About The Oddfellows

The Oddfellows was formed in 1988 (original line-up: Patrick Chng, Casey Soo Wai Cheong on drums, and Stephen Tan on bass) at a time when Singapore original music was unheard of except for those in the small growing underground scene. Yet it was a time that started the Singapore music revival that has continued to this day. Thanks to fanzines that sprouted out--most notably, BigO Magazine, with whom S. Tan is an editor to this day and Chng was once a writer--in the mid to late '80s, the rise of the indie scene began in earnest with lo-fi DIY cassette releases by the likes of Corporate Toil, The Ordinary People, Mortal Flower and The Oddfellows. The Oddies, as they were also affectionately called, became an underground favourite with their 1988 demo EP, "Mild", their 3-song 1990 cassette, "Phooney Accent" and their two songs on BigO's New School Rock CD. In 1991, Vincent replaced Stephen and Kelvin Tan came on board, and The Oddfellows released their debut album, "Teenage Head", essentially a demo 8-track recording to secure a record deal but BMG Singapore released it as it was, that sparked an interest in Singapore alternative and indie rock music. The first single, "So Happy", became the first Singapore song to hit No. 1 on Pefect 10 98.7FM radio chart and a top 3 hit on Radio Heart 91.3FM (now WKRZ). The second single, "Your Smiling Face", also smashed into the top 10 on 98.7FM. Intense gigging in late 1991 at schools and popular night spots broke the band in the mainstream. In early 1992, the band toured Kuala Lumpur to support the release of "Teenage Head" in Malaysia. The Oddies also opened for their punk heroes, The Buzzcocks, in Singapore. Casey left the band to pursue his studies overseas and The Nonames drummer Abdul Nizam stood in on the 1992 second album, "Carnival". First single "Unity Song" hit No. 1 on 91.3FM and was a top 3 smash on 98.7FM. The follow-up single, "She's So Innocent", also dented the top 10 radio charts. Another round of intense gigging at schools, shopping malls and night spots was done to promote the album. In 1993, Johnny Ong was recruited as permanent drummer and his powerhouse drumming added another dimension to the band's sound. The Oddies returned to their roots by releasing a cassette-only 5-song EP, "Seven Year Itch", in January 1995. The band also contributed a re-recorded "Foggy Daylight" to Pony Canyon's "Dazed And Confused" CD compilation in 1996, the original recording of "Foggy Daylight" to the movie soundtrack of "Mee Pok Man", and "Breach" to the "12 Storeys" movie soundtrack. "Breach" hit No. 3 on the 98.7FM chart in 1998. The band started work on the third album under the Pony Canyon label with producer Shah Tahir, who also produced "Teenage Head". Unfortunately, Pony Canyon closed its Singapore office and the album was abandoned after three years of recording. The Oddies started from scratch again at TNT studio in 2000 and recorded about 6 songs before running out of steam. Kelvin released his debut solo album "The Bluest Silence" and had a Top 10 hit with "She Sheds A Light" on Perfect 10 radio chart in '98. Johnny recorded his Chinese solo CD and was also featured on the movie soundtrack of "Eating Air". Kelvin also formed the improv band Stigmata and continues to release numerous solo albums. Johnny now lives in Taipei and plays for Taiwanese band Neon. Patrick joins TypeWriter as guitarist and also performs with Kelvin and electronic musician r-H as a trio known as Prana vs r-H. The Oddies released "Bugs And Hisses" (BigO records) in November 2001 - a collection of rare tracks, b-sides, live bootlegs and previously unreleased tracks. The band played their last gig in 2002 at Orchard Library and took a hiatus. However, recently, Patrick, Kelvin, Vincent and Johnny played their first gig in 5 years on Feb 10, 2007 at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre and another show at Home Club the week later on Feb 16.