PETALING JAYA: Memories, the band which back in the day counted up to 30 people as its members, is set to rock the crowd once again at the Musicians for Musicians Benefit concert 2020.
Speaking to theSun, the band’s drummer and appointed manager Francis Danker walked this scribe through the band’s formative years and their most memorable moments at home and abroad.
“Memories was formed in 1976 with myself as the drummer, Daud Hamid on keyboards, and Aman Shah on bass. We started off playing in a place called the Travelers Cellar in Petaling jaya.
“From there, we expanded and you know we had more people coming into the band. We had Jay Jay from Carefree, Aziza Basri, the late Nand Kumar, who also played with the Strollers and Falcons, and many others,” he said.
Memories also had personalities such as 1978 Bintang RTM finalist Siti Sara and Saat Abdul Kadir (Discovery).
The band played at places like the Tomorrow Disco in Merlin Hotel (now Concorde Hotel) Kuala Lumpur and The Beer Garden in Ampang Park.
“We were packed at one point with up to three shows in one night. We used to run to three different joints and we were so used to it. Then at one point, when we had more members, we divided the band into three groups and played separate venues at the same time,” he said.
When asked about the band’s biggest break, Francis said it was when they were offered a six-month gig in Taipei, Taiwan.
“When we went to Taiwan, we had a multicultural line-up with Ross Ariffin on keyboards, Nand Kumar on guitar, my brother Steven Danker also on keyboards, myself on drums and Jerry Goh on vocals. We were known partly because of this, but the crowd actually flooded our venues for another reason.
“Jerry, it turned out, was the attraction as he looked a little feminine and used to wear high boots and light makeup. Those days in the 80’s if you wore high boots and shiny or silver accessories you were considered feminine,” Francis said.
Francis, however, said the bitter part of the trip was when they had to cut short the contract because they were unhappy with the way they were being treated.
“We had to play from Monday to Sunday in the afternoons and nights. Besides that, we were staying in small cubicles and after a month we had to play at two clubs throughout the day,” he said, adding that the band knew that they did not have permits to play in Taiwan.
“Whenever immigration officers came, we had to sit in with the customers. And everyday our meals were the same – fish. I took a stand for the boys and told them off, either they gave us chicken or beef or we wouldn’t play and they agreed.”
But the band decided to end their gig in the third month and returned to Malaysia.
“It was bitter but they are good ‘memories’.”
When asked on the importance of performing in the upcoming concert, Francis said that it was definitely to help needy Malaysian entertainers and also to pay tribute to band members who have passed on.
“Seven of our friends have passed away throughout the years and us performing in this concert would be in memory of them,” Francis said.
Memories band members, who are set to take the stage during the concert, include Francis on drums, Saat on percussion, Zul Mahat, Othman Masri and Stephen Danker on keyboards, Clifford Jayatilaka on lead guitar, Charlie Jayatilaka on bass, Desi D’ Costa, Siti Sara and Jerry Goh on lead vocals.
The concert will be held on March 15 at Mines International Exhibition and Convention Centre from 2pm to 12am with a total of 30 bands taking part.
Ticket prices start from RM100 per person or RM5,000 for a table of 10.
