Alleycats
Encyclopedia
The Alleycats is a Malaysian band which was formed in 1969, and gained popularity in the late 1970s. They consist of musicians from Penang
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...

, and gained popularity in their home state earlier on in their career.

Band members

Members include:
  • David Arumugam
    David Arumugam
    David Arumugam is a Malaysian singer who is one of the founding members of the band called Alleycats. He is the elder brother of Loganathan Arumugam. On the 12th of February 2009, David Arumugam was conferred the Darjah Indera Mahkota Pahang award which carries the title of “Datuk” in conjunction...

     on vocals
  • Loganathan Arumugam
    Loganathan Arumugam
    Loganathan Arumugam or also better known as Loga is a Malaysian singer who is one of the founding members of the band called Alleycats. Loga, the co-lead singer for Alleycats after his elder brother David, died from lung cancer at the Mount Miriam Hospital on the 4th of June, 2007. He left behind...

     on vocals
  • Tan Chin Hock on drum
    Drum
    The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...

    s
  • Shunmugam Arumugam on lead guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

  • Chester Anthony Passerella on saxophone
    Saxophone
    The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

  • Khoo Fook Sin and Grenville Pereira (Gren) on keyboard
    Keyboard instrument
    A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

    s
  • Frank Ong on bass guitar
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

    .


Alleycats' music is said to be influenced by Air Supply
Air Supply
Air Supply is an Australian soft rock duo, consisting of Graham Russell as guitarist and singer-songwriter and Russell Hitchcock as lead vocalist. They had a succession of hits worldwide, including eight Top Ten hits in the United States, in the early 1980s...

, Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....

, Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...

, Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...

, David Gates & Bread
Bread (band)
Bread was a rock band from Los Angeles, California. They placed 13 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart between 1970 and 1977 and were a prime example of what later was labeled soft rock....

, Santana
Santana (band)
Santana is a rock band based around guitarist Carlos Santana and founded in the late 1960s. It first came to public attention after their performing the song "Soul Sacrifice" at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, when their Latin rock provided a contrast to other acts on the bill...

 and Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...

.

Most of Alleycats albums were produced by Eric Yeo. Most of their hit songs were penned by music supremo M. Nasir
M. Nasir
Mohamad Nasir Mohamad or M. Nasir , is a Malaysian poet, singer-songwriter, composer, producer, actor and film director.-Career:...

 with the lyrics most done by S.Amin Shahab. M.Nasir/S.Amin combination were most noticed with hit songs such as Hingga Akhir Nanti, Andai Aku Pergi Dulu, Sekuntum Mawar Merah Sebuah Puisi, Setahun Sudah Berlalu, Seribu Bintang, Nota Terakhir.

History

There were earlier line-ups of this band but the line-up mentioned was the one that granted an opportunity for a higher level of achievement in music . The Alleycats were always on top of the musical stage in Malaysia even before they were signed up as recording artistes.

This line-up secured a performance contract in the Mocambo club situated in Central, a business sector on Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 island in 1976. It was supposed to be a three-month contract but their success in wooing the crowd earned them three yearly contracts bundled with TV and concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...

 appearances as means of promoting the band. They became a hit with the locals in Hong Kong. It was not until they left Hong Kong to start a new performance contract in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 that they were spotted by major recording companies.

The Alleycats started out in 1978 by signing a contract with Polygram Records-Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....

 to produce an album. They went to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 to record their album in Dragon Studio. Later, Lion Studio in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 was responsible for mastering Alleycats' albums. The Alleycats' first released album was Terima Kasih ("Thank You"), with their first single Senandung Semalam ("Yesterday's Serenade").

The existence of this band was vital to the Malaysian music industry. They had contributed to the development of the Malaysian music industry and till today are still regarded as one of the legendary Malaysian pop music bands of all time. Even with changes in the line-up, they are still active in performing and recording. The Alleycats have a strong fan base from all walks of life in Malaysia, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

, and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

.

Passing of Loganathan

Loganathan Arumugam, vocalist of the Alleycats, died on June 4, 2007 following an 8 month battle with lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...

. His death is deeply mourned by Alleycats fans as seen in the press and media.

An Alleycats Music Video Competition, held as a tribute to the late Loganathan Arumugam of Alleycats will be conducted between 25 June 2006 - 25 July 2007. This is jointly organised by NGT Solutions (M) Sdn Bhd and Universal Music Malaysia, with the support from Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC). It is in line with the government’s initiative in encouraging contentpreneurs to develop local content and to be able to identify creativity in the minds of Malaysians.

A year after the loss of Loga to lung cancer, the Alleycats will be the lead artistes in a concert organised by the Lung Foundation of Malaysia (LFM) to raise money for its activities. Established in November 2005, LFM is a non-profit Foundation geared towards offering support for patients afflicted with lung diseases to enable them to lead a better quality lifestyle with minimal suffering. The Foundation’s funds are generated solely from generous donations from corporate organisations, charitable bodies and the general public. The contributions will be used to provide monetary relief for underprivileged patients to undergo the necessary treatment. LFM will also fund scientific research, education and training to enhance the knowledge, skills and care for patients in Malaysia.)
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