Backyard News - April 27th 2005

ALFRED HO AT THE BACKYARD
Apr 27th, 2005

PRESS RELEASE by Backyardpub.com



Alfred Ho is the consummate entertainer with over
three decades of performing experience at numerous
stageshows, private functions and nightspots
across the country.

He has endeared himself to audiences for his
interpretations of evergreen numbers from
legendary crooners Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard,
Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, and various
country and western performers.

Alfred's mellow but powerful voice is irresistible
to those who long for the days when songs had
words you could actually hear and appreciate -- a
time when melodies were not obscured and drowned
by crashing guitars, pounding beatboxes and techno
rhythms.

This Perak-born performer continues to surprise
audiences wherever he goes with everything from
soothing ballads to rock and roll and even throws
in some Spanish, Malay, Cantonese, Japanese and
Hokkien numbers to prove his diversity.

Listening to the talented Alfred is a walk down
memory lane, reviving gems from past that you may
not have even heard on the radio of late. Alfred
has such a wide repertoire that he has been known
to play for four straight hours, with still some
songs to spare.

HISTORY
Struck blind after a bout of measles at the age of
three, Alfred showed a love for music from an
early age.

At Penang's St Nicholas School for the Blind, he
taught himself to play the guitar and formed a
four-piece schoolboy band called The Sharks.

He later honed his craft doing the pub circuit as
a solo guitarist and developed an uncanny sense of
being able to 'read' his audience from the stage.

His first brush with fame came as a semi-finalist
in RTM's Bakat TV, the popular talent show of the
70s.

Alfred also did a few shows called Take Five with
a commercial broadcasting station in that period
and even cut two EP vinyl records of his own
compositions. Two songs, Train To Tennessee and
Wendy's Love Song were particularly popular and he
recorded several cassettes back then that were
played on local airwaves.

In 1984, having garnered a following and dubbed
Malaysia's Jose Feliciano, Alfred finally quit his
steady job as a telephone operator and went into
music fulltime.

A decade of performances later, during which no
record label was willing to sign him on, Alfred
self-produced an album of 22 covers of his
favourite hits called "Special Gems".

Today, his loyal fanbase, from ambassadors to
royalty, from vinyl connoisseurs to lovers of
classic dancing, still speak of Alfred with
fondness and continue to enjoy his special brand
of music.

Come and experience a night of golden oldies with
this Malaysian legend for one night only at the
Backyard Pub & Grill this Wednesday, April 27th.

From, Jerry Chong, Backyard Pub & Grill