By Yong Soo Heong
When the thundering rains came today, I was texting an old friend living some 25 km away in Petaling Jaya from me in Kuala Lumpur. Ron Yap was telling me of impending heavy rain, not showers.
I decided to humour him with some song titles from the Sixties, as he was a huge music fan and well-versed with British bands and song titles.
I wrote: “EYE IN THE SKY” (Alan Parsons Project) says heavy rain in my area now. He replied: Stay home and be safe”.
This was after he had sent me an online post by someone that heavy rains were wreaking havoc to homes and shopping malls in the Klang Valley. Then it must be true, for another friend told me that she was stuck in an underground car park of Mid Valley City some days back.
And needing to pee, Michelle Lim said she thankfully found a pair of unused adult diapers in her car, reserved for her mum on long trips! What a relief in those pressing times with water everywhere.
Then I told Ron, since he was also stranded at home, that “When you ‘WALK IN THE ROOM’ (The Searchers)…be happy and contented. He was stuck at home and couldn’t be at his favourite hangout place in Damansara Jaya. He sent me a thumbs-up emoji. I added with” “Occasionally you should ‘LOOK THROUGH ANY WINDOW’ (The Hollies) for balance.”
Being on the roll, I then said “Eventually there will be a light shining “FROM A WINDOW’ (Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas) and “Don’t forget that glass of Guinness” at “TWILIGHT TIME’ (Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas), ok?”
Ron replied: “Yes…because ‘IT’s A MAD, MAD WORLD’ (Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas).”
Over the years, I had often wondered why the Alan Parsons Project was chosen as the name of a singing group. I got my answer after much searching.
Alan Parsons was already famous as an engineer on The Beatles’ Abbey Road and Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon albums. He was known as a “behind-the-scenes” figure rather than a frontman.
His partner, Eric Woolfson, a songwriter and pianist, believed the music industry could shift focus from performers to producers, just as cinema had shifted from actors to directors. He proposed putting Parsons’ name front and centre. Their early demo tapes were casually labelled The Alan Parsons Project.
Parsons himself wasn’t keen on having his name used so prominently. But the nametag stuck when their debut album, ”Tales of Mystery and Imagination” (1976) was released. The rest is history, as they say.
As for Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, they came together in the early 1960s when Brian Epstein, manager of The Beatles, paired Liverpool-born singer, Billy, with the Manchester-based band, The Dakotas. Epstein wanted a strong backing group for Kramer after his original band, the Coasters, didn’t want to turn professional.
How did the name “The Dakotas” originate? Formed in Manchester in 1960 by Robin McDonald (guitar), Bryn Jones (lead guitar), Tony Mansfield (drums), and Ian Fraser (bass), their name came from their gig in the Plaza Ballroom in Manchester, where they were asked to dress as “Indians” and were dubbed “The Dakotas.” The name stuck.
And Billy J. Kramer’s real name was William Howard Ashton). He was born in Bootle, Liverpool in 1943. He started as a railway apprentice before moving into music. Would you believe that he chose the name “Kramer” randomly from a telephone directory? And John Lennon suggested adding the “J” to give the name a tougher edge!
The Hollies are a legendary British rock and pop band formed in Manchester in 1962, famous for their rich three‑part vocal harmonies and enduring hits like “Bus Stop,” “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,” and “The Air That I Breathe.” They remain one of the few 1960s groups never to disband, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.
As for The Searchers, they always have a place in my heart for a special reason because of Penang, the place I was born. They were a Liverpool band formed in 1959 by John McNally and Mike Pender, taking their name from the 1956 John Ford western film “The Searchers” starring John Wayne. They became one of the leading acts of the Merseybeat era alongside The Beatles, producing enduring hits like “Needles and Pins,” “Sweets for My Sweet,” and “Don’t Throw Your Love Away.”
They were regarded as Britain’s longest-running pop group from 1959–2019, with farewell tours in 2023–2025, performing continuously for nearly 70 years. Their first and last appearance at Glastonbury Festival in June 2025 marked the end of an extraordinary career. They sold some 50 million records worldwide.
I somehow bumped into the members of The Searchers when they came to perform at the Penang Chinese Girls High School Hall in the 1960s. Being the top act, they wanted to enter through the backdoor to the backstage. But they found the door locked when they arrived by car. They had thought that someone would be waiting for them.
Then one of them asked me for help as I was loitering around the hall in-between my badminton training sessions. I was attracted to the noise from the hall as it was a sell-out crowd. I didn’t know who had been asked to perform then.
Since I knew the night caretaker, I ran to search for him. The semi-bald Indian man, dressed in his usual white shirt and long vesti (long cotton Indian dhoti or sarong), was with a huge bunch of keys. I explained the situation to him.. He quickly walked to the backdoor. Then I remembered: Oh, The Searchers were due to sing in Penang that night! I had helped The Searchers to be one time then!
WE