Alleycats star walks down memory lane

 

David Arumugam says he panicked when he saw the crowd and thus was born the long-drawn “Terima Kasih’ which became their trademark. (Mykakiseni Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: The last of the Alleycats is now home alone, being a good boy and minding his SOPs. But music and his brother are still on his mind.

“I miss him,” says David Arumugam, now 71, of his brother, Loganathan, or Loga, who died in 2007. The two had co-founded the Alleycats band.

“Most of the time I feel his loss. He was a partner and missing all of a sudden. I miss him a lot,” he added during a Facebook live interview with veteran journalist Wong Chun Wai, titled Sampaikan Salam Aidilfitri with David Arumugam.

David also talked of his memories, the rise to fame and their trademark “Terima Kasih” cry at the end of almost every song. He says it was nervousness that led to the origin of that famous “catcall”.

“It came out of fright,” he said. “It was our first concert in Malaysia, we did not know we were popular.”

“There were television crew filming us even before we went up stage. This had never happened before, with big crowd and a big press conference with microphones,” he said.

He panicked and the long “Terima Kasih” came at the end of the song, he said.

“We didn’t know we were famous until that first concert,” he added. “I remember going on stage and seeing the crowd. It was a huge crowd and the word ‘Terima Kasih’ came out in a long stretch … it was out of fright,” he said grinning.

Prior to their first concert in the 70s, he said they were performing in Hong Kong bars and also sent several Malay recordings back to Malaysia.

And it was in Hong Kong that they literally brought down the house.

They were performing in a huge show and got off the stage when the stage collapsed just behind them. A few people were killed.

“It was unforgettable,” said David, who with Loga, led the Alleycats in their evergreen songs like Andainya Aku Pergi Dulu, Suara Kekasih, Setahun Sudah Berlalu, and Sampaikan Salam Cintaku, among many other hits.

Others in the group then were Tan Chin Hock who played drums, Shunmugam Arumugan on lead guitar and Chester Anthony Passerella, the saxophone player.

Khoo Fook Sin and Grenville Pereira (Gren) were keyboard players while Frank Ong was the bass guitarist.

Hailing from Penang, David said they had started out in an alley near the house where there were many cats. Thus, Alleycats.

He may be past 70 and the band is pretty much disbanded but “I hear parents still sing our songs,” said David with his trademark broad grin. - FMT