The Sun - S. Indra Sathiabalan (7th April 1995)

THE SUN MAGAZINE
7TH APRIL 1995

by S. INDRA SATHIABALAN

BACK INTO THE GROOVE
====================

A good number of people still remember Alfred Ho who had a big following in the 70s. Many haven't forgotten him.

This can be gauged from the enthusiastic turn-out at the Sungai Wang Plaza concourse during his "live" show to promote his latest album entitled LOVE SONGS IN GOLD. The lack of space encouraged many fans to crowd the balconies of each floor to catch the singer's renditions of oldies and crowd favourites.

He started off with a real crowd pleaser LA BAMBA, which set the pace for more to come. This was then followed by JEREMIAH WAS A BULLFROG and DO YOU WANT TO DANCE. Playing only a guitar and accompanied by a drum-machine, this one-man show is unique by anyone's standards. What was even more unique about it was that Alfred Ho is blind (he has been blind since the age of 3 due to measles). Rather than take his sight impairment as a handicap, Alfred turned to his first love which was music, especially music of the 60s. Why? "I was brought up in that era. The songs then were melodic and full of meaning".

The crowd which gathered to catch this act was diverse to say the least. There were senior citizens, teenagers, executives and I even spotted a cook from one of the restaurants. Some overzealous ones kept going "Woooooooo" at some of the songs. He had some really loud cheers when he sang SWEAT (A LA LA LA LONG). There were girls screaming when he went : "I'll push it, push it some more."

Alfred has a wide repertoire. He sang songs made popular by elvis presley, the beatles and cliff richard. He sang in english, cantonese, mandarin and even gave the audience the original japanese version of SUKIYAKI (the first asian song to dominate the american charts).

I can say this much more Alfred as a singer. He is really, really good. Judging from the way the crowd wanted more, it was evedent that there is a market for his talents. Luck was on my side when I managed to speak to him after his show. According to Alfred, "I always perform solo as I can't afford a group except during recording."

Alfred later added that other than the "live" show that day and the next, there were no other confirmed shows in the near future.


What are his hopes for this album? "I hope it sells well. Radio 4 currently playing some of the songs." LOVE SONGS IN GOLD is actually a follow-up of SPECIAL GEMS which was launched in 1993. His main reasoning for coming up with 2 albums after a long lull since the 70s, is to reach out to his fans and also gain financial self-support. There were a lot of skeptics who believe that oldies don't sell. But the amount of remakes of oldies flooding the market at present should be enough proof that Alfred can make it, given the right marketing. Since Radio 4 is doing it's bit in promoting a local musician, it is now left to the public to decide.

Personally, I was rather impressed by Alfred's singing. He has a really remarkable voice that could put a lot of our local stars to shame. He is also a mean guitar player. Comapred to the awful voices on the tapes that have covered versions of oldies, Alfred's album will come as a breath of fresh air.