When cowboys rode into town for a yeehaw moment with Os Pombos

3 months ago 23

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PETALING JAYA: There was a time when Friday evenings saw pub-goers wearing Stetson hats, ranch buckle belts, embroidered shirts with smiling mouth pockets, bolo ties and cowboy boots.

Ten-gallon hits were the music craze, Ruby took her love to town, and the Os Pombos band’s Jerry Singho burned the fiddle right out of the gate in Charlie Daniels’, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”.

The 1980s and 90s were the height of country music in Malaysia, the rise of hat act, Os Pombos, and the boom of country and western pubs, as well as mechanical bulls and other things that went along with the country dancehall scene.

At country bars Longhorn, Cattlemen’s Inn and Gold Canyon in Damansara Utama, a plucking banjo, a spritely mandolin, warm harmonies, and nifty fiddle modulations stood out from the pop pack elsewhere.

“Cowboys” rode into town for a yeehaw moment with Os Pombos, and their popularity was so great that the audience used to clap even as the band members walked into the pub.

Os Pombos adhered to country’s roots while drawing pop and rock fans who had barely paid any attention to the genre, which was no easy feat.

The band mapped out the story of country music with songs that have a twang you could feel down to the soles of your feet, got people weepy with tear-jerkers, and whipped people into a frenzy with high-octane melodies.

The never-ending wave of line-dancing always seemed a decent way to finish things off.

Today, they still pack in the crowds, but it’s a different nightlife. There are no pubs that are exclusively country, and in the Klang Valley club circuit, it’s only the Os Pombos that plays pure country.

It is however big in East Malaysia, especially in Sarawak where the Miri Country Music and Siniawan Country Music festivals are a huge draw.

On Sept 8, Os Pombos will be inducted into the hall of fame at the Malaysian Country Music Festival and Awards (MCMFA) for accomplishing something no other band has – to take country music and make it their own.

The gala, an initiative by the country music division of the Malaysian Artistes’ Association (Karyawan), is also to rekindle the local country music scene and stimulate a new generation of musicians and fans.

Genius of Os Pombos

It’s almost impossible to have a conversation about country music groups in Malaysia without talking about the longevity of the Os Pombos.

Forty six years on, the troubadours remain the gatekeepers of the genre in Malaysia, maintaining their lead presence through struggle, sacrifice and achievement in equal measure.

They have withstood, not just the test of time, but the test of the music industry.

“We’ve weathered the storms together, survived changing trends, and proven that we’ve got what it takes to keep a loyal fanbase coming back for more, decade after decade,” said band leader Jude Singho.

There’s the family connection and Portuguese Settlement roots. In the early days, the band included Jerry’s keyboardist wife Bernie, and today it features Jude’s son Ethan Ray, 33, (lead guitar and vocals) whose wife Mira Soyza, 35, is a vocalist.

Others in the fold now are Robert Lewis, 69, (keyboards),Peter Paramaraj, 66, (bass) and Mark Felix, 55, (drums and vocals).

When you think about it, many of us grew up with Os Pombos and have shared our love for their music with our children and grandchildren.

At 66, Jude, a guitarist and singer, is still the embodiment of his own genre: a rugged, cowboy-hatted man, for whom the best thing about being a mature musician is how to start and finish and make the music breathe.

“I think about the legacy thing, and it’s humbling to know that stuff we have created over the years is still rocking,” he said.

When asked if he could go back in time, what advice he would give his younger self, Jude said he would not let the music business break him. “It broke me down several times.”

He said his setbacks included a failed business partnership in a country pub, signing blank cheques and failing to get Employee Provident Fund (EPF) provisions for his band mates.

“God has been the moving force for us, and even at this age, other doors of opportunity have been opened for us.

“In our country, club performers who are doing it for the passion of music must always work on something else to fall back on. Otherwise, the twilight days can be painful,” he said.

For Jerry, 65, the opinion of others haven’t mattered, and if he were to start all over again, “I will work even harder towards my goal of bigger achievements and make people understand more how much we appreciate them.”

“I love the look on people’s faces when we play, and I’m thankful they have stuck with us throughout our long musical journey,” added Jerry, who also plays the banjo.

Flight of the “doves”

Jude and Jerry started out with the late Basil Bournaparte as a three-piece strolling band at the Malacca Straits Inn in the 1970s.

The brothers’ ability to blend country’s down-home melodicism with gospel’s stirring harmonies demanded they leave the Portuguese Settlement to pursue a life of music.

After getting the blessing of their then parish priest at St Peter’s Church, Father Augusto Sendim, the boys left for Kuala Lumpur in 1978.

“But not before, Father Augusto gave us our Portuguese name Os Pombos, which means ‘The Doves’,” Jude related.

Since then the band has had numerous line-ups, including the likes of Bonnie Jeremiah (double bass), Benedict Soosay (steel guitar), Ronald Anthony (guitar and mandolin), Jeffrey De Souza (drums), Kenny De Costa (drums) and Jerry Velu (bass).

They played pop music at various hotel venues in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, and it was at the Federal Hotel in the capital city when things took a turn down the country road.

The embryonic form of the band’s country fare found its perfect embodiment. Business roared and they were soon invited by the owner of Cattleman’s Inn, Vincent Lloyd, to perform there.

Jude said after being disappointed by how finances were run and no provisions being made for EPF for musicians, Os Pombos left and went to the Milo Steakhouse in Seremban.

This was followed by Gold Canyon, before the band set up its own pub in 1983, the Longhorn, where they performed for almost a decade.

Os Pombos was invited to open a Longhorn branch in Singapore at the Amara Hotel, so the boys went across the causeway to perform.

“Within a month, business started dropping back home, so we had to return,” Jude said, adding after selling Longhorn, Os Pombos returned to the hotel scene, playing at Istana Hotel for two years.

Their music then went sailing on a cruise ship before ending up at Country Barn in Subang Jaya, and recording an English album with BMG.

Three songs, “East of Nashville”, “Hurt Me No More” and “Angel Eyes” made it to the number one spot on RTM’s Radio 4.

“Os Pombos have done it all,” said Jude. “What’s left is our dream of heading to Nashville and the Grand Ole Opry.”

The MCMFA gala

Os Pombos will perform at the showcase along with the OnStrings group from Sarawak, Lyia Meta, who has won country music awards in the US, the duo of Raymond Chia and Mark Renesh and the family posse, Thompsons Country Band.

The Thompsons Country Band is testimony of young musicians embracing country music at a time when Beyonce and Dua Lipa have swapped mirror balls for rhinestones, while new stars such as Shaboozey and Dasha are making hay with uptempo hoedowns.

Tables for the gala, which begins at 6pm at Menara BAC, Horizon Hall, 52, Jalan Utara, Section 52, Petaling Jaya, are available at RM10,000, RM5,000, RM3,000 and RM1,200 (inclusive dinner).

Loose tickets are also available on a first come first served basis. For bookings send a WhatsApp message to 03-40317666.

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