Singapore's 60's Music 'Guru'

This short blog is a small tribute to my brother, Joseph C. Pereira who has written three books on music in Singapore.

I was always curious about that large suitcase that my brother, Joseph Pereira (Joe) had under his bed. We slept in the same bedroom together with my other brother Wilfred when I was 11 until the age of 18. This was in Marine Drive.


One day when I was 12, curiosity got the better of me and while my brother was out, I decided to open that suitcase to find out what there was inside it. It was almost like opening a treasure chest in Ali Baba's cave. There were treasures from the 60's, bubble gum cards, magazines, photos and diaries. 

But one thing that struck me was that there were lots of newspaper cuttings of musical happenings in Singapore. So it was no surprise that I found out many years later that Joe wanted to write a book on music in Singapore. He had been keeping all these cuttings for a purpose!

Straits Times photo after the release of his first book

The first book, 'Legends of the Golden Venus' released in 2000 comprised of a series of interviews that Joe did when he doing freelance writing for several musical publications. He did interviews with Siva Choy, Terry Tan (Rotten Bodies), Chris Vadham (High Ground and Western Union Band), Vernon Cornelius (Quests), Ray Anthony (Ray Anthony Band), Dennis Lim (Straydogs), Patrick Lim & Gary Chand (Igta), Bernard Yeo (Calcutta Blues Experiment) and the Jansen brothers (Ashley, Atwell and Gordon) of Heritage.

His second and third books, Apache Over Singapore (The Story of Singapore Sixties Music Vol 1) and Beyond The Tea Dance (The Story of Singapore Sixties Music Vol 2) cemented his reputation as the Singapore 60's music 'guru'. 

I always admired his dedication in fact finding; locating many of the musicians he wrote about who were now in their sixties and even seventies and getting information from them.

In between writing these books, Joe has also assisted in the release of several cds featuring music from Singapore from the 60's. In 2009, he teamed up with Philips to release, '100 Greatest Singapore 60's - The Definitive Collection'.

He is also a regular speaker at events on music in Singapore.

Joe giving a talk at the National Library Board

And his sincerity and humbleness has endeared him to many people who admire his musical wisdom and wealth of knowledge.

Joe (centre) with Richard Khan (left)(formerly of the October Cherries) and  Jimmy Appudurai-chua (right) (formerly of the Straydogs) 

Joe is also an avid vinyl collector and can often be found scouring for old records in the backlanes of Chinatown and Sungei Road.

Some of his singles collection (Photo by Maria Clare Khoo)

I am certain that in years to come, his books will be stored in our equivalent of the American Library of Congress where they will further the progress of knowledge and creativity for the benefit of the Singapore people!

As for me, I still enjoy my 'kopi' and 'teh' sessions with him whenever I'm in Singapore. After all, he's still my big brother!!

 Having tea in JB

Joe has been featured extensively of many magazines and blogs. One such interview can be found in Bandwagon SG. 

Joe's latest book, Beyond The Tea Dance can be found at Select Books.