Reggie Verghese

Reggie Verghese was a well-known Singaporean musician and record producer, known as Singapore's first guitar hero of the 1960s.^[1] During the 1960s, he was a member of The Quests.^[2][3] He later moved into production, producing work for acts such as Matthew and the Mandarins, , Anita Sarawak, Western Union Band and Tracy Huang.

Career[]

Around 1963, while still in secondary school, he was a member of a group called The Checkmates.^[4] In 1964, the guitarist for The Quests, Raymond Leong who had left the group to pursue studies. Verghese took his place. In a matter of months, the group had a no.1 hit with" ". His guitar playing in the song attracted a lot of attention. Along with , sharing the vocals, he stayed with the group throughout all of the line up changes until the group's break up in 1971. He then moved into production.^[5]

Production[]

In 1977, he produced the debut album for The Western Union Band which had evolved out of a 1960s group called The Rubber Band. The album, a self-titled album contained the songs "Sausolito" and "Howzit".^[6] He produced the self-titled album for Matthew & The Mandarins which was released on EMI and contained the song "Singapore Cowboy".^[7] The song would eventually become a big hit in Singapore, reaching no. 1.^[8] He also produced their next album II which was released in 1979, also on EMI.^[9]

Death[]

Having suffered had heart and liver problems for a few years, Verghese died of heart failure in Khoo Teck Puat Hospital on Wednesday June 17, 2015.^[10][11]

Discography[]

References[]