Blast from the Past

Moonlake, Joanna & Lu Meng proudly displaying the BBGS badge at Fort Canning Park

Last Saturday on 9 October 2010, four girls who grew up in the '80s trooped up a bukit (hill) to see some bintang (stars). And since three of us were from BBGS, we promptly declared it a mini-reunion! The three girls were Moonlake Lee, Tan Lu Meng (Jaclyn) and yours truly. The generation of 40-somethings who grew up in the era of giant shoulder pads and tacky plastic hoop earrings proudly congregated at Fort Canning Park in Singapore for a musical blast from the past.

Retrolicious Stars: Johnny Hates Jazz, Debbie Gibson & Rick Astley

We had so much fun singing and dancing to the tunes of Johnny Hates Jazz, Debbie Gibson and Rick Astley. I only recognized 2 songs from JHJ - "Shattered Dreams" and "Turn Back the Clock" - and judging by the response, so did the rest of the crowd.

Debbie Gibson's voice was as high-pitched squeaky as I remember but of all the entertainers that night, she was the one who REALLY connected with the audience. She is one hot mama, judging by the legs on display under her teeny sequinned skirt. She sang all her hits - "Shake Your Love", "Electric Youth", "Foolish Beat" and "Lost in Your Eyes" - but really brought the house down with her encore number "Dancing Queen" by ABBA.

Finally, Rick Astley, the love of my life in the 1980s, appeared on stage. Sigh...that man can still sing! He started with "Together Forever" before moving on to slower numbers to " allow a 44 year-old to catch his breath and bring down his heart rate". What a sense of humour! For me the highlight was when Rick sang "When I Fall in Love"...aaahhh....I would have swooned and fainted had not the crowds been packed so tight. He went on to parody his canoe-paddling dance moves in "Never Gonna Give You Up", which was hilarous. I LOVE YOU RICK ASTLEY!! I hope he heard me :-)

Finally at 12:30am, we trooped down the hill after five hours of standing and dancing on tired feet, which we all felt acutely the next day, declaring it a retrolicously brilliant night of entertainment.

(Photos courtesy of Moonlake Lee)