Alleycats Loga Arumugam left fans and fellow musicians a legacy of good music and good times. ERROL DE CRUZ remembers every moment

IT’S tough when you have to say goodbye to friend, even harder when you’re lousy at goodbyes. But that’s what a multitude of us had to do last Monday when Alleycat Loga Arumugam died after an eight-month battle with lung cancer.

It creates a situation when you get all kinds of flashbacks from a time long gone, of a friendship and fanship that’s lasted 25 years. You don’t stop to think that you won’t see him again. Instead, you remember all the good times you had.

Loga, 54, left everyone a trove of lovely memories, and as we kept the wake going, we shared them. Topping the list was the fact that he always had a smile to greet us with. A grin really, especially when he greets a fellow musician, knowing that there’s many a thorn in our bed of roses.

“Apparam?” He and brother David Arumugam were famous for that line. A Tamil phrase that simply meant: “What next, now that we know what the situation is about?”

My first meeting with the Alleycats was as a cub reporter at an interview in 1982. Expecting to catch them “in full gear”, I was thrown back when I found them lounging at the PolyGram Records office in jeans and singlets.

But that was typical of the Alleycats, Malaysia’s most famous pop band. Simple and in your face; and that’s just how they were when they shared the spotlight on stage.

What always impressed us was their professionalism. They sang flawlessly. This was a band of artistes so unlike the others. This was a band that could keep on entertaining you night after smoky night in clubs all over the country. They even played in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore and Europe.

Loga, who would have turned 54 on July 15, was the life the party. He was never content keeping quiet. If he wasn’t sharing harmonies with brothers David and Shun, he was networking with the many fans who would turn up for their gigs.

I remember how difficult it was to find a good seat when the Alleycats performed. The venue hardly made a difference. The Coliseum in Penang. CJ’s in the heart of KL. The fans just packed in.

Having heard that they were slated for the Senja in Subang, I seized the opportunity to get that good seat finally, but encountered the same situation. I had to be content with a stool at the bar.

Luckily, David was doing one of his specials and Loga was taking a bar break. Same knowing grin. “Apparam?” he said. I couldn’t help but laugh.

Loga was the quintessential performer. A gifted vocalist, he played the flute and congas skillfully.

A composer with a trove of his own, he excelled in cover versions, songs which revived different and special memories for all to listen.

For the rock diehard, he had Deep Purple’s Black Night, ably backed by brother Shun on a Ritchie Blackmore guitar solo. For the laid-back folkie, there was the Seals and Croft hit, Summer Breeze. Don Maclean fans always came away awed by his fiery version of American Pie.

Then, just when you thought you’d have to wait forever, they’d take you on a journey with their evergreen originals — Sampaikanlah Salam, Sekuntum Mawar Merah, Hingga Ahkir Nanti, Suratan — the list was endless.

What always made us proud was that fact that these were “our boys”, a band of Malaysians who could get everyone rocking along regardless of whether they were up there doing English, Malay, Chinese or Tamil songs. What was even more inspiring was that colour, race, creed and your walk of life did not matter.

It was the same at any venue. Clubs like Uncle Chilli’s and La Vida, concert stages around the country, shopping malls concourses, the Press Club, school halls. Everyone knew the songs. Everyone partied with the Alleycats, mesmerised when Loga pulled out his flute and sprang a solo.

No one can forget their signature ending: Terrrrima kasih!

The Alleycats, Penang’s most famous and lovable export, had this effect even when they were not around. Just think about the karaoke lounges you go to. Is there ever an evening when some nicely-imbibed fellow doesn’t go up to the DJ and ask for his favourite Alleycats song?

And where the David Arumugam wannabes are, you can bet that there’s a Loga in the crowd just waiting to croon in harmony.

The two brothers were also fashionistas in their own right. Their Afro-styled hairdos made them instantly recognisable everywhere they went. When they started, we thought it was a fad. Nearly 40 years down the line, those hairdos are still on, although Loga had to sacrifice his when chemo therapy took its toll.

At the wake in Tanjung Bunga, his brothers told us that Loga had accepted his fate. I could almost hear him say: “Apparam?”

The man gave us good times and good music that we will always remember. Thank you, Loga. For the music. The good times. The inspiration.