A Sibu Legend : Sibu's Rock Bands and Frankie Lea

One young man from Kapit made a name for himself in the rock music scene in Sibu in the 1960's and 1970's. He is Frankie Lea who lived at the end of Tiong Hua Road.


Looking for money was his objective from a very young age after moving to Sibu from Kapit. Even his studies were on hold and he ended up in the same class as his younger brother ..He sold tofu fah even before  that was considered a health food. He would walk with a tub in his hand and his little brother would be carrying a kettle of sugar syrup behind him. Like Apaches walking in single file they would go from house to house calling out to housewives to buy their freshly made tofu fa...

As a young teenager he upgraded himself to a musician to finance his own studies in the UK. (not Ulu Kapit).He "even controlled the music of three nightclubs" for about 10 years!! And those were the days he and his friends cannot forget to this day...He could get help from any of the timber merchants but he did not. There was one community leader who even wrote by snail mail in his own handwriting to ask about him and his well being when Frankie was studying in the UK. But Frankie would always reply..he was OK.

Here are some photos he is willing to share with me..A Sibu blogger cannot NOT write about the history of this famous son of Sibu.

Sibu like any other town in the world had its share of rock and roll music in the 1960's after being impacted by the rock wave created by Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson to name two famous singers. This wave of music also coincided with the timber boom when tycoons could spend money in nightclubs.

Sibu youngsters : The Quivers

Sibu was waking up after the years under Communist threats and the unrest due to the birth of Malaysia. The teething problems seemed to solve themselves and by sheer coincidence timber boom helped Sibu to become a real "happening place" with Taiwan singers swinging into the local scene. Bands became popular. Dances were held in SRC and hotels had their lounges and night clubs. Musicians could make a living. More and more night clubs opened. Some were seedy while others were quite reputable.

The band called The Swinging Swallows with Frankie Lea.

Rock musicians performed in cinemas too as well as open air concerts. School boys bands were being formed too to fulfilled the dreams of school boys and school girls.




Frankie was also a good runner.

Frankie with his Sacred School mates, Mike Wong and Joseph Siong

Frankie was always a hardworking young man who supported himself and his family. He worked hard to earn his own money for his UK education. After he completed his education he worked in KL for many years before he migrated to the US.

When my generation of Baby Boomers talk about rock music, we think of our local legend : Frankie Lea. He has done well.