Not many people can say that they’ve had a career spanning five decades, much less a career as illustrious as local music legend Dick Lee’s. The Singaporean singer-songwriter, who celebrates 50 years in the music industry this year, says, though, there is always more to come. Lee is by no means a new face to Singaporeans. After all, he is the composer behind Home, one of our country’s most familiar National Day songs (which debuted 26 years ago, if you can believe it).
Making his debut in 1974 with his album Life Story, Lee is commemorating half a century of music-making with a very special concert. The Dick Lee 50th Anniversary Concert of Singapore’s Pop Icon is set to take place this very weekend, on 23 and 24 August, at the Capitol Theatre. When I ask him what fans can expect to experience during the intimate 90-minute-long show, he goes on to share that the concert presents itself as less of a walkthrough of his career, but as a peek behind the curtain; Lee will take the audience into the backstories behind certain songs and projects.
Ahead of his concert this week, Lee sits down with GRAZIA Singapore to discuss the proudest achievements of his career to date, what his rendition of the “Singapore sound” is, and even his advice for young music makers from Singapore.
Congratulations on 50 years in the music industry, it’s an incredible milestone! How do you feel?
Dick Lee (DL): I feel very honoured that I’m still doing this, years later. That’s a bit of a miracle, considering, our Singapore music industry is not exactly thriving. I would say it’s still not lucrative for a lot of people, although there [are more] opportunities now. For me, at this age, to still get bookings for performances, I feel very blessed, and I hope to be kind of an inspiration to younger artists, to [show] that you can have a lifelong career in music.
What can fans look forward to at your 50th anniversary concert?
DL: This show is quite special. I chose the Capitol Theatre because it’s a solo show, so I wanted a space that’s more intimate. I also spent a lot of my time in my teenage years there, escaping school (laughs). There’s a lot of audiovisual components. Lips play. There are pictures that will support what I’m saying. It’s going to be quite visually interesting as well, because it’s just me, right? Me and my piano. So I’ve got props on stage, and the stage will have a set. It’s not just because there’s no band, right? So it’s just, there’s a set, and the set is designed like, the attic of dreams.
Tell us about the creative process of your new song ‘This Old World’, with Dr. Sydney Tan. How has your partnership developed given the length of your partnership?
DL: Dr. Tan is my music partner. Actually, we first started working [together] in the ’80s. He is also my doctor, so, you know, but it is so nice that we are still making music together. So that’s the other wonderful thing. This song is a little thank you to Singapore for allowing me to be who I am, [and] allowing me to have the career that I have had.
I know that somebody put us together, I can’t remember who, but it was in the early ’80s. He was putting together a show, and somebody introduced him to me and I gave him a song. He arranged the song, and I performed it. That was our first introduction. Then my third album—I asked him to produce for me in 1985 and ever since then, we’ve just continued to make music together. He’s a musical genius, especially technically. And he has a fantastic home studio—I think it’s one of the best studios in Singapore.
What are some of the greatest life lessons that the music scene has taught you?
DL: I think I had to go abroad to get some kind of, well, not to say, get the recognition. I would say that by challenging myself and just going for it, continuing to just do what I do through the years, kept me relevant and kept me somehow always in the news. It’s a tough market, but you have to just keep at it.
If I were to start now, I think this day and age is a whole different game, you know. But before, we had so few options, to be seen and heard. So we had to be very thick-skinned, and I had to really go out there, send demos, perform. You have to go out there and you have to perform in front of the audience and that will really [allow] you to grow, and you will know how people react to you. Because you [can] do it at home nowadays, you know, and you think you’re very good. I always say that the likes don’t really equate to how good you are. Maybe people like you, but how good are you? I think that’s that thing, and that’s the challenge, in any market, not just here.
How do you think the Singapore music scene has evolved over the past 50 years?
DL: Let’s say that it was a bit interesting for me, it was tough for me in the early years, because there wasn’t a music industry that was very cool. Musicians at the time played in bars and lounges. That was tough, but that made me tougher, right? That made me like, push.
Now it is easier in the sense that, [with the right resources] you could just sing a song, put it on Spotify, and then you got a single. So that makes it difficult because people don’t really understand or realise, they don’t know the true story of the industry. So it is easier, but then it’s more difficult. Now, by going online, you are competing with millions of artists all over the world. In my time, I was a Singaporean, just in Singapore myself. You know, I was trying to get heard, but again, heard, but in a much smaller platform. I needed to have something Singaporean in my music, my challenge was to be originally Singaporean, not just by, you know, sounding Western or catering to even the Chinese market.
What are some of the most memorable moments of your career? Has there been a specific composition or project of which you’re most proud?
DL: I never thought that I would have the chance to do a big musical, like Nagraland, which toured in Asia. Then I worked with [Hong Kong singer] Jacky Cheung once.
But the song I’m proudest of is Home, simply because it resonates so well with Singaporeans. I never expected it to, and it’s still sung today, after 20 over years, and that’s something I’m really proud of. It wasn’t intended to be like that. But I’m so touched that Singaporeans have taken to it and it’s especially meaningful for me because I spent my career trying to find the Singaporeanness in my music.
So what to you is this Singapore sound, or like the element of being of like being Singaporean in your music?
DL: I tried many ways of experimenting. I experimented with many ways to get this, to try to achieve this, Singaporeanness. I’ve tried using sounds, tunes, and instruments. But I realised that at the end of the day, it has come from inside, and it’s something that you can’t really pinpoint. It’s a feeling. And I think Home doesn’t sound ethnic. It’s sort of Western, but there is something Singaporean about it, and people cannot really pinpoint. And I think I had to find it inside.
I did something that connects everybody, connects people to the song, and that must be the Singaporeanness of it. So it’s not the song, it’s the feeling. And if you look at our history, we are also very young at 60 years old. It takes time to develop this kind of identity, doesn’t it? And so it’s taken this time for people to feel the need, even to have a song like this. For me to write a song like this, it took years of my songwriting to find this. So it takes its time.
So what else are you looking forward to embark on?
DL: What I’m excited about, in a way, is that the creative journey doesn’t really end, right? In fact, for the most part, the older you are, the richer your experiences, the more you can do. I think I have the inclination to carry on because creating is part of me. I hope that I will always find the reason or find the inspiration to keep doing things.
The energy level is a whole other thing. Sometimes, when you do a project, you know the word project is a very scary term, it means sometimes years of dedicating yourself to something but I just want to take some time to feed my mind after this. I think this [concert] is like a benchmark for me to start knowing and exploring what’s next. I want to travel.
Do you have any advice for like, budding music makers who want to have a career as illustrious as yours?
DL: What I do tell some musicians, if I see the potential in them, is to diversify a little bit, because our market is not so sophisticated and so big that you could just, let’s say, do one thing. If you want to do jazz, for example, that’s very niche, right? You can do it. But our market isn’t strong enough to support it, so you need to go outside. So that’s what I would say, go out and travel. If you want to be a singer-songwriter or you want to be an artist, I would say, [try going] abroad and diversify your skills.
Is there anything that you would like to say to your fans?
DL: I wouldn’t be here without my audience, the people who have grown up with me for 50 years. They listened to me 50 years ago. I do a show because I have an audience. They come and so I’m very grateful to them, and what I want to say is, “As long as you are here supporting me, I will keep making music for all of you.”
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