WEBVTT

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The SureMove Mic 2 receiver kit was used during

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the filming of this episode. I remember at 6

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hours, I told you, I had to go. All these things

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happened, so it wasn't just as if it was all

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rosy all the way. It closed. Why did they close?

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I blame it on the recession. But bottom line

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is that I got no business experience. I only

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have a passion for newsheek. Now to put bands

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together, you know. Same lah, same. You only

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had fashion. You didn't do it. Back then, you

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didn't know what COF, COG and all was all about.

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No, I don't even know how to balance my books.

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I don't even know how to read the balance sheet.

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Before we begin the show, here is an important

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announcement. For 100 years, Shura has set the

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standard for professional audio. Designed to

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deliver your message with confidence. Trust in

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Shure. You can be Shure with Shure. Shop the

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Shure Shop Singapore now. Visit the link on screen

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and use the promo code AFCHENSON to get limited

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Shure merchandise with your purchases. Now, let's

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start the show. Hey, everybody, and welcome back

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to the Chris Hansen Conversation. It is Season

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6. Oh, and guess what? Look around me. Look behind

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me. Look all around the environment. I am not

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in studio. We are not in CCB TV studio today

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for the very, very first time. On our season

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premiere for Season 6, we are actually having

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an off -studio, on -location shoot. And thank

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you to the good people from Shure. and the good

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people from E &E Private Limited because if not

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for you guys, we would have never been able to

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have left the studio. Today, we're out in the

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sunshine. We're out in a great place. We are

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located right here in Mel's Place Bar and Restaurant

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in the heart of Katong. And I would like to say

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thank you very much to Mel's Place for allowing

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us to have our first shoot here outdoors on location.

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Thank you. You will see who I said thank you

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to very soon. Okay, today, what are we going

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to be talking about? We've got for our season

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premiere, and it's called That One with the Nightlife

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King and the Bar Boss. Basically, I have with

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me the oracle, the sage of Singapore's nightlife,

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the king of the mega clubs, Mr. Dennis Fu. Hey,

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Dennis, thank you very much. Good to have you

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back on my show. And we also have the little

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chili party. The newbie. Kinda. It's a compliment.

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The newbie. The short hot stuff. Okay. The cheap

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kahuna. From Mel's Place Bar and Restaurant.

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Rosalind Brown, we call her. Rosie. Hi, Rosie.

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Thanks for being here. Hi, hi. Thank you. For

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letting us be here at Mel's Place. Most welcome.

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And you know what we'll be talking about today?

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Today we'll be talking about, we'll be having

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this chitchat about. I'm going to say it, Dennis.

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I will say it. The demise of nightlife in Singapore

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is there. Agree or disagree? Very much. Rosie

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says agree. I don't disagree. I think that is

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a softer way of putting it. Nice one. And we

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had a chat before we went on camera. And I kind

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of like what you mentioned. how we should be

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looking at how we should be dealing with all

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this. With how dead Singapore's nightlife is

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and how we can actually do something about it.

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And I think one of the best ways is, yes, yes,

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yes, some people might think otherwise, but I

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say, fuck that. Reflect to the past. And when

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I look at you, man, I think my teen years, I

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think my youth. I think the great times I had

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in all the Europa lounges and bars and clubs,

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man. People of my generation, there's not a single

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one I know has never stepped foot into anywhere

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that's not Europa. Everyone's been to Europa.

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Everybody. There's no way. And you started Europa,

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as I remember, as a coffee shop. Or your dad

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started it as a coffee shop. Yes, it was a lounge

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and restaurant. In Changi. Right. And you turned

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it into a live music spot. Back then, it was

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the late 70s, early 80s? It was 1980 itself.

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1980. The toughest rule or permit you had to

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bring, you have to attain to at least get in

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live music and sell booze. How did you manage

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to get through the red tape at that time? Okay,

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those days, we're talking about mid -70s and

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80s. And at that time, I remember most of the

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lounges, live music venues, were in hotels. Right.

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Lobby lounges. Okay. And there were only two

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outside of hotels. One is a hidden place. Two.

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Only two. Late 70s, early. It is. And one is

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in Orchard Tower, Brayden Place. Right. The other

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one is in Singalock, Beer Keller. There were

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only these two when you're outside a hotel. That

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has live music. I mean, based on my memory. Right.

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And it's almost impossible to get a license outside

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a hotel if you are just a private operator. Right,

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okay. That's why. It's actually HDB premise.

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Okay. Even private premise is so difficult. HDB

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premise is like impossible. Right. And at that

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time, it was like, I remember when my father

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opened it on the grand opening night, he wanted

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a live band. So he spoke to me, can we organize

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it? I said, well, I've never done this thing

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before. But anyway, I make an attempt. I got

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one night license. you know, and, and, and we,

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we had great night, grand opening lah. So, over

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time, many of my customers, especially the commando,

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you know, wanted, eh, why not we have a live,

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live entertainment, that would be very nice and

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all. And actually, it's, I mean, for me, I know

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it's suffrage and it's not possible. But anyway,

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I attempted. So, when one Christmas came, When

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Christmas came, I said, hey, why not? Christmas

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is an occasion. We try. So I rolled in and asked

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for a week's license. Actually, it's eight days.

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You know, Christmas Eve and New Year's Day. So

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you count the week, eight days. So I managed

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to get an eight -day license. I was so happy.

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And then we had a great time. And everybody was

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having great fun. And it was a special moment

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for Europa. Did you sing at that time? I mean,

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you know, I mean, we hear it all the time, right?

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We have people say, hey, why don't you go do

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this? Why don't you go and do that? And a lot

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of bar owners and club owners, we just go, no,

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forget it. It won't happen. I cannot get one.

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We hear that story all the time. But you, you

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decided to write in to get it done. I mean, did

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you think that, you know, the reason is few words.

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Uh -huh. Nothing to lose. Repeat it. So I tried.

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And then they agreed. How difficult was that?

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It didn't sound as if it was too easy. No, it

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wasn't easy. Because I had a record on the grand

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opening. Because on the grand opening, you ask

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for one night's license, they don't give you.

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It's not easy for them not to give. It's an occasion.

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Once in a lifetime, grand opening. But because

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of that occasion, I have a record there. Then

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I've already got one night approved. And there

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was no incidents or anything. There's the record.

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So when I, when Christmas came, I tried this,

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so they saw a record that it's not easy, but

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I, it's the way you write the letter. If you

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compare that at that time, 1980, you're writing

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in, I mean, Rosie's a young entrepreneur in the,

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you know, in this sector. Everything manual.

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Everything manual. I can't, I can't imagine,

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I can't imagine, but, you know, Rosie is here

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and the reason why she's here because It's great

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that she says she can ask you questions as well.

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You're an old hand at this game. You are the

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sage of the business. And she is going through

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what's happening today. And we're trying to pull

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some relevance from what happened before and

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how things are like right now, right? And if

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we're looking at how difficult it was back then,

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do you think it is equally difficult today or

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is it easier in your mind? It's not as difficult

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today as yesterday. But you agree, Rosie? Yes,

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I agree. Okay. Okay, I will maybe try to substantiate

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what I said. So, you know, the thing is, then

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I continued my story. Then Chinese New Year came.

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I applied. I said, in Christmas, you approve.

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Chinese New Year, you must approve. Because it's

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two different segments of the community. So it's

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hard for them to say no. You have already approved

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Christmas. And I got Chinese New Year license.

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And duration shorter, but still a license over

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a big weekend. Yeah. Then when Hari Raya came,

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I did the same. I got it. Why? Why? This is one

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segment of the community celebrating, you agree.

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Another segment, you don't disagree. And the

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third one, you can't say, okay, this is for life.

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This is what life is. And then, and then, Diwali

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came, I do the same thing. And that covered one

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whole year. Yeah. And I went two cycle. That

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means I went two years. Okay. After the two year

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cycle, the lady, I've said this before, Four

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decades ago, the lady at the public entertainment

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licensing unit, I still remember her name. Her

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name is Ng Lei Chin. She saw me so often, she

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was tired of seeing my face. She said, okay,

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I'll give you one year. That was the day that

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made my day and my life. So in fact, I remember

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when she retired and she visited me. I was so

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happy. So those were the days when the system

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though rigid, but it is not as if you can't find

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your way. You find your way and you're lucky

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and you have a good reason to support your cause,

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your application, then there are considerations.

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So how are you going to substantiate about the

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level of difficulty bar owners like Rosie faces

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today? Oh, it's completely two different sets

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for them. Then is the licensing issue. Yes. Basically,

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you know, to start was an issue. Okay. But today,

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to start may not be a lesser issue. Maybe a lesser

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issue. But to sustain is a bigger issue. If I'm,

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you know, because since the industry developed

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from the 70s and 80s years ago, then there are

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multiple issues. I remember there was a senior

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police officer back in the 80s. When one night

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he visited me and then there was some issue.

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Then I explained to him. Then he actually said

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something I don't remember until today. He said,

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yeah, this is where people are stressed out.

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And then when down here they let their hair down

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and then they unwind. This is a place for them

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to get stressed. So actually, there was a...

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You see, why I say this is... The effect is not

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always negative. And now today, that non -negativity

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can be translated multifold. Right. If you look

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at it positively. Right. But where else is that?

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I wouldn't say another segment of the community

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will resist it. I wouldn't use that expression.

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But because if they are impacted negatively,

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then they will, some will react. Right. And today,

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you know, everything is so open. With social

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media, complaints can be done in multiple ways.

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And when the authorities hear this, and they

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are compelled to act, that's why you face different

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problems. You know? So this is one side. And

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then also, but the bigger picture today is that

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the government was able to see things in a bigger

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perspective. They are no more using a microscope.

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when the industry is small. Today, they can see

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the overall. So, one of the things I used to

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say before the industry grew, actually, the turning

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point was really, if I remember, was in the mid

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-80s. Right. It was a pivoting point. Right.

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I remember when I started Tap Main Park at the

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Parkway Parade. That was, before that, there

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were already very, very good bars, especially

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in hotels. For example, you had Matthew performing

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at Lee Peacock Bar. You had Tanya performing

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at the Pebbles Bar in Forum Hotel. You had Speedway,

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the Ion Bar in Apollo Hotel. The action was pretty

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hot. But the number of performers in terms of

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established bands are not many. So, hence, and

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then, when we opened Peppermint Park, it was

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something very new. We got a designer from Disneyland.

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I still remember his name, Daniel Planbury. He

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was the one who created Pirates of the Caribbean

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in Disneyland. Right. So, one of my partners

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actually studied in the States, connected with

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him, and brought him down to create Peppermint

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Park, an indoor venue with an outdoor feel. Right.

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And then that actually became an eye -opener.

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I mean, it was the first of its kind anywhere

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in the world, actually, for a nightclub. However,

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the market wasn't big enough to sustain it. Right.

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But it sets the tone. And actually, we worked

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very closely. And Tourism Board invited us. Singapore

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Tourism Board, those days it was STPB, Singapore

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Historic and Promotion Board, invited us to take

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over the cultural theatre. in Range Road where

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Tourism Court is now. Right. So we built an Atlantis.

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That means the version is not indoor but look

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outdoor but the version is you are indoor but

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this is underwater Atlantis. Yeah. And the same

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designer did it but at double the price of the

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bar. You know. And then the recession came. But

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that actually kind of eye -opener through STPB

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and into the bigger rate of things where the

00:15:20.480 --> 00:15:23.799
government look at it, this can be complementary,

00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:26.779
this industry can be complementary to tourism.

00:15:27.240 --> 00:15:29.960
That's why we were invited. So when you take

00:15:29.960 --> 00:15:31.779
the big picture and how you can contribute to

00:15:31.779 --> 00:15:34.879
the overall economy, then nightlife take a different

00:15:34.879 --> 00:15:38.799
platform. Right. And then things start happening.

00:15:39.059 --> 00:15:41.840
So you're saying that because of that, because

00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:45.549
of the evolution of nightlife in Singapore, The

00:15:45.549 --> 00:15:47.129
government is seeing a big picture that actually

00:15:47.129 --> 00:15:49.950
this is helpful for tourism. Licensing became

00:15:49.950 --> 00:15:54.690
easier. Licensing, I know there are certain parameters,

00:15:54.889 --> 00:15:58.429
but I want to share fair enough what you just

00:15:58.429 --> 00:16:00.190
said easier. Because I remember when I first

00:16:00.190 --> 00:16:02.809
started, you want to get a license, there's a

00:16:02.809 --> 00:16:05.590
form, a reading manual, I say. There are about

00:16:05.590 --> 00:16:08.149
six columns there. Each column, you go to one

00:16:08.149 --> 00:16:10.169
government agency to get stamp of no objection.

00:16:11.500 --> 00:16:14.440
Fire Bureau. At first, I go to HDB, then Fire

00:16:14.440 --> 00:16:18.039
Bureau. Then, yeah. So, I got to get all the

00:16:18.039 --> 00:16:23.039
stamps. So, it was a chore. Did you encounter...

00:16:23.039 --> 00:16:25.759
What challenges did you encounter? Did you encounter

00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:27.399
any challenges getting your entertainment license?

00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:30.720
Okay. I've always had... Speak the truth and

00:16:30.720 --> 00:16:34.120
shame the devil. Yeah. I've always had my license

00:16:34.120 --> 00:16:37.120
even before COVID. Right. So, I took over only

00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:41.710
in 2019. Okay. And... She's a baby, Dennis. Yeah.

00:16:42.250 --> 00:16:46.029
2019 is a very, very turbulent time. Yeah, it

00:16:46.029 --> 00:16:49.990
was. It was shaky. But it was good. It was a

00:16:49.990 --> 00:16:53.389
good four months. Yeah. Right? Then came COVID,

00:16:53.470 --> 00:16:57.090
which really hit me. Timing, huh? Wah, I tell

00:16:57.090 --> 00:16:59.250
you, nobody knew, right? That it's going to come.

00:16:59.330 --> 00:17:01.929
You know, it was... Nobody knew. And you know,

00:17:01.970 --> 00:17:04.670
there was an open -close, open -close, five packs,

00:17:04.809 --> 00:17:06.750
ten packs back then. You remember? The distancing

00:17:06.750 --> 00:17:09.950
issue and all. Luckily for us, we have space.

00:17:10.190 --> 00:17:15.170
So those smaller pubs and all, if it's two packs,

00:17:15.430 --> 00:17:17.470
how many inside can you fit? It was called a

00:17:17.470 --> 00:17:20.109
suck -dumb situation at that time. So it was

00:17:20.109 --> 00:17:23.130
really bad. So she got a unique selling proposition.

00:17:23.410 --> 00:17:26.450
So she can space out a table hose. So for me,

00:17:26.470 --> 00:17:28.910
luckily I had space. Indoor as well as outdoor.

00:17:29.769 --> 00:17:33.809
But the thing was, so we stopped live band. Back

00:17:33.809 --> 00:17:36.650
then, it was just some acoustic live band whereby

00:17:36.650 --> 00:17:39.930
we didn't really gather much, many crowds. So

00:17:39.930 --> 00:17:42.990
it was Friday, Saturday and not many came. Yeah.

00:17:43.089 --> 00:17:47.230
And then, so my husband wasn't really into live

00:17:47.230 --> 00:17:50.730
band when we reopened, you see. So it took me

00:17:50.730 --> 00:17:54.549
some time to convince him. Because I know some

00:17:54.549 --> 00:17:57.750
band members, we are all like church friends,

00:17:57.950 --> 00:18:01.089
you know, since way back, family friends and

00:18:01.089 --> 00:18:04.529
all. So I got him in, GNT, was the first that

00:18:04.529 --> 00:18:07.470
played for me. GNT, okay. Yeah. Sean. Sean DeMello.

00:18:07.609 --> 00:18:11.990
Sean DeMello, yeah. Robato, Gavin, and BJ. Yeah.

00:18:12.490 --> 00:18:15.690
So Robato was the one, my church from way back.

00:18:15.809 --> 00:18:17.569
Yeah, they were one of my favorite band partners.

00:18:18.210 --> 00:18:21.930
I watched them. Yeah. Okay. That's nice to hear.

00:18:22.150 --> 00:18:25.910
Yeah. So from then, I got Roberto in. I said,

00:18:25.930 --> 00:18:28.230
hey, can you help me? Give me sister price and

00:18:28.230 --> 00:18:31.589
all this. And then, because I need to convince.

00:18:32.349 --> 00:18:38.089
Roberto Carlos de Costa. Okay. So I need to convince

00:18:38.089 --> 00:18:42.829
my team that, you know, let me try it out. If

00:18:42.829 --> 00:18:45.869
it works, okay. If it doesn't work, we'll stop.

00:18:45.990 --> 00:18:49.289
I'll stop. Right? So I tried out. Did it work?

00:18:49.759 --> 00:18:53.480
It did. It did. Christian, I'm so proud of you.

00:18:53.500 --> 00:18:57.099
What was, okay, let me just, thank you, thank

00:18:57.099 --> 00:19:00.460
you. Let me just rewind this a little bit. My

00:19:00.460 --> 00:19:02.440
question actually was about licensing as well.

00:19:03.680 --> 00:19:05.660
Let's go back to that for a bit before I move

00:19:05.660 --> 00:19:08.200
forward to what you've just said. Rosie, you

00:19:08.200 --> 00:19:12.160
said that you've only had your license 2019,

00:19:12.420 --> 00:19:16.059
right? How was it for you when you went to apply

00:19:16.059 --> 00:19:17.839
for your license? Well, my license, actually,

00:19:17.900 --> 00:19:19.710
Mailspace really had the license way back. So

00:19:19.710 --> 00:19:21.730
actually, I didn't apply. So you inherited the

00:19:21.730 --> 00:19:25.049
license? I inherited it. Right. Renewals for

00:19:25.049 --> 00:19:26.650
you have never been, it went over the company.

00:19:26.690 --> 00:19:29.569
So everything came from it. Right. Okay. So now

00:19:29.569 --> 00:19:31.589
I'm going to move forward to what you just said.

00:19:31.710 --> 00:19:36.930
You had a two -piece acoustic and then you brought

00:19:36.930 --> 00:19:40.630
in GMT. GMT is a five -piece. No, four. Four

00:19:40.630 --> 00:19:44.420
-piece band. Well done, sir. Drum pads. Drum

00:19:44.420 --> 00:19:47.960
pads. So, we have a four -piece band playing

00:19:47.960 --> 00:19:52.740
and then that four -piece band, you said, brought

00:19:52.740 --> 00:19:57.940
home more business. Yeah, it did. Why? I guess

00:19:57.940 --> 00:20:01.259
because, I'm not sure, but we may have targeted

00:20:01.259 --> 00:20:07.720
a specific community for this. So, rent carton.

00:20:08.119 --> 00:20:13.380
Most of them are relations. So you were looking

00:20:13.380 --> 00:20:17.619
for the... I wasn't. To begin with, no. To begin

00:20:17.619 --> 00:20:20.339
with, no. To begin with, it's because I've heard

00:20:20.339 --> 00:20:25.079
GMT. Right. Yeah. And I know Robato. And it was

00:20:25.079 --> 00:20:28.180
actually my anniversary, 20th anniversary here

00:20:28.180 --> 00:20:31.799
in Nels. So I got them in. And I had to limit

00:20:31.799 --> 00:20:34.480
the number of packs to come in because of the

00:20:34.480 --> 00:20:39.359
seating arrangement. I had to limit because we

00:20:39.359 --> 00:20:42.720
don't know how many to anticipate. So I kind

00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:46.000
of underestimated. I could have gotten in more

00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:48.940
people. So food was free. It was buffet. You

00:20:48.940 --> 00:20:52.099
mean you overestimated. I overestimated. Food

00:20:52.099 --> 00:20:57.720
was free. It's only that they support me in drinks.

00:20:58.160 --> 00:21:02.539
And it was good. So this is our experience. I

00:21:02.539 --> 00:21:05.859
can imagine. The kind of feeling you get when

00:21:05.859 --> 00:21:08.039
the thing takes off. After all the hassle and

00:21:08.039 --> 00:21:10.839
everything, then suddenly your first experience,

00:21:10.980 --> 00:21:14.119
they will saw it happen. Yes. And then when it

00:21:14.119 --> 00:21:17.019
happened, the satisfaction, money cannot buy

00:21:17.019 --> 00:21:20.839
it. It's sense of achievement, right? But that

00:21:20.839 --> 00:21:24.740
is, you got a Midas touch when it comes to bands.

00:21:25.740 --> 00:21:29.200
No, not Midas touch. Midas touch, friend. Look,

00:21:29.599 --> 00:21:33.329
you the guy. You're the guy. They brought in

00:21:33.329 --> 00:21:38.089
bands that became names. You know, bands that

00:21:38.089 --> 00:21:42.490
I still remember. I mean, I know Gino. Gino Sunga

00:21:42.490 --> 00:21:44.130
has gone back to the Philippines, but he's been

00:21:44.130 --> 00:21:48.029
here like forever before, right? And Expo has

00:21:48.029 --> 00:21:50.089
been around also like forever before, right?

00:21:50.130 --> 00:21:53.309
After your time is in James Power Station. And

00:21:53.309 --> 00:21:59.890
The Boys. Adam, Adil, and Ben. I mean, you have

00:21:59.890 --> 00:22:05.519
this knack. on hiring talents, music talents.

00:22:06.319 --> 00:22:07.880
Actually, in the beginning, it was a bit luck.

00:22:08.440 --> 00:22:10.619
But then later, I learned along the way. So,

00:22:10.640 --> 00:22:15.339
okay. You knew them? You knew them? I knew them.

00:22:15.619 --> 00:22:19.920
So, I'll explain to you. See, I'm not shy to

00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:23.779
say this. I know you're not shy. So, I'm a university

00:22:23.779 --> 00:22:27.819
dropout. Okay. Singapore University. I drop out

00:22:27.819 --> 00:22:33.609
for the financial reasons. to attend family business.

00:22:33.910 --> 00:22:37.009
But during the university, I picked out something.

00:22:37.190 --> 00:22:41.029
I was the president of the music society in university.

00:22:41.529 --> 00:22:47.809
So the thing I do as a music society, every time

00:22:47.809 --> 00:22:50.109
orientation week, the beginning of a new term,

00:22:50.269 --> 00:22:52.789
I'll bring in the musicians from all over to

00:22:52.789 --> 00:22:57.529
perform in campus. So I remember visiting, I

00:22:57.529 --> 00:23:02.109
was the group Tanya. in Forum Hotel, Pebbles

00:23:02.109 --> 00:23:06.210
Bar. I was their groupie. Oh? I slept there at

00:23:06.210 --> 00:23:08.910
their bunk. And then I woke up. I would wake

00:23:08.910 --> 00:23:11.710
up in the morning and I walk Nassim Road because

00:23:11.710 --> 00:23:14.369
the campus was in Bukit Timah. I walk Nassim

00:23:14.369 --> 00:23:18.029
Road to my campus. That evening, I will look

00:23:18.029 --> 00:23:22.450
for my $7 .50 so that I can buy a glass of gin

00:23:22.450 --> 00:23:26.670
tonic. That's my campus day. So I got, you know,

00:23:26.769 --> 00:23:30.519
kind of... I was exposed to the music. Right.

00:23:30.940 --> 00:23:34.380
And then I remember Rahimah Rahim was performing

00:23:34.380 --> 00:23:37.140
in Club 392. Right. Across the road. With the

00:23:37.140 --> 00:23:40.359
old shophouse where Orchard Towers is now. Yes,

00:23:40.440 --> 00:23:43.759
yes. Old shophouse, you know. Club 392 owned

00:23:43.759 --> 00:23:48.140
by a Jewish family. And then I couldn't go in

00:23:48.140 --> 00:23:51.119
because I couldn't afford to buy a drink. So

00:23:51.119 --> 00:23:54.779
I waited outside for her to finish her show.

00:23:55.059 --> 00:23:58.180
And then when she knocked off, I asked her. to

00:23:58.180 --> 00:24:00.319
come to campus and perform for us. So that's

00:24:00.319 --> 00:24:02.420
what I did in campus. Right. That's the president

00:24:02.420 --> 00:24:04.920
of the Woon Sik Society. Okay. So I got exposed

00:24:04.920 --> 00:24:11.039
too. Then, then there's one, you know, musician

00:24:11.039 --> 00:24:15.500
from Adeel Adebay Band. Yeah. Adeel is from my

00:24:15.500 --> 00:24:19.180
school. Okay. And then we, and I know the brother

00:24:19.180 --> 00:24:21.319
very well. So he was performing at Three Tops

00:24:21.319 --> 00:24:25.599
Bar in Holiday Inn those days. Holiday Inn. So

00:24:25.599 --> 00:24:28.220
I used to visit there, you know, to listen to

00:24:28.220 --> 00:24:31.539
them. And then they used to complain to me. They

00:24:31.539 --> 00:24:35.440
said, you know, musicians are very, very interesting.

00:24:36.160 --> 00:24:39.059
Actually, for them at that time, music was everything.

00:24:39.359 --> 00:24:43.759
You know, and they wanted certain instruments.

00:24:44.420 --> 00:24:47.420
Obviously, they couldn't afford it. And then,

00:24:47.460 --> 00:24:50.420
at that time, there was this new synthesizer

00:24:50.420 --> 00:24:54.990
called, by Roland. For Jupiter 8, I always remember

00:24:54.990 --> 00:24:57.470
Jupiter 8. You remember? They were the king of

00:24:57.470 --> 00:24:59.269
synthesizers and the first of its kind in Moheo

00:24:59.269 --> 00:25:01.950
at that time. Major king. Everybody, every keyboardist,

00:25:01.990 --> 00:25:05.549
every band wanted it. So I just threw one. At

00:25:05.549 --> 00:25:10.329
that time, I already started in Changi. I already

00:25:10.329 --> 00:25:13.029
got my license. Then I thought this band would

00:25:13.029 --> 00:25:15.210
be good. I mean, for a five -star hotel band

00:25:15.210 --> 00:25:17.849
to come to Changi Point, big deal, man. So...

00:25:19.939 --> 00:25:22.660
So I said, if you are willing to perform in Changi

00:25:22.660 --> 00:25:25.420
Point, I'll buy the Jupiter 8. And not only that,

00:25:25.700 --> 00:25:27.839
I'll buy the baby grand Yamaha piano for you.

00:25:29.519 --> 00:25:31.160
Of course, I bought a second -hand one on the

00:25:31.160 --> 00:25:34.660
Yamaha. But the Jupiter 8, you have to buy new.

00:25:35.500 --> 00:25:39.500
And then Ben Saleh, the keyboardist, went bright.

00:25:40.019 --> 00:25:43.319
And then the rest is history as it came over.

00:25:46.119 --> 00:25:49.039
And I remember when I first started, my first

00:25:49.039 --> 00:25:52.299
band was called Touché. T -O -U -C -H -E. Touché.

00:25:52.359 --> 00:25:55.480
Touché. In the French, Touché. Touché. And the

00:25:55.480 --> 00:25:59.660
band leader and the singer is this guy called

00:25:59.660 --> 00:26:04.680
Marcel Rudin. Okay. The blind man. The blind

00:26:04.680 --> 00:26:08.299
Marcel Rudin who sang in National Day a few years

00:26:08.299 --> 00:26:12.599
ago. Remember? Marcel Rudin. I'm sorry. Well,

00:26:12.599 --> 00:26:15.569
he sang on National Day. Right. And then I remember

00:26:15.569 --> 00:26:18.970
he's blind and he comes by bus. So every time

00:26:18.970 --> 00:26:21.329
I have to be at the bus stop waiting for him

00:26:21.329 --> 00:26:24.130
to come out, I'll lead him to the bus. I mean,

00:26:24.150 --> 00:26:27.930
but that was experience. And I mean, his music

00:26:27.930 --> 00:26:31.910
was good. And he had this touch. But why did

00:26:31.910 --> 00:26:33.730
you sing? Why did you sing even at that time?

00:26:33.769 --> 00:26:37.990
You went the distance to bring in good performers,

00:26:38.210 --> 00:26:40.109
good entertainers, good musicians to come in

00:26:40.109 --> 00:26:43.180
and play. Why? No, those days, any musicians

00:26:43.180 --> 00:26:46.380
are good musicians. Yes, true. Why? For the business,

00:26:46.500 --> 00:26:51.299
why? Oh, that's a good question. Good. My father

00:26:51.299 --> 00:26:56.500
opened it here in 1979, September the 10th. Right.

00:26:57.660 --> 00:27:02.460
Here, 1980, September the 10th, he passed on.

00:27:02.539 --> 00:27:06.559
Exactly one year. His last words to me were,

00:27:06.759 --> 00:27:10.980
take care of this place. me as the eldest son

00:27:10.980 --> 00:27:14.160
obviously I can't say no so I took his word for

00:27:14.160 --> 00:27:19.180
it so I left everything when I went to to to

00:27:19.180 --> 00:27:24.599
run I didn't know what to do and I didn't know

00:27:24.599 --> 00:27:26.839
what to do I wasn't trained I don't know I know

00:27:27.309 --> 00:27:29.650
But why musicians? I mean, you went all to the,

00:27:29.710 --> 00:27:31.250
all that trouble. Did your father have all the

00:27:31.250 --> 00:27:34.170
musicians as well? No. No, no. My father is not

00:27:34.170 --> 00:27:36.569
into music. Only, like I said, the roots started.

00:27:37.329 --> 00:27:40.589
You didn't have to spend that money to bring

00:27:40.589 --> 00:27:44.170
in musicians into a business, into the F &B business,

00:27:44.349 --> 00:27:46.890
but you did. And you were so excited about it.

00:27:46.950 --> 00:27:50.309
You ran to get the Jupiter 8. You got Adam, Aladl

00:27:50.309 --> 00:27:52.329
and Ben to come in. That's why I mentioned Touche.

00:27:53.369 --> 00:27:56.049
Touche. Touche. But you know, at this point,

00:27:56.130 --> 00:27:59.359
nobody wants to work. Master Rudin worked for

00:27:59.359 --> 00:28:01.079
multiple reasons. Maybe he's blind, he worked

00:28:01.079 --> 00:28:04.660
for me. Maybe, you know, I don't know. But I

00:28:04.660 --> 00:28:07.799
was exposed to it and then I get the hang of

00:28:07.799 --> 00:28:12.940
it. The person behind Master Rudin shows me a

00:28:12.940 --> 00:28:16.380
path. Yeah, what is that? You know, that path

00:28:16.380 --> 00:28:19.000
is because I told myself I don't want to stay

00:28:19.000 --> 00:28:22.099
behind a cash register all my life. Right. I

00:28:22.099 --> 00:28:24.259
said, I better do something here. And that started

00:28:24.259 --> 00:28:27.619
music. Okay, so did you believe at that time?

00:28:27.859 --> 00:28:30.279
Because Rosie believed in it. She brought in

00:28:30.279 --> 00:28:34.299
a four -piece and business started to grow. And

00:28:34.299 --> 00:28:36.339
from a two -piece to a four -piece. You started

00:28:36.339 --> 00:28:40.920
at that time in those days, in 1980. Because

00:28:40.920 --> 00:28:45.200
you felt the passion. You were a fanboy, a groupie.

00:28:45.319 --> 00:28:49.559
You brought in other models. You invested in

00:28:49.559 --> 00:28:51.720
the BB Grand. You invested in the Roland Jupiter

00:28:51.720 --> 00:28:55.369
-8. You got into Shea. Did you think at that

00:28:55.369 --> 00:28:59.549
time that having live music, having great bands

00:28:59.549 --> 00:29:03.569
would actually bring home the bacon for the place?

00:29:03.869 --> 00:29:06.869
No, I felt the bacon right away. Oh, really?

00:29:07.190 --> 00:29:12.829
Why? How so? Those commandos, they were my core.

00:29:13.109 --> 00:29:15.670
You know, they're all there every night. And

00:29:15.670 --> 00:29:17.609
then I met some of my best friends, you know,

00:29:17.609 --> 00:29:20.009
to talk to music. So the customers wanted like

00:29:20.009 --> 00:29:22.730
this? And at that time, there was this law, of

00:29:22.730 --> 00:29:26.180
course. way out in Changi Point. Right. Those

00:29:26.180 --> 00:29:28.160
days, how to market yourself, I don't know. I'm

00:29:28.160 --> 00:29:30.140
not a restaurateur, I'm not a lounge operator,

00:29:30.440 --> 00:29:32.779
I'm not even a marketer. You know, that's what

00:29:32.779 --> 00:29:36.299
I remember. I don't have any means to reach out.

00:29:36.420 --> 00:29:38.200
Yeah, yeah. But there was a captive potential

00:29:38.200 --> 00:29:42.019
audience there. Right. Because the airport, the

00:29:42.019 --> 00:29:46.579
cargo complex was about to be built, in the process

00:29:46.579 --> 00:29:49.599
of being built. Right. And there were a lot of

00:29:49.599 --> 00:29:53.740
people going in and out of that area. And some

00:29:53.740 --> 00:29:56.380
of them, then later when the Khao Ho complex,

00:29:56.700 --> 00:30:00.000
Khao Ho complex, the people there are one of

00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:04.500
my core customers. And then, word of mouth, that's

00:30:04.500 --> 00:30:06.740
very powerful. Most powerful too. Very powerful

00:30:06.740 --> 00:30:09.380
those days. Back then, no Facebook, no Instagram.

00:30:09.660 --> 00:30:12.619
Because, very simple. When you say something,

00:30:12.720 --> 00:30:15.059
hey, you know this place way out in Changi, all

00:30:15.059 --> 00:30:18.259
the people packed, everybody curious. you know

00:30:18.259 --> 00:30:21.500
that kind of thing it is very powerful because

00:30:21.500 --> 00:30:24.079
I think it transcended because 1980 I was only

00:30:24.079 --> 00:30:27.779
10 years old 10 years old 10 years old when I

00:30:27.779 --> 00:30:32.299
was 14 when I was 14 and secondary 2 and I learned

00:30:32.299 --> 00:30:37.519
of this band that played in Tavern on the Square

00:30:37.519 --> 00:30:42.720
Gingerbread And I heard so much about them, so

00:30:42.720 --> 00:30:45.099
many people, and being underage, I snuck in.

00:30:45.240 --> 00:30:47.779
Jason and Ann Hussain, Jason, Shahul, and Ann

00:30:47.779 --> 00:30:51.440
Hussain, bless them, I love them to bits, knows

00:30:51.440 --> 00:30:54.480
this story. I used to sneak in, you know, I look

00:30:54.480 --> 00:30:56.380
older than my age and I would watch the band

00:30:56.380 --> 00:31:02.700
play, you know, part of my inspiration. And this

00:31:02.700 --> 00:31:05.920
thing about watching bands and liking the beat,

00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:08.640
you know, the music, you know, and it's not about

00:31:08.640 --> 00:31:10.900
the booze, man, it's about, The feeling, the

00:31:10.900 --> 00:31:13.500
sensation of joy, you know what I mean? Just,

00:31:13.599 --> 00:31:17.799
yeah, it was so magnetic. And it went on for

00:31:17.799 --> 00:31:20.180
years. It went on to many generations, you know,

00:31:20.200 --> 00:31:25.200
to those who party in the 80s, a party that rocked

00:31:25.200 --> 00:31:29.539
the 90s, you know, and part of the 2000s. We

00:31:29.539 --> 00:31:35.279
fast forward to 2025, right now. If today, Dennis

00:31:35.279 --> 00:31:40.789
Fu is that young man again, A music groupie,

00:31:40.809 --> 00:31:43.470
nothing has changed, and you've got this one

00:31:43.470 --> 00:31:47.289
outlet that your dad has said, grow this, take

00:31:47.289 --> 00:31:51.650
care of it. Would you still stick to the same

00:31:51.650 --> 00:31:58.430
strategy of bringing in great live bands to attract

00:31:58.430 --> 00:32:03.470
your market? How differently would you do it?

00:32:03.589 --> 00:32:08.720
You'll always be there. The way I do it will

00:32:08.720 --> 00:32:10.099
be different. I'm going to a different world.

00:32:10.339 --> 00:32:11.819
Let's hear that. I did hear that, but that was

00:32:11.819 --> 00:32:14.099
different. Before I continue this one, Seven

00:32:14.099 --> 00:32:17.240
Hours Square, I was park owner. It was you? Yes.

00:32:17.980 --> 00:32:22.660
Well, you're this underage kid. That's why I

00:32:22.660 --> 00:32:26.180
don't have to pay for drinks. I remember Gino

00:32:26.180 --> 00:32:30.000
was there. Gino was born there. What? Gino Funga

00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:32.339
was born there. Really? Yeah. Not with the Ben

00:32:32.339 --> 00:32:36.099
Expo. No, with the Ben Expo. He was born there.

00:32:36.589 --> 00:32:41.869
You know, it all started this way. There was

00:32:41.869 --> 00:32:46.029
a group of ah bings. Okay? Ah bings. Business

00:32:46.029 --> 00:32:48.630
wasn't like fantastic lah. So ah bings request

00:32:48.630 --> 00:32:51.089
this, request that. Then, you know, they want

00:32:51.089 --> 00:32:54.990
to sing. Then they got angry. Yeah. They want

00:32:54.990 --> 00:32:57.990
to bash them up. And then he pretend to be a

00:32:57.990 --> 00:33:00.730
gay. Yeah. He got away with it. Yeah. So since

00:33:00.730 --> 00:33:04.609
then, the gay part became an act lah. That was

00:33:04.609 --> 00:33:07.690
the real story. You know what I mean? It was

00:33:07.690 --> 00:33:13.150
an act. Huh? Gino's act. It was an act. Holy

00:33:13.150 --> 00:33:16.490
shitballs, man. You don't want to hear it. You

00:33:16.490 --> 00:33:17.690
don't want to hear it. You don't want to hear

00:33:17.690 --> 00:33:20.869
it. No, but, but, but, no way to censor this,

00:33:20.950 --> 00:33:24.029
I know, but I did a thing with, you know. But

00:33:24.029 --> 00:33:26.150
how differently would you do things today? I

00:33:26.150 --> 00:33:27.930
don't think he'll be offended. No, he won't be.

00:33:27.970 --> 00:33:30.230
I don't think Gino will be. But how differently

00:33:30.230 --> 00:33:32.190
would you do things today? You know that Rosie

00:33:32.190 --> 00:33:34.529
is here, right? If Dennis Foo was a young man

00:33:34.529 --> 00:33:38.230
again at this time, 2025, knowing the marketplace

00:33:38.230 --> 00:33:41.569
the way it is, would you still use live music,

00:33:41.809 --> 00:33:45.650
live bands, great bands as an attraction to bring

00:33:45.650 --> 00:33:48.390
in more business into the business? Bottom line

00:33:48.390 --> 00:33:51.349
today, the market is completely different from

00:33:51.349 --> 00:33:53.849
then. Right. Then there was no market. Right.

00:33:54.470 --> 00:33:59.250
It was the beginning of hope -to -be market.

00:33:59.450 --> 00:34:02.430
Right. Okay? And we didn't know what the market

00:34:02.430 --> 00:34:04.349
was all about. We just know how to pay the bills

00:34:04.349 --> 00:34:08.489
for this month. And because we enjoy doing it,

00:34:08.530 --> 00:34:10.710
as long as we can pay the bill and we enjoy doing

00:34:10.710 --> 00:34:12.829
it and make a little bit of profit, we're very

00:34:12.829 --> 00:34:15.170
happy. Right. So we don't think too far. Okay.

00:34:15.309 --> 00:34:19.889
But today, because I have too many things...

00:34:20.170 --> 00:34:22.969
Too many baggage in my mind. So I must qualify

00:34:22.969 --> 00:34:26.710
how to put my finger on mine. Sure. Then I had

00:34:26.710 --> 00:34:29.710
nothing in my mind. No baggage. You know, to

00:34:29.710 --> 00:34:33.530
go forward. Yeah. So now you ask me this question

00:34:33.530 --> 00:34:38.389
which is interesting. Can I rephrase? Okay. Can

00:34:38.389 --> 00:34:41.070
I rephrase? Yes. Using your experience, would

00:34:41.070 --> 00:34:45.550
you have the ban now? If you open a pub? It has

00:34:45.550 --> 00:34:48.030
to be what? Because if you don't enjoy what you

00:34:48.030 --> 00:34:51.619
do, then why do it? And because I enjoy listening

00:34:51.619 --> 00:34:55.019
to Ben, I do it. And both things come together,

00:34:55.099 --> 00:34:56.679
you see. You understand what I'm trying to say?

00:34:56.840 --> 00:35:00.219
So, but the point I'm trying to make here is

00:35:00.219 --> 00:35:03.980
today, you're asking me today. Yeah. And your

00:35:03.980 --> 00:35:06.639
opening line for this session is called Demise

00:35:06.639 --> 00:35:13.179
or Nightlife. Yes. So, Nightlife is in a state

00:35:13.179 --> 00:35:16.360
of demise. Yeah. And you asked me to do it now

00:35:16.360 --> 00:35:20.849
and haven't... having seen and experienced what

00:35:20.849 --> 00:35:23.650
has happened from where we were in Changi, 1980,

00:35:24.150 --> 00:35:29.570
to where it became in the 2000, and that it just

00:35:29.570 --> 00:35:35.369
transformed itself into a major lifestyle for

00:35:35.369 --> 00:35:37.670
many people, including yourself, myself, yourself,

00:35:37.869 --> 00:35:44.849
and everybody else. And then you, the state of

00:35:44.849 --> 00:35:47.429
demise is in today. You ask me this question,

00:35:47.570 --> 00:35:53.989
I say no. Because I understand all this, and

00:35:53.989 --> 00:35:57.389
you put a light band out there, you got the weed,

00:35:57.489 --> 00:36:04.329
more light. First thing, there is the, we're

00:36:04.329 --> 00:36:07.269
talking about the complaints, we have the operating

00:36:07.269 --> 00:36:10.190
hours not enough, the cost of operation is too

00:36:10.190 --> 00:36:13.670
high, because the alcohol is prohibitive, after

00:36:13.670 --> 00:36:16.250
midnight transport is too expensive, and then,

00:36:16.750 --> 00:36:18.750
All the reasons. And people are staying at home.

00:36:19.150 --> 00:36:22.789
So under this condition, now that you know, those

00:36:22.789 --> 00:36:24.230
days we don't know, we don't know how to be scared.

00:36:25.130 --> 00:36:27.130
Today, when you know all this, you'll be scared.

00:36:28.090 --> 00:36:32.050
Back then, it was all taxi hailing. There was

00:36:32.050 --> 00:36:35.289
no Grab, no Tata, no Gojek, nothing to compare,

00:36:35.309 --> 00:36:37.670
you see, prices and all. Fair enough. Yeah, so

00:36:37.670 --> 00:36:39.449
whether or not the taxi, you know, back then,

00:36:39.489 --> 00:36:43.489
taxi, by 11 .30, you will not see any taxis on

00:36:43.489 --> 00:36:47.599
the street. Right. Yes. Surcharged. Surcharged.

00:36:47.760 --> 00:36:50.820
So if you ask me, back then, I would say more

00:36:50.820 --> 00:36:55.099
bustling. More what? Bustling. Yeah, the nightlife.

00:36:55.219 --> 00:37:00.539
More bustling. Yeah. Okay. Same thing. You see,

00:37:00.559 --> 00:37:05.260
the thing is, this is the change of the populace.

00:37:05.840 --> 00:37:09.900
Like we talk, then X, then Y, then Z. Then Z,

00:37:09.960 --> 00:37:13.880
lifestyle change. But they're different. I wouldn't

00:37:13.880 --> 00:37:19.440
say change. Gen Z is up to late 20s. And the

00:37:19.440 --> 00:37:22.860
last seven, eight years, I've detached from market,

00:37:22.920 --> 00:37:24.739
so I don't understand what has developed there.

00:37:24.960 --> 00:37:26.920
But one thing I know, I don't know a single song

00:37:26.920 --> 00:37:29.820
from Taylor Swift. Neither do I. You're not alone.

00:37:29.980 --> 00:37:32.579
Don't worry about it. I don't know a single song.

00:37:32.860 --> 00:37:35.900
Do you know where I'm going wrong? So we cannot...

00:37:35.900 --> 00:37:42.400
Shake it off. No. But really, I mean, it's grown

00:37:42.400 --> 00:37:44.400
so big. You know, and I don't understand why

00:37:44.400 --> 00:37:46.739
it became so big. So it's a different world.

00:37:46.880 --> 00:37:50.179
But what I'm trying to say today is when you

00:37:50.179 --> 00:37:52.059
don't know anything, you got no fear. Right.

00:37:52.199 --> 00:37:54.219
Your heart overrules your head all the time.

00:37:54.360 --> 00:37:56.599
Right. But now you know so many things and you're

00:37:56.599 --> 00:37:58.860
aware of so many things, the fear is there. Right.

00:37:59.219 --> 00:38:01.920
You know where I'm coming from. So what you have

00:38:01.920 --> 00:38:06.739
adventured into the F &B business, if let's say

00:38:06.739 --> 00:38:08.960
today, again, under my hypothesis that you're

00:38:08.960 --> 00:38:11.780
still a young man. not knowing much, but knowing

00:38:11.780 --> 00:38:14.579
what it's like today, okay? How the marketplace

00:38:14.579 --> 00:38:18.280
is like today. Would you still have ventured

00:38:18.280 --> 00:38:22.579
into food and beverage? Provided I see that the

00:38:22.579 --> 00:38:29.460
market is conducive, okay? Conducive, the four

00:38:29.460 --> 00:38:31.559
conditions down there does not make it conducive.

00:38:31.599 --> 00:38:34.820
You actually let those conditions change. Second,

00:38:35.059 --> 00:38:41.360
there must be a bigger force. that feels this

00:38:41.360 --> 00:38:50.199
is contributory to the overall country. Right.

00:38:50.440 --> 00:38:52.980
Okay? And that they will support. What's this

00:38:52.980 --> 00:38:54.960
bigger force? Bigger force is the government.

00:38:55.539 --> 00:39:00.860
Okay. The G. Okay. If they see the positivity

00:39:00.860 --> 00:39:04.420
coming out of this, then I must be convinced

00:39:04.420 --> 00:39:05.820
if they see it and they want to do something

00:39:05.820 --> 00:39:08.599
about it, then maybe I come in. Which means if

00:39:08.599 --> 00:39:10.980
the signal is here and there, then if I have

00:39:10.980 --> 00:39:13.599
choice, then I think twice. So if today is today...

00:39:13.599 --> 00:39:19.659
Wait, he answered for me. Really? Okay. No, we

00:39:19.659 --> 00:39:21.659
didn't prepare this. We didn't coordinate. So

00:39:21.659 --> 00:39:26.239
St. James Power Station was unique. Different

00:39:26.239 --> 00:39:29.460
food, drink, entertainment, sports, all in one

00:39:29.460 --> 00:39:33.519
place. That was a real big idea. Grand idea.

00:39:33.940 --> 00:39:37.900
Will it work today or will it fuck up? Yes and

00:39:37.900 --> 00:39:40.760
no. Okay. Why yes? Depends on the target audience.

00:39:41.639 --> 00:39:45.719
If I say if Singapore is dependent purely on

00:39:45.719 --> 00:39:49.539
domestic demand for nightlife, I won't do it.

00:39:49.820 --> 00:39:55.260
Okay. Because of all the factors. The four factors

00:39:55.260 --> 00:39:57.139
you mentioned earlier. Yeah. But these four factors

00:39:57.139 --> 00:40:01.099
mostly is Gen Z. Well, everyone's targeting the

00:40:01.099 --> 00:40:03.639
Gen Z. Okay. Gen Z. Don't blame them because

00:40:03.639 --> 00:40:06.730
they grew from a different era. But the Gen X

00:40:06.730 --> 00:40:11.730
and the Gen Y, they missed it. They missed what?

00:40:11.769 --> 00:40:13.969
They missed what they experienced. Like you talked

00:40:13.969 --> 00:40:16.010
about the Europa Days. They missed it. Basically,

00:40:16.250 --> 00:40:19.389
the exposure was in there. I mean, they're missing

00:40:19.389 --> 00:40:21.210
this. Yeah, you're missing it. They're missing

00:40:21.210 --> 00:40:23.369
it. No exposure, yeah. Yeah, they experienced

00:40:23.369 --> 00:40:26.150
it before and they're looking for it again. No

00:40:26.150 --> 00:40:28.969
more. But there is no places because you need...

00:40:28.969 --> 00:40:31.289
You see, I always... Actually, in my life...

00:40:31.289 --> 00:40:37.789
Mouse place? Yeah. You know, this point. You

00:40:37.789 --> 00:40:41.349
know, you know, this whole thing, seamless. I

00:40:41.349 --> 00:40:43.650
want to share this with you. I come to a conclusion

00:40:43.650 --> 00:40:47.769
because one of my favorite topics, I must give

00:40:47.769 --> 00:40:50.849
a talk. I've done talk multiple times with many

00:40:50.849 --> 00:40:53.650
different places. From, in fact, I remember the

00:40:53.650 --> 00:40:56.570
graduating MBA class at NUS, I was invited to

00:40:56.570 --> 00:40:59.449
do the talk. Wow, okay. And the multiple history

00:40:59.449 --> 00:41:02.150
institution as well. My favorite subject is the

00:41:02.150 --> 00:41:06.750
art of entertainment is a science. Okay. Okay.

00:41:06.949 --> 00:41:09.530
I'm going to say this. I think I didn't copy

00:41:09.530 --> 00:41:13.050
from anywhere. Okay. Science to me is through

00:41:13.050 --> 00:41:18.369
observation we deduce theory. Okay. And from

00:41:18.369 --> 00:41:21.110
theory we identify the different principles.

00:41:22.010 --> 00:41:25.769
Right. And see it manifested in the syndromes

00:41:25.769 --> 00:41:28.550
so that it reinforces our theory. You got that?

00:41:29.030 --> 00:41:31.409
I'm about getting lost in the cosmos already.

00:41:32.659 --> 00:41:35.860
Okay? So, we all as operators, we observe and

00:41:35.860 --> 00:41:39.039
then we review. This can not. Then we test. Then

00:41:39.039 --> 00:41:42.659
we identify. So, one of my biggest, what do you

00:41:42.659 --> 00:41:45.739
call that? Conclusion. Right. Is that we only

00:41:45.739 --> 00:41:47.739
sell one thing in nightlife. Right. That one

00:41:47.739 --> 00:41:52.199
thing is called atmospheres. Wow. Okay. Everything

00:41:52.199 --> 00:41:54.360
is translated back to atmosphere. Right. You

00:41:54.360 --> 00:41:55.719
can have the best man in the world and nobody

00:41:55.719 --> 00:41:59.920
there, no atmosphere. Right. Yeah. And the thing

00:41:59.920 --> 00:42:03.000
is, when there are a lot of people, If not, with

00:42:03.000 --> 00:42:05.219
an empty house, even if the music is good, I'd

00:42:05.219 --> 00:42:07.260
rather drink at home. Right. Cheaper, better,

00:42:07.420 --> 00:42:09.340
in the comfort of my room. So, atmosphere is

00:42:09.340 --> 00:42:13.380
so important. So, how do we get the atmosphere?

00:42:13.380 --> 00:42:17.059
That is the art, okay? Mel has achieved it. I've

00:42:17.059 --> 00:42:19.440
heard so much, you know? Mel's place, to you,

00:42:19.519 --> 00:42:24.360
you know? And, and the thing is, this atmosphere

00:42:24.360 --> 00:42:29.320
is made of people. And it's translated to me.

00:42:30.259 --> 00:42:33.239
as number of people per area of space. Per area

00:42:33.239 --> 00:42:35.539
of space. Let's say you have 200 people. Better

00:42:35.539 --> 00:42:39.559
write this down, you will see. You have 200 people

00:42:39.559 --> 00:42:42.300
at 10 ,000 square feet venue, no atmosphere.

00:42:42.500 --> 00:42:47.340
Right. Too scarce. Okay. But 200 people in the

00:42:47.340 --> 00:42:51.099
2 ,500 square feet, a lot of atmosphere. Right.

00:42:51.219 --> 00:42:52.800
So it is number of people per area of space.

00:42:53.000 --> 00:42:56.500
Right. And how do you arrive at that? What draws

00:42:56.500 --> 00:43:00.389
people in? Right. That is an art as well. So

00:43:00.389 --> 00:43:02.650
the band component is where the attractions is.

00:43:02.849 --> 00:43:04.469
But at the end of the day, it must be translated.

00:43:05.929 --> 00:43:07.530
Yeah, you know, it's interesting you say that

00:43:07.530 --> 00:43:10.070
because let me just... Because I'm answering

00:43:10.070 --> 00:43:12.429
your question about St. James. Yes. Because St.

00:43:12.489 --> 00:43:16.369
James is a 5 ,000 capacity venue. Right. 5 ,000.

00:43:16.409 --> 00:43:21.650
Then you have 50 valets. 50 valets, yeah. Can

00:43:21.650 --> 00:43:24.849
only imagine 50 valets. 50 valets, 80 security.

00:43:25.570 --> 00:43:30.309
Only have one valet. Yeah. Okay. So you look

00:43:30.309 --> 00:43:34.849
at that, why I say not now? Because the demand

00:43:34.849 --> 00:43:39.949
locally, because all the reasons given cannot

00:43:39.949 --> 00:43:42.510
support this. And to create that, we need to

00:43:42.510 --> 00:43:44.590
create the atmosphere with enough people so that

00:43:44.590 --> 00:43:49.070
this product becomes, this product thrives. If

00:43:49.070 --> 00:43:50.730
you don't have enough people, so the answer,

00:43:50.869 --> 00:43:54.429
answering your question whether I'll do San James

00:43:54.429 --> 00:43:58.320
again, if today, St. James, that same family

00:43:58.320 --> 00:44:00.920
with 5 ,000 capacity, same concept. Right. It's

00:44:00.920 --> 00:44:02.960
created in the heart of Orchard Road. Right.

00:44:04.940 --> 00:44:10.260
Okay? Within walking distance. Right. More than

00:44:10.260 --> 00:44:13.800
a dozen hotels with 12 ,000 rooms in and around

00:44:13.800 --> 00:44:16.940
the area. To attract the tourists. Walking distance,

00:44:17.199 --> 00:44:21.000
they can walk there. Right. Without, so transport.

00:44:21.369 --> 00:44:22.730
won't be an issue. They can walk back to the

00:44:22.730 --> 00:44:26.230
hotel. So, you're talking more for the shows.

00:44:27.449 --> 00:44:30.750
This is where... Where locals are. Wait. So,

00:44:30.869 --> 00:44:35.250
when it happens, walking distance, 12 ,000 people

00:44:35.250 --> 00:44:38.429
a day, one per room. Right. Can you imagine easily

00:44:38.429 --> 00:44:42.909
we have 18 ,000 people within their walking distance.

00:44:43.110 --> 00:44:47.610
Right. And other hotels, island -wide. Island

00:44:47.610 --> 00:44:50.730
-wide. Right. Okay? They don't want to miss out

00:44:50.730 --> 00:44:53.869
for their guests. They will do shuttles for them.

00:44:54.070 --> 00:45:00.010
And this creates a magnet. Our locals will find

00:45:00.010 --> 00:45:02.090
it worthwhile to go because there's an ecosystem.

00:45:03.550 --> 00:45:07.170
Our locals will be happy to go because you go

00:45:07.170 --> 00:45:11.630
down there, there's atmosphere. And our expatriates

00:45:11.630 --> 00:45:13.269
will be even more willing to go. Yeah, but why

00:45:13.269 --> 00:45:16.869
are people doing it then? Okay, it's so... hearing

00:45:16.869 --> 00:45:20.050
what you just said, if today Sparks is alive

00:45:20.050 --> 00:45:24.429
in Neon City, Studebakers is alive, it would

00:45:24.429 --> 00:45:29.809
thrive in this day and age today, in the middle

00:45:29.809 --> 00:45:32.929
of Altru Road. That's why the proposition...

00:45:32.929 --> 00:45:36.250
Altru is dead now. It is completely dead. Because

00:45:36.250 --> 00:45:39.510
St. James, the concept why there are 12 venues

00:45:39.510 --> 00:45:42.530
there, each venue is different. You've got the

00:45:42.530 --> 00:45:44.690
canto, you've got the vendo, you've got the...

00:45:45.150 --> 00:45:47.309
You've got the Latin, you've got the top 40,

00:45:47.510 --> 00:45:50.309
you've got appealing to multiple different people.

00:45:50.369 --> 00:45:53.389
So you target the tourist segment bound to have

00:45:53.389 --> 00:45:56.590
some, you know. So what I'm trying to say is,

00:45:56.670 --> 00:45:59.909
why I say tourist, because most tourists belong

00:45:59.909 --> 00:46:02.949
to Gen X and Gen Y. They are still relevant for

00:46:02.949 --> 00:46:05.530
our kind of music, the St. James kind of music,

00:46:05.650 --> 00:46:09.849
for the next 15 years at least. Okay. Look at

00:46:09.849 --> 00:46:12.599
it. So, which means that we're going to encounter

00:46:12.599 --> 00:46:16.340
the same problem again when the Gen Zers reach

00:46:16.340 --> 00:46:20.719
my age. Then the nightlife will be there again.

00:46:21.019 --> 00:46:26.199
Good question. It's a cycle. This nightlife has

00:46:26.199 --> 00:46:30.260
always been done in blocks over time. It cannot

00:46:30.260 --> 00:46:32.219
be something that will be perpetually the same

00:46:32.219 --> 00:46:35.039
over time. So, you need to evolve. But meanwhile,

00:46:35.179 --> 00:46:37.900
while there's nothing, you lean on something

00:46:37.900 --> 00:46:41.340
that is still there. Okay. And hopefully, a new

00:46:41.340 --> 00:46:44.300
wave comes and you can address this new wave

00:46:44.300 --> 00:46:50.139
in a more appealing way. Let me give you what

00:46:50.139 --> 00:46:55.099
I think about from a musical angle, from a musician

00:46:55.099 --> 00:47:01.079
-performer attitude. When you have the Gen Zers

00:47:01.079 --> 00:47:03.920
who are not exposed, they're only exposed...

00:47:03.920 --> 00:47:06.260
I'm not undermining Gen Z. I have their own...

00:47:06.260 --> 00:47:12.369
I know you're not, but I'm going to. Yes. And

00:47:12.369 --> 00:47:14.989
I don't really blame them because, you know,

00:47:15.070 --> 00:47:17.989
I think the highlight of their lives would be

00:47:17.989 --> 00:47:20.349
COVID. There's a highlight of their lives so

00:47:20.349 --> 00:47:23.710
far. Highlight. It has always been. COVID too,

00:47:23.769 --> 00:47:27.530
you see, a lot of damage. Of, you know, my life

00:47:27.530 --> 00:47:29.849
is empty. We have to restart, you know, because

00:47:29.849 --> 00:47:32.289
of COVID. Yeah. We belong to the anti -social

00:47:32.289 --> 00:47:34.289
club, you know, that kind of thing, you know,

00:47:34.289 --> 00:47:37.090
and they really would love to wear a mask if

00:47:37.090 --> 00:47:38.889
they could every day. You know, they've grown

00:47:38.889 --> 00:47:41.829
up that way. They'd rather talk to you online

00:47:41.829 --> 00:47:43.630
or text, please don't call me, you're so weird,

00:47:43.690 --> 00:47:48.280
you're calling me. Yeah, yeah. He just shows

00:47:48.280 --> 00:47:51.619
how much of an impact COVID has had on them.

00:47:51.860 --> 00:47:55.039
And then on top of that, if you look at, say,

00:47:55.139 --> 00:47:57.139
American Top 40 today, you look at the charts,

00:47:57.360 --> 00:48:01.639
you hardly see a band. Back in the old age, you

00:48:01.639 --> 00:48:05.079
see more bands than you do solo artists. So that's

00:48:05.079 --> 00:48:08.460
a phenomenon. And then you go into a bar, if

00:48:08.460 --> 00:48:12.199
there is music, there's going to be a one piece

00:48:12.199 --> 00:48:14.679
of Pagani guitar singing or two pieces at the

00:48:14.679 --> 00:48:17.000
most. If you can get a three -piece acoustic,

00:48:17.340 --> 00:48:20.579
you're already very lucky, which is crazy. Now,

00:48:20.579 --> 00:48:22.679
recently, Dennis, you were there with us for

00:48:22.679 --> 00:48:24.300
the Don't Write Us All concert, the two nights,

00:48:24.400 --> 00:48:28.440
right? And the good people who managed the Boon

00:48:28.440 --> 00:48:32.420
Tan, the rice company, Limited, did this wonderful

00:48:32.420 --> 00:48:34.900
media, which I saw, you know, and they went to

00:48:34.900 --> 00:48:37.500
interview some young people who were there. And

00:48:37.500 --> 00:48:39.940
you can hear what their opinions were like. What

00:48:39.940 --> 00:48:44.659
did I just watch? What did I just see? I've never

00:48:44.659 --> 00:48:49.179
known music can be this big and so good. Right?

00:48:49.340 --> 00:48:55.019
Yeah, absolutely. So it's clear. That exposure,

00:48:55.239 --> 00:48:57.599
isn't it? They don't know what it's like to have

00:48:57.599 --> 00:48:59.840
a big sound coming at you. You know when you're

00:48:59.840 --> 00:49:01.960
jive talking and they brought a horn section

00:49:01.960 --> 00:49:03.960
to come in and a nine piece playing out there.

00:49:04.179 --> 00:49:06.619
And it was really mind -blowing. I was like,

00:49:06.699 --> 00:49:11.699
thank you. You know, and it was fun. It was an

00:49:11.699 --> 00:49:14.400
eye -opener for the young. they start to realize

00:49:14.400 --> 00:49:17.320
that maybe I'm missing out on some things. Then

00:49:17.320 --> 00:49:20.079
last week, I went, I'm giving them free advertising

00:49:20.079 --> 00:49:25.659
too. I went to the Blackbird. Yeah. And to watch

00:49:25.659 --> 00:49:28.280
Bellingham. Guys of Bellingham, I love you guys.

00:49:28.380 --> 00:49:32.719
Yeah. Okay. You're good friends. And I needed

00:49:32.719 --> 00:49:34.739
a live music fix. Every now and then I get that.

00:49:34.780 --> 00:49:36.780
I need a live music fix. I come to Mel's for

00:49:36.780 --> 00:49:40.699
that too. So we went over to Blackbird and there

00:49:40.699 --> 00:49:43.280
was this table with young people. You were there.

00:49:43.360 --> 00:49:44.780
Yeah, I was there. And I don't know whether you

00:49:44.780 --> 00:49:47.199
remember that table, right? Yeah. They were trying

00:49:47.199 --> 00:49:49.059
to make fun of us initially. They were going

00:49:49.059 --> 00:49:52.159
like, all the jet exes. With their phones and

00:49:52.159 --> 00:49:54.820
the lights. Yeah, yes. And then the old, crazy

00:49:54.820 --> 00:49:56.699
old people and my folks would be doing this.

00:49:56.739 --> 00:49:59.780
They're young enough to be my kids. Yeah. But

00:49:59.780 --> 00:50:02.500
then when Faithfully, the band started playing

00:50:02.500 --> 00:50:04.579
the song Faithfully, they were like, what the

00:50:04.579 --> 00:50:06.380
hell is this? What song is this? And they were

00:50:06.380 --> 00:50:08.800
doing this. But after, in the middle of the song,

00:50:08.940 --> 00:50:11.630
mid -flight, they were going. You can see on

00:50:11.630 --> 00:50:14.849
their faces, they're going, wow. Like, what did

00:50:14.849 --> 00:50:21.530
I just listen to? So sadly, the exposure isn't

00:50:21.530 --> 00:50:25.650
there, in my opinion. So I still believe, that's

00:50:25.650 --> 00:50:29.050
why I'm paying tribute to you, sir, and to you

00:50:29.050 --> 00:50:33.610
as well, Rosie, because you believe that bringing

00:50:33.610 --> 00:50:38.489
in music, live bands, is the way to go. And it's

00:50:38.489 --> 00:50:40.969
a tribute to the both of you. on my season premiere.

00:50:41.150 --> 00:50:44.929
I'm Eurasian. Eurasian and music, we go hand

00:50:44.929 --> 00:50:47.849
in hand. We just love to party. You need to have

00:50:47.849 --> 00:50:52.130
the passion. Music is a liking for many people.

00:50:52.369 --> 00:50:56.170
But the passion to pursue it as a business, it's

00:50:56.170 --> 00:50:58.869
two different things with a lot of challenges.

00:50:59.469 --> 00:51:06.989
So, I say this because I heard so much about

00:51:06.989 --> 00:51:10.269
Bell's Place. I thought I would see The Ferdinand

00:51:10.269 --> 00:51:13.010
Brothers. Ah, you never visited that area? No,

00:51:13.010 --> 00:51:18.010
because... Melford was here last week. Yes, yes.

00:51:18.070 --> 00:51:20.349
After his concert. They performed in Telan Europa

00:51:20.349 --> 00:51:23.750
before. Yeah. I had a place in, you know, the

00:51:23.750 --> 00:51:26.730
Teh Bon Kwan. Yeah? Yes, I had one place called

00:51:26.730 --> 00:51:30.449
Telan Europa. The Ferdinand Brothers were...

00:51:30.449 --> 00:51:33.869
What's the name of the band? Gypsy. Gypsy were

00:51:33.869 --> 00:51:37.150
there, yeah. So you know, they're all Eurasian.

00:51:37.190 --> 00:51:39.440
They're all Katong kid. So when they say male

00:51:39.440 --> 00:51:42.679
space, I imagine it's the Ferdinand. So today

00:51:42.679 --> 00:51:45.159
I came here, I expect a Ferdinand. But nice to

00:51:45.159 --> 00:51:51.480
see you. Please ask me that question. Use all

00:51:51.480 --> 00:51:56.179
male space. I got it too. No, but really. They

00:51:56.179 --> 00:52:00.000
won't ask me, am I male? Never do. No joke, not

00:52:00.000 --> 00:52:04.699
easy. Then you go to Europa to board in 10, more

00:52:04.699 --> 00:52:07.969
than 10 outlets for sure. 10 what? Europa. Europa

00:52:07.969 --> 00:52:10.329
Group. How many bars did you guys have? At the

00:52:10.329 --> 00:52:15.050
high bars. At the high. There you go. And they're

00:52:15.050 --> 00:52:19.869
all big. How does one manage to expand so much

00:52:19.869 --> 00:52:23.389
and still make money when you had those market

00:52:23.389 --> 00:52:25.570
wars going on? When the market is growing and

00:52:25.570 --> 00:52:29.550
you capture a good part of the market. Okay.

00:52:31.210 --> 00:52:34.210
Okay. We made it sound so simple, you know. Financial,

00:52:34.690 --> 00:52:37.010
you know what I'm saying. When the market grows,

00:52:37.769 --> 00:52:42.349
the finance will come in. You know, so it's natural.

00:52:42.989 --> 00:52:46.730
So you have method, so you just do your... So

00:52:46.730 --> 00:52:48.329
many ways to skin the cat when there's a battle.

00:52:49.030 --> 00:52:50.889
When there's no market... Help? Did you have

00:52:50.889 --> 00:52:54.269
help back then? Of course. What kind of help

00:52:54.269 --> 00:52:56.559
did you have? Good question, Rosie. But what

00:52:56.559 --> 00:52:58.360
kind of help was that? Oh, I want to share this.

00:52:58.539 --> 00:53:00.719
Yes, I want to hear. I'm pretty open about this.

00:53:01.519 --> 00:53:05.920
Great. Shoot, man. I was the, what I call, I

00:53:05.920 --> 00:53:08.300
mean, for lack of a better description. Yeah.

00:53:08.579 --> 00:53:12.659
I was like the provision shop operator when I

00:53:12.659 --> 00:53:14.920
was in Changi. Just passionate about running

00:53:14.920 --> 00:53:17.679
this provision shop. Okay. I didn't know what

00:53:17.679 --> 00:53:21.460
is marketing. Okay. I only know what is a good

00:53:21.460 --> 00:53:28.280
band. So I know. And then I, how should I put

00:53:28.280 --> 00:53:31.480
it? I remember my first year when I took over

00:53:31.480 --> 00:53:35.860
after my father's passing. I had to sell Christmas

00:53:35.860 --> 00:53:39.179
Eve dinner. I didn't know how to market it. So

00:53:39.179 --> 00:53:42.139
I called a friend in the press. Until today,

00:53:42.219 --> 00:53:49.099
I am great. I mean, gratitude for this. And she

00:53:49.099 --> 00:53:56.340
came over. Then she came out once, four little

00:53:56.340 --> 00:54:00.159
column, like that. What advertisement? Good,

00:54:00.219 --> 00:54:02.420
I didn't pay for it. Bought an article. Right.

00:54:03.539 --> 00:54:15.119
Back in the early 80s, 81. One like that. It's

00:54:15.119 --> 00:54:20.199
on what? ST. In between, one lady sign of Violet

00:54:20.199 --> 00:54:25.489
Oon. Then, next day, when the article came out,

00:54:25.530 --> 00:54:27.909
it was a straight statement. It wasn't an advertisement

00:54:27.909 --> 00:54:30.849
because I did nothing for it. It was a blurb.

00:54:30.849 --> 00:54:32.409
It was a simple little blurb. Blurb, that's the

00:54:32.409 --> 00:54:35.210
word. So, what happened is, I walked into my

00:54:35.210 --> 00:54:39.989
office at 11am by 2pm, so out. My business dinner,

00:54:40.090 --> 00:54:42.110
so out. That's the power of print media then,

00:54:42.190 --> 00:54:44.650
okay? Yeah, back then, yes. Print was, yes. No,

00:54:45.710 --> 00:54:48.730
no. You know, yeah, now print is, no. Now you

00:54:48.730 --> 00:54:51.429
can put 10 pages, you know, just print. So what

00:54:51.429 --> 00:54:53.449
I'm trying to say here is answering your question.

00:54:54.170 --> 00:54:57.250
What was your question again? I cite a predicate

00:54:57.250 --> 00:54:59.070
for one subject. Did you have help who helped

00:54:59.070 --> 00:55:01.929
you out? Okay, good proof. So I did know how

00:55:01.929 --> 00:55:05.349
to market. Yeah. Then later on, of course, I

00:55:05.349 --> 00:55:07.889
started opening the Peppermint Park. I had Europa

00:55:07.889 --> 00:55:10.969
Grand. I took over Matthew's Park restaurant,

00:55:11.170 --> 00:55:12.829
Matthew's Restaurant in Orchard Towers. Right,

00:55:12.829 --> 00:55:17.690
okay. I had Atlantis, 2 .86 billion then. A GCB

00:55:17.690 --> 00:55:21.980
cost 1 .4 million. Two GCB. And then 1 .4 is

00:55:21.980 --> 00:55:25.960
Tabletop Park, I always remember. Okay. Then

00:55:25.960 --> 00:55:29.400
we opened. You're talking about 1984? 1984, yeah.

00:55:29.519 --> 00:55:31.880
I went to Pep Park when I was in Sec 2. Then,

00:55:31.880 --> 00:55:37.380
then, and I just like, I just like to put bands

00:55:37.380 --> 00:55:39.559
together. So you saw all the good things that

00:55:39.559 --> 00:55:42.079
happened through me, but I'm not going to tell

00:55:42.079 --> 00:55:43.659
you the real bad things that happened to me.

00:55:43.739 --> 00:55:46.219
The lessons I have to do. And tuition fees I

00:55:46.219 --> 00:55:48.849
have to pay. Right. So you ask me, of course,

00:55:48.869 --> 00:55:50.329
people like to take credit for everything and

00:55:50.329 --> 00:55:52.510
say they can do this and all this. No. I went

00:55:52.510 --> 00:55:54.869
through a very difficult period. I failed a lot

00:55:54.869 --> 00:55:57.550
of tuition fees. So this was that. I remember

00:55:57.550 --> 00:56:00.570
at Six Outlet, I told you, K1, K1, Kevin had

00:56:00.570 --> 00:56:03.070
growth. Kevin on the square, the one you just

00:56:03.070 --> 00:56:05.130
mentioned, growth. So all these things happened.

00:56:05.250 --> 00:56:07.329
So it wasn't just as if it was all rosy all the

00:56:07.329 --> 00:56:09.469
way. It closed. Why did they close? I blame it

00:56:09.469 --> 00:56:11.869
on the recession. But bottom line is that I got

00:56:11.869 --> 00:56:14.909
no business experience. I only have a passion

00:56:14.909 --> 00:56:18.150
for newsheek. How to put bands together. Same

00:56:18.150 --> 00:56:20.530
lah, same. You don't have passion. You didn't

00:56:20.530 --> 00:56:23.190
do, back then you didn't know what COF, COG,

00:56:23.210 --> 00:56:25.809
you know what it was all about. No, I don't know

00:56:25.809 --> 00:56:28.489
how to balance my books. I don't even know how

00:56:28.489 --> 00:56:33.050
to read the balance sheet. Yeah, I mean, I'm

00:56:33.050 --> 00:56:37.130
not. It was not completed. Yeah, it wasn't completed

00:56:37.130 --> 00:56:42.670
yet. It's all manual. Yeah. So, so, and then,

00:56:42.730 --> 00:56:45.849
of course, I went back. to Changi, my wound.

00:56:46.489 --> 00:56:48.869
Then I told myself, then my band got, my band,

00:56:49.010 --> 00:56:52.949
was poached. I didn't know my band was offered.

00:56:53.230 --> 00:56:57.190
By who? Nevermind, long time ago, can say it

00:56:57.190 --> 00:57:00.789
lah. Poached by a place called Discovery lah.

00:57:01.929 --> 00:57:06.389
And then overnight, my business dropped by 40

00:57:06.389 --> 00:57:11.179
% in Changi. Everybody went there. Okay. And

00:57:11.179 --> 00:57:13.260
then I told myself, now this is the timeline.

00:57:13.400 --> 00:57:15.840
Something new. So people ran, right? Something

00:57:15.840 --> 00:57:18.960
new. So I worked very hard. What did you do?

00:57:19.880 --> 00:57:26.699
I found Expo. That's how it happened. I brought

00:57:26.699 --> 00:57:31.139
Expo. So I brought Expo. Fresh start. Then after

00:57:31.139 --> 00:57:33.599
Expo, make an even bigger thing. More people

00:57:33.599 --> 00:57:35.920
went. Through Expo, I started expanding again.

00:57:36.019 --> 00:57:38.960
Nothing in disguise. So we brought Expo in at

00:57:38.960 --> 00:57:42.269
a time. The boys came in as well, right? Expo

00:57:42.269 --> 00:57:44.210
boys, politicians, they were doing different

00:57:44.210 --> 00:57:47.070
things. By then, I was exposed to the Filipino

00:57:47.070 --> 00:57:51.909
market. The Filipino market was, you know what

00:57:51.909 --> 00:57:55.389
inspired me to do Papuan Park? This place called

00:57:55.389 --> 00:57:58.630
Rainbow. Right, Rainbow. Dr. Goh Po Sing. Yeah,

00:57:58.630 --> 00:58:00.610
Goh Po Sing, yes. Dr. Goh Po Sing, he passed

00:58:00.610 --> 00:58:03.570
out a long time ago, right? Dr. Goh and I used

00:58:03.570 --> 00:58:06.449
to spend lunch at the first Pung Ruk restaurant

00:58:06.449 --> 00:58:08.670
in Liangkot. I always remember the fifth floor.

00:58:09.019 --> 00:58:11.320
Right. He and I would have lunch there and then

00:58:11.320 --> 00:58:13.719
we'll talk, talk, we got, we got common interest

00:58:13.719 --> 00:58:15.539
and we continue to talk. Lots of things to talk.

00:58:15.659 --> 00:58:19.920
Yeah. You know. Yeah. And, and, and then the

00:58:19.920 --> 00:58:21.699
restaurant closed at 3 o 'clock. Then we asked

00:58:21.699 --> 00:58:24.300
permission, can we stay back to continue our

00:58:24.300 --> 00:58:26.260
talk. They allowed us, so we got tea and we talk,

00:58:26.260 --> 00:58:28.619
talk until 6pm. They opened again then we had

00:58:28.619 --> 00:58:32.519
dinner. That was the kind of, you know, once

00:58:32.519 --> 00:58:35.190
two guys. Click, I'll tell you first. He clicked

00:58:35.190 --> 00:58:37.510
over a common subject. And those days, everything

00:58:37.510 --> 00:58:40.650
is new. There's nothing for you to compare. He's

00:58:40.650 --> 00:58:43.309
just really trying to shape things. And when

00:58:43.309 --> 00:58:44.969
he brought this band called Something Special.

00:58:45.429 --> 00:58:47.769
Remember Something Special. It rings a bell,

00:58:47.849 --> 00:58:50.789
man. Something Special, Aliu Award. Aliu Award.

00:58:51.489 --> 00:58:53.210
Winner in Philippines. When you're Aliu Award

00:58:53.210 --> 00:58:56.289
winner, you are the top. Get the permits in for

00:58:56.289 --> 00:59:01.150
Perluminos. And then, she get... Permit, no problem.

00:59:01.639 --> 00:59:03.699
Wait, wait. Let me tell you. There's another

00:59:03.699 --> 00:59:07.219
story. Foreign permit. Here you are. Because

00:59:07.219 --> 00:59:09.659
I wasn't able to get. Yes. Okay, here you are.

00:59:09.719 --> 00:59:11.679
You are asking, but this thing takes three hours,

00:59:11.780 --> 00:59:16.400
you know. No, just submit it. No, no. This part,

00:59:16.460 --> 00:59:18.780
no, this part won't take three hours. But if

00:59:18.780 --> 00:59:21.940
you continue in this mode, I can go deep into

00:59:21.940 --> 00:59:24.800
things that will take hours. But anyway, if you're

00:59:24.800 --> 00:59:26.480
not going anywhere, I'm not going. It's like,

00:59:26.639 --> 00:59:29.900
well, you notice. No, but what I'm about to say

00:59:29.900 --> 00:59:34.130
is... Then, something special was the eye -opener.

00:59:34.329 --> 00:59:38.590
Right. But before, and they were the first club

00:59:38.590 --> 00:59:42.829
outside of Europa Changi that used sawmen. Okay.

00:59:43.010 --> 00:59:45.170
I was the first in Singapore. I'm very proud.

00:59:45.289 --> 00:59:46.989
Yeah, I remember that little cage at the side.

00:59:47.050 --> 00:59:49.650
Yeah, Mr. T. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The T guy. He

00:59:49.650 --> 00:59:51.550
looked like Mr. T. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember

00:59:51.550 --> 00:59:55.849
him. And then, of course, in Rainbow, it was

00:59:55.849 --> 00:59:57.730
something else. The Hillsclays, the Heart of

00:59:57.730 --> 00:59:59.610
Water Road, and you put the bench, something

00:59:59.610 --> 01:00:02.460
special. my God, all the girls look so beautiful.

01:00:02.639 --> 01:00:04.820
Yeah. They can sing so well. They dance so well.

01:00:04.880 --> 01:00:08.000
Yeah. And they're all fair Filipinos. Yeah, yeah,

01:00:08.000 --> 01:00:10.019
yeah. The Spanish -looking types. There is a

01:00:10.019 --> 01:00:13.400
lady, she bodies. Her name is Babe Conti. Oh,

01:00:13.400 --> 01:00:15.980
Babe Conti. She doesn't look, I mean, she's not

01:00:15.980 --> 01:00:21.659
sunlight, you know. So, but she, fantastic. That

01:00:21.659 --> 01:00:24.039
was very smart of me to be Filipino. Waves came

01:00:24.039 --> 01:00:29.389
in again. So, what happened was, when we, When

01:00:29.389 --> 01:00:33.610
we opened Peppermint Pound, the thing is, before

01:00:33.610 --> 01:00:36.650
anything started, the newspaper started talking.

01:00:37.409 --> 01:00:39.969
And then we already said we wanted this, we wanted

01:00:39.969 --> 01:00:43.190
that. So I was targeting the Filipino. There's

01:00:43.190 --> 01:00:46.690
a reason for that. Our local band, when I saw

01:00:46.690 --> 01:00:50.389
something special, there's a lot of things Singaporeans

01:00:50.389 --> 01:00:53.610
can learn. Musician, budding musician, potential

01:00:53.610 --> 01:00:55.530
musician, people want to go into this trade.

01:00:55.969 --> 01:00:59.170
They can learn what nightlife can be. The kind

01:00:59.170 --> 01:01:01.690
of performance on stage is not just sitting there.

01:01:01.969 --> 01:01:08.030
It's a show band. Dance, choreography. And then

01:01:08.030 --> 01:01:11.829
later on, then I went to the Philippines. Philippines.

01:01:12.110 --> 01:01:15.670
And I had to look. Then this group called Music

01:01:15.670 --> 01:01:18.710
and Magic was the latest winner. They not only

01:01:18.710 --> 01:01:23.510
sing and perform, they do magic, they are entertaining.

01:01:24.639 --> 01:01:27.239
dancing and jump and whatnot. And they perform

01:01:27.239 --> 01:01:29.599
at Sapirin Park. They're the top. Then I bought

01:01:29.599 --> 01:01:34.139
this band called Z -Band. Z. Z -Band. They're

01:01:34.139 --> 01:01:37.639
from Cebu. Cebu, their music is all about their

01:01:37.639 --> 01:01:41.099
rhythm, you know. Fantastic. And then there's

01:01:41.099 --> 01:01:44.280
this band called Sikada. So you got in more foreigners.

01:01:44.719 --> 01:01:47.380
All foreigners. The Filipino band explosion was

01:01:47.380 --> 01:01:49.579
because of our idea that is. Yes, I got a whole

01:01:49.579 --> 01:01:52.469
lot. And each band is like eight pieces. APs.

01:01:52.469 --> 01:01:55.150
For me, to get a Malaysian band in, I can't even

01:01:55.150 --> 01:02:01.170
do it. I come to that. I come to that. So, APs.

01:02:01.769 --> 01:02:04.510
And you got three of them APs, 24 of them. And

01:02:04.510 --> 01:02:07.789
we got not enough slot. But I already don't care.

01:02:07.889 --> 01:02:09.989
I already stand 1 .4 million in the place. What

01:02:09.989 --> 01:02:12.630
is the other bank? But I remember there were

01:02:12.630 --> 01:02:16.789
two local bands there. One is Tanya. Right. The

01:02:16.789 --> 01:02:20.050
other one is Hang Loose. Yeah, yeah, yeah. K.

01:02:20.090 --> 01:02:22.710
Hamid. K. Hamid and Iskandar Ismail formed the

01:02:22.710 --> 01:02:25.550
band. Yeah. Okay, the story about Iskandar Ismail,

01:02:25.730 --> 01:02:29.130
I used to go to Hilton Hotel, Lobby Lau. Right.

01:02:29.349 --> 01:02:33.369
There were three -piece band. The drummer is

01:02:33.369 --> 01:02:38.889
Louis Stan. Louis Uliano. Louis Uliano. The bassist

01:02:38.889 --> 01:02:43.119
is Eddie Jensen. The bassist is Eddie Jensen.

01:02:43.119 --> 01:02:45.440
Eddie Jensen, yeah. And Iskandar keyboard. Yeah.

01:02:45.539 --> 01:02:47.059
He's always there. But they always had their

01:02:47.059 --> 01:02:51.179
issues because before I told Iskandar, then he

01:02:51.179 --> 01:02:53.619
formed Hangloose. And K. Hamid became our Singapore

01:02:53.619 --> 01:02:57.320
Oliver Newton John. Yeah, man. Death band, I

01:02:57.320 --> 01:03:02.559
tell you. K. Hamid and Hangloose. Foo -yo. Yeah,

01:03:02.579 --> 01:03:04.719
the bad. Then they became, because you know why?

01:03:05.519 --> 01:03:07.800
Iskandar was the only one from Berkeley University

01:03:07.800 --> 01:03:10.969
School of Music. He was the only one at that

01:03:10.969 --> 01:03:14.829
time. This guy is really great. That's why being

01:03:14.829 --> 01:03:18.710
a Chinese, you never want to get in. Because

01:03:18.710 --> 01:03:20.989
back then, Hokkien and all, you didn't want to

01:03:20.989 --> 01:03:24.170
get in all this. It's all English, right? It's

01:03:24.170 --> 01:03:26.230
all English because my roots are English. But

01:03:26.230 --> 01:03:28.650
they don't want you to start. No, but they don't

01:03:28.650 --> 01:03:34.329
have Chinese yet. Later, I come to that. So,

01:03:34.329 --> 01:03:38.369
they don't want much later. So, this is the period

01:03:38.369 --> 01:03:41.289
where we all, there was an explosion. Then there

01:03:41.289 --> 01:03:43.789
was a lot of resistance from local bands. Because

01:03:43.789 --> 01:03:45.929
then they formed a union. They said, why are

01:03:45.929 --> 01:03:48.429
we engaging foreigners when we don't give the

01:03:48.429 --> 01:03:50.429
job to local? This is where the issue started.

01:03:51.050 --> 01:03:55.650
So what happened was, then I said something,

01:03:55.750 --> 01:03:59.670
which is very true. Until today, I think people

01:03:59.670 --> 01:04:03.869
realise I wasn't wrong. Because I said, we need

01:04:03.869 --> 01:04:08.800
to be exposed to the best. At Filipino, we can

01:04:08.800 --> 01:04:11.699
still afford to bring them in. And the thing

01:04:11.699 --> 01:04:13.480
is, when you're exposed to the best, then we

01:04:13.480 --> 01:04:16.739
can be even better. So that was the main reason.

01:04:16.820 --> 01:04:19.679
And lower cost, right? Not cheap, because accommodation

01:04:19.679 --> 01:04:21.920
alone is very important. If you want an apartment,

01:04:22.280 --> 01:04:25.840
we pay their tax as well. Those days, I think

01:04:25.840 --> 01:04:28.119
there's small levy. But what I'm trying to say

01:04:28.119 --> 01:04:32.619
here is, not an issue. Then the objection came

01:04:32.619 --> 01:04:36.730
up, and there was this thing about... the first

01:04:36.730 --> 01:04:40.269
quota came out. One for one. You have one band,

01:04:40.449 --> 01:04:44.030
you must have one local. Right. Then you balance

01:04:44.030 --> 01:04:46.769
out. But that was, at that time, it was the right

01:04:46.769 --> 01:04:48.550
thing. Good exposure was already there. Yeah.

01:04:49.070 --> 01:04:52.030
And then, then they know there's a potential,

01:04:52.329 --> 01:04:55.110
there's competition. Right, yeah. Everyone's

01:04:55.110 --> 01:04:56.949
got to up their game. Yeah, up their, yeah. So

01:04:56.949 --> 01:04:59.690
therefore, the thing, you know, the thing, so

01:04:59.690 --> 01:05:02.119
a lot of things actually, unimpeachable also.

01:05:02.320 --> 01:05:04.039
I mean, I could not plan this for Singapore.

01:05:04.599 --> 01:05:07.099
I only juggled myself. I said, you know, things

01:05:07.099 --> 01:05:09.840
like that, I must come up with a song enough

01:05:09.840 --> 01:05:12.480
reason to justify why I'm bringing them in so

01:05:12.480 --> 01:05:17.820
that I don't have poise. Yeah. So, how difficult

01:05:17.820 --> 01:05:21.440
is it today for you to get them in? Because bullets

01:05:21.440 --> 01:05:24.579
and our levy, it's not as, it's not small. Our

01:05:24.579 --> 01:05:27.579
levy is huge. It depends on qualification. Let

01:05:27.579 --> 01:05:34.599
me tell you, when I did St. James, I had so many

01:05:34.599 --> 01:05:38.980
foreign bands. Yeah, I know. The whole Movida

01:05:38.980 --> 01:05:41.619
foreign band. Yeah, yeah. Poiler Room Filipino

01:05:41.619 --> 01:05:44.960
band, Movida South American band. Then I have

01:05:44.960 --> 01:05:48.420
this, what do you call that? Jack and Clyde?

01:05:48.760 --> 01:05:51.000
Chinese. Hong Kong band. Hong Kong band, yeah.

01:05:51.119 --> 01:05:55.119
We have all this, you know. Mandelport. Mandelport.

01:05:55.619 --> 01:05:58.500
But the thing, the magic, you asked me this very,

01:05:58.579 --> 01:06:03.190
very relevant question. I think I may... Water?

01:06:04.309 --> 01:06:08.389
Yeah, one of them. But this time, the same dosage,

01:06:08.389 --> 01:06:23.030
but half the water. But Rosie, you know, I'm

01:06:23.030 --> 01:06:25.690
pretty sure as opposed... I mean, compared to...

01:06:25.690 --> 01:06:28.170
I don't have to compare. Practically everybody

01:06:28.170 --> 01:06:33.099
in retail today. F &B included, right? Struggling

01:06:33.099 --> 01:06:35.300
with high rentals. Are you struggling with high

01:06:35.300 --> 01:06:39.260
rentals? Higher wages, you mean? Rentals. Oh,

01:06:39.260 --> 01:06:44.039
rental, yes. It's a big headache? Yes. I'm not

01:06:44.039 --> 01:06:45.820
sure if I can say this, but this is under...

01:06:45.820 --> 01:06:50.519
Right. So ours is private. Right. So... This

01:06:50.519 --> 01:06:53.260
venue is owned by... Yeah. Good. So you don't

01:06:53.260 --> 01:06:56.119
have a problem? Why? My headache is the rental.

01:06:56.519 --> 01:07:02.409
So like... It's all cheaper. This place is owned

01:07:02.409 --> 01:07:07.889
by a private guy. Let's say an ordinary businessman

01:07:07.889 --> 01:07:11.849
or just an ordinary landlord. Then his whole

01:07:11.849 --> 01:07:13.469
lifestyle depends on what he collects from here.

01:07:16.929 --> 01:07:19.329
Basically, he can add his whim and fancy every

01:07:19.329 --> 01:07:25.969
time. You see, I've been to this whole thing.

01:07:26.960 --> 01:07:29.400
us look for space, I always check. The landlord,

01:07:29.519 --> 01:07:34.460
we establish like a REIT or a conglomerate. What

01:07:34.460 --> 01:07:37.880
they want is making sure that the fair return

01:07:37.880 --> 01:07:42.139
yield. Right. But they also worry that if somebody

01:07:42.139 --> 01:07:44.679
else is willing to pay more, they should not

01:07:44.679 --> 01:07:49.139
let go. They should not ignore. Right. Put it

01:07:49.139 --> 01:07:51.800
this way. Right. But they also prefer stability

01:07:51.800 --> 01:07:55.170
so that you don't have all the... You don't want

01:07:55.170 --> 01:07:57.829
to see you die. I do have that. I do have that.

01:07:57.909 --> 01:08:00.489
That means all these years, so far so good. Yeah.

01:08:00.690 --> 01:08:03.949
You don't want to see you die. So because there's

01:08:03.949 --> 01:08:06.969
no disruption to these things. Did you ever encounter

01:08:06.969 --> 01:08:09.070
these kind of issues when you were running all

01:08:09.070 --> 01:08:12.309
your businesses? I did what? Yeah, I know like

01:08:12.309 --> 01:08:14.849
the tuition costs. The tuition costs. How did

01:08:14.849 --> 01:08:16.949
you deal with it? How did you deal with all these?

01:08:17.069 --> 01:08:22.270
I used Option. Option. Before I signed, because

01:08:22.270 --> 01:08:24.460
they want me. They look for me when you reach

01:08:24.460 --> 01:08:30.239
a certain stage. Right. So then on my term, and

01:08:30.239 --> 01:08:34.739
then I will put in an option for cap the rental

01:08:34.739 --> 01:08:38.699
renewal at fair price, usually 15 % to 20 % max.

01:08:39.539 --> 01:08:42.859
Is that kind of game still playable today? Yeah,

01:08:42.920 --> 01:08:49.340
contractual. You have a rental renewal cap. No,

01:08:49.640 --> 01:08:52.159
big companies, they don't do. But let's say you

01:08:52.159 --> 01:08:55.039
are big enough, They want you to put your terms.

01:08:56.100 --> 01:09:02.119
Well, thank you. This one I must remember. No,

01:09:02.140 --> 01:09:05.039
it's weird, but it's true. I have not drank whiskey

01:09:05.039 --> 01:09:09.439
from a straw ever before. This is an exception.

01:09:10.359 --> 01:09:13.079
You don't have to ask like that. When you drink

01:09:13.079 --> 01:09:15.039
beer with a straw, you better make sure you take

01:09:15.039 --> 01:09:17.560
a taxi. You're also careful. We're just careful,

01:09:17.720 --> 01:09:21.260
yeah. I don't have a diving license. And it's

01:09:21.260 --> 01:09:23.420
not because of the drinking diving. It's not

01:09:23.420 --> 01:09:25.300
because of drinking and driving. It's because

01:09:25.300 --> 01:09:28.439
of... This is the price I pay to be a nightlife

01:09:28.439 --> 01:09:32.340
officer. Since 1986, I stopped renewing my license

01:09:32.340 --> 01:09:36.819
because if I continue driving, it's a matter

01:09:36.819 --> 01:09:40.460
of time I get caught. So that's the price. And

01:09:40.460 --> 01:09:42.899
today, I'm 72 already. How far do you start?

01:09:43.039 --> 01:09:45.859
Quite a big sacrifice anyway, right? No big.

01:09:48.970 --> 01:09:51.710
Not just that, because when things, I had a driver

01:09:51.710 --> 01:09:54.850
who was 30 years old. Right. So that helped a

01:09:54.850 --> 01:09:58.770
lot. You know, Dennis, Rosie faces this issue.

01:09:58.930 --> 01:10:01.449
I think this is a very compelling, no, I would

01:10:01.449 --> 01:10:03.989
say it's compelling. There's no fact it annoys

01:10:03.989 --> 01:10:11.569
the living crap out of me. I've heard what some

01:10:11.569 --> 01:10:17.359
people, excuse me, had to say about neighborhood

01:10:17.359 --> 01:10:20.380
bars. And it's so poor thing. You know the neighborhood?

01:10:20.640 --> 01:10:22.960
You know, so poor thing. The poor kid studying

01:10:22.960 --> 01:10:25.079
for his O -Levels, next door, one bloody bar

01:10:25.079 --> 01:10:31.260
away. On the other hand, I turn around and I

01:10:31.260 --> 01:10:37.779
say, if you have bought a place, knowingly, next

01:10:37.779 --> 01:10:41.000
door to a bar, or for that matter, a pickleball

01:10:41.000 --> 01:10:43.779
court. Nowadays, people call pekabu pickleball.

01:10:44.500 --> 01:10:50.619
Bunch of numbnuts. Right? Or any place that has

01:10:50.619 --> 01:10:54.859
got some amount of noise, you know, and you bought

01:10:54.859 --> 01:10:57.100
that place, you have to manage your expectations.

01:10:57.659 --> 01:11:01.340
Or on the other hand, if you bought that place

01:11:01.340 --> 01:11:04.619
already and these things come after, there's

01:11:04.619 --> 01:11:08.859
this thing of shut the bloody window. You know?

01:11:08.960 --> 01:11:14.020
But no. What some operators have encountered,

01:11:14.220 --> 01:11:16.020
I'm not just saying exclusive to Mel's place,

01:11:16.489 --> 01:11:19.829
would be some people within a vicinity will come

01:11:19.829 --> 01:11:23.670
to them and show you the decibel meter. Oh. Which,

01:11:23.789 --> 01:11:26.869
yeah. You know, and look how loud this is now.

01:11:26.970 --> 01:11:31.729
I mean, it's so smug. You know, it's so smug,

01:11:31.729 --> 01:11:33.270
you know what I mean? So there's a lot of red

01:11:33.270 --> 01:11:35.590
tapes. There's a lot of red tapes. And then,

01:11:35.609 --> 01:11:38.109
of course, the operator will worry about their

01:11:38.109 --> 01:11:41.010
licenses, you know? Whether or not the authorities

01:11:41.010 --> 01:11:43.550
will renew their payment licenses because of

01:11:43.550 --> 01:11:48.710
the uncertainty. Because people, it just seems

01:11:48.710 --> 01:11:51.529
that the authorities do like to pander towards

01:11:51.529 --> 01:11:54.569
a lot of complaints coming from a lot of karens.

01:11:55.090 --> 01:12:01.449
No, I can understand this very well. That's why,

01:12:01.630 --> 01:12:06.630
you know, this amenity comes in many different

01:12:06.630 --> 01:12:12.970
shapes. Right. So this is the KPI of a particular

01:12:12.970 --> 01:12:21.729
agency. And now you have this life issue. Because

01:12:21.729 --> 01:12:26.909
if you are in a residential area, this is where

01:12:26.909 --> 01:12:31.630
the issue is. Residential area. Because when

01:12:31.630 --> 01:12:34.050
residents complain, they have to act. If they

01:12:34.050 --> 01:12:36.989
don't act, then there's another issue. If they

01:12:36.989 --> 01:12:38.630
act, then it's going to impact the operator.

01:12:38.930 --> 01:12:40.989
Yeah. And then how do you act? Then you have

01:12:40.989 --> 01:12:43.470
to cut down. When you cut down, for example,

01:12:43.529 --> 01:12:47.170
the noise, you can do certain things like soundproofing

01:12:47.170 --> 01:12:49.470
your live area, you can put double door, all

01:12:49.470 --> 01:12:52.989
the physical you can do. But the people who move

01:12:52.989 --> 01:12:55.909
around and they start drinking and start like

01:12:55.909 --> 01:12:59.970
in a stupor and then the behavior walking around,

01:13:00.250 --> 01:13:03.770
then that becomes an issue that is not so easy

01:13:03.770 --> 01:13:06.699
to control. Because this is the form from all

01:13:06.699 --> 01:13:10.979
the night. But, but, but, well, specific to male

01:13:10.979 --> 01:13:12.819
space, I don't see that happening anywhere. Basically,

01:13:12.859 --> 01:13:16.840
okay. So, I'm with, I'm on this side. Okay? So,

01:13:16.859 --> 01:13:19.619
I see things in the, but I also must understand

01:13:19.619 --> 01:13:22.500
what's the reason they're doing it. So, when

01:13:22.500 --> 01:13:26.060
complaints come in, why is the issue? So, people

01:13:26.060 --> 01:13:28.699
have the right to complain and that is quite

01:13:28.699 --> 01:13:31.260
fair lah. Yeah. But your complaint must be fair

01:13:31.260 --> 01:13:35.279
also lah. Yeah. Right. So, now, They used to

01:13:35.279 --> 01:13:40.699
be, like for example, if you stay in a certain

01:13:40.699 --> 01:13:45.220
area in Singapore where there's nightlife already,

01:13:45.659 --> 01:13:49.260
you're expected. So for me, I actually walked

01:13:49.260 --> 01:13:51.619
him around. So he wanted to speak to the bosses.

01:13:51.760 --> 01:13:53.880
So I said, okay, let's do a closure because he's

01:13:53.880 --> 01:13:56.960
been texting my manager and all. So I actually

01:13:56.960 --> 01:13:59.939
walked him, showed him what we've done. So back

01:13:59.939 --> 01:14:03.199
then, smoking was behind. Yeah. Okay. So, then

01:14:03.199 --> 01:14:05.220
the smoking was behind. I already chained the

01:14:05.220 --> 01:14:07.060
whole place. So, I was smoking whenever there's

01:14:07.060 --> 01:14:09.859
light ban, smoking is up front. So, away from

01:14:09.859 --> 01:14:12.520
the residential. To me, because I'm not involved,

01:14:12.699 --> 01:14:16.260
I can say something very open. This one is overdone,

01:14:16.260 --> 01:14:19.640
overkill by him. This is something, you don't

01:14:19.640 --> 01:14:22.859
go to this extent to... No, but I'm walking in.

01:14:22.979 --> 01:14:26.159
But how much has it impacted his life? But do

01:14:26.159 --> 01:14:28.800
you know that if you stop running this, it will

01:14:28.800 --> 01:14:32.399
impact so many people's lives? Correct. How much

01:14:32.399 --> 01:14:36.340
does it impact? It doesn't cut him one year shortly

01:14:36.340 --> 01:14:39.000
by one year. I think you're basically stoking

01:14:39.000 --> 01:14:41.800
his ego just because you're... No, no, no. I'm

01:14:41.800 --> 01:14:45.680
a third party. I'm saying the rosy by showing

01:14:45.680 --> 01:14:48.260
him around and listening to him. Because I'm

01:14:48.260 --> 01:14:51.619
trying to... No, what I'm saying is I'm talking

01:14:51.619 --> 01:14:53.680
as a third party. I want to give a fair comment.

01:14:54.199 --> 01:14:56.760
You'll be looking at your own silo. He'll be

01:14:56.760 --> 01:14:58.920
looking at his own silo. But his silo is over.

01:14:59.960 --> 01:15:03.420
Over. Okay lah. So for him, sometimes, you know,

01:15:03.439 --> 01:15:07.960
a band actually plays just maybe 2 minutes, 3

01:15:07.960 --> 01:15:10.520
minutes, 4 minutes, 5 minutes. So anyway, so

01:15:10.520 --> 01:15:12.260
the band... I think you got another reason why

01:15:12.260 --> 01:15:17.300
he keep coming to ask for your, or your whatever,

01:15:17.479 --> 01:15:21.899
communicating with you. Cannot be this. Nobody

01:15:21.899 --> 01:15:25.500
will bother to do this. He took video. He took

01:15:25.500 --> 01:15:28.399
video. Like, see, you've exceeded the noise,

01:15:28.439 --> 01:15:31.210
you know, you've exceeded this and that. So,

01:15:31.210 --> 01:15:32.989
but sometimes the band just, you know, in their

01:15:32.989 --> 01:15:34.970
element, you know, they were just strong and

01:15:34.970 --> 01:15:37.250
they continue just five minutes. And for me,

01:15:37.270 --> 01:15:38.729
it's like, please, enough, stop, stop, you know?

01:15:39.069 --> 01:15:41.090
You've seen that, right? You've seen me stopping

01:15:41.090 --> 01:15:42.989
the band and all. So it's just... It's terrible,

01:15:43.229 --> 01:15:47.210
really. And this guy, to me, he's stoking his

01:15:47.210 --> 01:15:50.369
own ego by saying, you know, by coming around

01:15:50.369 --> 01:15:53.329
and making these kind of complaints. Using noise

01:15:53.329 --> 01:15:56.720
as an excuse. He feels great. They want some

01:15:56.720 --> 01:15:59.239
people to pacify him. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Which

01:15:59.239 --> 01:16:01.180
is? I don't know. I believe they get enough from

01:16:01.180 --> 01:16:05.140
whoever he lives with. You know, it doesn't make

01:16:05.140 --> 01:16:07.619
sense. You go to this extent. You know, if there's

01:16:07.619 --> 01:16:12.260
really some issue, you just go to the relevant

01:16:12.260 --> 01:16:14.720
authority. You make your complaint. He did, he

01:16:14.720 --> 01:16:17.119
did. Okay. So the relevant authority took the

01:16:17.119 --> 01:16:18.880
position. They want to look at the bigger picture

01:16:18.880 --> 01:16:22.500
of everything. You know, they have to... I wouldn't

01:16:22.500 --> 01:16:25.079
say compromise. They will have to do this. You

01:16:25.079 --> 01:16:29.439
got what you call track record. Track record

01:16:29.439 --> 01:16:33.159
is the best proof for anything. Well, you know,

01:16:33.159 --> 01:16:34.699
people can complain time and time and time. You

01:16:34.699 --> 01:16:38.380
got any points? So far, nothing. It's just like

01:16:38.380 --> 01:16:42.319
there was a slew of... We know that we are in

01:16:42.319 --> 01:16:48.460
the books. Anywhere popular will be. If you got

01:16:48.460 --> 01:16:51.380
no problem, means you got no business. You understand

01:16:51.380 --> 01:16:53.199
what I'm trying to say? So that's where the issue

01:16:53.199 --> 01:16:56.460
is. You know why? I come back to this question.

01:16:56.579 --> 01:17:03.880
Very, very pertinent issue. Because if you...

01:17:03.880 --> 01:17:09.640
This thing about nightlife for you to thrive,

01:17:09.739 --> 01:17:13.420
you need to meet a lot of conditions. And you

01:17:13.420 --> 01:17:15.819
have to anticipate all this. That's why in the

01:17:15.819 --> 01:17:23.260
planning, for example, Like, you take Kaki, it

01:17:23.260 --> 01:17:28.239
was the place to go to. Then suddenly things

01:17:28.239 --> 01:17:31.279
change because the residences are sprouting out.

01:17:32.100 --> 01:17:35.039
And in anticipation, because often we're going

01:17:35.039 --> 01:17:39.180
to come. And then you have to compromise and

01:17:39.180 --> 01:17:41.279
then you change the shape. So that's why the

01:17:41.279 --> 01:17:43.779
planning part is very important. You want to

01:17:43.779 --> 01:17:45.520
do a zoning, you make sure it's zoned properly.

01:17:45.859 --> 01:17:49.340
You want to issue a license, okay? you also need.

01:17:49.439 --> 01:17:53.100
But now that it's done, it's not easy to pull.

01:17:53.359 --> 01:17:59.100
I mean, status quo. To shift status quo, then

01:17:59.100 --> 01:18:02.579
you have a very, very good reason. And you say

01:18:02.579 --> 01:18:06.340
30 people complain from all walks of life living

01:18:06.340 --> 01:18:09.380
here, then you got an issue. To me, if one person

01:18:09.380 --> 01:18:12.180
complain in his own perspective. No, he will

01:18:12.180 --> 01:18:14.260
say that I'm on behalf. Yeah, he says that he

01:18:14.260 --> 01:18:16.779
represents that. That's not the point. I mean,

01:18:16.800 --> 01:18:19.569
this is on air. I mean, this is recorded. So,

01:18:19.710 --> 01:18:23.550
like what? No, no. Because we don't mention the

01:18:23.550 --> 01:18:26.369
guy's name. We are talking about a very general

01:18:26.369 --> 01:18:29.369
scenario. So, you ask my opinion. Basically,

01:18:29.710 --> 01:18:32.670
you've really become 30, 40 people from different

01:18:32.670 --> 01:18:35.229
walks of life. They need to be tested. It must

01:18:35.229 --> 01:18:38.649
not be coordinated. If it's coordinated, there's

01:18:38.649 --> 01:18:43.739
another story. Sorry? He said it's not loud enough.

01:18:44.180 --> 01:18:45.720
It's not that it's not loud enough. I'm just

01:18:45.720 --> 01:18:48.159
saying that the music has to compromise so much.

01:18:48.579 --> 01:18:50.979
You know, that the music is so watered down.

01:18:51.840 --> 01:18:53.960
You know, and we get quality that goes down the

01:18:53.960 --> 01:18:56.300
drain. The customers, you see, you know, they

01:18:56.300 --> 01:18:58.060
don't get to enjoy the food. Put it this way.

01:18:59.779 --> 01:19:05.220
For Mel's place, to survive through COVID, let's

01:19:05.220 --> 01:19:07.560
bring up. And today, I can tell you, this place

01:19:07.560 --> 01:19:13.229
is doing very well. Good. Not yet, not yet. It's

01:19:13.229 --> 01:19:16.329
doing very well. Compared to most others. You

01:19:16.329 --> 01:19:18.010
know, it's doing very well. I mean, I don't have

01:19:18.010 --> 01:19:19.909
to be here. I hear the things people say, you

01:19:19.909 --> 01:19:21.789
know, Friday night, it's like jam under, don't

01:19:21.789 --> 01:19:24.909
know where jam. And then, frankly, before everybody

01:19:24.909 --> 01:19:28.170
comes here, we'll be inside. Yeah. The atmosphere

01:19:28.170 --> 01:19:31.069
is already here outside. Because GMT. Yeah. Sorry,

01:19:31.229 --> 01:19:33.750
Chevy's. That's live. That's live. That's live

01:19:33.750 --> 01:19:37.020
from Chevy's. No, I know, I know. Yes, there's

01:19:37.020 --> 01:19:39.619
a whole place, katong. It's a katong thing. So

01:19:39.619 --> 01:19:42.420
that's like a salt. Yes, so they are coming back

01:19:42.420 --> 01:19:45.859
because, oh. Okay, my friend, the answer to all

01:19:45.859 --> 01:19:49.739
these things is called vibrancy. Mouthpiece creates

01:19:49.739 --> 01:19:52.420
vibrancy in katong. It's not noise in katong.

01:19:52.479 --> 01:19:55.300
So continue to vibrate. Continue to vibrate.

01:19:57.600 --> 01:20:07.789
Today, did you, did you, did you, everybody is

01:20:07.789 --> 01:20:12.529
using the word vibrant. Yeah. Passing the parting

01:20:12.529 --> 01:20:16.250
shot of the National Day Rally speech by Lawrence

01:20:16.250 --> 01:20:20.010
Wong, the word was vibrancy. That was the last

01:20:20.010 --> 01:20:24.529
line he said. Let's go and check. Vibrancy. And

01:20:24.529 --> 01:20:27.369
so, why kill vibrancy? On that note, on that

01:20:27.369 --> 01:20:29.050
note, why kill vibrancy? On that note, Dennis,

01:20:29.149 --> 01:20:31.390
what specific changes will you tell the government

01:20:31.390 --> 01:20:35.149
are most important? For the nightlife scene to

01:20:35.149 --> 01:20:39.630
stay healthy in the long run. That is a very,

01:20:39.649 --> 01:20:43.829
very good question. Not loaded, just a good question.

01:20:43.869 --> 01:20:45.890
No, no. That's a very good question. Definitely

01:20:45.890 --> 01:20:51.750
not. My answer is well loaded. We all know there's

01:20:51.750 --> 01:20:54.409
a problem. We all know that this problem, that

01:20:54.409 --> 01:20:56.829
problem. But how to make it, how to piece everything,

01:20:57.029 --> 01:21:00.229
you know? Okay. This is where the answer I see

01:21:00.229 --> 01:21:02.229
lies in the word by chance. Of course, we heard

01:21:02.229 --> 01:21:06.909
this word. everywhere. The answer lies in the

01:21:06.909 --> 01:21:11.189
word vibrancy. Still. Like I said, just now,

01:21:11.229 --> 01:21:15.010
earlier on, before we started, to remain only

01:21:15.010 --> 01:21:17.970
as the cleanest, greenest, safest, most efficient

01:21:17.970 --> 01:21:21.649
and healthiest city in Southeast. The vivid world

01:21:21.649 --> 01:21:25.369
will pass Singapore by. The vivid world. Okay.

01:21:26.449 --> 01:21:29.289
Singapore must become more lively and exciting,

01:21:29.489 --> 01:21:32.699
a fun place. Okay. This word comes from our founding

01:21:32.699 --> 01:21:38.260
father himself. From Mr. Pinkfield? Yes. We say

01:21:38.260 --> 01:21:41.800
this in Parliament. Of course, we don't hold

01:21:41.800 --> 01:21:43.760
his word for it, but there's a message there.

01:21:43.859 --> 01:21:50.520
Right. Frankly, what do we have? Yeah. You know,

01:21:50.640 --> 01:21:59.319
nightlife is the integral part of a cosmopolitan

01:22:00.579 --> 01:22:03.479
metropolis, a global city like Singapore. The

01:22:03.479 --> 01:22:06.560
word global city has been used many times of

01:22:06.560 --> 01:22:12.739
late. Right. To be a global city, you need vibrancy.

01:22:12.880 --> 01:22:18.340
Yeah. Okay. Now, this thing will attract, will

01:22:18.340 --> 01:22:23.779
complement our overall tourism product. It will,

01:22:23.800 --> 01:22:29.470
it will support the F &B sector. Right. Okay,

01:22:29.489 --> 01:22:34.489
earlier on, before the shoot, we spoke about

01:22:34.489 --> 01:22:42.409
the F &B business has been impacted because nightlife

01:22:42.409 --> 01:22:47.609
is in decline. Right. The answer came because

01:22:47.609 --> 01:22:49.930
the biggest, I found out, the biggest restaurant

01:22:49.930 --> 01:22:54.689
chain in Singapore, after midnight sales, dropped

01:22:54.689 --> 01:22:58.359
by more than 50 % from 10 years ago. Why is that

01:22:58.359 --> 01:23:00.579
so? It's no more supper club. No one goes out

01:23:00.579 --> 01:23:03.619
for supper. No, even the streets. You drive ECP

01:23:03.619 --> 01:23:06.720
here, you go PIE, after 11pm on a Saturday night,

01:23:06.859 --> 01:23:10.420
you look at the cars. Okay? There's no nightlife.

01:23:11.199 --> 01:23:13.859
It's dead. So you use the word demise of nightlife.

01:23:13.920 --> 01:23:21.619
I tend not to disagree. Where's the softer way

01:23:21.619 --> 01:23:24.979
of putting it? Too kind. It's a softer way to

01:23:24.979 --> 01:23:35.060
put it. I mean, But the thing is, this, and F

01:23:35.060 --> 01:23:38.420
&B is not small. Right. I went to check, because

01:23:38.420 --> 01:23:41.220
prior to this interview, I thought I'd come with

01:23:41.220 --> 01:23:46.399
some facts. Nightlife is small. Surprisingly

01:23:46.399 --> 01:23:53.079
small. How small? It is, it was 675 million per

01:23:53.079 --> 01:23:57.619
annum. Okay. Across all nightlife industry. 2015.

01:23:58.060 --> 01:24:01.619
Right, okay. 10 years ago. 10 years ago, okay.

01:24:02.180 --> 01:24:08.359
Today, post -COVID, the figure I got in 2022,

01:24:08.800 --> 01:24:12.939
it dropped to 285 million. Almost 60 % drop.

01:24:13.079 --> 01:24:18.359
Holy shit. But this is precisely the point. The

01:24:18.359 --> 01:24:23.939
impact is on F &B also. Okay. Today, I hear famous

01:24:23.939 --> 01:24:35.140
store, like I mentioned earlier, Apparently,

01:24:35.159 --> 01:24:50.689
now there's a switch. So now, sprouting out over

01:24:50.689 --> 01:24:53.609
here is, what do you call that? Like a brunch?

01:24:53.869 --> 01:24:56.430
Like a brunch, yes. And then, apparently, there's

01:24:56.430 --> 01:25:00.409
this new thing. Coffee clubbing? Okay. Do you

01:25:00.409 --> 01:25:02.869
know about the coffee clubbing? No. I come to

01:25:02.869 --> 01:25:06.250
that later. Okay? I come to that later. Yeah,

01:25:06.289 --> 01:25:09.409
it's a news angle. It's a news angle. It's a

01:25:09.409 --> 01:25:14.069
news angle. Is it rampant? I doubt. Can it go

01:25:14.069 --> 01:25:18.850
there? Yeah. Okay. It's a sorry angle. That's

01:25:18.850 --> 01:25:20.949
what the mainstream media puts out these days.

01:25:21.010 --> 01:25:22.890
Sorry. No, I wouldn't say that. But I'm just

01:25:22.890 --> 01:25:27.789
saying that. I'm saying it. Yeah, okay. No, but

01:25:27.789 --> 01:25:34.229
the point is, all this, how should I put it?

01:25:34.750 --> 01:25:38.310
Okay, now we translate. It's very small. Yeah.

01:25:38.430 --> 01:25:41.210
But F &B is not small and they are under threat

01:25:41.210 --> 01:25:44.430
because of the rising cost as well. Okay, face,

01:25:44.470 --> 01:25:48.770
all the manpower. And basically, and they have

01:25:48.770 --> 01:25:52.630
40 hours of operation now. The number for F &B

01:25:52.630 --> 01:25:57.670
is not small, okay? It employs more than 5 %

01:25:57.670 --> 01:26:02.149
of our workforce. That's not small. It is the

01:26:02.149 --> 01:26:05.489
annual turnover of all the F &B together is close

01:26:05.489 --> 01:26:09.210
to $30 billion, okay? Whoa, whoa, whoa. F &B,

01:26:09.210 --> 01:26:12.890
you're talking about food, restaurants? All in.

01:26:13.819 --> 01:26:18.300
So, but nightlife is only contributory to 200

01:26:18.300 --> 01:26:22.220
plus million? Yes. Of the how much billion? Yes.

01:26:22.479 --> 01:26:25.960
30 billion. That's ridiculous. No, no. Correct.

01:26:26.279 --> 01:26:29.000
Of course, everybody has to eat. Okay? Drink,

01:26:29.060 --> 01:26:31.479
not everybody needs to drink. But because it's

01:26:31.479 --> 01:26:34.859
strong, and because once you swing, like I told

01:26:34.859 --> 01:26:36.840
you, what we are selling is atmosphere. The more

01:26:36.840 --> 01:26:38.899
it's strong, the less atmosphere there is. It

01:26:38.899 --> 01:26:40.920
becomes a vicious cycle. And perpetually, it

01:26:40.920 --> 01:26:45.369
just will disappear. Because, why pay, especially

01:26:45.369 --> 01:26:47.850
the cost of alcohol now is expensive. Right.

01:26:48.250 --> 01:26:50.310
You know, we are going to vicious cycle after

01:26:50.310 --> 01:26:52.550
vicious cycle. Right. That's why, how to reverse

01:26:52.550 --> 01:26:55.350
this cycle? Yeah. You asked me that question,

01:26:55.470 --> 01:26:59.710
I said, unless, we feel, see there is real value

01:26:59.710 --> 01:27:03.189
in that life. Right. From the angle of the economy.

01:27:03.470 --> 01:27:06.869
Right. And the angle is real. This angle is,

01:27:07.029 --> 01:27:10.229
without nightlife, restaurant will be in backless.

01:27:10.350 --> 01:27:13.390
Right. Clear. Right. I gave you the answer. The

01:27:13.390 --> 01:27:15.350
biggest restaurant chain after midnight sale

01:27:15.350 --> 01:27:17.369
10 years ago and now dropped by more than half.

01:27:17.609 --> 01:27:20.390
Yeah. That is one answer. Our costs are rising.

01:27:21.170 --> 01:27:23.890
Operating hours are shorter because there's lack

01:27:23.890 --> 01:27:29.569
of people going out at night. Okay? And then

01:27:29.569 --> 01:27:31.729
there's one part. Second part, this is important.

01:27:31.930 --> 01:27:34.409
Tourism is an important component. It's not just

01:27:34.409 --> 01:27:37.029
about the absolute GDP contribution. Right. But

01:27:37.029 --> 01:27:41.010
it's about Singapore as... The city -state. A

01:27:41.010 --> 01:27:45.310
global city -state. Singapore has a global city

01:27:45.310 --> 01:27:48.449
-state. Everybody knows we don't have hinterland,

01:27:48.569 --> 01:27:51.130
we don't have natural resources here. It is what

01:27:51.130 --> 01:27:56.430
the vision was. Cosmopolitan, metropolis, global

01:27:56.430 --> 01:28:01.050
city. Built on ideas as well. So basically, without

01:28:01.050 --> 01:28:04.510
this nightlife component, it is an integral part.

01:28:04.630 --> 01:28:07.689
We have a cosmopolitan metropolis. Without that,

01:28:07.829 --> 01:28:11.399
then... How do we appeal to foreign investors?

01:28:11.640 --> 01:28:14.020
How do we appeal to tourists even? Our tourist

01:28:14.020 --> 01:28:18.020
numbers went up very high, but it is not as if

01:28:18.020 --> 01:28:24.159
it is slamming. And the thing is, if you imagine

01:28:24.159 --> 01:28:29.859
MICE event, meeting, incentive, convention, after

01:28:29.859 --> 01:28:34.439
their convention, you don't know where to go

01:28:34.439 --> 01:28:37.840
back to room. Up the side, see, after dinner,

01:28:37.960 --> 01:28:40.420
go back to the room. And our room is $400, $500.

01:28:41.800 --> 01:28:44.699
A night. Nothing better to do. Basically, in

01:28:44.699 --> 01:28:46.720
Singapore, I came to Singapore, what did I do?

01:28:46.779 --> 01:28:53.079
Fuck all. Okay, there's a change. So nowadays,

01:28:53.239 --> 01:28:57.279
youngsters, they're more into fitness. So all

01:28:57.279 --> 01:28:58.880
these fitness centers are sprouting out. Wait,

01:28:58.979 --> 01:29:02.399
we are talking about two different things. Two

01:29:02.399 --> 01:29:06.789
different things. Because... Basically, there's

01:29:06.789 --> 01:29:08.689
a local component, there's a foreign component.

01:29:08.949 --> 01:29:13.210
But in between... But the point is, our local

01:29:13.210 --> 01:29:16.750
component is shrinking. Because the lifestyle

01:29:16.750 --> 01:29:20.250
changed. Young people are not going out. They're

01:29:20.250 --> 01:29:25.010
not engaging. What you're thinking is that they've

01:29:25.010 --> 01:29:28.170
become so health conscious. I don't think that's

01:29:28.170 --> 01:29:32.970
the case. No? All the reasons they put, there's

01:29:32.970 --> 01:29:38.250
no... incentive. No, there's no compelling concept

01:29:38.250 --> 01:29:41.069
and entertainment. Basically, they're saying

01:29:41.069 --> 01:29:44.329
it's boring. Yes. And frankly, I've been talking

01:29:44.329 --> 01:29:46.529
about this on my own socials for the last one

01:29:46.529 --> 01:29:50.109
week about Singaporeans being boring and it is

01:29:50.109 --> 01:29:53.390
fucking true. Singaporeans be boring? Singaporeans

01:29:53.390 --> 01:29:57.189
are boring. No, Singaporeans are not boring.

01:29:57.369 --> 01:30:02.050
They are boring. Singaporeans become bored. When

01:30:02.050 --> 01:30:05.350
there is no attraction for them to go. Choke,

01:30:05.350 --> 01:30:08.689
sir. Choke, sir. I don't like to interrupt you,

01:30:08.770 --> 01:30:12.090
but I need to really put my case across. I went

01:30:12.090 --> 01:30:15.350
for a concert last week. You should have seen

01:30:15.350 --> 01:30:17.890
the video I've taken and posted on my socials.

01:30:18.390 --> 01:30:21.430
Numb nuts, numb nuts, numb nuts, numb nuts. Numb

01:30:21.430 --> 01:30:24.109
as shit. Sitting down there, great music being

01:30:24.109 --> 01:30:26.770
played, and they're just like that. Like the

01:30:26.770 --> 01:30:29.109
team, no? No, no, no. It's a whole freaking hall.

01:30:29.430 --> 01:30:31.630
And then the people who are dancing, You're looking

01:30:31.630 --> 01:30:33.729
at them like, what is wrong with you? Because

01:30:33.729 --> 01:30:37.550
places, there are places in Singapore, great

01:30:37.550 --> 01:30:40.989
places, where you have great, wonderful venues

01:30:40.989 --> 01:30:42.789
and theatres and stuff. And you've got stupid

01:30:42.789 --> 01:30:45.810
rules. You cannot stand up. You cannot dance.

01:30:46.010 --> 01:30:49.229
You cannot get along the aisles. Then everybody

01:30:49.229 --> 01:30:52.770
becomes what I term a numbnut. Basically frozen

01:30:52.770 --> 01:30:57.289
testicles. All have frozen testicles. Don't power

01:30:57.289 --> 01:31:00.289
the party. The Eurasian peoples were the... People

01:31:00.289 --> 01:31:02.289
on the bus are going up and dancing. Everyone

01:31:02.289 --> 01:31:05.050
else is going, what are these crazy people? They

01:31:05.050 --> 01:31:08.729
have rules to control you. They do. I went for

01:31:08.729 --> 01:31:11.149
an open and fire concert in New York Stadium

01:31:11.149 --> 01:31:14.789
years ago. The rule is still in effect, by the

01:31:14.789 --> 01:31:17.789
way. And we were dancing. It's open and fire,

01:31:17.869 --> 01:31:20.369
right? I was told by the usher, he's got to sit

01:31:20.369 --> 01:31:24.829
down. I said, no, make me. But he was kind of

01:31:24.829 --> 01:31:27.329
strange. You know why? So if Taylor Swift comes

01:31:27.329 --> 01:31:30.890
here, then how? That's the thing. I didn't go

01:31:30.890 --> 01:31:34.609
for that. To be fair, I went for the one for

01:31:34.609 --> 01:31:36.770
U2, National Stadium, where Taylor Swift was

01:31:36.770 --> 01:31:39.029
to perform, right? We were getting up, we were

01:31:39.029 --> 01:31:42.250
doing this. Nobody stopped us, but the people

01:31:42.250 --> 01:31:44.649
sitting around said, Kelo, sit down. And I tell

01:31:44.649 --> 01:31:47.250
him, shut up, make me sit down. You know what

01:31:47.250 --> 01:31:51.130
I mean? But for me, I stand around. These rules

01:31:51.130 --> 01:31:55.069
have become part and parcel of life, in my opinion.

01:31:56.109 --> 01:31:59.970
Our people go, cannot do, cannot do it. And then

01:31:59.970 --> 01:32:05.350
on top of that, on top of that, our dear PM,

01:32:05.609 --> 01:32:09.409
our current PM, actually did say recently, it's

01:32:09.409 --> 01:32:12.189
okay, I know we're boring, but we are stable,

01:32:12.270 --> 01:32:15.550
we're practical. Can you please, sir, Prime Minister,

01:32:15.750 --> 01:32:19.369
do not encourage this. Because when you become

01:32:19.369 --> 01:32:22.350
that kind, boring, you lose some creativity,

01:32:22.350 --> 01:32:25.430
in my opinion. You lose innovation. You lose

01:32:25.430 --> 01:32:28.649
the gutsy, risk -taking attitude. You lose all

01:32:28.649 --> 01:32:34.489
that. And I'm so damaged, so disappointed when

01:32:34.489 --> 01:32:35.989
I sit there and I see these people doing this

01:32:35.989 --> 01:32:39.949
and they always have the rules to really fall

01:32:39.949 --> 01:32:42.149
back on. Just like that dude that comes around

01:32:42.149 --> 01:32:44.130
here. He's just saying that love. Yeah, they

01:32:44.130 --> 01:32:46.210
got that little safety that makes him so smug

01:32:46.210 --> 01:32:48.390
about it, you know? And that's something I can't

01:32:48.390 --> 01:32:51.470
stand. And I think, yes, I think we have become

01:32:51.470 --> 01:32:55.250
boring. And then I also think that bar operators

01:32:55.250 --> 01:32:58.970
today, they go Spotify DJ. They no longer hire

01:32:58.970 --> 01:33:03.770
even a DJ. Right? Yeah, don't even have a DJ.

01:33:03.869 --> 01:33:07.229
Do you Spotify DJs? No kidding. When I'm breaking

01:33:07.229 --> 01:33:10.449
copyright laws, by the way, it's against copyright.

01:33:10.670 --> 01:33:12.590
Even when I'm playing Spotify on air, it's for

01:33:12.590 --> 01:33:14.489
personal consumption only. And then check with

01:33:14.489 --> 01:33:19.170
Compass about that rule. You don't hire a DJ.

01:33:19.310 --> 01:33:21.310
You don't hire more. You don't even hire a live

01:33:21.310 --> 01:33:23.470
band. If you hire a live band, you probably hire

01:33:23.470 --> 01:33:25.529
one guy, two guys. Because, Chris, because I've

01:33:25.529 --> 01:33:27.229
got to pull so much rent, my business is not

01:33:27.229 --> 01:33:31.550
so good. My point of view is this. If you guys

01:33:31.550 --> 01:33:35.149
come, really come together, I don't know, Singapore

01:33:35.149 --> 01:33:38.229
Nightlife Association, whatever, come together

01:33:38.229 --> 01:33:41.869
and say, guys, let's give this a go. Show the

01:33:41.869 --> 01:33:43.989
young people what really entertainment is all

01:33:43.989 --> 01:33:47.449
about. You know? Get the musos business as well.

01:33:47.470 --> 01:33:51.369
Give them work to do. And then we drive it. You

01:33:51.369 --> 01:33:53.210
know, and show the young ones today, the Gen

01:33:53.210 --> 01:33:57.310
Zers, look, Xennials, this is what it is. This

01:33:57.310 --> 01:33:59.630
is what you've missed. Don't miss it anymore.

01:34:00.850 --> 01:34:04.930
Right? And all the Karens out there, male and

01:34:04.930 --> 01:34:08.210
female Karens, Karens, will come around and try

01:34:08.210 --> 01:34:11.649
to stop this from happening. I mean, get a life.

01:34:12.189 --> 01:34:14.880
Stop being eunuchs. You know what I mean? Walking

01:34:14.880 --> 01:34:17.300
around, you've got balls in the jar. Wake up.

01:34:18.720 --> 01:34:21.159
I really think it's really sad. Singapore used

01:34:21.159 --> 01:34:23.800
to be, when you were, when you were the king,

01:34:23.920 --> 01:34:27.600
man, my God, Dennis, without you, I think I'd

01:34:27.600 --> 01:34:33.819
be boring. Okay. Actually, on Nightlife, something,

01:34:33.979 --> 01:34:42.939
you see, it's, I remember, this was 1986. I only

01:34:42.939 --> 01:34:45.170
started six years. Singapore nightlife wasn't

01:34:45.170 --> 01:34:48.869
like fantastic. Right. There was a will. There

01:34:48.869 --> 01:34:52.210
was a will. Political will. Yeah. I was invited.

01:34:52.430 --> 01:34:54.489
Very interesting. I was invited by the permanent

01:34:54.489 --> 01:34:57.630
secretary then. Right. Of the then Ministry of

01:34:57.630 --> 01:35:01.210
Culture. Okay. To City Hall. The ministry was

01:35:01.210 --> 01:35:06.390
in City Hall. Right. Two other guys was with

01:35:06.390 --> 01:35:11.029
me. Right. One is Jimmy Lo from Jasper Production.

01:35:11.750 --> 01:35:14.050
You wonder? He used to bring in Miami sound,

01:35:14.090 --> 01:35:16.430
then Donnie Young, he used to bring in Miami

01:35:16.430 --> 01:35:20.189
sound machine and me. For some reason, because

01:35:20.189 --> 01:35:21.869
maybe I make so much noise in the Peppermint

01:35:21.869 --> 01:35:24.989
Park at lunch, I was invited. The main thing

01:35:24.989 --> 01:35:28.210
is because they wanted to promote entertainment

01:35:28.210 --> 01:35:32.069
in the chemical. I was a young man then, 86,

01:35:32.369 --> 01:35:36.689
I was probably 30 plus. You know, I didn't know

01:35:36.689 --> 01:35:40.590
it was a permanent sex until much later. My first

01:35:40.590 --> 01:35:44.810
meeting in any government body, I sit down there.

01:35:45.189 --> 01:35:49.210
I don't know what we're talking. Malaysia got

01:35:49.210 --> 01:35:51.430
this open Putrao World Trade Centre. I did a

01:35:51.430 --> 01:35:53.449
concert there at the Putrao World Trade Centre.

01:35:54.050 --> 01:35:57.170
Okay. Another city, they got Stadium Nagara.

01:35:57.710 --> 01:36:00.010
You know what we got? Nobody got a badminton

01:36:00.010 --> 01:36:01.909
hall. How do you promote that like entertainment?

01:36:05.569 --> 01:36:07.850
I'm blunt enough to talk like that. Those days,

01:36:07.869 --> 01:36:09.970
I don't know how to be scared. You know? I said,

01:36:10.430 --> 01:36:14.729
we must at least have an indoor stadium. Then

01:36:14.729 --> 01:36:17.289
you walk. By the way, what's your name? You wrote

01:36:17.289 --> 01:36:19.649
my name down. What happened? I don't know. Very

01:36:19.649 --> 01:36:22.289
fast. Once they make the decision, five years

01:36:22.289 --> 01:36:25.189
later, indoor stadium will be built. 1991. So

01:36:25.189 --> 01:36:29.489
political will. Political will. Hey, that stadium

01:36:29.489 --> 01:36:32.310
is not simple during that time to create. Because

01:36:32.310 --> 01:36:36.619
Japanese architect will be... and political will.

01:36:36.840 --> 01:36:40.100
And today, there is no regret in that stadium.

01:36:40.300 --> 01:36:42.359
And now they're thinking of even improving it.

01:36:42.399 --> 01:36:46.420
They want to take it down. So, progress. It's

01:36:46.420 --> 01:36:48.600
part and parcel of progress. Yeah, but not just

01:36:48.600 --> 01:36:50.479
for international stars coming here, but concerts

01:36:50.479 --> 01:36:54.319
about our people. So, if you listen, the reason

01:36:54.319 --> 01:36:56.140
I'm very clear, I was a show promoter, I brought

01:36:56.140 --> 01:36:59.859
many B -list acts. The A -list, like Michael

01:36:59.859 --> 01:37:02.449
Jackson, Eric Clapton. Two other companies, they

01:37:02.449 --> 01:37:04.149
bid for it, but I don't want to go into the bidding

01:37:04.149 --> 01:37:07.750
process. So those, that's that. All, out of the

01:37:07.750 --> 01:37:11.670
A list, B list I take. I did Air Supply three

01:37:11.670 --> 01:37:14.470
times. Right. I did Tinkerbird. I did John Denver.

01:37:14.689 --> 01:37:18.850
These are all the concerts. Right. And, many,

01:37:18.970 --> 01:37:24.810
many, many of the Bs. But the thing about, about

01:37:24.810 --> 01:37:29.489
this, this, what do you call that? Political

01:37:29.489 --> 01:37:32.350
will. Sorry? Political will. Political will.

01:37:32.670 --> 01:37:39.149
You know, today, we are counting on this. Right.

01:37:39.869 --> 01:37:43.310
The reason, you know why the Taylor Swift, the

01:37:43.310 --> 01:37:47.510
Coldplay, they are coming here. As a former promoter,

01:37:47.590 --> 01:37:51.010
I understand why. Because in Singapore, they

01:37:51.010 --> 01:37:53.189
can command the best dollar. People are willing

01:37:53.189 --> 01:37:55.970
to pay. Because Singapore set the tone, not shift.

01:37:56.329 --> 01:37:58.109
That's why the ticket price in that net, the

01:37:58.109 --> 01:38:00.710
whole concert, they will rip the most from this

01:38:00.710 --> 01:38:02.909
region in Singapore. That's the only reason.

01:38:03.130 --> 01:38:04.649
They're not because they like you or whatever.

01:38:04.789 --> 01:38:07.829
It's all about money. So simple. You understand

01:38:07.829 --> 01:38:10.210
what I'm saying? But the thing is, the moment

01:38:10.210 --> 01:38:14.750
all your other parks fall out and you do not

01:38:14.750 --> 01:38:19.250
have the tourism attraction to... Because it's

01:38:19.250 --> 01:38:21.050
the region they're bringing in, not just Singapore.

01:38:21.069 --> 01:38:22.729
Singaporeans alone cannot sustain all these concerts.

01:38:22.750 --> 01:38:25.149
The ecosystem must be stable. So how do you do

01:38:25.149 --> 01:38:28.510
it? If your attractions and your other thing

01:38:28.510 --> 01:38:32.189
is not strong enough. Yeah. And these people

01:38:32.189 --> 01:38:34.949
entertain our tourists. Yeah. Our tourists entertain.

01:38:35.189 --> 01:38:37.430
Yeah. Then you have an issue with events like

01:38:37.430 --> 01:38:40.029
this. I already talked about BT Mice earlier

01:38:40.029 --> 01:38:42.829
on. Now I'm talking about concerts. They are

01:38:42.829 --> 01:38:45.210
priding themselves now. Yeah. But don't take

01:38:45.210 --> 01:38:49.359
it for granted. Yeah. So, Bottom line is your

01:38:49.359 --> 01:38:52.439
ecosystem, like you say. The vibrancy culture

01:38:52.439 --> 01:38:55.760
must be there. So that there is this. But of

01:38:55.760 --> 01:38:58.619
course, in Singapore, no city can do it better

01:38:58.619 --> 01:39:02.119
than us. Because we are small enough, strong

01:39:02.119 --> 01:39:08.420
enough to regulate. Right. And if you can do

01:39:08.420 --> 01:39:10.859
this, win -win both sides. Yeah. And everybody

01:39:10.859 --> 01:39:12.779
will have the expectation to come here. You don't

01:39:12.779 --> 01:39:15.840
expect bang, bang, bang like the... We're going

01:39:15.840 --> 01:39:17.680
to have an earthquake kind of bank to complain,

01:39:17.859 --> 01:39:19.760
you know. But I'm trying to say that you will

01:39:19.760 --> 01:39:22.079
have a bit of sound and you will take it as part

01:39:22.079 --> 01:39:26.020
and parcel of this. And that will be okay. We

01:39:26.020 --> 01:39:28.899
can talk about DNA. Yeah. So if you really be

01:39:28.899 --> 01:39:31.760
quiet, then you go rent this place. Right. Around

01:39:31.760 --> 01:39:36.500
something, you rent somewhere else. Where there

01:39:36.500 --> 01:39:39.140
is like, you go inside Torokraw, no L, no K,

01:39:39.220 --> 01:39:42.220
nothing. Why don't you take East Coast Road,

01:39:42.260 --> 01:39:45.270
Main Road? But at night, if this place thrives

01:39:45.270 --> 01:39:48.529
as an F &B outlet, we'll be walking out with

01:39:48.529 --> 01:39:50.109
a few drinks, we'll murmur and talk, talk, talk,

01:39:50.189 --> 01:39:53.109
then that will be an issue. It will be an issue,

01:39:53.149 --> 01:39:56.270
never mind the music. So everything can be an

01:39:56.270 --> 01:39:59.890
issue. I mean, so end of the day is what you

01:39:59.890 --> 01:40:06.810
want. A vibrant Singapore is better or not. If

01:40:06.810 --> 01:40:09.289
it is better, then you must accommodate certain

01:40:09.289 --> 01:40:11.010
parts of it. Because currently, right now, we

01:40:11.010 --> 01:40:13.710
are not vibrant Singapore. We are boring Singapore.

01:40:14.069 --> 01:40:16.390
I wouldn't say that. We are about the people.

01:40:16.529 --> 01:40:21.250
It's okay. You still got chance. Everybody is

01:40:21.250 --> 01:40:24.010
telling me that. I always think about it. But

01:40:24.010 --> 01:40:26.090
it shows you the sentiment on the ground. This

01:40:26.090 --> 01:40:28.189
is what it is. Everybody tells me. Yeah. See,

01:40:28.289 --> 01:40:31.170
everyone's sentiment is the same. It's sad. Okay,

01:40:31.250 --> 01:40:33.449
hang on. Number delight. Okay, I got to say this.

01:40:33.550 --> 01:40:36.270
I got to say this. How long have we been on?

01:40:38.060 --> 01:40:40.180
Okay, so this is where we have to say goodbye

01:40:40.180 --> 01:40:42.500
because this is going to be a two -parter, I'm

01:40:42.500 --> 01:40:45.779
pretty sure, right, Kai? I want to say... Yo,

01:40:45.840 --> 01:40:49.920
okay. Can you... Seriously, have you... I thought

01:40:49.920 --> 01:40:52.100
it was subject proper. No, this wasn't subject

01:40:52.100 --> 01:40:54.100
proper. You did say everything you wanted to

01:40:54.100 --> 01:40:57.079
say. No, I have not. I've got so much to say.

01:40:58.079 --> 01:41:01.619
When you're used to my experience... Not within

01:41:01.619 --> 01:41:04.399
one hour, no. We did talk about revival as well.

01:41:04.800 --> 01:41:07.310
Not deep enough. Not deep enough, right? How

01:41:07.310 --> 01:41:10.149
to revive, that is the question, my friend. Okay,

01:41:10.189 --> 01:41:12.510
let's end with that, shall we? Do you need to

01:41:12.510 --> 01:41:14.810
go take a leak? Yes. Please do take a leak. Okay.

01:41:14.949 --> 01:41:17.369
Take a break, then we talk. I need to pee pee.

01:41:24.909 --> 01:41:26.850
Thank you everyone for your patience because

01:41:26.850 --> 01:41:29.989
we had to take a little pee break. As you can

01:41:29.989 --> 01:41:31.630
tell, we are in Mel's place and what do we have

01:41:31.630 --> 01:41:33.970
at Mel's place? We have a little bit of adult

01:41:33.970 --> 01:41:36.630
beverages that makes us want to go pee. And we're

01:41:36.630 --> 01:41:39.510
back. And we're back only for the next five minutes

01:41:39.510 --> 01:41:42.069
or so because I would like to listen to what

01:41:42.069 --> 01:41:45.069
Mr. Dennis Foo has to say about what we need

01:41:45.069 --> 01:41:49.609
here in Singapore to revitalize, to revive this

01:41:49.609 --> 01:41:54.010
ailing animal called nightlife. Dennis, over

01:41:54.010 --> 01:41:57.689
to you. Okay, I've been hearing the word revitalizing.

01:41:58.090 --> 01:42:00.909
Everybody is using in print revitalizing, okay?

01:42:01.289 --> 01:42:04.789
You know, revitalizing is one way to look at

01:42:04.789 --> 01:42:08.510
it. there's something there to bring it out.

01:42:08.649 --> 01:42:11.529
Right. Today, what I'm hearing everywhere, including

01:42:11.529 --> 01:42:14.250
from you, Rosie, that nightlife is dead. Right.

01:42:14.489 --> 01:42:17.750
So, revitalizing something that is dead is not

01:42:17.750 --> 01:42:22.829
appropriate. What is it? Why? It's like CPR,

01:42:23.029 --> 01:42:25.590
you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Research is at best.

01:42:25.609 --> 01:42:28.510
Let's give it mouth to mouth. Most cases, you

01:42:28.510 --> 01:42:31.010
know. But, I'm serious about this because the

01:42:31.010 --> 01:42:33.130
numbers don't lie. Yes, sir. And everybody I

01:42:33.130 --> 01:42:37.460
speak to, including you today, And you are in

01:42:37.460 --> 01:42:41.180
the business for too many years. It's revive.

01:42:42.220 --> 01:42:45.760
To revive is more difficult than to revitalize.

01:42:45.880 --> 01:42:50.079
To revitalize, if there's something there, we

01:42:50.079 --> 01:42:57.899
make it to bloom. The thing is almost gone, then

01:42:57.899 --> 01:43:01.819
it's revive. To revive is more difficult than

01:43:01.819 --> 01:43:07.130
to revitalize. In that sense. To revive nightlife

01:43:07.130 --> 01:43:10.270
today in Singapore, you need what I use the term

01:43:10.270 --> 01:43:15.949
disectomy. It's not so simple as just to do a

01:43:15.949 --> 01:43:20.710
few things that you can revive the life. To revive

01:43:20.710 --> 01:43:24.390
nightlife, the fundamentals must be there. In

01:43:24.390 --> 01:43:27.310
this new world, where we see so many obstacles,

01:43:27.789 --> 01:43:35.899
first you have the four things I said. After

01:43:35.899 --> 01:43:41.140
midnight, private transport issue because no

01:43:41.140 --> 01:43:47.239
appealing concepts is another one. And that is

01:43:47.239 --> 01:43:51.159
a result of lack of market. Hence, there is no

01:43:51.159 --> 01:43:56.960
people, even if there's a passion, they would

01:43:56.960 --> 01:43:59.500
want to go into something because a good concept

01:43:59.500 --> 01:44:01.779
costs money. There's got to be supply, basically.

01:44:02.180 --> 01:44:05.670
There's got to be supply. A good, decent supply.

01:44:05.789 --> 01:44:09.590
So, everything will start with demand. Right.

01:44:10.010 --> 01:44:11.949
You can change the rules, you can extend the

01:44:11.949 --> 01:44:15.710
hours, but these are all, to me, still piecemeal.

01:44:15.890 --> 01:44:19.090
So, if you go to the fundamental, you must look

01:44:19.090 --> 01:44:24.329
at the demand side of the equation first. What

01:44:24.329 --> 01:44:28.550
I call latent demand. Okay. When I started, I

01:44:28.550 --> 01:44:31.649
didn't know this. There was a latent demand.

01:44:31.890 --> 01:44:36.220
It's there. So when you create something, this

01:44:36.220 --> 01:44:39.300
demand surfaced. And they respond. And that became

01:44:39.300 --> 01:44:43.159
a business at that time. That single series of

01:44:43.159 --> 01:44:45.479
other people, like -minded people, were also

01:44:45.479 --> 01:44:49.720
going to do business. And then the industry grew.

01:44:50.119 --> 01:44:53.579
And then there was a point where government believed

01:44:53.579 --> 01:44:57.340
that this is a contributor. Whether it is to

01:44:57.340 --> 01:45:02.840
kind of distress the populace or to attract.

01:45:04.630 --> 01:45:07.569
create another layer to attract tourists whatever

01:45:07.569 --> 01:45:10.970
the reason they were committed to that's why

01:45:10.970 --> 01:45:16.170
we saw indoor stadium 1991 right you know and

01:45:16.170 --> 01:45:19.970
today you need the same commitment but the premise

01:45:19.970 --> 01:45:25.069
the prerequisite must be what can nightlife do

01:45:25.069 --> 01:45:29.529
to Singapore positively okay I have the answer

01:45:29.529 --> 01:45:32.670
the answer you can do a lot if you do it well

01:45:32.670 --> 01:45:38.340
okay You must do it well. And basically, the

01:45:38.340 --> 01:45:41.960
word vibrancy surfaced all the time. Right. Without

01:45:41.960 --> 01:45:46.159
a good nightlife industry, which I already said,

01:45:46.359 --> 01:45:50.319
it supports the F &B. Right. Okay, it reinforces

01:45:50.319 --> 01:45:56.659
even retail potential. Right. Well, I want to

01:45:56.659 --> 01:46:02.890
say this so that in one stroke, I can... I can

01:46:02.890 --> 01:46:09.550
kind of express. I sent a note to one of the

01:46:09.550 --> 01:46:15.689
political office holders. I read this. Hope our

01:46:15.689 --> 01:46:18.710
meeting went well and that our ideas will help

01:46:18.710 --> 01:46:21.829
to revive Singapore's nightlife and in turn contribute

01:46:21.829 --> 01:46:25.670
to our overall tourism, strengthen our F &B sector,

01:46:26.069 --> 01:46:29.890
reinforce our retail trade, bring more room nights

01:46:29.890 --> 01:46:33.380
to the hotel. Draw more visitors in the day and

01:46:33.380 --> 01:46:37.060
at night to our attractions. Compliment our BT

01:46:37.060 --> 01:46:40.359
MICE events. Create, sell out international concerts

01:46:40.359 --> 01:46:44.060
and events. And make Singapore a must -visit

01:46:44.060 --> 01:46:47.680
cosmopolitan metropolis. A global city to work,

01:46:47.720 --> 01:46:50.899
live and play. If this is compelling enough,

01:46:51.060 --> 01:46:54.539
then we should do something about it. This is

01:46:54.539 --> 01:46:57.420
the equation. Hell yeah. So you must understand

01:46:57.420 --> 01:46:59.899
why you need to do this. This is the reason I've

01:46:59.899 --> 01:47:02.819
been here. Right. And it makes a lot of sense,

01:47:02.859 --> 01:47:09.899
Dennis. Right? Yeah. So, so once the cause, as

01:47:09.899 --> 01:47:14.420
in C -A -U -S -E, is established, then the way

01:47:14.420 --> 01:47:16.960
forward, and there are so many ways forward,

01:47:17.100 --> 01:47:21.380
is whether we have the political will. So it

01:47:21.380 --> 01:47:23.060
still boils down to that, huh? Yeah, simple.

01:47:23.199 --> 01:47:27.060
I mean, it's not difficult. We look at the, but

01:47:27.060 --> 01:47:31.579
if it's compelling enough, then do it. And Singapore

01:47:31.579 --> 01:47:34.380
can do it. I also share with you one thing. Yes.

01:47:34.479 --> 01:47:36.039
All over the world, one of the things to take,

01:47:36.119 --> 01:47:38.619
young people are not going out. Yeah. All over

01:47:38.619 --> 01:47:40.779
the world, not Singapore problem. Right. But

01:47:40.779 --> 01:47:45.460
tourists are travelling. Right. Most of the tourists,

01:47:45.720 --> 01:47:49.819
I probably not wrong here, belong to Gen X and

01:47:49.819 --> 01:47:53.020
Gen Y. Yeah. Okay. Do you agree? Yes. They have

01:47:53.020 --> 01:47:54.100
the means and the opportunity. They have the

01:47:54.100 --> 01:47:56.819
means and they are at the age of travel. Right.

01:47:57.520 --> 01:48:00.680
And they are here. If you do a study, the demographic

01:48:00.680 --> 01:48:04.920
review that for tourists. And these people are

01:48:04.920 --> 01:48:07.159
here in Singapore. And you have something like

01:48:07.159 --> 01:48:11.960
that for them. Let's say a zone where there is

01:48:11.960 --> 01:48:18.859
all this entertainment, nightlife. They don't

01:48:18.859 --> 01:48:20.840
have to go back to their room after convention.

01:48:21.600 --> 01:48:23.659
They don't have to go back to their room after

01:48:23.659 --> 01:48:27.569
side -sitting dinner. And then they will spread

01:48:27.569 --> 01:48:29.869
the word around and our tourism will grow. Yes.

01:48:30.470 --> 01:48:33.489
Or be strengthened or be reinforced or whatever

01:48:33.489 --> 01:48:38.449
the term you want to use. Right. So, if tourism

01:48:38.449 --> 01:48:40.789
can thrive, many other things will fall in place.

01:48:41.050 --> 01:48:46.090
Right. Okay. So, basically, and it's not difficult.

01:48:46.270 --> 01:48:49.069
We spoke earlier on about the noise, pollution

01:48:49.069 --> 01:48:52.050
and all the role of Singapore. All over certain

01:48:52.050 --> 01:48:55.640
areas, especially near residents. A nightlife

01:48:55.640 --> 01:48:59.420
zone may not be in this kind where you have these

01:48:59.420 --> 01:49:02.439
amenities and we trigger a lot of complaints.

01:49:03.119 --> 01:49:13.340
But once you establish that, then other precincts

01:49:13.340 --> 01:49:18.220
will also pick it up. Right. The culture is established.

01:49:18.359 --> 01:49:22.579
Yes, exactly. And then they will not. And then

01:49:22.579 --> 01:49:25.380
the local, can you imagine the local? we have

01:49:25.380 --> 01:49:30.199
a reason to go out. And then, tourists, they

01:49:30.199 --> 01:49:32.939
not just visit entertainment zone, they all want

01:49:32.939 --> 01:49:35.880
to try other Singapore places. And then that

01:49:35.880 --> 01:49:39.260
Singapore, a global city, a cosmopolitan metropolis

01:49:39.260 --> 01:49:41.840
our forefathers envisioned it to be. Final question

01:49:41.840 --> 01:49:44.140
I'd like to ask both of you. It's open to the

01:49:44.140 --> 01:49:49.539
floor. Dennis mentioned succinctly about political

01:49:49.539 --> 01:49:53.699
will. Do you personally believe that there will

01:49:53.699 --> 01:49:57.579
be a political will for this to take off and

01:49:57.579 --> 01:50:00.800
for nightlife to be revived? Do you think? Or

01:50:00.800 --> 01:50:04.779
change has to happen. What kind of change? The

01:50:04.779 --> 01:50:06.560
government, I would say. Yeah, so would there

01:50:06.560 --> 01:50:08.680
be a political will in your opinion? I tell you

01:50:08.680 --> 01:50:12.020
what. Yeah. This one is a very sensitive word

01:50:12.020 --> 01:50:17.420
today. And I believe anything for the betterment

01:50:17.420 --> 01:50:21.220
of Singapore, they will want to do a study. Right.

01:50:21.380 --> 01:50:24.859
Start to do a study. Once the study is there,

01:50:24.979 --> 01:50:30.739
there will be pros and cons. If the pros overwhelm

01:50:30.739 --> 01:50:33.020
the cons, then you create a system to address

01:50:33.020 --> 01:50:40.220
the cons and promote the pros. Okay. I'd like

01:50:40.220 --> 01:50:41.680
to thank the both of you for being on the show.

01:50:41.739 --> 01:50:43.479
Thank you for being on my season premiere. Thank

01:50:43.479 --> 01:50:47.399
you so very much to the both of you for always

01:50:47.399 --> 01:50:50.600
holding up music, at least where I am sitting.

01:50:51.020 --> 01:50:54.199
Yeah. for this country and bringing music to

01:50:54.199 --> 01:50:57.380
another level. And for still believing, Rosie,

01:50:57.560 --> 01:51:01.920
that having bands up there. Don't stop believing.

01:51:02.840 --> 01:51:07.239
Oh, yeah. And a lot of the day feeling. A lot

01:51:07.239 --> 01:51:10.699
of thing is like a cake. We already created the

01:51:10.699 --> 01:51:14.060
cake. And even add cream on top of the cake.

01:51:14.279 --> 01:51:17.100
Number two fight. That one really is a cherry

01:51:17.100 --> 01:51:21.260
on top of the tea to make it a thing. What did

01:51:21.260 --> 01:51:23.260
I think of punch? What the hell did I think of

01:51:23.260 --> 01:51:27.060
cherry? The icing on the cake with the cherry

01:51:27.060 --> 01:51:32.260
on top. Well, thank you so very much. And again,

01:51:32.359 --> 01:51:35.300
thank you for really holding up music and night

01:51:35.300 --> 01:51:39.140
scene in Singapore. Really, I'm heartened and

01:51:39.140 --> 01:51:42.520
I will continue in my own little tiny itsy bitsy

01:51:42.520 --> 01:51:46.489
way. to continue to fight, especially for our

01:51:46.489 --> 01:51:49.649
local musos and our local performers and entertainers

01:51:49.649 --> 01:51:55.449
of whom I really have a heart for. And to all

01:51:55.449 --> 01:51:58.489
Singaporeans out there, we used to have this

01:51:58.489 --> 01:52:02.949
DNA in our blood. It flows so freely in our bloodstream.

01:52:03.149 --> 01:52:06.869
And that's about music and having a great time.

01:52:07.289 --> 01:52:10.869
And it's not sinful to do that. It is not about

01:52:10.869 --> 01:52:13.500
being drunk and disorderly. And it's not about

01:52:13.500 --> 01:52:16.159
dance. When you dance, it's disorderly. That's

01:52:16.159 --> 01:52:18.899
crazy. So let's get it all back. Let's have a

01:52:18.899 --> 01:52:22.159
life. Let's have a nightlife. Thank you for watching

01:52:22.159 --> 01:52:24.600
the first episode for Season 6, the season premiere

01:52:24.600 --> 01:52:27.159
of the Chris Hansen Conversation. I hope you

01:52:27.159 --> 01:52:28.659
enjoyed this one. It's a hell of a long one.

01:52:29.020 --> 01:52:31.140
But I'll see you again next week when we come

01:52:31.140 --> 01:52:36.420
back. I'll have Corporal KP in studio and in

01:52:36.420 --> 01:52:40.300
CC. I will do that, Dennis. And this is Chris

01:52:40.300 --> 01:52:43.699
Hansen. Stay safe, everybody. See you soon. Bye

01:52:43.699 --> 01:52:43.920
-bye.