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03-06-2016, 02:00 PM
An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:
Great memories. Loved the scene, the music and the people.
http://themiddleground.sg/2016/06/02...-defiant-past/ (http://themiddleground.sg/2016/06/02/old-malls-ming-arcade-remnant-defiant-past/)
[Old Malls] Ming Arcade: A remnant of a defiant past
Jun 02, 2016 04.30PM | Ryan Ong linkedin
by Ryan Ong
MING Arcade is the aftermath – a mute testament – of Singapore’s greatest musical era, and how it was destroyed by the oppressive, conservative mess which was ’70s to ’80s Singapore. It’s hard to walk down its (somewhat musty) corridors these days, without mourning the loss of the greatest era of music in Singapore. But Ming Arcade is not just a nostalgic symbol of defeat; it’s also a monument of defiance.
Ming Arcade, 21 Cuscaden Road, is right across the road from Forum, the posh shopping mall where you find high-end preschools, kids clothing boutiques and restaurants. Also nearby, the infamous Orchard Towers, renowned for its unique massage services. Ming Arcade has seven storeys and three basement levels, with a total of 88 units and around 34,951 square feet of lettable area. There have been three en-bloc attempts, in 2011, 2012, and 2014. The indicative price is about $120 million, but the various owners (each of the spaces is owned by different individuals or companies) refuse to budge.
Recently repainted, it is a mall-cum-entertainment spot, first put up in the 1980s. It was the spot of Singapore’s first theatre-disco lounge, The Rainbow Lounge. Next to the Golden Venus – that iconic ’60s music hall that hosted tea dances with music by the likes of The Quests, Naomi and the Boys, and Straydogs, this was one of Singapore’s most iconic music spots.
And by that I don’t mean the pretentious places that underage drinkers today call a club. No one who frequents Ming Arcade knows or cares who DJ Snake is, and would tell him to Turn Down Because He Sucks.
See, back in the day, when Siva Choy was still playing music, Ming Arcade was the place to be.
The Rainbow Lounge was a stage for bands like Tokyo Square, Speedway, Gypsy and Culture Shock. It was located in the basement of Ming Arcade, and it was started by Dr Goh Poh Seng who won the Cultural Medallion for Literature in 1982. He was a playwright, poet, and novelist.
Now, the Rainbow Lounge was located in basement three of Ming Arcade, today converted to a Cash Family Karaoke Studio Box, because it makes sense to run a family karaoke in a building that houses escort agencies (more on that in a minute).
The Speedway controversy
It started in Ming Arcade, on November 7, 1983. Someone complained that Speedway was making “ribald jokes and suggestive gestures.” This resulted in The Rainbow Lounge losing its entertainment permit and deposit of $1,000, followed by eventual closure by the Public Entertainment Licensing Unit.
Speedway singer Mr Patrick Lee, then 28, was fined $750 – a significant sum in 1983.
This was a follow-up from the ’70s era, when Singapore was considerably conservative. Ask your parents: It was a time when having long hair meant you were served last in shops and restaurants, and having a tattoo was almost akin to declaring yourself a professional pornographer.
Speedway’s prosecution was in many ways the final nail in the coffin of the music scene. By then, Singapore’s better bands like The Quests, 4 Pounds Nett, Straydogs and Rotten Bodies were all fading away.
If you want proof of the death of Singapore’s music scene, compare Singapore Idol in the early 2000s to Talent Time in the ’70s. If Electrico or The Sam Willows had played in that era, the Talent Time host would have patted them on the head and said they were just adorable.
Interior of Ming Arcade
Interior of Ming Arcade. Photo by TMG/Najeer Yusof.
Visiting Ming Arcade today
Sullen, crestfallen and a little defiant – that’s how the entire place feels. When I visited I started with the clubs and pubs, before heading to the retail space. Entertainment remains the heart of this mall.
From The Jolly Taxpayer, I worked my way to Cuscaden Patio, famous for its giant buckets of chicken wings (a deal at 12 for $18) and beer towers. At around 5pm, I was early, and some of the bartenders were notably suspicious. In The Jolly Taxpayer, the Filippino bartender gave me a tight-lipped response that her boss was across the room; an Indian man who was chatty – but only to his employee.
It took three beers to get a semblance of a conversation going. That’s when I learned from the owner that “Orchard Road is dying”. He mentioned that what he cared about was the nightlife, and that had been in decline for a long time.
As if to underscore his point, I could see Hard Rock Cafe from out the window and across the street. A sort of tacky, plastic replacement for how Orchard Road used to be – once a place on par with Clarke Quay in terms of nightlife.
He tells me The Rainbow Lounge is now a family KTV, and that if I look hard enough I can still make out one of the signs. I never find it.
When I bring up the past, the owner assures me he knew the people in The Quests, and plenty of other people in those bands. Later I would learn this was a trend – in almost every bar I stepped into, the owner, manager, or bartender knew someone from Speedway, The Quests or a few others.
You sometimes get the sense that these people are defiantly staying on, almost as a sort of tribute. Also that they driven by nostalgia for a better, more genuine time. One of the owners is hopeful though – he didn’t want to be named (no one seems to want that), but he mentions that the building had a new coat of paint recently. And almost like whispering a secret, he said: “The rent here is the cheapest in Orchard. One of these units is about $600 or $700 a month.” He explains that his total rent, for three gigantic units on basement one, is barely $5,000 a month.
Upon doing a quick check on listings sites, I found that Ming Arcade’s rent is over $4 per sq ft for most spaces. Forum, right across the street, tends to be around $12 per sq ft. Then again, Forum keeps all its escalators running.
By my ninth beer, I’d hit just about every pub in the building. The one on the second floor (you can’t miss it) has got to be my favourite – a place blasting ’80s era tracks, back from the day when we hung around void decks trying to imitate Tommy Iommi riffs. But as I head out, I’m told you have to be there at midnight on a weekend to really get a sense of things.
Escorts?
Okay, let’s clear up the one thing you’re all giggling about: yes, the escort agencies like City Rose and Pussycar Dolls are located here, although it’s not made obvious from signboards. You will see nothing but frosted over windows and closed doors if you go looking, so there’s nothing to see.
Ming Arcade also has a tailor, tucked in the back on basement one. A magic shop, which was locked, was on the fifth floor, and the final floor terminated in an escalator leading to a locked door. Almost all the stores were closed, or stacked high with boxes. The most active looking, well decorated store was Male-HQ.com, which stocked an array of colourful underpants. And for whatever reason, baseball caps. The storekeeper was friendly enough, but declined questions about the mall.
He did, however, direct me to the loo which I badly needed by then. And get this: it had squat toilets. When was the last time you saw one of those in a mall?
(Tip: Any floor that does not have a pub has an immaculately clean toilet.)
The family KTV was fairly active, with a gaggle of schoolgirls trying to book a room. I eyeballed a girl in a secondary school debate team t-shirt who had something that looked like a beer bottle in a brown bag. She glared right back and told me it was an old T-shirt. Right, girl.
Most of the activity was at Cuscaden Patio – even around 7pm, it was already filling up. The beer towers and chicken wings were appearing, and some expats crowded around a pool table. I notice they’re good. I order the chicken wings to see how they are, and realise partway through I’m never finishing a bucket.
I leave the remainder with the two women in front of me, who are going through an entire beer tower on their own. Then I walk back to my office in Boat Quay, and wonder at how the riotous pubs along the river can somehow seem more timid and less authentic than Ming Arcade.
Learn to bang out more than weak covers, people; maybe that will bring the music back.
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://www.singsupplies.com/showthread.php?230693-Ming-Arcade-Blast-from-the-past&goto=newpost).
Great memories. Loved the scene, the music and the people.
http://themiddleground.sg/2016/06/02...-defiant-past/ (http://themiddleground.sg/2016/06/02/old-malls-ming-arcade-remnant-defiant-past/)
[Old Malls] Ming Arcade: A remnant of a defiant past
Jun 02, 2016 04.30PM | Ryan Ong linkedin
by Ryan Ong
MING Arcade is the aftermath – a mute testament – of Singapore’s greatest musical era, and how it was destroyed by the oppressive, conservative mess which was ’70s to ’80s Singapore. It’s hard to walk down its (somewhat musty) corridors these days, without mourning the loss of the greatest era of music in Singapore. But Ming Arcade is not just a nostalgic symbol of defeat; it’s also a monument of defiance.
Ming Arcade, 21 Cuscaden Road, is right across the road from Forum, the posh shopping mall where you find high-end preschools, kids clothing boutiques and restaurants. Also nearby, the infamous Orchard Towers, renowned for its unique massage services. Ming Arcade has seven storeys and three basement levels, with a total of 88 units and around 34,951 square feet of lettable area. There have been three en-bloc attempts, in 2011, 2012, and 2014. The indicative price is about $120 million, but the various owners (each of the spaces is owned by different individuals or companies) refuse to budge.
Recently repainted, it is a mall-cum-entertainment spot, first put up in the 1980s. It was the spot of Singapore’s first theatre-disco lounge, The Rainbow Lounge. Next to the Golden Venus – that iconic ’60s music hall that hosted tea dances with music by the likes of The Quests, Naomi and the Boys, and Straydogs, this was one of Singapore’s most iconic music spots.
And by that I don’t mean the pretentious places that underage drinkers today call a club. No one who frequents Ming Arcade knows or cares who DJ Snake is, and would tell him to Turn Down Because He Sucks.
See, back in the day, when Siva Choy was still playing music, Ming Arcade was the place to be.
The Rainbow Lounge was a stage for bands like Tokyo Square, Speedway, Gypsy and Culture Shock. It was located in the basement of Ming Arcade, and it was started by Dr Goh Poh Seng who won the Cultural Medallion for Literature in 1982. He was a playwright, poet, and novelist.
Now, the Rainbow Lounge was located in basement three of Ming Arcade, today converted to a Cash Family Karaoke Studio Box, because it makes sense to run a family karaoke in a building that houses escort agencies (more on that in a minute).
The Speedway controversy
It started in Ming Arcade, on November 7, 1983. Someone complained that Speedway was making “ribald jokes and suggestive gestures.” This resulted in The Rainbow Lounge losing its entertainment permit and deposit of $1,000, followed by eventual closure by the Public Entertainment Licensing Unit.
Speedway singer Mr Patrick Lee, then 28, was fined $750 – a significant sum in 1983.
This was a follow-up from the ’70s era, when Singapore was considerably conservative. Ask your parents: It was a time when having long hair meant you were served last in shops and restaurants, and having a tattoo was almost akin to declaring yourself a professional pornographer.
Speedway’s prosecution was in many ways the final nail in the coffin of the music scene. By then, Singapore’s better bands like The Quests, 4 Pounds Nett, Straydogs and Rotten Bodies were all fading away.
If you want proof of the death of Singapore’s music scene, compare Singapore Idol in the early 2000s to Talent Time in the ’70s. If Electrico or The Sam Willows had played in that era, the Talent Time host would have patted them on the head and said they were just adorable.
Interior of Ming Arcade
Interior of Ming Arcade. Photo by TMG/Najeer Yusof.
Visiting Ming Arcade today
Sullen, crestfallen and a little defiant – that’s how the entire place feels. When I visited I started with the clubs and pubs, before heading to the retail space. Entertainment remains the heart of this mall.
From The Jolly Taxpayer, I worked my way to Cuscaden Patio, famous for its giant buckets of chicken wings (a deal at 12 for $18) and beer towers. At around 5pm, I was early, and some of the bartenders were notably suspicious. In The Jolly Taxpayer, the Filippino bartender gave me a tight-lipped response that her boss was across the room; an Indian man who was chatty – but only to his employee.
It took three beers to get a semblance of a conversation going. That’s when I learned from the owner that “Orchard Road is dying”. He mentioned that what he cared about was the nightlife, and that had been in decline for a long time.
As if to underscore his point, I could see Hard Rock Cafe from out the window and across the street. A sort of tacky, plastic replacement for how Orchard Road used to be – once a place on par with Clarke Quay in terms of nightlife.
He tells me The Rainbow Lounge is now a family KTV, and that if I look hard enough I can still make out one of the signs. I never find it.
When I bring up the past, the owner assures me he knew the people in The Quests, and plenty of other people in those bands. Later I would learn this was a trend – in almost every bar I stepped into, the owner, manager, or bartender knew someone from Speedway, The Quests or a few others.
You sometimes get the sense that these people are defiantly staying on, almost as a sort of tribute. Also that they driven by nostalgia for a better, more genuine time. One of the owners is hopeful though – he didn’t want to be named (no one seems to want that), but he mentions that the building had a new coat of paint recently. And almost like whispering a secret, he said: “The rent here is the cheapest in Orchard. One of these units is about $600 or $700 a month.” He explains that his total rent, for three gigantic units on basement one, is barely $5,000 a month.
Upon doing a quick check on listings sites, I found that Ming Arcade’s rent is over $4 per sq ft for most spaces. Forum, right across the street, tends to be around $12 per sq ft. Then again, Forum keeps all its escalators running.
By my ninth beer, I’d hit just about every pub in the building. The one on the second floor (you can’t miss it) has got to be my favourite – a place blasting ’80s era tracks, back from the day when we hung around void decks trying to imitate Tommy Iommi riffs. But as I head out, I’m told you have to be there at midnight on a weekend to really get a sense of things.
Escorts?
Okay, let’s clear up the one thing you’re all giggling about: yes, the escort agencies like City Rose and Pussycar Dolls are located here, although it’s not made obvious from signboards. You will see nothing but frosted over windows and closed doors if you go looking, so there’s nothing to see.
Ming Arcade also has a tailor, tucked in the back on basement one. A magic shop, which was locked, was on the fifth floor, and the final floor terminated in an escalator leading to a locked door. Almost all the stores were closed, or stacked high with boxes. The most active looking, well decorated store was Male-HQ.com, which stocked an array of colourful underpants. And for whatever reason, baseball caps. The storekeeper was friendly enough, but declined questions about the mall.
He did, however, direct me to the loo which I badly needed by then. And get this: it had squat toilets. When was the last time you saw one of those in a mall?
(Tip: Any floor that does not have a pub has an immaculately clean toilet.)
The family KTV was fairly active, with a gaggle of schoolgirls trying to book a room. I eyeballed a girl in a secondary school debate team t-shirt who had something that looked like a beer bottle in a brown bag. She glared right back and told me it was an old T-shirt. Right, girl.
Most of the activity was at Cuscaden Patio – even around 7pm, it was already filling up. The beer towers and chicken wings were appearing, and some expats crowded around a pool table. I notice they’re good. I order the chicken wings to see how they are, and realise partway through I’m never finishing a bucket.
I leave the remainder with the two women in front of me, who are going through an entire beer tower on their own. Then I walk back to my office in Boat Quay, and wonder at how the riotous pubs along the river can somehow seem more timid and less authentic than Ming Arcade.
Learn to bang out more than weak covers, people; maybe that will bring the music back.
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://www.singsupplies.com/showthread.php?230693-Ming-Arcade-Blast-from-the-past&goto=newpost).