ROSA FANG (羅莎) "穿着鞋子走路 - THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKING" (1966)

Well, I am afraid this post is going to be quite short: sadly I wasn't able to discover any information about the elusive Rosa Fang (羅莎), except that this was probably her only release.

By the way, bootleg label Glycos from Singapore released an EP that combines the title track from this release with three tracks taken from the debut Rita Chao EP, which I remastered some time ago... Quite odd, isn't it?

Could it be that Rosa Fang released other records under a different name? She has a mature voice and I doubt that these are her only recordings... Maybe someone out there can shed some light on her? Thanks in advance!

Rosa Fang as she appears on the front cover of her one and only EP, 1966

Here's the track list for this 7" EP:

01. 穿着鞋子走路 (These Boots Are Made For Walking) (2:43)
02. 夢裡會情郎 (Far Away) (2:23)
03. 情竇初開 (My Love) (2:26)
04. 海上良宵 (Hawaiian Song) (2:58)

All tracks were remastered from the original vinyl in October 2016 and are available in FLAC lossless format, along with scans of the complete original artwork.

As usual, please have a look at the comments for the download link.



Althought manufactured in India, this EP was released in Singapore on the Columbia label with catalogue number ECHK 555, sometimes in early/mid 1966, around the same time that the debut EPs by Rita Chao and Sakura were also released.

Side A begins with "穿着鞋子走路" a cover of "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'", a hit song written by Lee Hazlewood and recorded by Nancy Sinatra in late 1965. Here's a link to a clip of the original version.

The song is followed by "夢裡會情郎" (Far Away), a quieter number which I can't clearly recognize, but I'm almost sure that it is a cover of some other famous tune released sometimes during the mid-60s. Can anybody help me on this matter?

On Side B we find "情竇初開", a nice version of Petula Clark's international hit "My Love", a song written by Tony Hatch in late 1965; here's a playback of the original version.

The EP ends with "海上良宵" (Hawaiian Song) which, once again, sounds familiar but I can't seem to focus on the original; the title is here on the tip of my tongue but... Once again I need help, thank you!

The following clips offer a complete preview of the remastered EP, enjoy!

At this point I am supposed to provide you with some links about the release featured in this entry, but this time there are not many useful resources that I can direct you to...

https://www.discogs.com/artist/2087570-Rosa-Fang

https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/music/music/album/d7ed7048-6e93-47aa-8969-f46db352ccab

As a last note, I'm still struggling to find somebody who can help me with translations:

if you can translate from Chinese to English please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you so much!

JOHNNY TAN "SHAKIN' ALL OVER" (1967)

My spare time has been quite limited recently, that's why this month all you get is this very short post about the mysterious Johnny Tan and his one-and-only release.

I tried hard to find some information about him on the Internet, but all my efforts were useless... I easily guess that Johnny's "15 minutes of fame" happened a few years ago when small label Outhouse Records stole one of his pictures - the same you can see scrolling this page a little bit - to grace the cover of the vinyl bootleg compilation "Chinese Rocks"...

"Shakin' All Over", the title track from the EP featured in this post, was also included on such compilation, along with other rare cuts by The Stylers, The Quests, Shao Fong Fong, The Steps, The Silverstones and many others.



I usually try to avoid personal comments on the artists themselves, but I must admit that Johnny's trendy apparel and his superquiff (...is this the correct English term for his hairstyle?) make him look a bit over the top, in a manner of speaking.

Despite his tall stature, his frail falsetto voice suggest me that probably Tan was still in his early teens when he recorded the tracks compiled on the release presented on this page.

The excellent accompanying band featured on these recordings is Charlie and His Go-Go Boys, a Singaporean group that in 1966-67 released many instrumental EPs and one album on Swan Records (...or Star Swan...), the same independant label that also released Johnny Tan's EP sometimes in 1967.

While searching for more information about them, I chanced upon two other bands with a similar name which were active in Singapore during the late '60s / early '70s: Charlie and His Boys and Charlie and His Orchestra... Could it be that Charlie simply opted for a change of name when the A Go-Go trend was over?

Anyway, as usual, I would really like to know something more about Johnny and Charlie, maybe someone out there can share any information? Thanks in advance!

edit 16.06.2016:

A visitor of this blog was kind enough to provide some information about Johnny Tan, here's what he wrote:

«Johnny Tan was in RTS (Radio Television Singapore) Talentime 1968 with the song "My Bonnie". His performance was out outrageously "CAMP" as you can see from his record covers. Singapore audiences were not ready for this kind of performance at that time. He released only one EP and disappeared into obscurity. Such a shame!!! Even though I was very young at that time, I can still recall.»

Well, thank you so much for your precious contribution Daniel!!!

Johnny Tan as he appears on the back cover of "Shakin' All Over"

Here's the track list for this 7" EP:

01. Shakin' All Over (2:52)
02. My Bonnie (1:46)
03. Love Potion No. 9 (1:47)
04. My Love (2:36)

All tracks were remastered from the original vinyl in December 2015 and are available in FLAC lossless format, along with scans of the complete original artwork.

Please have a look at the comments section for the download link.



Side A obviously begins with "Shakin' All Over", a famous Rhythm'n'Blues number originally performed by U.K. band Johnny Kidd & the Pirates in 1960. During the years the song has been covered many times, most notably by The Guess Who in 1965 - available here.

The song is followed by "My Bonnie", a traditional Scottish folk song which was also recorded by Tony Sheridan and The Beat Brothers - an alias for The Beatles! - in 1961 (...original version is available here).

On Side B we find the immortal "Love Potion No. 9", a song written in 1959 by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and originally performed by The Clovers. An alternate version of the original was also included on the soundtrack release for the movie "American Graffiti" in 1973.

The EP ends brilliantly with a cover of Petula Clark's international hit "My Love", a song written by Tony Hatch in late 1965; here's a playback of the original version.

The following clips offer a complete preview of the remastered EP, enjoy!

A few more information about Johnny Tan, Charlie & His Go-Go Boys and the 60s Singapore music scene is available here:

http://modcentric.blogspot.com/2015/05/johnny-tan-love-potion-no-9.html

http://www.discogs.com/Various-Chinese-Rocks-60s-Garage-Surf-Trash-Rock-n-Roll-A-Go-Go-From-Southeast-Asia/release/2878461

http://www.discogs.com/artist/2391475-Charlie-His-Go-Go-Boys

http://madrotter-treasure-hunt.blogspot.com/search/label/charlie%20and%20his%20go%20go%20boys

http://www.psychemusic.org/singapore.html

http://www.tofu-magazine.net/newVersion/pages/gogo.html

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Apache-Over-Singapore/304722106211508

http://mocamborainbow.blogspot.com/2009/05/100-greatest-singapore-60s-definitive.html

If you have any other useful information about this post, or if you spot any dead links, just get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!