Sounds Like Nostalgia

The first English-language Singapore album to achieve platinum status was The Mad Chinaman by Dick Lee in 1989. It was a sensation not just in Singapore, but also Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea and India. Catchy, campy songs such as Mustapha, Wo Wo Ni Ni and Rasa Sayang - which, in some cases, were remixed amped-up versions of classic numbers - were quickly etched into the psyche of the nation. Now Lee is staging a one-night only The Mad Chinaman's 30th Anniversary Concert at the Esplanade. For the first time since the early 1990s, he will sing every song from the album, accompanied by a 60-piece orchestra and 100 singers from the Braddell Heights Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Homegrown nostalgia rarely sounds this good.

The Mad Chinaman's 30th Anniversary Concert plays at the Esplanade Concert Hall on Sep 15 at 7.30pm. Tickets from Sistic.