the juicy stories in the next post + photos, k?

DrSam said...

Salam Kak Teh. I have been following this wonderful band since their first introduction into our local rock scene. Their Cinta Buatan Malaysia album was really love at the first hearing for me! And Battle of the Bands really made them Rock! Still my number one local rock band.

Sir Pök Déng said...

They performed during our latest Anugerah Juara Lagu. Everyone of them were wearing wigs. Amy was no exception.

I still remember during my pre-adolescence days, I used to sing Isabela when I felt like singing.

"Isaaableela adaaaalaah!!" and that was it. And the rest of the lyrics were an absolute merapu.

Glad to hear them touring with Hujan.

Kama At-Tarawis said...

AAAhhh... Amy, now Tn Haji :) His 'Isabella' and 'Fantasia Bulan Madu' dah jadi classics in local rockdom. When I was an entertainment writer with the MM dulu, dia takmau berdiri sebelah I dalam gambar.. siut tol ...LOL..

Kak Teh said...

my internet connection is wonky!!!

Uncle said...

Dear Kak Teh.
Masa album Isi dan Kulit, saya baru sekolah menengah....simpan duit untuk beli kaset depa yang gambar kat atas tong kargo tu!

MrsNordin said...

I think, Amy Search is the greatest rocker in Malaysia. He's an icon,a true rocker. Much like Mick Jagger, totally cool! You'll enjoy his concert, I'm sure of that.

Kenny Mah said...

Isn't high time they got more recognition already, being as part of our musical heritage that they are?

Hmm... Datuk Amy of Search. Does have a ring to it, no? Hehe.

Pill Pusher said...

Long gone the days of rock kapak. This reminds me of the good old days of lighting up marlboro on my dad's motor kapcai.

Madam Tai Tai Again said...

Kak Teh, have fun rocking with Search nanti!!

Mama Rock said...

kak teh, this is a concert you should not miss! yup, i received a cassette too from a friend when Search started making it big in Malaysia. yup, and hafal every single song in the first album!

Mama Huptihup said...

kak teh,

i baca and pastu tidor...mimpi u bwk i pi konsert search dok depan sekali!! punya la power haha

sue said...

Salam Kak Teh..
lama tak singgah sini..

dulu semua budak kat SNC nak tukar nama jadi Rozana..syahdu habiss dengaq lagu tu..

Hujan..? i tak kenal pun.. :-P

zaitgha said...

kak teh,

I was introduced to Search by dear hubby when he played the cassete and strumming his guitar to the songs....i just gotten to know hubby as he was fresh from home and i was already in the States for a few years....i love the Isabella and Fantasia and Rozzana but I love Nigina the best...lagu lain pun best jugak....saw the concert here a few months after i came home.....still cherished that experience....

have a good one kak Teh and looking forward to hear all abt it from you...

rendrazaleigh. said...

kak teh, lamanya tak masuk blog ni!
hehehe, anyway kak teh yang cool, apa khabaR?

Kak Long said...

Salam Kak teh, lama tak singgah sini rindunya......I've move to rumah baru!

Unknown said...

Salaam Kak Teh..

We met briefly at Tuk Din's on Monday. I'm the Terengganu guy from Cardiff who asked for 'John' or 'Jong' hahaha :) nice meeting you, enjoy the concert!

See you around..
Rosli
www.rosliothman.com/blog