Biography
The Early Years
The Oddfellows was formed by Patrick Chng (vocals, guitars, keyboards) and Casey Soo (drums) in late 1987 in Singapore. The two were avid readers of BigO fanzine and got to know each other through ads selling records in the 'zine. Patrick had a band for a very brief period that dissolved in mid 1987. Patrick and Casey shared a common love for bands such as REM, The Replacements, Pixies, Sonic Youth, Buzzcocks, U2 and Ramones amongst others. They decided to name the band from the REM song "Oddfellows Local 151". The duo were joined by Stephen Tan (bass) in early 1988 and played their debut gig at the Singapore Arts Festival's fringe programme titled "Alternative Pop" at the Botanic Gardens on 5th June 1988. The band performed at the 10 Years of Punk gig at the Rediffusion Auditorium, together with Opposition Party and Mortal Flower, in December 1988, organised by renowned Singaporean DJ and musician, Chris Ho. The Oddfellows released their debut EP cassette titled "Mild" in the same month. The six-track DIY lo-fi recording was done with a boombox in a rehearsal studio. It caught the attention of Chris Ho, who invited the band onto his Eight Miles High chart show on Rediffusion. Chris Ho also interviewed The Oddfellows for the national newspaper The Straits Times in 1989. In 1990, The Oddfellows released the three-track "Phooney Accent" DIY cassette, which featured an extended version of the title track and "Riding In Your Car", which peaked at number 1 on the Eight Miles High chart. In late 1990, the band was chosen by BigO (by then a magazine) to be featured on a CD titled "New School Rock" together with Corporate Toil and Opposition Party. The band was given two hours at Boogie Studio and recorded "Lost My Head" (with Ben Harrison helping out on handclaps) and "Song About Caroline". The "New School Rock" CD was distributed in early 1991 together with an issue of BigO magazine. Filmmaker Eric Khoo directed and shot a music video for "Lost My Head".
Teenage Head & Carnival
Stephen had left the band by end of 1990. In early 1991, Savoir-Faire Studio owner Boni de Souza offered to sponsor recording time for an indie band and contacted BigO magazine's founders Philip and Michael Cheah to find a band. The Cheah Brothers approached Patrick who readily accepted the offer. The band only needed to pay for the sound engineer Shah Tahir. Casey, who was working a full time at the-then Singapore Broadcasting Corporation, could only get one day leave for the recording. Abdul Nizam, drummer of The NoNames, was asked and agreed to record on the other two days of recording. Vincent Lee, also of The NoNames, was invited and agreed to join the band as bassist but couldn't participate in the recording sessions due to personal reasons. Patrick played all the bass and guitars on the recordings. Most of the tracks were done in one or two takes. The band recorded 14 songs on an 8-track machine over three consecutive days and the mixing was done over two days. Patrick contacted BMG Singapore with the recording and met up at their office to see if the record company would consider signing up The Oddfellows to a record deal. BMG Singapore instead offered to distribute the recording, including paying for the manufacturing of CDs and cassettes and marketing. Eleven songs were selected to be on the album "Teenage Head".
Kelvin Tan joined the band in mid 1991, a couple of months before the release of "Teenage Head". Patrick first met Kelvin in 1986 through mutual friends. They re-connected in early 1991 when they both worked as freelancers for the Singapore International Film Festival.
The first single "So Happy", with drums and harmonica played by Nizam, was pushed to Singapore radio in August 1991 and the CD single was distributed as a free CD that came with an issue of BigO magazine. The song hit number 1 on Singapore radio. "Teenage Head" was released on 16 August. Eric Khoo, a big supporter of the band, shot music videos for "So Happy" and "Your Smiling Face". The band played over 40 shows in three months to support the album. BMG distributed "Teenage Head" in Malaysia in early 1992. By then Casey had left the band to pursue further studies in the States. Nizam was roped in to do a promo tour of Kuala Lumpur. The band played two shows at Sgt Peppers in KL and was interviewed on RTM radio.
The Oddfellows opened for one of their musical heroes The Buzzcocks in Singapore on 7 May 1992. Shortly after, the band went back to Savoir-Faire studio to record the follow-up album, "Carnival". By this time, the studio had a two-inch tape machine with 24 tracks. Nizam played drums on the entire album. Vincent and Kelvin contributed to the songwriting, which gave the album a more diverse style and sound than on "Teenage Head".
The first single off "Carnival" was "Unity Song", which became the second song by the band to hit number 1 on Singapore radio. "She's So Innocent" was also a radio hit. Eric Khoo shot music videos for both songs and the music videos were played on MTV Asia.
1993 - 2020
The Oddfellows placed an ad in BigO magazine looking for a permanent drummer in 1993. Johnny Ong responded and was contacted to audition. Impressed by his feel and powerful drumming, he was invited to join the band immediately after the jam session. The band went into TNT Music Studio, where they have been jamming for years, in late 1994 to record the five-song EP, "Seven Year Itch". The cassette-only release came out in early 1995. "Over Again", from the EP, was used in Eric Khoo's debut full-length feature film, "Mee Pok Man". The EP's opening track "Foggy Daylight" was also included on the movie soundtrack CD as a bonus track.
In 1996, Jimmy Wee from Pony Canyon label invited the band to record two songs with the view of signing The Oddfellows to an album. The band went to Form Studio to record "Foggy Daylight" and "Breach". "Foggy Daylight" was featured on Springroll's CD compilation "Dazed And Confused" in 1996. "Breach" was included on the 1997 movie soundtrack CD of "12 Storeys", another feature film by Eric Khoo. The band went into Sonic Studio with producer Shah Tahir to record their third album. About half the album was recorded when the Asian Financial Crisis hit and Pony Canyon closed its office in Singapore. The tape reels were lost. Only a few rough mixes on cassette tapes were left from the recording sessions. In 2001, the band released "Bugs And Hisses", a CD compilation of rare tracks, b-sides and live bootleg recordings. A rough mix of "The Song You Said I'd Never Write" from the recording sessions with Shah Tahir was included. That same year, Johnny went to Taiwan to further his studies, and stayed on until 2009 when he returned to Singapore. The band played a handful of shows during the '00s when Johnny was back in Singapore for holiday, including at Baybeats Festival in 2008.
The Oddfellows performed at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre in 2010, and again on the same stage at Mosaic Music Festival in 2014, together with The Fast Colors. In 2015, the band performed at The Substation Theatre for the So Happy: 50 Years of Singapore Rock exhibition. The band was also invited to perform "So Happy" at Sing50 on 7th August, a concert celebrating 50 years of Singapore independence. The concert was held at the National Stadium (Singapore Sports Hub), watched by a packed crowd of 41,300.
The Esplanade invited The Oddfellows to perform two 45-minute sets at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre in December 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only 100 people were allowed in the amphitheatre. Upon Kelvin's suggestion to perform a new song at the show, Patrick wrote "New Future", which was performed at the gig. After the show, the band talked about recording a new album in 2021.
Up In The Clouds & What's Yours And Mine
"Up In The Clouds: The Best Of The Oddfellows (For Now)" was released on streaming platforms on 30 July 2021. It features 11 songs, re-mastered by Joe Ng, spanning from 1990 to 1997. The compilation was also released on bandcamp.
The Oddfellows started recording drums for the "What's Yours And Mine" album at TNT Studio in early February 2021. Everything else was recorded at Patrick's home studio That Locked Door. Kelvin and Vincent take lead vocals duties for the first time; Kelvin sang lead on "Silent Worlds" and "Stronger (Song For Jacq)" while Vincent sang lead on "Lucid Dreams". The album was mastered by Hans DeKline. fFurious was roped in to do the publicity photos, album art and music video for the first single "Silent Worlds". Mohd Radzi from Teenage Head Records in Kuala Lumpur agreed to press vinyl and CD for the album.
For more info about What's Yours And Mine, go to the Home page.
The Oddfellows was formed by Patrick Chng (vocals, guitars, keyboards) and Casey Soo (drums) in late 1987 in Singapore. The two were avid readers of BigO fanzine and got to know each other through ads selling records in the 'zine. Patrick had a band for a very brief period that dissolved in mid 1987. Patrick and Casey shared a common love for bands such as REM, The Replacements, Pixies, Sonic Youth, Buzzcocks, U2 and Ramones amongst others. They decided to name the band from the REM song "Oddfellows Local 151". The duo were joined by Stephen Tan (bass) in early 1988 and played their debut gig at the Singapore Arts Festival's fringe programme titled "Alternative Pop" at the Botanic Gardens on 5th June 1988. The band performed at the 10 Years of Punk gig at the Rediffusion Auditorium, together with Opposition Party and Mortal Flower, in December 1988, organised by renowned Singaporean DJ and musician, Chris Ho. The Oddfellows released their debut EP cassette titled "Mild" in the same month. The six-track DIY lo-fi recording was done with a boombox in a rehearsal studio. It caught the attention of Chris Ho, who invited the band onto his Eight Miles High chart show on Rediffusion. Chris Ho also interviewed The Oddfellows for the national newspaper The Straits Times in 1989. In 1990, The Oddfellows released the three-track "Phooney Accent" DIY cassette, which featured an extended version of the title track and "Riding In Your Car", which peaked at number 1 on the Eight Miles High chart. In late 1990, the band was chosen by BigO (by then a magazine) to be featured on a CD titled "New School Rock" together with Corporate Toil and Opposition Party. The band was given two hours at Boogie Studio and recorded "Lost My Head" (with Ben Harrison helping out on handclaps) and "Song About Caroline". The "New School Rock" CD was distributed in early 1991 together with an issue of BigO magazine. Filmmaker Eric Khoo directed and shot a music video for "Lost My Head".
Teenage Head & Carnival
Stephen had left the band by end of 1990. In early 1991, Savoir-Faire Studio owner Boni de Souza offered to sponsor recording time for an indie band and contacted BigO magazine's founders Philip and Michael Cheah to find a band. The Cheah Brothers approached Patrick who readily accepted the offer. The band only needed to pay for the sound engineer Shah Tahir. Casey, who was working a full time at the-then Singapore Broadcasting Corporation, could only get one day leave for the recording. Abdul Nizam, drummer of The NoNames, was asked and agreed to record on the other two days of recording. Vincent Lee, also of The NoNames, was invited and agreed to join the band as bassist but couldn't participate in the recording sessions due to personal reasons. Patrick played all the bass and guitars on the recordings. Most of the tracks were done in one or two takes. The band recorded 14 songs on an 8-track machine over three consecutive days and the mixing was done over two days. Patrick contacted BMG Singapore with the recording and met up at their office to see if the record company would consider signing up The Oddfellows to a record deal. BMG Singapore instead offered to distribute the recording, including paying for the manufacturing of CDs and cassettes and marketing. Eleven songs were selected to be on the album "Teenage Head".
Kelvin Tan joined the band in mid 1991, a couple of months before the release of "Teenage Head". Patrick first met Kelvin in 1986 through mutual friends. They re-connected in early 1991 when they both worked as freelancers for the Singapore International Film Festival.
The first single "So Happy", with drums and harmonica played by Nizam, was pushed to Singapore radio in August 1991 and the CD single was distributed as a free CD that came with an issue of BigO magazine. The song hit number 1 on Singapore radio. "Teenage Head" was released on 16 August. Eric Khoo, a big supporter of the band, shot music videos for "So Happy" and "Your Smiling Face". The band played over 40 shows in three months to support the album. BMG distributed "Teenage Head" in Malaysia in early 1992. By then Casey had left the band to pursue further studies in the States. Nizam was roped in to do a promo tour of Kuala Lumpur. The band played two shows at Sgt Peppers in KL and was interviewed on RTM radio.
The Oddfellows opened for one of their musical heroes The Buzzcocks in Singapore on 7 May 1992. Shortly after, the band went back to Savoir-Faire studio to record the follow-up album, "Carnival". By this time, the studio had a two-inch tape machine with 24 tracks. Nizam played drums on the entire album. Vincent and Kelvin contributed to the songwriting, which gave the album a more diverse style and sound than on "Teenage Head".
The first single off "Carnival" was "Unity Song", which became the second song by the band to hit number 1 on Singapore radio. "She's So Innocent" was also a radio hit. Eric Khoo shot music videos for both songs and the music videos were played on MTV Asia.
1993 - 2020
The Oddfellows placed an ad in BigO magazine looking for a permanent drummer in 1993. Johnny Ong responded and was contacted to audition. Impressed by his feel and powerful drumming, he was invited to join the band immediately after the jam session. The band went into TNT Music Studio, where they have been jamming for years, in late 1994 to record the five-song EP, "Seven Year Itch". The cassette-only release came out in early 1995. "Over Again", from the EP, was used in Eric Khoo's debut full-length feature film, "Mee Pok Man". The EP's opening track "Foggy Daylight" was also included on the movie soundtrack CD as a bonus track.
In 1996, Jimmy Wee from Pony Canyon label invited the band to record two songs with the view of signing The Oddfellows to an album. The band went to Form Studio to record "Foggy Daylight" and "Breach". "Foggy Daylight" was featured on Springroll's CD compilation "Dazed And Confused" in 1996. "Breach" was included on the 1997 movie soundtrack CD of "12 Storeys", another feature film by Eric Khoo. The band went into Sonic Studio with producer Shah Tahir to record their third album. About half the album was recorded when the Asian Financial Crisis hit and Pony Canyon closed its office in Singapore. The tape reels were lost. Only a few rough mixes on cassette tapes were left from the recording sessions. In 2001, the band released "Bugs And Hisses", a CD compilation of rare tracks, b-sides and live bootleg recordings. A rough mix of "The Song You Said I'd Never Write" from the recording sessions with Shah Tahir was included. That same year, Johnny went to Taiwan to further his studies, and stayed on until 2009 when he returned to Singapore. The band played a handful of shows during the '00s when Johnny was back in Singapore for holiday, including at Baybeats Festival in 2008.
The Oddfellows performed at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre in 2010, and again on the same stage at Mosaic Music Festival in 2014, together with The Fast Colors. In 2015, the band performed at The Substation Theatre for the So Happy: 50 Years of Singapore Rock exhibition. The band was also invited to perform "So Happy" at Sing50 on 7th August, a concert celebrating 50 years of Singapore independence. The concert was held at the National Stadium (Singapore Sports Hub), watched by a packed crowd of 41,300.
The Esplanade invited The Oddfellows to perform two 45-minute sets at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre in December 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only 100 people were allowed in the amphitheatre. Upon Kelvin's suggestion to perform a new song at the show, Patrick wrote "New Future", which was performed at the gig. After the show, the band talked about recording a new album in 2021.
Up In The Clouds & What's Yours And Mine
"Up In The Clouds: The Best Of The Oddfellows (For Now)" was released on streaming platforms on 30 July 2021. It features 11 songs, re-mastered by Joe Ng, spanning from 1990 to 1997. The compilation was also released on bandcamp.
The Oddfellows started recording drums for the "What's Yours And Mine" album at TNT Studio in early February 2021. Everything else was recorded at Patrick's home studio That Locked Door. Kelvin and Vincent take lead vocals duties for the first time; Kelvin sang lead on "Silent Worlds" and "Stronger (Song For Jacq)" while Vincent sang lead on "Lucid Dreams". The album was mastered by Hans DeKline. fFurious was roped in to do the publicity photos, album art and music video for the first single "Silent Worlds". Mohd Radzi from Teenage Head Records in Kuala Lumpur agreed to press vinyl and CD for the album.
For more info about What's Yours And Mine, go to the Home page.
