CAN'T STOP THE MUSIC

Singer-songwriter Dick Lee looks back at his time in the Singapore Armed Forces Music and Drama Company (SAF MDC) and how the company has grown over the years.

I know what you're thinking. Posted to MDC in NS (National Service). So lucky. I'll have you know it was very hard work. Between shows, we rehearsed endlessly, and during show season, we visited every single camp and performed our hearts out for a jeering audience who would rather have booked out than be confined in camp to watch some show.

For each performance, we had to load up and transport every piece of sound system, costumes, props, lights and musical instruments to the camp we performed in, set everything up and reverse the process when the show ended. We finished late and the memory of the silent journeys back to camp in the dark three-tonners still stays with me. As MDC pioneer Rashidah Arshad once said: "It was the camaraderie that kept us going."

When the music started

I was not initially posted to MDC on enlistment. How I got there was completely by chance. So, come to think of it, I was very lucky after all.

When I went to the Central Manpower Base (CMPB) on enlistment morning, because of my extremely bad eyesight, I found myself lumped with all manner of physically challenged people. Only another boy seemed quite robust and he appeared to be smiling at me. As he came closer, I recognised Lim Siauw Chong (who later was to found TheatreWorks). I asked him what he was doing there and he said he had some blood disorder or something.

We, this crew of motley unfit, were relegated to filling out SAF 11As, as military IDs were called at that time.

To save myself from turning into a zombie, I took long walks around the camp at lunch time.

During one of these walks, I made a resolution that would change my life. I called it Facing Facts. If I had two years of tedium ahead of me, I could spend it in misery or make the most of it.

Then one day, on one of these contemplative walks, I heard music coming from what looked like a church at the edge of CMPB.

I poked my head through the large double doors of that edifice. To my utter surprise, I saw uniformed men and women dancing and singing a Broadway number! What was this place and why wasn't I in it? I went to the room exit door and encountered a band playing Big Band jazz. This was amazing! I found my way to the main entrance and read the sign: Singapore Armed Forces Music and Drama Company.

Making the cut

MDC was formed in 1973 by the very enlightened then-Minister for Defence, Dr Goh Keng Swee. It was a vehicle to boost the morale of soldiers and spread the national education message through song and dance. "Vehicle" is the right word. For in those early days, four three-tonners were parked next to one another to form a makeshift stage.

Whatever its history, I knew this was where I belonged! It was home, surely! While I was standing there wrapped in my hopes, a young female sergeant appeared. "Hello," she said. "Can I help you?"

And so it came to pass that two days later, Recruit Lee Peng Boon, Richard, presented himself at SAF MDC to audition. I mentioned my album, Life Story, and said I choreographed (but I didn't specify fashion shows).

Then, I was asked to sing, and launched into my jazziest rendition of Alfie by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

When I finished, there was silence. The Commanding Officer nodded. Was that how soldiers clapped? He said: "We will provide you with five dancers. Come every day at lunch time for a week to choreograph and practise, and you must be in the dance."

Dance, did he say?

Yes, my mother had taught me how to foxtrot and cha cha, and I could do the salsa hustle, but did that make me a dancer - or dance choreographer?

I returned to my unit and told Siauw Chong what had happened and shared my fears. He said he wanted to try, and that I should too. I was shocked at his audacity but took his lead.

So, for the next week, I sprinted from the ID writing and spent my lunchtime at MDC. Siauw Chong had gotten himself an audition and we were to perform in each other's items.

At the end of that week, we were assessed by what looked like the entire company, and we received the news a week later that we had been accepted into MDC.

Nurturing home-grown talent

The Broadway number I witnessed at the introductory day was the MDC's first-ever show number. This I learnt from the outgoing Corporal Chris Ho (now known as X Ho) who left MDC several months after I joined.

The first-ever show put up by MDC had included a dance besides the mandatory sing-a-long. It was titled Combat Dance and involved dancers in Temasek green uniforms imitating military training movements. The show staples then were ethnic dancers, military anthems and skits. This was a small price to pay for the chance to later on create the showstoppers that were to become the MDC trademark.

In 1974, MDC gave their first public show, Melodies in Green, at the National Theatre, no less. How it was done with just six mood lights, two spotlights and a few mobile speakers was an achievement in itself! This was followed up by Green Melodies in 1977, produced by Radio Television Singapore.

From then on, MDC became recognised in the performing arts community, and was increasingly involved in national events and collaborations with other arts groups. It also continued to perform in military events at home and abroad such as tattoos as far away as Sweden and goodwill performances in Australia.

The company began its annual participation in National Day Parade (NDP) in 1984, and I am glad to have worked again with them as the NDP Creative Director several times. MDC also performed in two musicals I wrote: Kampong Amber (1994) and Sing to the Dawn (1996). By then, the company also included a chamber ensemble, Chinese orchestra and choir.

I can say that the two happy years I spent in MDC gave me the foundation for what I do now. It was among the few full-time professional performing troupes at the time (like the Neptune Dancers!), and I got a taste of what showbiz would be like.

I found it fun and addictive - not only for me, but also for the many musicians, actors, dancers and talented people who honed their skills while serving NS in MDC.

So, pardon me for name-dropping while I name just a few: Bang Wen Fu, Chan Yoong Han, Chiang Kum Mun, Leslie Tan, Gurmit Singh, Darren Lim, Jeffrey Tan, Najip Ali, Chua En Lai, Darren Seah, Jack Neo, Sebastian Tan, Royston Tan, Sheikh Haikel, Jeremy Monterio, Glen Goei, Shigga Shay and JJ Lin.