30th Drama Anniversary – Our Theme Song Concert
Resorts World Convention Centre
Compass Ballroom/Sunday
A theme song has to set the tone for the television show it soundtracks, be it a slice-of- life comedy or a wrenching drama. The best ones can call up images from a particular series from the first strains of the music.
Some, such as Mavis Hee’s City In The Moonlight, even take on a life beyond the confines of the goggle box to become enduring hits.
In three decades, MediaCorp (previously Singapore Broadcasting Corporation and then Television Corporation of Singapore) has certainly amassed a treasure trove of material.
On Sunday night, a near sold-out crowd of 3,000-plus fans mostly in their 30s and older came to reminisce and to sing along.
Veteran singer Eric Moo got things off to a rousing start with four songs, including Kopi-O and Forget The Past from The Coffee Shop (1986). He reveals that he had insisted on being able to include the term “kopi-o” (local colloquialism for black coffee) in the song despite the ban on dialects on TV. It just would not have been the same if the Mandarin name for it had been used – “kafeiwu” just didn’t have the same authentic ring as “kopi- o”.
There were also cameos by actors Xiang Yun and Huang Wenyong, who talked about their historical drama The Awakening 1 (1984), and Wang Yuqing, making a cheeky appearance in school uniform when Maggie Theng sang the theme song for Flying Fish (1983), the drama that made him a pin-up star then.
While their appearances were welcome, the over 21/2-hour-long concert could have moved along at a brisker pace. And instead of having singer-songwriter Lee Wai Shiong perform an incongruously campy dance remix medley of numbers penned by him, they could have squeezed in, say, The Awakening’s stirring theme song or The Little Nyonya (2008)’s popular ballad Like Swallow.
At least the organisers were canny enough to save the best for last.
Singer Kit Chan gave a loose-limbed take on the jazzy Looking At The Moon from Driven By A Car (1998) as well as a diva-esque rendition of Stubborn from Devotion (2011).
She then introduced Hee, who has given only sporadic public performances after a public meltdown in 2006.
Dressed in a loose earth-toned gown and wearing big hoop earrings, she still possessed a rich balm of a voice. In fact, she sounded better here than she did at the xinyao-themed Chong Feng 7 concert in 2009 and at her guest appearance in last year’s musical-concert Don’t Forget To Say Good Bye.
On Sunday, she sang Sunshine Always Comes After The Rain from The Silver Lining (1997), Regret from Mirror Of Life (1996), the wistful title track to A Song To Remember (2011) and, of course, her signature hit Moonlight In The City from Tofu Street (1996).
Hee told the audience shyly: “Although I don’t see everyone very often, I miss you guys. And I’m doing okay.”
Her gentle musical stylings gave way to the blistering rock balladry of Taiwanese duo Power Station.
It turns out that they have had quite an affinity with local drama series. Who knew that their hit Na Jiu Zhe Yang Ba (Just Let It Be Then) was from Knotty Liaisons (2000)?
The final number of the night was the determinedly dramatic Wo Chi De Qi Ku (I Can Endure Hardships) from Stepping Out (1999), also known as the show for which actress Cynthia Koh shaved her head.
Despite the simple stage set-up and only an occasional use of vintage footage from yesteryear, the crowd seemed to have a good time. Even local drama stars such as Thomas Ong and Pan Lingling could be seen chorusing along enthusiastically among the audience.
As Moo sang on Friendship Lies In The Heart: “There’s yours, there’s mine, the traces of our growing up years.”
(ST)