Filed under: Malaysia
When I finally decided to start hunting down the vinyl that would eventually become this website, this record was in the first batch, along with a S. Hazarasingh record and a very odd album of Thai Modernized Music… Actually, that’s a lie. My first batch of records were three Chang Siao Ying albums. I don’t count them, because I no longer have those. But this was definitely the first seven inch single of non-Western pop music. And as you can tell, I bought it solely for the cover.
The seven inch single has to be the perfect format. It’s short and to the point. If you are musician and you are only going to be able to record two (maybe three or four) songs, you’re definitely going to pick you’re ‘A’ material. And the cover… I think some of the greatest artwork ever conceived has measured only seven by seven inches square.
In this day of mp3s and i-tunes, the long playing album seems to be losing the battle. There appears to be a shift back to the single, now that the record companies have figured out a way to sell you just one song (with no manufacturing expenses). To be honest, I have never really been a huge fan of the LP. On most albums, there is always some filler. Maybe it’s because I have such a short attention span, I don’t know. And the advent of the CD player only made skipping those songs that were only “so-so” into a nervous twitch. Next.
As for A. Romzi dan The Hooks, they were part of the “Pop Yeh-Yeh” movement of Malaysia and Singapore at the time. They recorded a handful of singles, this one being their first and most popular. A. Romzi later became a solo artist, and released records into the Seventies.
Catalog number EGEP. 626 on Parlophone / EMI of Singapore, released 1967.
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Radiodiffusion Internasionaal Annexe 
Your website is AWESOME! i have added you to my blogroll over @ http://tambourdafrique.blogspot.com
Comment by ms bazu November 22, 2008 @ 2:57 amplease come visit us sometime. PEACE! 🙂
This is one of my favourite Malaysian songs. The fuzz bursts are amazing!
Comment by pfft November 24, 2008 @ 6:16 amI have a Hooks CD which contains most of their EPs. I think it’s available on Amazon. Despite the shoddy packaging and so-so sound quality, it’s definitely worth the price.
Perghhhh…..awesome
Comment by mat4nira November 27, 2008 @ 5:01 pmYeah, love the fuzz bursts! This band is awesome! I grew up listening to the them (my Dad is a pop yeh-yeh fan). I found the same cd mentioned in the comment above (released by EMI) in a RM10-for-3-cds discount bin at Speedy video. Hardly a section any musician would like to see their work end up in. The cd, however, has trouble playing on regular cd players and discman but is ok when played on a pc/laptop.
Comment by azmyl December 3, 2008 @ 12:12 am